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Kenpo, and the necessity of discord.
By Dr. Dave in da house - 09-09-2009 11:45 AM
Originally Posted at: KenpoTalk
====================
I've been entertaining an email volley back and forth with a notoriously self-promoting "get paid" kenpoist. I guess, judging by one of his recent volleys, that he got to hear Edmunds litany of being tired of all the crap/fighting/arguing that goes on in kenpo; he mentioned the old "circle the wagons; shoot in" analogy, and suggested we bury the hatchett...or at least stop tomohawk chopping at each other. Here's an edited-for-content-and-context variant of my reply to his "Can't we all just get along?" message. Seemed fitting considering the most recent re-hash of successor issues:
I have a different take on all of the infighting and political jockeying. With a background in shrinkology, I tend to look at this big mess through two sets of eyes: One in a Family Systems Theory sort of way, wherein the sundry perspectives and players can be seen as rival siblings in a dysfunctional, but common, family pattern; and in a Depth/Analytic Psych sort of way, wherein the energy of deep psyche unctions and archetypes can be seen to play out among the ongoing relational and internal processes that are kenpo processes, and not thing(s), because we tend to treat kenpo as a nominalization treating a process or verb as if its a noun; a decision or idea as if its a breadbox (Bandler & Grinder; Pratchett).
The genius of Mr. Parkers system can be summed up in my favorite quote of his, "I can teach you a move, or I can teach you HOW to move; I can tell you WHAT to think, or I can teach you HOW to think." The kenpo systems brilliance, and by proxy Mr. Parkers, is that it provides infinite opportunities to study variables of motion in ever-changing contexts. The system, once you really know itonce you really buckle down to study it, becomes the teacher. It invites Minds individually and collectively to consider it (kenpo) from multivariate perspectives, each reaching individual but complementary conclusions, so that the collective understanding of the system itself continues to expand.
It's the seed; not the plant. The plant itself is the living knowledge embodied in all of us. We collectively, and for all our bickering and faults are kenpo. And the psychological tensions that underlie the issues plaguing our insular sub-culture are essential to its maintenance and growth, even though we dont necessarily like how it feels.
Some things grow better when under stress. Remember the old saying: Strong timber does not grow with ease; the stronger the wind, the stronger the trees? The buck forced to run for its life and fight often becomes the most muscular, and lives to pass on his genes to future generations of better-quality deer folk, ideally. What so many miss as they mourn for peace in kenpo, complain about the complaining, or fight amongst themselves about fighting, is: The arguments, the politics, the debates, the passions...all of these things are seeds of change that force kenpo to maintain the energy of its own existence. This is what archetypal Warriors do when they don't have outside enemies to fight. And it causes new growth; becomes the impetus for generative change, or change that creates more change, by its very nature. Have you heard that whole thing when Romans don't have a battle to fight, they build roads and temples? Same with kenpoists. The learning models championed by competing groups are the roads; the amassed and ever-changing understanding of the system is the temples.
No growth without struggle; no life without growth. In biomechanics, the Stress-Stain curve refers to how much stress can be placed on a system before it breaks under load. Many living systems have an innate adaptation mechanism built in -- the strain that does not cause the system to break, prompts the system to adapt and become stronger against future strains and insults. I long ago accepted this simple truth: Once everybody stops fighting, the art dies. As long as they debate, argue, back-bite, politic for position, etc., the art thrives. You can't show me a molecule of kenpo; it exists in the thought realm only, just like Truth, Love, Justice, Anger, Vengefulness, Jealousy, and so on. It can't exist on its own like a piece of silver, a molecule of carbon, or a clod of dirt can (Pratchett & Death, et al).
In our dialogues and arguments and feuds, we keep Mr. Parkers system in motion; ever improving, ever changing. The Golden Path isnt one without strife; rather, the strife is seen in the greater context as a necessary component of both the Journey, AND the ever-shifting Destination.
To quote the author Sam Keen, Its all necessary.
Keep the flame alive, and try to do something good with it while you can. Meanwhile, fight amongst yourselves... its good for the soul, and the system.
Best Regards,
Dave
PS -- Get bent. I rock, you suck, and my teacher is better than yours.
Read More...
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KenpoTalk.com Post Bot - Kenpo Feed
By Dr. Dave in da house - 09-09-2009 11:45 AM
Originally Posted at: KenpoTalk
====================
I've been entertaining an email volley back and forth with a notoriously self-promoting "get paid" kenpoist. I guess, judging by one of his recent volleys, that he got to hear Edmunds litany of being tired of all the crap/fighting/arguing that goes on in kenpo; he mentioned the old "circle the wagons; shoot in" analogy, and suggested we bury the hatchett...or at least stop tomohawk chopping at each other. Here's an edited-for-content-and-context variant of my reply to his "Can't we all just get along?" message. Seemed fitting considering the most recent re-hash of successor issues:
I have a different take on all of the infighting and political jockeying. With a background in shrinkology, I tend to look at this big mess through two sets of eyes: One in a Family Systems Theory sort of way, wherein the sundry perspectives and players can be seen as rival siblings in a dysfunctional, but common, family pattern; and in a Depth/Analytic Psych sort of way, wherein the energy of deep psyche unctions and archetypes can be seen to play out among the ongoing relational and internal processes that are kenpo processes, and not thing(s), because we tend to treat kenpo as a nominalization treating a process or verb as if its a noun; a decision or idea as if its a breadbox (Bandler & Grinder; Pratchett).
The genius of Mr. Parkers system can be summed up in my favorite quote of his, "I can teach you a move, or I can teach you HOW to move; I can tell you WHAT to think, or I can teach you HOW to think." The kenpo systems brilliance, and by proxy Mr. Parkers, is that it provides infinite opportunities to study variables of motion in ever-changing contexts. The system, once you really know itonce you really buckle down to study it, becomes the teacher. It invites Minds individually and collectively to consider it (kenpo) from multivariate perspectives, each reaching individual but complementary conclusions, so that the collective understanding of the system itself continues to expand.
It's the seed; not the plant. The plant itself is the living knowledge embodied in all of us. We collectively, and for all our bickering and faults are kenpo. And the psychological tensions that underlie the issues plaguing our insular sub-culture are essential to its maintenance and growth, even though we dont necessarily like how it feels.
Some things grow better when under stress. Remember the old saying: Strong timber does not grow with ease; the stronger the wind, the stronger the trees? The buck forced to run for its life and fight often becomes the most muscular, and lives to pass on his genes to future generations of better-quality deer folk, ideally. What so many miss as they mourn for peace in kenpo, complain about the complaining, or fight amongst themselves about fighting, is: The arguments, the politics, the debates, the passions...all of these things are seeds of change that force kenpo to maintain the energy of its own existence. This is what archetypal Warriors do when they don't have outside enemies to fight. And it causes new growth; becomes the impetus for generative change, or change that creates more change, by its very nature. Have you heard that whole thing when Romans don't have a battle to fight, they build roads and temples? Same with kenpoists. The learning models championed by competing groups are the roads; the amassed and ever-changing understanding of the system is the temples.
No growth without struggle; no life without growth. In biomechanics, the Stress-Stain curve refers to how much stress can be placed on a system before it breaks under load. Many living systems have an innate adaptation mechanism built in -- the strain that does not cause the system to break, prompts the system to adapt and become stronger against future strains and insults. I long ago accepted this simple truth: Once everybody stops fighting, the art dies. As long as they debate, argue, back-bite, politic for position, etc., the art thrives. You can't show me a molecule of kenpo; it exists in the thought realm only, just like Truth, Love, Justice, Anger, Vengefulness, Jealousy, and so on. It can't exist on its own like a piece of silver, a molecule of carbon, or a clod of dirt can (Pratchett & Death, et al).
In our dialogues and arguments and feuds, we keep Mr. Parkers system in motion; ever improving, ever changing. The Golden Path isnt one without strife; rather, the strife is seen in the greater context as a necessary component of both the Journey, AND the ever-shifting Destination.
To quote the author Sam Keen, Its all necessary.
Keep the flame alive, and try to do something good with it while you can. Meanwhile, fight amongst yourselves... its good for the soul, and the system.
Best Regards,
Dave
PS -- Get bent. I rock, you suck, and my teacher is better than yours.
Read More...
------------------------------------
KenpoTalk.com Post Bot - Kenpo Feed
