I have always loved watching movies or films with an element of martial arts in them. Martial art in my opinion is one of the most beautiful forms of keeping physically active and strong...a kind of physical poetry in motion, and also it never hurt that it looks so cool.  

Most people associate martial arts with fighting, and that’s largely in part owed to the martial arts movies of the 1960s and 1970s that not only increased the popularity of martial arts around the world but also gave birth to the culture of using the word karate in the English language to describe all striking-based oriental martial arts.[1] 

I have been a student of ‘shotokan’ karate now for the past nine months, and everyday I come to appreciate that there’s more to karate then looking cool and ‘fighting’. I am reminded of being taught by my parents to draw inspiration and to learn from different avenues..with that said this is what i have come to learn thanks to karate:

1.      Seek perfection of character

As human beings we are constantly evolving and improving ourselves. Karate teaches us to focus, to hone our thinking, to improve it, to trust it. It builds our spirit and challenges our will power, teaches us that once you master your thinking, you have control over who you are and what you can do. You understand that you alone are your own limit!

2.       Be faithful

Always stay true to your goals... and know that you can only get better.

3.       Endeavor

The karate man/woman may fall down, but s/he gets back up and starts again. There is no failure here, only a lesson on how to move forward, grow and be better.

4.       Respect others

Karate teaches one the art of humility and understanding that you are no better or worse than the person next to you. In fact respect isn’t earned it is given unconditionally irrespective of race, sex, age, nationality or background, because we are essentially all one and separateness doesn’t truly exist. Yes you may encounter someone who is less than respectful but this isn’t about them, it’s about you and your character.  

5.       Refrain from violent behavior

Karate can be described as a ‘martial art involving a variety of techniques, including blocks, strikes, evasions, throws, and joint manipulations.’[2] And in so much as one is taught all these movements in karate, one learns how to defend oneself in karate...period! You don’t use the skills to start or look for a fight its pure self defence...and only evoked when you are placed in danger. Karate is an art form, a way of life which teaches one to not only be strong and confident but to be happy and peaceful as well.  It is the union of physical and mental strength.

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[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karate

[2] http://www.gwu.edu/~ska/whatis.htm

 

 

Over the last few weeks my life has become uncharacteristically routine. Uncharacteristic because i Have the kind of personality that thrives on spontaneity, Routine because I find myself doing the same thing day in and day out at approximately the same time. I have been so in need of something different to put me back that care free zone that everyone deserves to experience in the midst of their busy lives.

What better way to unwind and act care free than a rap concert of one of the best stars in the world. Yes my unconventional approach to my seemingly monotonous existence was to attend the Jay z concert held at the O2 this past week. I had so many expectations when I purchased my ticket and to be honest every single one was met the moment the lights went off and he appeared on stage.

Over the last couple of months leading up to the concert Stress had definitely become an unwelcome part of my daily life.  The overwhelming pressure associated with deadlines from school and at that time work had definitely caught up with me the day of the concert. I needed to let loose and be a care free 20 something year old for the first time in a long time maybe even ever. Jay z,s music has always represented a sort of attitude that I wish I had the guts to express more often. I am a fan of his because he is unapologetic for the things he does and thinks. I may not agree with a lot of it but i admire he’s fearless attitude as expressed in the lyrics of his songs. Yes believe it or not underneath the profanity deep rooted lyrics and life lessons can be found in some of the his catchy songs. “I’d rather die enormous than live dormant.”-Jay Z.

This was my first experience at a concert of this scale and he made the tough decision of paying so much money worthwhile. The concert was understated and did not rely on the outrageous lighting and over the top barely dressed dancers that so many modern concerts of any genre have become accustomed to. The man can command a crowd with simplicity and that is something very few artists are capable of doing and in many ways highlights why this man has become the success he is today.

Finally we have a male perspective on our blog.... Thanks to our special guest blogger

The Diary of a Psychitzophrenic Fat Black Man

It all started with the stain of a single drop of blood in a half-empty bathtub.

You know what? I’m getting way ahead of myself; let me back up a few short years so as to give you the whole, unadulterated picture.

Its 1985, Nelson Mandela rejects an offer of freedom from the ‘South African’ ‘government’; blood tests for AIDS are approved; a volcanic eruption in Columbia kills 25,000 people; VH-1 makes its broadcasting debut; 59 people die as Egyptian forces storm plane on Malta; and, Live Aid, a 17 hour rock concert broadcasts worldwide from London and Philadelphia, raising $70 million for starving Africans.

You know what? I don’t really need to go that far back, let me fast forward to the juicy parts.

I had never thought I’d ever be in this position, in this place, in this moment in time – I mean thinking about it is one thing, but the sobering reality of the cold slice of the blade, the warmth of the oozing blood, the staining of the clear cold water in the half-filled bathtub, is a magical sight; it’s something to behold as it is both mesmerising and captivating, and, in the right light, it adds the colour otherwise missing from most mundane lives.

In that moment, in that instance, everything was clear and everything made sense – I realised why it is life itself.

To fully appreciate this moment, you need to realise that I was never keen on living, but do not mistake this as meaning that the eternal release into the hereafter was an option either. Being raised a Catholic by loving parents who went far and beyond their civil service paychecks to provide a lap of luxury that left me needing for nothing but wanting for more, instilled in me a strong sense of the foreboding as I was reminded on a daily basis that my actions, whose consequences apparently yielded the comfort and luxury I’d enjoy beyond the things that my hands can touch, were being closely watched by an ever present Omniscience and a multitude of witnesses with nothing to do with their eternal bliss but watch little boys take baths – and people judge the catholic priests, and to them I say, “cast the first fucking stone!”

Therefore, this wholeness I feel in my heart – this transcending peace – was not arrived at lightly.

However, if you understood my birth, you’d understand that I never wanted this life that I’m living but made the best out of the many great opportunities handed to me on a silver platter. Even Nature itself could not force this life on me and, therefore, Science had to intervene and prevail where Nature failed.

Ah that Science, the stain that has polluted and raped my land long before lubricant was ever invented; our saviour, our messiah, our very own personal Jesus.

But who said we needed saving? Maybe, just maybe, we were fine before You showed up.

But, alas, Science saved me where Nature failed me. Nature, what a f****** joke. You give us everything but You gave us nothing. Because for ten months You tried to push me out and for ten months I refused to be moved. For ten months my parents joyfully waited my arrival but for ten I was the disappointment that I would become. For ten months, for ten whole months, I stood my ground. Because in those ten months, I was a man and as a man I stood firm. For the first ten months before my life started, I was a man. Even before I took my first breath I knew how it felt to smoke a cigarette next to a spent beautiful woman whose name I will never remember.

Now that you know the context, let’s proceed with the story.

Getting out of the bathtub felt effortless. Maybe it was because I was being carried out of it. Or maybe it was because for the first time in my life I had allowed someone else to be strong for me, to help me where I had failed to succeed, to lead me beyond the path that I saw before me.

Standing besides the empty bathtub I realised that even the toughest stain can be removed with time.

Standing besides the empty bathtub, I realised that she wasn’t breathing anymore. She had died before I could help her, before I could reach her, before I could tell her that I loved her, and now all I have is time but she isn’t here to hear all the things I have hidden from this world in our special place. Living feels like an eternity without someone to love you.

So I let her go.

 

THE END

 

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