February 2021

February 24, 2021February 24, 2021

Secret Societies Don’t Care About You

Secret societies don’t care about you. A fun little observation and it is that The Secret teachings of the Illuminati, the Rosicrucian’s, the Mason, Skull and Bones, the Trilateral Commission, generally the occult mysticism. And from the Mike Myers movie So I Married an Axe Murder, The Pentaverant, with Colonel Sanders before he died.

Secret teachings of these groups fall into three categories, the reasons for their secrecy. When the teaching is experiencing banning by the orthodoxy. That the teaching is not compatible with societies in a general way. And so now you can’t do that, so they go underground.

The other one is the teaching is easy to dismiss in other words it’s a bunch of hokum and it doesn’t equate, add or make life better.

The 3rd one and the most common of all is that most people just don’t care.

Secret Societies Don’t Care About You

Most people don’t care about the secrets of these groups. they can be all sorts of different ideas, go back to the names listed at the beginning and you can see the first bunch of ideology there and when people do take an interest it is often for the salacious, the weird, the strange, and obscure all those kinds of good things.

I like it to it’s fun it’s entertaining but the fact of the matter is that the lack of interest that most people have about these kinds of things. well, encounter works both ways on the equation.

People want to just go about their day and do the things the baby to do without bothering the other side without bothering the Illuminati were just gonna go about our business in the Illuminati is trying to go about their business Without bothering people of course unless you take the position that they are.

It’s Entertaining

Then we go back to that salacious sort of fun aspect of these groups. See the secrets are there, sure most of the time, but people are busy and focused on their own lives and problems.

If you don’t believe me go ask an acquaintance for assistance with an issue that you face. You know an issue that takes some effort. You will find out they are just not that interested in what’s going on in your world or how they can help. Secret societies and folks on what’s important in their day-to-day lives.

Yeah, two examples of a Gee whiz observation just for fun, and I hope you are grinning as you find the idea of people being disinterested in secret societies and your life are about the same and a fun observation.

Here are a few other topics to which you can read or listen.

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KRIS WILDER

Kris Wilder is a martial artist based in Seattle Washington. He has authored many martial art books, including the classic, The Way of Kata. Making no apologies for his obsession of Football he can be found telling any who will listen about the nuances of the Canadian Football League.

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February 23, 2021February 23, 2021

The Best Style of Karate to Learn for a Great Life

The best style of karate to learn for a great life. It is not the one that you think it is. The way you are thinking about this endeavor is in styles and tactics. You are thinking about the methods of defending yourself. You are likely thinking about getting in shape. Learning discipline and several other ideas.

Those are the reasons you are asking, “What’s the best style?” No person when shopping for food wants the blemished apple or the wilted vegetable. We want fresh fruits and vegetables. This the same approach you are using in seeking a martial arts school for yourself or your children. “What is the best and how can I access that experience?”

Few people are thinking twice when you or your child announces they are going to move across the country to attend a University. Do the same with martial arts and you are insane, or at least going through a phase.

Listen to how that sounds, “I am going to go to the other coast to go to this University because they have the best program.” Now listen to this phrase. “I’m going to move across the country to this martial art school because they have the best program.” It’s an extraordinary reaction. One version of this you nod in the agreement, the other you shake your head.

The main takeaway with martial arts is that you are going to gain discipline. You are going to gain physical ability. You are going to become more focused mentally. There are sub-sets to those items. Some sub-sets may be losing weight or increased flexibility. The fellowship and social interaction of like-minded people also come into play.

All These Are The Formula of Your Choice Process.

This issue of seeking a martial arts school is now solved. How your martial art is chosen is not what you think it is. Nor what it should be. The answer you didn’t expect, the best karate style to learn for life Is the one that’s closest to your home.

The reason is it’s the one you are going to take part in it’s the one you are going to attend. You choose your martial arts school because it’s convenient. That is not a condescending statement. It is a statement of truth. The farther your school is from where you live the less likely you are to attend. The frequency of attendance drops and frequency of attendance is everything.

The Best Style of Karate to Learn for a Great Life Style is of Little Consequence

It doesn’t make any difference if it’s Kung-Fu Karate, Judo, Jujitsu, or Boxing. It makes no difference what art you are doing. The closer you are to the school the higher likelihood you have of attending. That frequency of attendance is giving you opportunity and advantages

We’ve listed benefits such as discipline, environment, fellowship, weight loss, flexibility. There are likely others on your list that also exist. The way to solve your problem of choosing the best style of karate to learn for a great life is not what is the best style. It is actually which martial art is convenient for you.

One Part Process

Once you’ve established there are 1 or 2 convenient martial art schools in your vicinity then go visit. Go visit regardless of style or system. Decide if it’s a fit. How does the class feel to you? I mean truly how does it feel? It’s not a squishy question, it’s an actual real question.

What’s the vibe you are getting from the class, or the instructor? That feeling, that vibe isn’t going to change that’s the vibe of the school. Is what is happing at the school is resonating with you? If it looks good you needn’t look any further you are where you need to be.

Here’s your actionable item. Find a couple of places that are close to your home. Try to stay within 7 miles of your house. Then get out and visit the clubs, groups, or schools. Find the one that feels good and train there.

Proximity and Positive Experience

When have proximity and a positive experience you are going to train. When you have proximity and positive experience you have chosen the best style of karate to learn for a great life.

The best style of karate to learn for a great life has little to do with how you hold your fist. It is not important the number of animals your system uses as icons or the country of origin. The best style of karate to learn for a great life is the one you will attend regularity. Because like anything in life it is about consistency and commitment.

Here are a few other links you may find of interest.

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KRIS WILDER

February 17, 2021February 17, 2021

The Unique and Special Formula

The unique and special formula. A conversation with a friend regarding the Google Algorithm turned into an observation. The levels of interest and focus you freely give to the almighty Google prove you are not that special.

We are all special except we are not. Amazon knows when you are ready to buy a replacement for the product you use. And YouTube, knows what we like. It’s the key to their survival as a business.

The Unique and Special Formula reads this way. If you can be replaced, you are not special. The longer it takes to replace you the more special you can be.

Here is a subset of that formula, how long does it take to replace anything withing your view? Pretty fast is the answer. We think we are unique. We think the things that moves us are special and the items that move us are profound and unusual.

How to identify the Unique and Special Formula and then use it to shape your world is not as difficult as you may think. The results can be disturbing and also bring clarity.

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KRIS WILDER

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February 10, 2021February 12, 2021

Promising You an Easy Life

Promising You an Easy Life. An easy life is something we desire, who doesn’t want that?

And it is the kind of life that results in an unedited, soft life. I would argue a trivial life. We can’t escape the trauma the hardship of this life it is in the nature of our existence, it is inescapable.

Pain is Not Welcome

It’s not welcomed and it often is horrific in many ways but it is. We seek a painless life it’s our nature to avoid pain. A simple proof is when we touch a hot stove, we only do it once.

Every great religion, every great philosophy, every great myth, every great legend, every great parable contains the negative element. I wish I could wave a magic wand and make all the bad go away. Who wouldn’t want that for their child their wife their partner their spouse or anybody else that they cared about?

But I nor anybody else on the face of the Earth has the power to do so not in the long run. In the short run, we can put bandages on it. We can do surgery; we can do the things that kind of patch over or in some instances even solve the problem, but there’s always another one coming.

The Little Dutch Boy and Sisyphus

We’re like the little Dutch boy from the story, running around from dike to dike putting his fingers in the next leak.

The Secret to this is to put your feet underneath you, to stand tall. Do what needs to be done and do it to the best of your ability. If you do it wrong if you get knocked down get your footing reset. When you get a win celebrate. If it goes your way acknowledge it, and if you do a job well-done sit in for a little while and enjoy. When you get a break, something happens that is unexpected and this wonderful. Go ahead take a moment to be grateful. Enjoy because there is no promising you an easy life.

Celebrate Your Victories

It isn’t an easy life but then you knew that. Now what you need to do is go out and enjoy it. Did I just say that you’re supposed to enjoy pain? No, I didn’t say that. Am I saying you are supposed to enjoy your victories and your celebrations? Absolutely.

All of these require you to have your feet underneath you. To stand tall and do what needs to be done. All the while knowing that in some instances it will not be sufficient and in other ways, you will fail and fail big. But you do your best.

You do it to the best of your ability and you acknowledge that you’ve done so and move on. This is why we don’t have an easy life. It was never promised to us and as the classic song from the 70 says, “I never promised you a rose garden.”

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KRIS WILDER

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February 8, 2021February 12, 2021

The Karate Master’s Indomitable Spirit

The Karate Master’s Indomitable Spirit. The following is a short except from our book Legends of the Masters…

Two masters engaged in a contest before their assembled disciples. The results of the battle would determine once and for all who was the greater warrior. The struggle was long and fierce. Each man determined to make the other submit while fortifying his own spirit in hopes to persevere.

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At long last the first master managed to secure the second in a stranglehold. Knowing that time was short, for he would quickly lose the contest, the second master struck his adversary a mighty blow, dislocating his ankle. The master then pitched his body askew with all the force of his considerable frame. All this in an effort to wrest his neck clear of the other’s grasp. As his ankle slipped its socket, the first master found that he could no longer bear the pain. With a heavy heart signaled submission.

The Karate Master’s Indomitable Spirit Comes Out

Releasing his stranglehold only to find a lifeless body atop him, the first master discovered that the second had broken his own neck attempting to escape. Having submitted to a dead man the first master hung his head in shame, for he had discovered that through indomitable spirit any victory is possible.

Even for a dead man.

~~~~~~~~

Legends of the Masters retools Aesop’s lesser-known fables and a few original creations like the one above, re-imagining them to meet the needs and interests of modern martial artists. Reflecting upon the wisdom of yesteryear in this new light will surely bring value for practitioners of the arts today… If you’d like to read more, click on the book cover.

A few other posts you may find of interest.

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KRIS WILDER

February 3, 2021February 12, 2021

Craters of Improvement

Craters of Improvement. We seek like-minded people. It feels good to get validating and to share similar ideas. We develop a tribe of sorts. But not a false tribe. As an example, your co-workers are a forced tribe.

Your co-workers are constructed of people who meet the business needs and not yours. That is what business does. This is not malevolent it is ambivalent to those needs other than the goal of the business. You are set in a situation that is not of your own – although you likely actively sought the job.

Your Neighbors, Your Choices

There is an upside to not choosing your neighbors or your coworkers. You are getting the diversification of thought and a broadening of experience.

People, when given the choice, will choose to associate with people of similar demeanor and desires. As a relative said to me one day, “It’s good to go visit the home town, you don’t need to prove anything to anybody, they know who you are.”

This comb nation of forced selection, as in work, and the choices made in community and friends can catalyze a larger experience.

The Two Big Groupings

Think of it this way. Events can be broken into two large groups, the things that happen to you and things that you choose. The way you handle the impact can define the crater of that impact. Or to extend this line of thought. Instead of a meteorite and a crater, a space capsule landing via parachute with the results of experiments. Craters of Improvement.

Change is inevitable. We cannot escape the craters of life. We can adjust, and sometimes learn from the information we get in a soft touchdown of a capsule. But the change is coming.

Choices when the can be made, yes, do that. You have to flow understanding change is not always about big breakthroughs. Simple choices often have the longest results.

The message is what tribe have you chosen; does that tribe you have chosen provide what you desire? What do you need? Or is it detrimental to the person you need to be? Does your artificially constructed work environment serve more than the purpose of providing food for your cakehole? Can it uplift!

These are questions that lead to an active choice life and not a “Life is happening to me.” Is the incoming, the impending experience, your choice, and will it be a capsule of information or a crater.

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KRIS WILDER

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