Continuing with a previous post about failure and how it can lead to successes, I want to discuss a book I am reading. For Christmas, I received Ryan Holiday’s “The Obstacle is the Way: The Timeless Are of Turning Trials into Triumph.” I have been a follower of Holiday’s blog, The Daily Stoic, and I’veContinue reading “Readings: The Obstacle is the Way – The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph”
Author Archives: The Philosophical Fighter
Requisite level of skill – Reblog
Originally posted on tacticalprofessor:
As long as a person can consistently (95% of one shot presentations) hit a target the size of two sheets of paper, stacked in landscape orientation, at four yards, they have the requisite level of marksmanship skill to dominate 99% of personal protection shooting incidents by non-sworn personnel. That’s not a…
Re-framing Failure: Learning from your losses.
I recently heard Yoda say this on Star Wars: The Last Jedi – Pass on what you have learned. Strength, mastery, hmm… but weakness, folly, failure also. Yes: failure, most of all. The greatest teacher, failure is. Aside from being a martial arts instructor, I run a tutoring center at a college and I alsoContinue reading “Re-framing Failure: Learning from your losses.”
Guns Don’t Keep You Safe – Reblog
Originally posted on Aaron Jannetti:
How many of you just got real pissed at that title? Hahahahahaha I love the internet. Seriously though…they don’t. At some point in time we decided that getting a gun created safety. The problem is that there was a HUGE piece of information missing from this thought. The simple fact…
Readings: Old School Jiu-Jitsu – Manifesto
If you haven’t picked up Old School Jiu Jitsu founder Brian Jones’s book, Manifesto, you are missing out on a gem. Jiu Jitsu is about fun, fellowship, and food for thought, but the core principle of Jiu Jitsu is fighting. An excerpt from the first few pages lays out the thesis: “Jiu Jitsu training providesContinue reading “Readings: Old School Jiu-Jitsu – Manifesto”
Reading and Literacy (and Maybe Even Humanity) – Reblog
Originally posted on Gun Culture 2.0:
Self-defense trainer and man of letters Greg Ellifritz (Active Response Training) recently wrote an instructive blog post on “Institutional Memory.” It was occasioned by an essay by Chris Cerino (of “Top Shot” fame) titled A Short History Of Pistol Shooting Techniques. Gratuitous photo of me drinking beer with Chris Cerino…
Passing Guard: Pressure is Persuasion
“Pressure is persuasion,” I yelled to one of my students as he tried to pass his opponent’s guard. The tournament official next to me looked at me funny and smiled. “I like that,” he said. Afterward, the official and I had a conversation about persuasion and martial arts. Part of my professional background is inContinue reading “Passing Guard: Pressure is Persuasion”
Keep your head up.
We were just kids who wanted to wrestle. It’s hard to believe where we all are today. It seems like a different world. As we progress through our journey in martial arts, we face many obstacles such as learning curves, harder techniques, and tougher opponents. The young men in this picture faced obstacles over theContinue reading “Keep your head up.”
Building a Legacy
I know it’s been a few months since my last post, so I wanted to touch base. I haven’t given up opining—quite the contrary. I have had numerous things on my mind lately, much of which I am eager to share with you in the coming months. In my last post, I mentioned that IContinue reading “Building a Legacy”
A Lesson Learned
If you ever wonder what I do when I am not training or waxing philosophical on a mat, here is one thing I do in what little spare time I have: write. If you read this blog, you already knew that. I write for local newspapers and magazines as well as research papers for graduateContinue reading “A Lesson Learned”
Joshua Clements Writes 