The Book of Five Rings

I said it before and I'll say it again: great book. And it can be applied to things other than swords. The mindset he tells you to have, cool head. That's needed in everyday life. Posture is another thing you use in everyday life. He also says to see the truth of things, and the major principles he wants you to have, not to mention keeping a fight stance natural, and keeping your natural stance a combat one... very usefull.

Well, in the book, just about every other paragraph or so, he stresses not following an incorrect path, because if you misinterpret it incorrectly, then you can wander off the correct path. And if you are misled, then small distortions can become large distortions.

This is really making me wonder about my current dojo. I don't want to go anywhere that teaches a martial art that "misleads" in any way. But that's the problem, it's hard to find a "good" dojo these days. Not many dojos teach for real life encounters, just karate competitions. There are several places near here. One teaches a blend of Tae Kwon Do and Shotokan Karate. I don't know about the effectiveness, but they won't let anyone under 16 be a black belt, and you need to accomplish five different things before graduating to the next belt. Seems good, but if they have incopetent teachers then no. Another one is founded by one who has been through several arts. Isshinryu karate, some street oriented styles, then jujutsu to get a better understanding of grappling. His school is based on street encounters, handling pressure, multiple attackers, etc. He might also give Isshinryu lessons, he is a roku-dan.

I'll continue reading, and looking. After all, my journey will never end. I'll move on, mom said that we'll probably move next year. Nobody really likes it here in NC. Terrible. Some of the people are nice, but more bad than good.