tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14473417.post3205557599434741397..comments2024-03-15T01:34:45.154-07:00Comments on Chiron: ConvergenceRoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08483616030072739190noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14473417.post-55733549689304576662015-06-01T19:02:32.819-07:002015-06-01T19:02:32.819-07:00Interesting discussion. Sorry, I know it was a ty...Interesting discussion. Sorry, I know it was a typo, but I had to chuckle at "Marital arts may not have been designed for self-defence."<br /><br />That might explain the failure of my first marriage... :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14473417.post-50253474254192613972015-05-29T09:48:29.374-07:002015-05-29T09:48:29.374-07:00Marital arts may not have been designed for self-d...<br />Marital arts may not have been designed for self-defense. In any event they haven't been taught with that intent for the last 100 years, especially if we think about how people are likely to be attacked. It is a fun project to try and re-discover whatever self-defense may be there. But honestly, martial arts are not a good match for self-defense. <br />What is? Dance. Dance is the obvious choice, especially for women (but men would likely benefit even more). The methods don't need modification the way they do in martial arts, they are already designed for self-defense. Just add intent. Waltz his face into the wall. Fun.<br />The other half of self-defense is improvisational theater; developing, changing, taking control of, breaking, dropping, and re-writing social scripts on the spot. <br /><br /> Scott Park Phillipshttp://northstarmartialarts.com/blog1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14473417.post-75372721330065222242015-05-27T13:13:01.054-07:002015-05-27T13:13:01.054-07:00This thread's been an interesting conversation...This thread's been an interesting conversation. As a woman who's taught a few WSD classes the expectations and assumptions about women being able to or wanting to etc. work from the predator's instinct, in my experience, is all about the social conditioning. Women who beg off learning SD are sometimes caught between a social rock and survival hard place. Everything she's been taught says she shouldn't/can't. The news tells her she is a walking target. Live in that state of vulnerability consciously? To be blunt-that's brutal. <br /><br />WSD has to be honest. Real. Address the real threats and the issues that come with them (relationships with the attackers). WSD instructors have to be a walking YOU CAN invitation and be willing to be in the middle of whatever comes up during the course with egos checked at the door.<br /><br />I agree with some of the other remarks in this thread: women are as naturally hunters/predators as men at a DNA level. Social conditioning with personal life experiences destroys broad stroke generalizations-but we are kinda' stuck with them if we have socially-based dialogues. <br /><br />The barrier may be less about whether or not she wants to survive and more about whether or not the boardroom of socially controlling rules bouncing around inside her internal narrative will let her anchor into her instincts.<br /><br />just thoughts anyway...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14473417.post-2072090929601511562015-05-26T20:50:25.501-07:002015-05-26T20:50:25.501-07:00Willing to die is not a good characteristic for a ...Willing to die is not a good characteristic for a successful predator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14473417.post-79518496635291006422015-05-24T15:24:11.942-07:002015-05-24T15:24:11.942-07:00Why are 'overall statuses' important?
What...Why are 'overall statuses' important?<br />What do they mean? What does knowing them give you?<br />Neither seems to have anything to do with an individual meritocracy.<br /><br />Also, why does 'innate' and 'conditioned', make a difference in the context in which it is important to you? Which I am assuming is teaching women self defense ...?<br /><br />And as far as 'mind set towards violence as a way to solve problems' ... surely that's just a question of degree? What 'deserves' to be solved by violence? When IS it the only option?<br /><br />And as far as 'eager to kill and willing to die' - Same question - Is it not just a question of where the line is drawn?<br /><br />I see no issue in the 'eagerness' being associated with necessity, nor the willingness to die.<br />Perhaps it's just that women seek 'glory' less than men ....?<br /><br />Maijahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18264657619197571965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14473417.post-34258095327042370992015-05-24T09:47:21.456-07:002015-05-24T09:47:21.456-07:00Having been admonished several times for 'gene...Having been admonished several times for 'generalisations,' I get that point. But to use individual cases to prove overall statuses is the problem in reverse. For sure, the issue must be approached from both directions. We also must define 'natural' vs conditioned predators. My wife makes the case for the latter: "after a time (or single instance) of un-escapable verbal, emotional and/or physical abuse, a person has just had enough, fed up to the core, and will kick your ass." So, here is my definition of a natural predator: 1) a bio-genetic (vs conditioned) mind-set toward violence as problem-solving, 2) eager to kill and willing to die.Machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03517107275615739075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14473417.post-52756467747659527022015-05-23T19:15:17.129-07:002015-05-23T19:15:17.129-07:00I would like a definition of what 'natural pre...I would like a definition of what 'natural predator' means please.<br /><br />Is it about the ability to kill animals to eat? Farmers' wives have been cutting heads off chickens and slaughtering pigs since time immemorial. Women fish, and they hunt, as do the females of many species.<br /><br />Perhaps that's not what you mean.<br /><br />Is it about enjoying killing? Because I'm pretty sure there are no emotions involved in predation apart from 'lunch' ... at least in my terminology.<br /><br />Is it about the willingness to harm another human? Kill them?<br /><br />I know there have been really proficient women snipers for decades, and women have been protecting their children just like other species since day one.<br /><br />So what is the difference? Willingness to go to war? To fight?<br /><br />Perhaps that has more to do with social mores and opportunity than choice based on desire? <br /><br />As to women's willingness to monkey dance - Well I would agree that that is not as strong, but you said 'predator' not 'status seeker'.<br /><br />In the end I think we should start looking at individuals, not groups. I know plenty of men that have no willingness to fight/hunt/kill. In fact can think of nothing worse.<br /><br />Generalization is anathema to a true meritocracy - Something that I think should be the logical next step for humans. Have the person most suited, and best at the job, do the job. <br /><br />So, perhaps the real question you are asking is the one that Rory proposed - how to overcome the conditioning and invisible barriers that we, or society, has created that prevent us (especially women) from acting appropriately in ALL situations? Meaning, that when your life is on the line, taking out the threat IS the appropriate thing to do. It's OK. It is worthy. It's natural.<br /><br /><br /><br />Maijahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18264657619197571965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14473417.post-31449241278918347022015-05-23T07:56:36.505-07:002015-05-23T07:56:36.505-07:00Are women natural predators? Do they want to be?
...Are women natural predators? Do they want to be?<br /><br />I am only an N of 1, but I grew up in the woods playing with knives and guns and a variety of other weapons, tracking animals and roughhousing and getting hurt. I was a scrappy non-comforming tomboy of a girl raised by scrappy non-comforming people to be the scrappy woman that I am today. For this I am grateful, even though it's probably gotten me into almost as much trouble as it's gotten me out of.<br /><br />It isn't very useful to make generalizations about an entire gender. Remember there is a selection bias--the women who choose to take women's self defense classes will have certain things in common. Describe your target demographic and you will be able to ask more useful questions about their needs and desires.<br /><br />Also, what pax said!<br /><br />annAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14473417.post-73782077747279525332015-05-22T09:43:54.041-07:002015-05-22T09:43:54.041-07:00What Gillian said is spot on. We're most likel...What Gillian said is spot on. We're most likely to be assaulted not by a big scary hulking complete stranger, but rather by a relatively "normal"-looking person whom we've at least encountered previously, however briefly. (And even if it is a stranger assault, they may well look "normal".)<br /><br />For all its relative rareness and violence, in some ways I think the scary stranger assault is easier to fight, because more than any attack, it's got the neon sign flashing that this is a bad guy. At the other end of the spectrum, when the attacker is someone "normal"--especially if someone whom you know--there's a lot more room for doubt to cause hesitation or a reduced response. It's also psychologically harder to make a choice to injure someone you know, even knowing that their chosen conduct fully warrants such a response.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14473417.post-14443135646224547392015-05-22T08:14:58.919-07:002015-05-22T08:14:58.919-07:00"Our eyes are positioned in our heads in the ..."Our eyes are positioned in our heads in the same orientation as yours."<br /><br />The better to swing through trees with...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14473417.post-80334224800575674072015-05-22T06:37:31.635-07:002015-05-22T06:37:31.635-07:00Of course we are.
Our eyes are positioned in our ...Of course we are.<br /><br />Our eyes are positioned in our heads in the same orientation as yours.<br /><br />paxnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14473417.post-6039922066964141402015-05-21T22:16:49.454-07:002015-05-21T22:16:49.454-07:00Questions well defined by Rory but that I have str...Questions well defined by Rory but that I have struggled with for almost 50 years of designing, teaching and training martial arts, SD4W, defensive tactics to professionals and combat tactics is: are women, like men, natural predators? Maybe the better question would be, irrespective of the former question, do they WANT to be? Machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03517107275615739075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14473417.post-86226034354780221942015-05-21T11:23:05.289-07:002015-05-21T11:23:05.289-07:00Thank you Rory. My observations also. And techniqu...Thank you Rory. My observations also. And technique-based, 'fight harder' instruction of girls and women is 99% of most available SD4W. <br /><br />My observation is that instruction grounded in mental-emotional-psychological reality for women/girls is of little interest to or actively resisted by those attempting SD4W. It often appears that this reality is frustrating or incomprehensible to them. It is certainly ignored.<br />All your comments are so valid. And almost all those appear to present stranger-based assaults, though that may not be your intention. <br /><br />But we are overwhelmingly verbally and physically assaulted by those we know and have been trained and socialized to trust (to varying degrees). So the obstacles and barriers we carry in our hearts and minds are even higher and more solid. And these appear to be either invisible to instructors or ignored because those teachers cannot figure out how to help us overcome.<br /><br />We are socialized to be agreeable, deferential compliant, persuadeable, trusting and supportive - which may _look_ very different in different 'tribes' and social/family groups. Loud, tough, mouthy girls/women are also often deferential, compliant, obedient in ways that are not obvious to outsiders to their communities.<br /><br />When the day comes that instructors choose to observe and listen to ordinary girls/women describe this 'ordinary' threat, harassment, violence and the socialization that blocks their resistance, and use these insights, SD4W will transform. <br /><br />You are helping greatly to bring that day about. Please do more. <br />w/deep appreciation and respect,<br />AAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09163315064229728610noreply@blogger.com