When I look at my pursuit of mastery and proficiency in the various arts of my life I see more clearly now that truly a very small percentage of what is between me and mastery (meaning a high level of proficiency) is technical ability. Obviously technical ability is essential to mastery but the barriers that it presents are often most Read More …
(A version of this post was originally posted on the Duello.TV blog) In swordplay: Your sword is getting set aside while you attack. Your parry is not succeeding in closing the line. In dance: You’re failing at a lift. Your follow is misreading your lead. You’re unable to complete a smooth turn or spin. Poor results with a finish or Read More …
I had an interesting discussion with a friend and dance partner the other day. I asked her if she considered herself a “dancer” or “someone who dances”. She said the latter because she felt that saying that she’s a “dancer” implies a professional relationship with the pursuit. Though I’m writing this post from the perspective of being a dancer, I Read More …
On the way home from a big fencing tournament last year, one of my students who was riding shotgun, feeling suitably exhausted, turned to me and asked “How are you so awake still? How do you have so much energy?” There are many reasons I believe that I have a lot of energy but one of them is simply that Read More …
“When others shine. I gain.” This is a shift I made in my own personal philosophy recently and it felt important to write more about it. I believe in choosing your philosophy. I feel that all transformation requires a shift at the deepest level. Your philosophical view of the world and then the strategy you embody based on that view. Read More …
I abhor the idea that love must be symmetrical: “The one who loves the least, has the most control.” Perhaps this connection of love and control comes from an unhealthy relationship with love. One where we ask love to take over our lives, to rescue us from ourselves, to fill all of our holes and hurts, and then rely on Read More …
My people share with me on the deepest levels. They share their fears and sorrows, their funny stories and foibles, their biggest failures and their biggest joys. My people know me and are known to me. They see me through all my bullshit and love me anyway. Even when I try to hold them out, there is little I can Read More …
Sometimes change is just not fast enough for me. I have an impatient soul that goes along with the rigorous demands I make of myself. Like many I want to see immediate results to affirm the direction that I’m moving in. A part of me hungers for the get rich quick scheme rather than reaping the rewards of long-term investment. Read More …
I had a terrible night dancing just recently. A night where I felt completely disconnected from dancing – something that I truly am passionate about. I felt awkward, bored, frustrated, and completely in my head; disconnected from my whole. This is not a new feeling. I have experienced this before with swordplay. It’s something that I talk with my students Read More …
In Reinventing Collapse, Dmitry Orlav talks about how those of us who live in the Western world have sacrificed meaningful relationships to the service economy. By living in a world where every thing that we need can be purchased, where politeness is part of the transaction, and money is the main currency, our requirement to create ‘need’ based relationships with Read More …