C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

   Essays and Thoughts on  The Dokkodo Part Fourteen DO Not Pursue the Taste of Good Food Apparently not everyone agrees with Musashi, as the Netflix tv show "Samurai Gourmet" is all about tasty food! As with the previous maxim, here we have another seemingly  straightforward maxim that must be - yet again - an example of how ascetic  Musashi was, and (of course!) asceticism is not something that we can abide by in our modern world.  So that must mean that Musashi was a little off , right?  And since he lived such a long time ago, it must mean that we should only "take what we find useful, but reject the rest" (to paraphrase Bruce Lee)? I think the criticism of Musashi's ideas, because they are seen as both (a) ascetic and (b) "ancient," misses a couple of key points. First, let's tackle his "asceticism."  I don't  think there is any reason to NOT follow an ascetic life in the modern world.  In fact, the reason you may want to follow ...

  Essays and Thoughts on  The Dokkodo Part Thirteen Be Indifferent to Where You Live Ronin at dusk Compared to some of the more philosophical musings in The Dokkodo , this one just seems as if its straightforward stoic advice.  But is it?  Could there actually be more to this maxim than what is on the surface?  I think the answer is yes... and no. Many musings in The Dokkodo - this one, and the others of a similar bent - or much of the advice given in The Book of Five Rings   is  meant to be philosophical, while, at the same time and without distracting from the philosophical aspect of it, are also supposed to be straightforward.  You "practice" this maxim by doing exactly what Musashi says to do.  When you do this, the living philosophy  of it begins to make itself known to you.  And everything appears to take on the appearance of what the Buddhists call "One Taste."  Your life - your actions and your thoughts, and all that f...

If you are starting out in strength training, and interested in some sort of competitive strength sports, how do you know what strength sport?  Have you ever wondered why you're stronger than other guys your size?  Or why you can gain muscle, but have a very hard time building strength?  Then read on... this is YOUR article. Embrace Your Genetics...  And Gain Like Never Before! Part One   Many athletes, fighters, lifters, and bodybuilders don't succeed because they don't learn to embrace their genetics.  For a long time, I didn't embrace my genetics, and it cost me.  When I was a young man, for instance, I was very skilled at martial arts, but always small.  At some point, I decided that I wanted to look more like Arnold and less like Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee was always the look I had "went" for when training, and this was actually smart if I would have been mature enough (I was only a teenager) to pay attention to my skills, and internal clues that w...