The Journey
Hi. This is a blog dedicated to my journey in martial arts. This phrase, "martial arts", is to me an enormous field, and is a passion of mine. In its entirety it's comprised of (to me): physical self-improvement and mentality, survival, hand to hand combat, firearms/ranged fighting, certain specialized skills, leadership, and strategy. One could spend their entire lives perfecting one of these aspects, but to me, a complete understanding is most desirable. I hope to be proficient in all of these someday. In the meantime, one can only continue to work hard at it, and take the journey one step at a time.
Seven Stars
The name Seven Stars comes from the "big dipper" constellation. It is said the founder of the Chinese martial art of Mantis Boxing once said that he wished all those who could see the seven stars could learn his style. It obviously was and, when taught/learned properly, still is a very complete and ever-evolving set of fighting principles, famed for its use of "hooking" hands to dominate the stand-up grappling aspect of unarmed combat. While I too hope that all who are interested in my musings will find this blog, I am no master at fighting. But to me the Seven Stars also correspond to the aforementioned facets of the martial way.
What I'll Be Posting
So enough fancy language and introduction... what exactly am I going to post on here? Well, in short, I will mostly be posting martial arts related thoughts such as: reviews on weapons and gear, thoughts on specific techniques, research on different fighting styles, war history, etc.etc. Sometimes it will be in proper, formal language, and sometimes I might get lazier and just type as I talk. Remember, these are my thoughts and opinions.
Why the hell... ?
Good question. Why would I spend the time to do this? I intend to create for myself a training manual. But unlike the old Chinese training manuals which were sometimes cryptic or often understandable only to those who have progressed deeply in the style, this will be an easy to follow, comprehensive manual of the conditioning, mentality, context, skills, principles, gear, weapons, tactics, and strategies of a modern day "warrior". To repeat the jargon above, all "seven stars" with be presented. The creation of this manual is a laborious process of understanding, ability, and note-taking, and I figure if I can gather my thoughts on a blog, I might even get some useful suggestions, criticism, and feedback.
So thanks for reading this blog! Comment if you'd like... but keep it respectful and constructive.
