Friday, October 31, 2014

Sun Tzu and Bruce Lee

Friday Knight News



"To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting." Sun Tzu


This week features the third to the last fight I had in high school, and what I learned about myself from it. As a bit of background when I was new to this high school, I had a conflict with a young man that was a little taller than me and had a bad case of acne. We never had any classes together, but for one reason or another he would always try to sucker punch me as we passed each other in the hall while walking opposite directions. The halls were jam-packed and at the time he had first struck me the press of the crowd had kept me moving further away down the hall. He had been able to reach me by jumping up onto the shoulders of the people in between us and striking me as he passed as if he had been stage diving.

I looked for him during my lunchtime, but we obviously had separate lunch shifts. We only had two cafeterias in our school, but I had checked out both of them after his initial attack and had not found him in either one. This practice of his however, continued on the next day. He was easy to spot as he was taller than the majority of the other teenagers around us, myself included. I tried to remain nonchalant as if I hadn't seen him coming. As I spotted a glimmer of movement with my peripheral vision, I threw my spear hand in return; it would both deflect his punch and strike him at the same time.

My spear hand thrust was one of my favorite techniques for self-defense as it had a longer reach which came in handy as I was facing a taller opponent. I also had been doing several hundred fingertip push-ups a day for several years at this point in my life. So when my spear hand reached the thoracic pressure point (nerve cluster), it had a devastating effect on his demeanor. He collapsed to his knees gasping for breath while holding his chest. His buddies just stared at me and I turned and went to my class thinking that this was the end of it. However, his same attack was performed several times over the next few weeks without deviation other than minute adjustments in the attackers attempt to sneak up on me. I had answered each time with the same results. He and his cohorts began referring to me as iron finger.

One day he finally had enough and he ordered me to stop hitting him after his last attempt. It seemed odd to me that the fellow on his knees with tears running down his face was giving me orders on how to treat him. I was surprised at how much animosity he was able to inflect in his statement. My reply was for him to to simply stop trying to punch me. After that I had no further trouble with them until the last day of school.

On that day these three bullies sat down right across for me with the backs to the teacher that was monitoring the study hall. They made idle chitchat and threats which I tried to ignore. I was also not pleased with the fact that this was to be my last day at the school, and that I would be moving across state for my senior year, but they didn't know it. Eventually they pulled out squirt guns filled with toilet water and placed them on the table. I had seen guns and knives in school before, but no one had ever been shot or seriously cut or stabbed. I had one friend that had been stabbed in the hand and I knew of another fellow who had received a defensive slash to his palm. So when they pulled squirt guns filled with toilet water, I was both amused and apprehensive.

I was pleased that our little dispute had not been blown so out of proportion that someone would get killed over it, namely me. On the other hand, I wasn't happy with the prospect of having toilet water shot to my face or the promise of a beating from the three of them once we were outside of the school building. Still they knew that the threat of toilet water in the face would not stop me from jumping across the table if they fired on me. But as the last minutes ticked down to the final bell they became bolder.

When a young man sitting a few seats down from me told them to back off, they fired a few squirts into his face. He immediately backed down as he wiped his face with his sleeve and didn't say anything else as he didn't want to get jumped after school. His backing down made them even bolder and so when the leader of the group pointed his plastic pistol at me he was surprised when I did a gun disarming technique that I had learned in the dojo with wooden pistols. I was successful with my technique, but the movement attracted the attention of the principal who was making his way up the hall on his way to his office.

The principal was famous for his one-handed swats that had knocked people across his desk. He had reportedly worked as a bouncer during the summer sessions at one of our cities nightclubs when he was just the vice principal. I laid the squirt gun on the table, but no one reached out to claim it as he had already grabbed two of the young ruffians by the back of the neck. They squirmed in pain as he asked me how I was doing; I replied that I was fine.

He then asked the two young men in his grip who owned the squirt gun that was on the table. The third kid sat there silently as if he wasn't involved. The leader of the group explained that they were just going to use the squirt guns while staying over at a friend's house after school. The principal told them that if they put their guns away, including during the ride back on the bus, he would allow them to keep the squirt guns. Since it was the last day of school, and they agreed to his generous offer.

As soon as he began to walk away, the leader leaned forward and whispered to me that they were still going to kick my ass once school was over. I instantly recognized his true intentions by the conviction in his voice. We simultaneously reached for the squirt gun, but I came up with it. I fired a few quick squirts right over the ringleader's shoulder, hitting the principal dead center in the middle of his back as he walked away. The water plastered his clean white shirt against his back as he froze in mid-stride.

I dropped the pistol into the ringleader's lap. When the principal turned around, he witnessed the ringleader holding the squirt gun in his hands. The principal grabbed him by the back of the neck and lifted him out of the seat and began to drag him down the hall to the office. The ringleader objected that it wasn't him that had shot. The principal asked me if I had shot him and I replied with a question. I didn't want to lie to this man, so instead I asked him if I was the type of person to do that kind of thing? Without a word the principal continued dragging the ringleader with him.

The last thing the ringleader said to me as he was drug off was "It's not over, wait till next year!"

This reminded me of when Bruce Lee had been asked about his style in the movie "Enter the Dragon". His character had replied "My style? You can call it the art of fighting without fighting." I felt as if I had learned a lesson from both Sun Tzu and Bruce Lee during this encounter. They say all combat is deception, my first sensei called it leading the mind. He was a professional magician after retiring from the army. From this I experience I understood how to control the perspective of others to reveal the truth and how to fight without fighting.




“Memorizing and regurgitating Bruce Lee’s words does not increase one’s intelligence. However, adapting his thoughts for one’s own actions gives life to his words." Linda Lee Cadwell

I am currently writing a book entitled, "When Worlds Collide" (A Guide to Self-Discovery). It is a book about how to find the kintsugi process in our lives. A way to fill the cracks with gold.

“The world breaks everyone, then some become strong at the broken places.” Ernest Hemingway


Writing fiction reveals truths that are often too painful to say any other way. The following are links to some of my Kindle version books from the "Dream Walker" series. They are all part of an inspirational story about perseverance and the values of the heart. My stories are about martial arts adventures that are intertwined with paranormal or supernatural events. The following links are to the Kindle version books from the "Dream Walker” series. Our adventurers find themselves on a quest where they are confronted with both conspiracy and mystery. Their challenge is to unite their mind and body skills together utilizing what they have learned in the martial arts with the transcendental power of dream mediation. They attempt to do this while they are trying to make a life for themselves and elude those that seek to use and control them.

Conversations with a Sage (Book 1 of the Dream-Walker)

Conversations with a Sage: This explores Xander Davidson's early encounters with the mysterious fog like Dream Walking martial art sages. He ponders if they are real or if they are only remnants of his dreams. He mainly keeps this secret world to himself as he tries to copes with abuse, growing up without support or guidance and the mystery of his family's past. 

Xander and the Assassins Gift (Book 2 of the Dream-Walker)

The Assassins Gift: Xander Davidson struggles with the conspiracy of his family and the group that is actively trying to manipulate him to join them or die. The young Dream Walkers learns an early lesson to be careful about whom they let into their circle.


Warriors of Perception (Book 3 of the Dream-Walker)

Warriors of Perception: Xander Davidson and his band of friends embark on a mission to free themselves from their oppressors. They bravely face the challenge all the while vying for the right moment to turn the tables.


Jace Lee The Shift (Book 4 of the Dream-Walker)

Jace Lee The Shift: We find a new apprentice, Adam, that is fighting for his life. He is struggling to understand the amazing skills of his mentor, Jace Lee; a younger man that has trained under Xander Davidson. All the while his mentor attempts to reconcile the fact that his skills do not match up with the other Dream Walkers.


Jace Lee No Agenda (Dream Walker Book 5)

Jace Lee No Agenda: Jace Lee attempts to find himself on a self-imposed vision quest of sorts. Instead he finds himself being stalked by the same group that had previously sought after his teacher, (Xander Davidson). Instead of mastering his odd Dream Walking skills he finds love and the potential loss of his powers.

Jace Lee and the Tutelage of Ming Wu: Dream Walker 6 

Jace Lee The Tutelage of Ming Wu: Jace Lee rejoins his teacher Xander Davidson as they cope with a possible combined threat (the mysterious), Ming Wu and the Council that has continuously monitored the Dream Walkers.       

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