To pre - emptively strike Jamie, welcome.



http://www.clubbchimera.com/

regards,

Den

Thanks, Den. Yes, the website is a good start with me. Also have a blog for my written material www.jamieclubb.blogspot.com

Jamie,

it will be a pleasure learning more about you, just read your bio, im blown away, first I saw of you was analyzing hand techniques dvd, cant recall title off hand sorry

Thanks for joining our currently small community,

care to tell us when you got in to scepicism, or has it always been in your blood?

Regards,

Den.

cross training in the martial arts, - the anatomy of combat
cross training in the martial arts, - the anatomy of hand strikes

hey jamie

welcome to dens second home

craig

Hi guys,

It is great to be here. Thanks for the info on the DVDs. Just for the record, we re-made the first one after the leaps we made with the second one.

Many different martial arts, after they establish themselves, draw an association with a philosophy, culture and sometimes a religion. The closest philosophy I see underpinning my "Process" of CCMA is scepticism. In fact, I see it as the philosophy taken by all the great "shakers" in martial arts history whether or not they were conscious of the fact. Scepticism is not a culture or a religion and it has no dogma or politics. All it does is prompt people to question. Sadly it often gets confused with cynicism, which is a negative outlook. Scepticism for me is liberating and very positive because you are constantly moving forward.

I guess my first proper introduction to scepticism occurred on my tenth birthday. An "aunt" of my mine from the circus side of my life bought me a "throwaway" educational book called "The Hamlyn Book of Facts and Fallacies". I loved it. I had discovered myths and legends at school and was a big fan of them, but I was always thirsty for knowledge and this book dealt with a different type of myth altogether. It dealt with ideas that many people still believed today, despite being disproven by historical and scientific research. Years later and I still have the book and, as is the nature of scepticism, a few of the facts in the book have been improved upon and also disproven.

Perhaps having a circus background also helped me to be critical. After all, the circus culture has a fair amount of "charlatanism" contained within it for entertainment's sake. In the martial arts world it amused me how people were wowed by the fakir tricks many a "Shaolin Monk" did through channelling their "chi" when I had seen the same feats being pulled off by individuals who pretty far off the Buddha's path to enlightenment.

I am pretty moderate in most of my views, but I am a militant individualist. I think the scariest thing in the world is mindlessness and you can pin some of history's worst atrocities on "herd instinct". Scepticism is in perfect harmony with individualism and this pretty much shapes the way I coach my students.

Well, I hope that covers it ;-)

Wow,

what a brilliant summation of scepticism and why we shoud all take a big dose!

Happy to hear your glad to be here in our small community and I shall also look out for that book you mentioned.

correction - just ordered the hamlyn book of facts and fallacies

Warm regards,

Den.

Hi Jamie,

Great to have another skeptic aboard.

Rob.

Jamie im getting a second hand 1985 edition,

want to see the book that set your course

I also ordered about 3 michael shermer books at same time, including the "Why people believe weird things".

Shall put that top of my reading list.

You may have noticed I placed the official Michael Shermer website in our links.

Feel free to add links to any quality" sceptic sites.

Regards,

Den.