Shezbeth - Zombie Ninja | Sword Play - an innerview with Christine

[Hermit]

Hermit says:

In order to give food to those in need, one must first know how to cultivate one's own garden.

(And here I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to find a place, or fit back into, this whole forum thing!)

Gardening hermits have a very simple calculous to determine if someone who is in a hole has dug the hole.

If person has shovel, if person has dirty hands, then chances are person is digger of (w)hole.

As I said to you my friend: the best part of this video is it made an up until now 2 dimensional friendship that much more three dimensional. We must Skype. And conspire.

Gong. Etc.

[Shezbeth]

Friggin' A right stretching,... the health benefits of doing so are many and great, especially if one operates in a field, vocation, or profession that demands labor.

Personally, I find that people are in many ways predisposed by their schooling to see stretching as dumb, silly, and unnecessary, and the only time they see it any other way is AFTER an injury, or by direct instruction from doctors, trainers, etc.

I stretch all the time. Minimally (~15min) every day, moderately (30+) about 2x a week, and heavily (over an hour) on weekends.

I suppose - and this is entirely conjecture - that part of the problem is that the practice of 'listening-to/feeling' one's body has gone 'out of style',... in fact I notice that increasingly haphazard and self-defeating AND -destroying behaviors are becoming increasingly the norm. It is as though one is not 'cool' for giving a crap about their physiological function.

[Blue Rising]

I loved this video! Of course, you already know that Shezbeth. You struck a chord in me a while back, somewhere else, when you brought up the concept of the opponent. I see certain areas I grapple with, and my emotions get sucked in and twisted up. Seeing these areas as simply opponents to learn from was a huge aha and helped me immensely in pulling back a taking a look at them objectively. Well, subjectively objectively.

I see the Ninja tools as very similar to the tools used in other disciplines. That is what I look for, the commonalities. I guess, one reason I do this is so I have a context to understand your message. Your message, your perspective, your...I guess your lifestyle and your chosen discipline...contain metaphors out the wazoo and you inspire me to reach. Plus, your enthusiasm is awesome!

And apprehension rather than fear? That's a good one, right there. I have started looking at whether I feel fear or apprehension so that I can identify it properly. My goal is to rest in the apprehension and get rid of the fear. So that was really helpful, too.

I'll stop now, haha. I could go on and on. Mainly, though, I wanted to thank you both for doing this "innerview" as Christine called it. I'm glad you plan on doing more.

[Shezbeth]

I am glad you enjoyed the production. There will be more, and I am glad to hear your reception (I've been getting alot of 'My brain hurts' comments from individuals).

You are correct. The tools of the Zonbi Nin are comparable, parallel, and corresponding to those one is likely to find in 'classic' metaphysics or occult traditions. This is because while the specifics are generally different, the overall dynamic is similar and/or the same. Moreover, I suspect that some/many ninjas of antiquity WERE practicing metaphysicians in their own right (Shinto-style), and that the inclusion of Metaphysics into this Shu is (IF I'm correct) a return to previously extant practices.

Plus, each tool is effective at braining (or combating!) a zombie.

[Pris]

Friggin' A right stretching,... the health benefits of doing so are many and great, especially if one operates in a field, vocation, or profession that demands labor.

Personally, I find that people are in many ways predisposed by their schooling to see stretching as dumb, silly, and unnecessary, and the only time they see it any other way is AFTER an injury, or by direct instruction from doctors, trainers, etc.

I stretch all the time. Minimally (~15min) every day, moderately (30+) about 2x a week, and heavily (over an hour) on weekends.

I suppose - and this is entirely conjecture - that part of the problem is that the practice of 'listening-to/feeling' one's body has gone 'out of style',... in fact I notice that increasingly haphazard and self-defeating AND -destroying behaviors are becoming increasingly the norm. It is as though one is not 'cool' for giving a crap about their physiological function.

How many injuries occur because of stretching?

I've heard that stretching can actually loosen you up in such a way to predispose you to all kinds of injuries that wouldn't, otherwise, happen.

Not stretching... think of it like wearing a corset.
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[Shezbeth]

I think you mean 'because of improper stretching'. ^_~

I just today posted a .PDF file to Inphinet that details a comprehensive stretching routine with detailed instructions, diagrams, the muscles involved, etc. I'm having intermittent browser issues with there so I don't have the link, but its at the bottom of my latest post.

Beyond that, I can testify from my own experience that many of the 'common' stretches (the kind they DO teach in school) are at best, minimally effective. For example, when stretching my calves I begin with the 'pushing the wall' stance, but then transition into what I call the 'Falcon Punch', which involves twisting the leg and ankle slightly and focusing one's body weight to loosen the sides of the calf, which conventional stretches usually fail to effectively stretch.

Don't worry, I'll be doing stretching videos too. ^_^

Another element to it - and this part IS dangerous if not done carefully - is that while stretches will loosen the muscles, they do little to INCREASE one's flexibility. Admittedly, this is/can be where people might injure themselves, but the trick to avoiding that is to GO SLOW. Most stretches take me about a minute/side, because one should NOT stretch in a hurry, and one should ABSOLUTELY listen to their body as they employ these!

I had one guy complain about his thighs, so I showed him the thigh stretch. His response was "I know that one" and did it for a second and a half each side, and then complained that it didn't help. <sigh>

[Pris]

I think you mean 'because of improper stretching'. ^_~

I just today posted a .PDF file to Inphinet that details a comprehensive stretching routine with detailed instructions, diagrams, the muscles involved, etc. I'm having intermittent browser issues with there so I don't have the link, but its at the bottom of my latest post.

Lol! 'Proper' as opposed to 'improper'? Maybe there is no 'proper'... Well... all I know is I always hated stretching in high school. My ankles were prone to twisting and, interestingly, we always 'loosened' those up. I imagine my ankles haven't changed much over the years. Needlesstosay, I don't do much stretching other than when I wake up in bed.
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[Shezbeth]

That makes sense, and alot of school teachers are questionable in their authority WRT physical fitness. When I say 'proper', I mean the British sense, where the act is conducive rather than non.

Another important element to physiological maintenance and emergence is the act of therapeutic and/or energetic massage. Stretching is wonderful for loosening up, increasing blood/fluid circulation (not only to the muscles, but to the BRAIN by way of), etc., but massage can make great gains as well. In particular I was lucky enough that when growing up my (first) sensei taught (those who listened) about shiatsu; primarily for personal maintenance, but those can be utilized in combat as well.

[Pris]

That makes sense, and alot of school teachers are questionable in their authority WRT physical fitness. When I say 'proper', I mean the British sense, where the act is conducive rather than non.

Another important element to physiological maintenance and emergence is the act of therapeutic and/or energetic massage. Stretching is wonderful for loosening up, increasing blood/fluid circulation (not only to the muscles, but to the BRAIN by way of), etc., but massage can make great gains as well. In particular I was lucky enough that when growing up my (first) sensei taught (those who listened) about shiatsu; primarily for personal maintenance, but those can be utilized in combat as well.

Whatever rows your boat.


Me, I like to find out what's under the boat.


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