Heart, Soul, and Body

In changing oneself for the better, first one must know what exactly is “oneself”.

http://neoneocon.com/2013/05/18/the-scandals-the-public-and-the-left-believe-it/#comment-597594

This is why people understand things in the order of instincts, emotions, and then logic. The first is always truer than the second, yet the second is also truer than the third.

The Japanese call it ai or love. Religious believers say it is loyalty and love of God. Warriors speak of the moment separating life and death, where truth outsines the redness of blood and the blackness of hate/fear. Yet it is the intellectual that speaks of science, of creating/destroying life for material gain, of laws and how to game those laws.

Martial Arts 101

After a decade of searching out truths and secrets in the world of hand to hand conflict, I define martial arts as the warrior’s way, different from the hero’s journey in epic fantasy. A warrior merely has to have enough martial prowess to defend themselves and maybe some people around them. A hero often does similar things, but also leads nations, various groups of people, and inspires them directly or indirectly. Thus a warrior is more concerned about their own path and not the path of society, nations, or other people. The martial part is self explanatory as the methods of war. Whether one fights one person or a thousand, the scale is the only thing that changes, not the nature of reality. The “art”, however, is harder to pin down as it is an abstract, personal thing. What would be a good way to define art so that a warrior may strive to obtain that goal? Are they to write, make Hollywood films, and thus become an “artist”?

This goes all the way back to creation, the Big Bang, or basic metaphysics: what is reality, what is creation, and what is destruction. Artistic power comes merely from the human imagination taking shape an idea and using human resources to create that idea unto reality, given form and shape just as the Earth and Sun was given form and shape. Create that which did not exist before and make it exist. Truly a divinely inspired feat.

An artist thus creates. But a killer destroys. A killer in one second, can wipe out the work of untold decades or even centuries of human hard work and belief. Combine those two different powers together and you get something that can protect: a warrior, defender, protector, ruthless seeker of justice. A martial artist should be able to wield both the powers of creation and destruction to be complete, to know that they are on the right path in life and death. What they then do with that power… is open to interpretation on an individual level. It is certainly possible for the wielders to use it for good, but it is also possible to use it for evil.

A martial artist thus should be able to kill anyone they meet on the street, within hand range or 21 feet if one can run quickly. On the other hand, a martial artist should also be able to save humans from being killed near them. If this sounds similar to the citizen defenders of a nation, good samaritans, citizens defending their ideals and community, it should. The concept of a true gentleman planning for how to kill everyone in the same room as him, is perhaps ironic or contradictory, unless one realized that human systems function based upon a combination of life and death, order and chaos, creation and destruction. One cannot protect everything in existence, thus we prioritize ourselves, our precious loved ones, more. That inevitably means that one will eventually have to decide whether killing the enemy is worth what they are protecting. There are many methods, tools, and techniques people can use to achieve their goals. My purpose is to cover the ones that martial artists can and should use.

Since I began with metaphysics, we’ll continue on that topic. What are the metaphysics of martial artists? It’s not enough to say “imagine a result and method of defeating someone, and you’ll make it true”. How will you make it true? What methods are you able to imagine? How would you create the result in reality from your imaginations?

This isn’t a malleable physics universe we live in, so we cannot circumvent the laws of physics and divinity by merely willing something into existence. Magic, it seems, is out of the reach of mere warriors. So without using magic, what can we accomplish and with what?

There are two general forces, based upon origin, that warriors may use: internal and external forces. To use a modern example, a car functions on its internal combustion engine plus the fuel. This would be the internal power source. The external power source would then be some guy outside who you intimidated into pushing your car for a payment. When that power runs out, it runs out. You can force it to work more, but you won’t get much afterwards by beating that dead horse. The internal power, however, only runs out when you run out of fuel. You just refuel or carry the fuel with you. It’s also more efficient, as internal power is designed to work with your engine, but that external force guy was just roped in from some chain gang to do your bidding, he probably is starved and has weak musculature to begin with.

After the origin of the power source, we now come to how to shape it. Raw power, in itself, doesn’t really do us any good. What we want is to shape the power. We can either shape it into a line or a circle. In the beginning, power exists as a point source, it has no vector, intent, or design. It is just there. To use it, we must give it form and thus function. What then, is the function of a line or circle?

The line can be used as a needle, spear, bullet by warriors. No matter what form the power takes or what technology aids in its construction, the human mind is the original source of the idea, function, and inspiration. Never forget that. A needle pierces skin that cannot be pierced by one’s fist. One’s fist can break through wood, but not concrete and brick. Why is that so? It is purely a matter of power and surface area. One pound of power applied to the needle means it is focused on that pindrop of a surface area on your skin, thus surpassing your skin’s natural resistance. A fist is a broader area, but is dense enough in the bone structure, if supplied with enough power, to break through soft rigid wood that cannot run away from you. Yet, brick and concrete is too “rigid” and thus its resistance surpasses your human frame. You may have the power of a giant, but that would merely destroy your human body instead of the wall. Force follows the path of least resistance and breaks that which is weaker first. The line is thus the shortest distance between two points and penetrates through all enemies. The ideal is to focus the power from a single point in space into a line, without expanding its radius. A god like ability that can pierce through the Earth and Moon. In more practical terms, warriors train their body/mind/spirit to replicate the same results as a spear or bullet when destroying their enemies. Of course, one wonders why one doesn’t just use a spear or firearm then. That gets us back to the “internal vs external” dichotomy. When one relies upon external tools and powers, they can be taken away from you, exhausted, or destroyed. That which belongs to you, your mind, your body, your nerves, cannot be destroyed or taken away, without also destroying you yourself. Thus a warrior fights to the death even while naked, for until one kills the warrior, he is still 100% capable of destroying all enemies.

The second form we may shape power into is the circle. In other words, infinite rotation around a point following the curvature of pi. One can see the example of such power manifested in spinning tops, spinning saws, and centrifugal force. In practical matters, a warrior can use a source of power to rotate an enemy’s head 360 degrees. Or at least 180. Just depends on whether the internal or external power source is enough. Let’s say some kid pushed his cousin from a diving plank, and the cousin cratered in the bottom of the pool and died. In terms of the origins of the power exerted, most of it was due to an external force, gravity, and the only internal force came from the arm push. Many people consider certain things impossible in martial arts because they refuse to use either external or internal forces that can actually get the job done. That is a human limitation, not a limitation on the powers that exist.

Rotation becomes a hard force to penetrate with a line once it takes shape. A person can thus rotate their torso and avoid a linear strike. If the attack is coming from the front, one merely has to rotate to another side to avoid it. Tanks can rotate their turrets to apply their main gun, while a human can use the same trick to align their powerful and quick straight attacks on a moving target. The nature of the circle being a sustained infinite rotating area, makes visualizing human movements that are the same, difficult. It is just as useful and as powerful as the line in the end.

After a person has learned to visualize, imagine, and create in reality the forms for these powers, they will make quick progress. No technique is inaccessible, no method is impossible, and no falsified con job is hidden from the person that has mastered these two shapes, forms, or formulations of the origin source. One could say that these are the principles by which millions of techniques are built upon, one way or another.

Afterwards there are refinements, different ways of doing the same thing based upon individual preference. There is also the combination of powers, where a line and a circle is used together. This is not a “new” shape or power, merely a combination of old ones that already exist. Thus the spiral combines the power and utility of the line and the circle, to form the drill, the blackhole, the whirlpool, the tornado. The DNA helix contains the information and the power of life creation, through the spiral shape.

In the beginning, there was non existence. After non existence was creation and then existence. From existence, we understand the nature of creation and destruction. From the dual powers of creation and destruction, infinite and divine, we form two ways: 1 and 0: the line and the circle of Martial Arts 101. The binary code of creation and destruction must be analyzed and learned first, before a warrior can walk the path true for them.

What Choices can Change the Nature of a Man?

If asked what martial art style or choice I would make that would apply to my entire life, my answer would be something like this.

Something that doesn’t put borders on the mind to box it in. Out of the Box Thinking, i.e.

EDIT: As for “why”… I only have a limited time on this planet and I’m not going to spend it on inefficient ways of learning. I’m not a believer in the phrase that “it doesn’t matter how you got to a destination, so long as the destination is the same”. Death is a destination all mortals share, whether they are an organic life on a planet or the stars in the heavens. But how they “get there” defines the nature of their existence. It also matters if a person gets the right answer on a test because they “guessed” or because they “knew”. I’d prefer not to “guess”.

When I was younger and felt the hot blood of impatience keenly, I cared only about achieving results. The faster I got to the end, the better. That is a benefit of ambition and determination, as well as pragmatism, but the more I learn, the more I realized that the end result becomes meaningless if I took the wrong path to it. The Way and the Path must be correct or the end result becomes an illusion, a mirage. Something people fooled themselves into thinking was worth it.

There are many ways to nitpick things and say that someone is doing something wrong. This often happens when our goals conflict and are mutually exclusive. But when our final destination is the same, it seems very pointless to waste energy arguing about trivial methods and means. Yet, paradoxically, that kind of argument and contention is required to determine the Way. Because not every “method” will achieve the goal. Or to borrow a pattern from quantum mechanics, every new path leads to a new destination, even though they look like they are all the same. The only true equality comes from two particles quantum entangled, being of the same identity. The fact that in one world a butterfly flapped its wings and a hurricane happened, and in another world a butterfly waited and the hurricane didn’t happen, is very important.

If the destination of human life is all the same, death, then it becomes critically important what we choose to do before then. And if each individual has their own destination by feat of their own choices, then it becomes even more important that each choose wisely.

While I won’t prejudge their choice (of styles and martial arts) to be wrong, people often try to avoid making decisions for themselves by dumping it on someone else. They find a teacher or a master to follow, because they are not confident in their own abilities. Eventually every child must set off on their own. Eventually. The sooner people learn to think for themselves, without copying the ideas and thoughts of others, the sooner they will be prepared to make their own journey.

“To be honest I do not think whether they live or die is the matter at hand. Life is not always better than death. It is not that simple. Living and being made to live are very different things. What matters is what the person chooses of their own free will. Whether or not it can be achieved or how difficult it is.

I want you to think about this: imagine if what matters most to you was taken away against your will. If that is indeed worth less than your life” -M, Meiya

“I would rather die having spoken in my manner, than speak in your manner and live. For neither in war nor yet in law ought any man use every way of escaping death. For often in battle there is no doubt that if a man will throw away his arms, and fall on his knees before his pursuers, he may escape death, if a man is willing to say or do anything. The difficulty, my friends, is not in avoiding death, but in avoiding unrighteousness; for that runs deeper than death.”-Apology Plato/Socrates

Motivational Philosophy

More or less.

I will return 1000 fold the damage he does to me.

He either fears his fate too much,
Or his desert is small,
Who fears to put it to the touch,
And win or lose it all.-Montrose

“To be honest I do not think whether they live or die is the matter at hand. Life is not always better than death. It is not that simple. Living and being made to live are very different things. What matters is what the person chooses of their own free will. Whether or not it can be achieved or how difficult it is.

I want you to think about this… imagine if what matters most to you was taken away against your will. If that is indeed worth less than your life”

-Mitsurugi, Meiya in ML Alternative

“Cause pain before you injure. Injure before you maim. Maim before you kill. And if you must kill, make it a clean kill. Squeeze every drop of life from the opponent. Because life is so precious, it cannot be wasted, even in death.”

“Let him cut your skin, and you cut his flesh. Let him cut your flesh, and you cut his bones. Let him cut your bones, and you cut off his life.”

Death is lighter than a feather, duty heavier than mountains.

Yes, people have believed and acted on such things, as much as the modern world finds such ideas and precepts alien and incomprehensible.

Freedom: Comparison of Different Human Endeavours

A lot of people wondered in 2004 whether people, Arabs or Americans, really wanted freedom or not. They even questioned what that was. Was freedom democracy? Was freedom imposed from outside or grown locally?

In the end, the debate is pointless. People want freedom because they want the power to change their own destiny, according to their own preferences. If a person doesn’t like something, they want the power to change it, irregardless of what it costs them. They don’t want to be told “it’s impossible, the way it is is the way it is and nothing you do will change it”. They don’t want to hear that. So they want “freedom”, to choose. Even if they choose to say the price isn’t worth it, they want to make that choice for themselves.

This is why things like the Creation Kit for Skyrim (Elder Scrolls sand kit play single player RPG, number 4) and Minecraft are so popular. The popularity demands the attention of the naysayers. People want freedom because people don’t agree. That’s just how it is. The imposition of any one Will, whether it be Divine or Government in nature, will always be against the will of others. Thus the solution the centralized government usually has is to nail down or pull out anyone standing higher or lower than they were decreed. Global Warming religion’s answer to contrary evidence is to suppress it and use money to bribe their way to truth. Freedom, on the other hand, is about harmonizing the differences of individuals so that they can work together, yet at the same time also work according to their own will. Nobody can get everything that they wish or desire, but they can get what they “need”. And what they “need” is not really what they often say they want.

In this day and age, what people “need” is simply the power to change things, if they put in the work. In Minecraft, if they want a house, they have to build it themselves. They have to do the work of collecting the resources and BUILD it themselves. They can’t put a gun to somebody else and tell them to do it for them, or else. Like how the US government currently behaves. Skyrim’s creation kit isn’t a welfare check to the players, giving them what they “desire”. The players desire anything and everything, but Bethesda, the company, cannot give it to them and even if Bethesda did, few players would be satisfied with something someone else made that was given to them. They won’t like it. It won’t be what their heart’s desire sought. It will only satisfy them if they are given what they need: a creation kit so that they can put in the work to make what they want to make. Only then will people be satisfied.

You can satisfy people’s surface desires for an entire century. They will still be dissatisfied, because at heart, they got what they wanted, but not what they needed. I hope I pounded that point with enough repetitions.

Work for what you want, otherwise you won’t get what you really wanted. Don’t accept hand outs, because you’re still not a master of your own destiny. Read and play Minecraft or Skyrim and comprehend for yourself how a lot of the things you wanted to change, were already modded in or added in by other people. You got that service for free, but you have to pay the government taxes for stuff the government can’t even do right. Does that sound fair to you.

Chinese Martial Arts History

The never ending martial arts posts continues uninterrupted by the holidays.

Today we have something I read months ago, but provides a very different view of China than the current government of China has shown to the world.

The material is in research format and requires effort, time, and patience. Three qualities you will not find much on the internet, or in the current American socio-political climate. But for those who seek the truth as well as knowledge about many facets of human existence, they should take a look here.

Some specific sections I found worthy of note:

Sun Wu was from Qi (Shantung province), his original name was Tien Hun Tien. He escaped some political intrigue against his family in Qi by defecting to Wu, where he promised the Wu King that he could help him to overcome all of his neighboring enemies. Sun Wu`s military strategies were highly effective and the Wu troops totally baffled the Zhu and Yueh states with heretofore unorthodox assaults that caught them off guard, avoiding the Wu much bloodshed. Sun Wu`s strategy involved much yielding, segmenting, combining, changing, and transforming maneuvers as necessary (making much use of the Five Elements theory). To avoid headlong confrontation with the very powerful Chu, Sun Wu worked the Wu troops so as to use the terrain to its tactical advantage, to spread the energy out, to choose objectives carefully, and to suddenly concentrate its forces when and where it was unexpected. Many people studied Sun Wu`s ideas and his book became highly influential to the art of fighting, both in battle and later as people applied his ideas on a lesser scale, to hand-to-hand combat. Much use was made of the Five Elements idea of antagonistic and protagonistic forces, changing and transforming in mutual promotion and restraint.

Another great army general, Woo Zhi Shung, defected to Wu from the Zhou kingdom, because his father had been betrayed and killed. Both generals Woo and Sun advised King Wu Kwang (20th generation) and taught the king and his sons fighting skills. The 18th generation King, Wu Sou-Wan`s military advisor was General Seng Woo, who also defected from Chu and changed his family name to Wu. Sometime during the 500s BC, King Wu Sou Wan`s son, Wu Ji Zhe, achieved much renown for his sword fighting skills.

During the Spring and Autumn period, the Chu discovered the making of steel and soon after longer swords were able to be crafted. These longer swords were widely adopted in warfare. Many people became sword experts, especially in the Wu and Yue kingdoms. King Wu Kwang himself practiced sword fighting and many huge contests were given. He owned a pair of specially forged swords that are legendary to this day: a male sword called the Kan Jian and a female sword called the Muo Xie.

Around 496 BC, one of ancient China`s best sword fighters was a woman named Yue Nu. She practiced developing her idea and methods for years in her land. Her fighting theories and techniques became another major influence on Wu-Shu theory.

For King Gou Jian of Yue, she wrote her theories:

1) Combining position, breathing, and consciousness;
2) Balancing the internal and external states of the body in harmony;
3) Simultaneous offense and defense;
4) Using both static and moving states.

She also wrote much about: being calm and unassuming in appearance, but fighting as vicious as a tiger; reacting fast enough to reach the opponent first with a strike, even though the opponent started first; uniting spirit, form, and intent. She was acclaimed for her skills all over ancient China and much respected by all.

Learned people and military fighters soon saw that the concept of `Wu-Wei` – doing nothing out of harmony with the flow of things was at the heart of many skills. It was found as an idea in common to many ideas that were then currently developing: Taoism, Yue Nu`s sword fighting, the Five Elements battle strategy of Sun Wu, and the Dao Yin qi-gung practitioners. In their explorations on the ways of or the nature of the universe (`The Tao`), Taoists began uniting all these different expressions of Wu-Wei. The circular movements of sword fighting were seen as putting man in tune with the natural cycles of the universe (stars, seasons, water, birth, death, etc.). The effect was seen as even more pronounced if the actions were combined with qi-gung breathing exercises and the mental exercises of military strategy. Taoists of the war-torn time saw warfare as an element of all life, against mortal and immortal enemies both outside and within the human body. People who were learned in all these concepts were soon in high demand in all the Chinese courts of the various kingdoms, as they were sought as advisors to the kings and nobles (princes, lords, etc.).

Wait, there’s more.

As the chaos of the times increased, the countryside became full of groups of criminal gangs, robbers, thieves, and outlaws. Interstate trade was greatly increasing and the need for good bodyguards was great. Being able to fight in close quarters, small scale, combat became a necessity and bodyguards on long journeys with trade caravans occasionally exchanged ideas and techniques with other traveling bodyguards. They looked for the best techniques for attack, attack-defense, countering, controlling, feinting, evading, and more. Hand fighting skills became highly developed and the best fighters were known for their main technique of striking, kicking, joint-locking, throwing, and hitting vital points. People tried to distill what they knew and consolidate the various techniques into one or a few main moves that they could always count on and each great fighter was known for their main technique. People sought to develop their fighting into an art that transcended all that they know into a highly effective small set of moves, if not one main move.

According to Ssu Man Chen`s book `Records of the Great Historian`, a new class of roving people emerged during these times, called the `Knights Errant` (Yu Hsieh). These were professional ex-soldiers that roamed the countryside offering their services as mercenaries. They were skilled in the military arts, especially sword fighting. They had a code of conduct and tried to be honest and fair, helping even ordinary people in distress. The Knights helped to establish the idea of using martial arts for self defense and helping those who were weaker and in need. This idea was also a great influence on Wu-Shu theory and many people embraced the idea of using martial arts for good and only for fighting against wrong doers.

By the end of the Warring States period, all the groundwork had been laid for the theoretical aspects of Wu-Shu. People used self defense to stop a fight, improve their health and physique, and test their skills, rather than just for killing in war. As people combined these ideas and concepts with the most efficient and effective hand to hand combat techniques, Shaui Jiao (grappling and throwing) techniques, and sword fighting techniques, the practical side of Wu-Shu developed as well into an all encompassing way of life. Once these areas became further united with Taoist spirituality and health (Dao Yin/Qi Gung) theories, Wu Shu was turning into a complete martial arts system, covering all aspects of the martial arts that we see today, as early as 3000 – 2500 years ago.

Thus, in order of their appearance, during the entire Zhou dynasty era (covering about 800 years!), these concepts influenced the development of Wu-Shu and were combined to transform Wu-Shu into a self defense and health enhancing art:

Xiang Wu (war dances)
Wu Xing (5 Elements) theory
Jiao Ti (Shuai Jiao)
Sun Wu`s Battle Strategy
Quan Pu (hand combat)
Yue Nu`s Sword theory
Yin/ Yang theory
Sun Pin`s Battle Strategy
Ba Qua (8 Diagrams) theory
Zhung Zi`s Ingenuity theory
Dao Yin (Qi Gung) theory
Qi`s Chi Chi Boxing
Taoism & Wu Wei theory Knights Errants
code of conduct

EDIT1: I am currently studying some Japanese Sword Arts, known in Japan as kenjutsu or iaido. I can definitely see how someone could adopt moves from a sword perspective to an open hand format. After all, the aikibujutsu I train in is technically just the kenjutsu lines without the sword. The Japanese banned the samurai class and the sword during the Meiji Restoration so all the kenjutsu schools either had to close down or convert to open hand format only: aikijutsu.

Basically, JSA is swinging a wooden stick around until your forearm becomes as big as Popeyes. Absent that, at least as strong and 10 times faster. I have also picked up an idea, from myself who else, that aikido’s tendency to grab the enemy’s encroaching hand is based off the depth perception, hand to eye coordination, and hand speed of a sword user. A person trained in the sword would find it relatively easy to see and grab someone else’s hands, a necessary component in several aikido exercises.

One of the primary unification principles in Chinese martial arts, entering an opponent’s space and taking control of their momentum, is the same as “blending” in aikido, except the Chinese material explained it better.

Motivation: If you want something, what are you willing to do to get it?

Here’s one example

A pretty good choice in my view, since it shows the “gan batte” philosophy of Japan as well. Most English speakers translate it as “good luck”. It actually means “do your best”.

Persevering while working hard vs Natural Geniuses

Which wins out?

 

I think you’ll find the links and answers here very thought provoking.

 

 

Hard work vs natural genius

I think you should read this article. I believe you will find it fascinating. It has a great analysis of training methodology to boot.

Can hard work beat natural genius?

I think the key precept is that relentless work is as rare as natural genius. That, in fact, both are as rare and as exceptional as the other.

Muv Luv Alternative Review

In reply to this post.

Alternative is really a test of how much your heart can withstand. Visual novels often seek to put you in the protagonist’s shoes and this one certainly does a great job of it given the amount of time they had to “educate” you, the reader.

Of course the ending is sad. But it’s also a testament to not giving into despair. I’ve already integrated most of the lessons Alternative had, but until you really accept in your heart what the various characters are saying, your emotions will not be moderated or balanced out.

For example, one of the most effective ways to fight despair at the loss of a loved one is to overcome it with positive emotions and memories. Pride in what they had achieved. The happy memories you shared with them. Such will provide the will to live on.

That’s the whole point of why fighter pilots and small unit infantry tell jokes when faced with death. Many people assume that they don’t take it seriously because they don’t care, but the opposite is true.

Leaders must radiate supreme confidence and optimism, regardless of what they believe or feel inside. That is part of the duty and responsibility of being given authority, for authority has its perks because it has its costs as well. Human emotion is infectious. If you start feeling sad, soon enough everyone around you will as well. And when it comes to fighting in battles and wars, that kind of thing will kill people. When they lack the will to live, when they stop caring, they will also stop caring about the mission. They won’t pay enough attention in combat to survive. They will get themselves killed. That’s why leaders project an optimistic and positive aura. To defeat despair before one can defeat the enemy.

To a commenter there: Check all torrent tracker sites as well as hongfire forums which posts torrents, file server links, and various other download sources.

Continuing on more issues with MLA.

As previously mentioned, I finished reading ML Extra/Unlimited and Ml Alternative. It’s a combination of many different things such as a thriller, science fiction, military war drama, romantic love triangles, and so on. When I say war drama I also mean a life and death drama: one that focuses on the meaning of life and death. A military war drama can be about the military or the war, but it doesn’t necessarily touch upon the concepts behind the meaning of living.

One of the things I’ve heard mentioned a lot is the dramatic dichotomy between chick flicks and movies suited more towards a male demographic. Unmarried single women under 30 in a career. Married women with a family. Teenagers and those in college. Demographics can tell much about a group trend, hence the whole importance placed on age and demographics in marketing. Insurance companies also charge teenagers (15 year olds) much greater premium rates. Regardless of the individual variance in your demographic, the demographic itself is a very accurate portrayal of what the group is trending towards. Thus chick flicks have lately become specialized only for certain demographic groups of women, to the point where it turns off any other demographic. This is, in fact, an indication of plagiarism, un-originality, and a degradation in artistic talent. True artistic talent allows dramatic moments to touch any human, regardless of barriers. That is true artistic skill. There can be no art without a human utilizing artistic skill. When I see movies that have skewed positive reactions amongst a certain demographic, yet the format and themes are so derivative and unbalanced, this is a sign that they are specializing not because they are good at making movies that appeal to women but because they need that kind of specialization to cover up their own incompetence.

That being said, ML Alternative is such a hybrid of so many different other things, which is in fact usual not unusual for the Japanese, that it becomes a stark contrast. In chick flicks, the focus is mostly on relationship issues and on guys apologizing. There’s no war to portray manly virtues or courage. There’s no external enemy or even competent rival. When the Japanese does love triangles, they make it as complex as humanly possible. Such things as two best friends falling in love with their childhood friend, while the childhood friend loves both girls, makes for interesting drama. There is more emotional bonds connecting all 3 together, so the pain or the joy becomes higher in nature. On the other hand, Hollywood does love triangles in a superficial sort of fashion. Either it’s a competition between boys and immature males or it’s a case of Pearl Harbor. There’s rivalry between friends, but they stop being friends for some reason when they compete against each other. There’s no such thing as a friendly competition or the old line “may the best man win”. Meaning much of Hollywood’s love triangles are backstabbing, deception orientated. Such negative emotions tend to affect everyone in a love triangle. It’s not as simple as conservatives prefer positive and happy relationships and LibProgs prefer backstabbing deceptions, but that’s how it tends to turn out given what I have read in America. I do not claim Japan is conservative by the measures Americans can judge, but the culture has several points of compatibility with American conservative culture.

To get back to the main point, Alternative has many things women and men would find captivating. Relationship difficulties are present. Victory and defeat in war are also present. I’ve watched the last Pearl Harbor movie out of Hollywood. Could have been worse. Doesn’t compare to Alternative. If Alternative is the sun, Pearl Harbor is a beach. Both are hot and shiny. What makes Alternative extremely appealing to many demographics is simply the skill with which it has produced the hybrid intermingling of different characters, themes, concepts, and events. Instead of feeling like a jumbled up puzzle, it is a very clear and comprehensive picture. Almost a visual illusion.

One core example I can give is this. Hollywood treats death as either a convenient plot point or as a convenient way to support the main characters. They do not and cannot do what Serenity or the Japanese do, which is bitter-sweet moments. Sanctifying the importance of life, yet serene in the acceptance of dying for something of great importance. That’s because those who value their lives the highest, have a hard time understanding why anyone else would risk theirs for abstract ideals. Patriotism, love of country, is taught as being a bad thing that leads to wars. Such is true especially in Germany and Japan. The Japanese love of tradition and family values has allowed them to retain much of their history in societal sub groups. Their history is replete with warfare and tragedies, thus they can draw much from it even though they lack modern day experience. Our Civil War happened only recently in the eyes of world history, and we aren’t even over it. Japan’s last great civil war happened in 1600 at the battle of Sekigahara. Americans have not had enough time to see things as they really were. And for wars fought in other countries, that is even harder to comprehend for the ordinary citizens of America. It is hard enough to attempt to understand your mortal enemy that speaks another language, but if they are all fighting thousands of miles away from your peaceful life, how much understanding can you really obtain given the normal disinterest civilians have in such affairs?

In an interesting state of affairs, the Japanese have better literature on the topic of war sacrifices and patriotism even though the US has a much higher institutional knowledge in patriotic parts of America and in the US military. Such is life, an infinite amount of contradictions.

Some here may have read David Weber and may recall me mentioning him. Weber does war drama quite well and goes to great lengths to attempt to portray human factions honestly and as they truly are. Instead of the cookie cutter, absolute black and white, portrayal of reality by Leftist ideologues.

This is why I laugh whenever Leftists say that we are parochial and mired in tradition and old ways. The Left is so bigoted, arrogant, and intolerant of other beliefs, so reactive, and so regressive that they don’t even have the right to call anyone else “traditional” to begin with. They have no such right. They have no power to generate such a right. They have nothing to deserve power or rights. All they can do is to beg other people to sacrifice for them. They don’t work. They don’t contribute to the community. They suck off of other people’s wealth. They damage the common good for selfish greed and arrogance. And yet they believe they should have rights?