The good Caratacus pointed to the fact that Vlad the Lad has quite some abilities in the field of marshal arts. This was, back a ways, occasionally mentioned by our MSM but always with a heavy dose of derision and sarcasm. Read on and you’ll understand that Mr O’Bumble, the MSM and others, rather than focusing on Vlad the Lads moves, should’ve given just a little thought to the mental processes, such as Zanshin, associated with those moves. Hell, they must’ve seen Kung Fu Panda one, two or three, right?
I did a little research... No, no. it’s quite easy now. If you have one of they computer thingies with a means of connecting to what they call the Inter-Web, you no longer need to go to the library, you can just use something called Google – funny name isn’t it? – type something into what’s known as a ‘search bar’ and you’ll be presented with a whole hell of a lot of, quite often contradictory or totally wrong, answers. How cool is that then? Damn cool if you’re smart enough to spot wot is the right answer amongst the wrong ones - but if you can do that, you really don’t need to Google it do you?
Anyhoo, anyone still there? Okay, I done did type Zanshin in. Second go was better after the first resulted in pages of white goods which indicated I’d typed Zanussi in error. Rather than get too deep into text stuff I just hit ‘Images’ and stopped at the first two which I’ve cleverly converted, by typing, into the blue words below. They should both be drilled into the heads of all those who wish for high office. The second one by Zhuge Liang is, to me, a gem and possibly a favourite of Vlad the lads.
1} It’s not whether you aim or not, but how you approach your goal that determines the outcome.
2} Those who are skilled in combat do not become angered, those who are skilled at winning do not become afraid. Thus the wise win before the fight, while the ignorant fight to win.
You see where you’re going wrong Mr O’Barmy? And others? You see why Vlad the Lad’s running rings round you all? While you’ve all been poking him in the chest and shouting, “Oh yeah?” Vlad’s been quietly wandering around, unhindered, inside your heads. Bazz, ask yourself, who’s looking cool, calm, collected and is way ahead?
Quote; William Francis Butler.
“The nation that will insist on drawing a broad line of demarcation between the fighting man and the thinking man is liable to find its fighting done by fools and its thinking done by cowards.”
2 comments:
Thanks for putting this up, Mac ... I am always slightly astonished at how little the average Brit knows about this sort of stuff - but then I've been in that sort of world since before decimalisation so perhaps it's understandable that I am familiar with it and others are not.
It's not just the eastern-ness of it all, it's just that the writings of Sun Tzu, Miyamoto Musashi (Book of Five Rings - still used as a business handbook by the Japanese. Think of that the next time you see the chief bod of Honda telling the British press some load of old borrocks) et al are so starkly clear there is little in Western literature to match it. Machiavelli does a halfway decent job on the political front but I'd have been obliged if Edwards I & III had jotted down a thought or two on how they planned their campaigns.
Meanwhile we have western politicians strutting about their little dunghills like cockerels, tottering under egos out of all proportion to their characters, while they are regarded through hooded unblinking eyes by men they consistently underestimate. One has only to look at the Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish and German defence ministers ... and then cast a furtive eye over the Russian chappie (who appears to have been chiselled from a lump of granite) to realise just how out of kilter things are.
Still - a New Year beckons and, despite all the above, I am my usual optimistic self :-) Earth Abides ...
Caratacus,
Your last paragraph, to me, is right on the money. We do seem to be blessed with shallow little men when wot we need are men of great depth and insight to keep us all safe on these turbulent seas.
During my extended time over in all points way over east the ways, I did dabble a little in the mystical side of those regions. In fact, and I may have mentioned this before, I briefly studied the gentle art of cowardice under the great Quy Chan...
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