I used to train in boxing quite bit years ago. Like everyone else I wasn't very good when I started, it took a lot of effort to get there. Sometimes you had to take a hit to give one. Sometimes you just had to let your hands go.
One of the lessons I learned early on was keep your head up don't stare at the floor coming in swinging. My coach would always say:"If you look at the floor you'll soon be on it." When you’re moving in to throw those blows you can't just do it blindly because you’re afraid. You gotta keep that head up so you'll see those counter punches coming or you'll probably get dropped with an uppercut.
I often think about boxing, as many have, as a great metaphor for life, especially the statement "Don't look down at the floor or you'll soon be on it." I think it has many true connotations. So often in life people go off half cocked. I have written several articles talking about this.
Very recently I did an article called As the World Implodes: When People Put Their Agendas Ahead of the Truth. Basically a guy was running from Police Officers then shot at them. When they shot back he was hit and died. An entire neighborhood held protests accusing the police of shooting an unarmed man. They went in swinging without looking. They didn't have all the facts. Now, after the gun has been recovered it appears as though he actually shot himself to keep from going to jail.
It happens all the time. Just because someone is boisterous and passionate about what they are saying doesn't mean they have a clue what they are talking about. You can go after someone but your facts need to be straight.
I saw an interview on YouTube very recently. It was Bill O'Reilly interviewing Bill Mahar about religion. Bill Mahar is a famous comedian who also happens to be an atheist. He was basically trying to say that religion is bad and a lot of the stuff in the Bible isn't true. Now, I'm a spiritual person myself, I believe in God but I'm not big on organized religion. To prove the Bible preached violence he quoted a saying from the Book of Deuteronomy. It was basically the part where it says you should kill your neighbor if you catch them working on a Sunday. Bill Mahar went in swinging with his head down.
As many of you know, in the Christian religion the Old Testament is basically used for parables only and life lessons, it isn't literal. The laws governing the religion are found in the New Testament only. If he had taken the time to research that and know the subject he was speaking on he wouldn't have made a bogus uneducated point. If you’re going to use aggressive speech you better know what you’re saying. It's like police kicking in a door before checking to make sure they are at the right house (trust me it happens).
Before you attack a problem you need to understand the problem. When guys try to modernize martial arts more often than not they go into it with preconceived notions of what will work and what will not. They believe their traditional art to be superior to others so they invent ingenious solutions to nonexistent problems. So they have great defenses against the wrong attacks. They never really understand the problem because they never make the attempt. You can't teach a person who already knows everything. They go in without having all the facts about real attacks then invent a crappy unrealistic system so they can sell it to you as the newest stuff when it is just someone swinging with their head down.
We've all heard sports metaphors before. We know there's a much bigger reason to keep your head up. As time goes on it seems the world becomes more and more violent and people care less and less. With so many things going on to make you feel bad, keeping your head up can be harder than it sounds. The fight we are in is both metaphorical and literal at the same time.
Sometimes I hear folks talk about the innate good in all people; the people who say that need to lift their heads because there is no such thing as innate good in all people. Some people are good and some aren't. Some have had their heads down for so long they are disgusting.
I'm gonna date this article by mentioning some current events. Recently there was a terrorist attack in Norway. It was a horrible tragedy and our hearts go out to them. The people there will pull together the same way we did during the 911 tragedy. They will be uplifted because of it. People will help because it is a big thing. We are there for the big things but it's the small things we falter.
In July singer Amy Winehouse was found dead in her London apartment. She had a long history with drugs and public aggression. The belief, true or not, was that she wasn't a very nice person. When the story was posted on the internet the replies varied. Most talked about it being such a waste which is true in the context it was said but better words could've been used. A lot however went out of their way to say she was a junkie and who cares and that they hoped Lindsay Lohan was next. These are the people that you have to worry about. They have their heads down and can't see the truth. These are the ones that will drag you down to their level and make you suck as bad as they do. They have their heads down so that is precisely why you need to keep yours up. Makes it easier to knock them out.
Now I know this is getting off subject a bit but its bothering me and I want to address it. I want to answer the question posted by a lot of these jerks today. The question of who cares? I would venture to say a lot of people care. I'll continue to use Amy Winehouse as an example. She had to have parents right? I know she was married at one point. She had family and friends who are devastated right now as I write this commentary.
You see I want to share a truth to all you people with your heads down. All death is tragic. Death is a lost opportunity for the dead as well as the world around them. For people who have had a bad life it means they have no more chances to make it better or improve. Personally I always pull for the underdogs. It's my way of saying f@#k you to the powers that be.
When someone dies like that their future actions can no longer inspire us. Good, bad, or indifferent we can't learn anything from them anymore. We only have that short span to inspire us in one way or another. They are gone and those opportunities are gone with them. What if she finally kicked drugs? She was very talented. Would she have inspired others to get off drugs? Would her newer music inspire someone else to be a singer? We'll never know that because she's gone. That's what I mean by lost opportunity. When someone dies we all lose a chance at something because none of us know the future. How many of you have lost someone you wish were here right now? I would venture to say all of you. That's the answer to the question, who cares? So lift your heads up for once and see it.
As I talked in other articles about Personal Empowerment and You and Do You Have Dreams To Remember? Self confidence is important especially when there are so many people who want to take it from you; it should show you the value of it. In this life it's full of people that want to tear you down. We must educate ourselves to these basic truths to defend against them. When the ignorant come in swinging to take us out you have to know your stuff and be confident. Do be like those people. Don't look at the floor or you'll soon be on it.
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