Hello My Friends!
Our friend and comrade in physical culture, Benjamin
Bergman, has been kind enough to yield the stage to me for the moment. You might be asking who I am. I shall not labor the introduction, but I
tell you that I am a martial artist of nearly two decades, beginning my formal
training in April of 1995, and a life long fan and mimic before that. I have studied several arts, and it is
through that study that I came into the world of physical culture. Martial arts has little meaning without a
vital body behind it.
So today, I would like to talk to you about this very
connection between training for violence and training for vitality. To aid me in this, I shall pass it through
the lens of popular the popular anime Dragon Ball Z.
Let us first discuss the exemplary characters. While the world of DBZ is populated by many
characters, many noble, and many villainous, we shall focus on three: Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo. It is true that Gohan, Goku's son, is
technically the most powerful character in the series (for a time) and has the
greatest potential, but because his training is sporadic, and usually forced
upon him, we will exclude him from this discussion. Without further ado, we shall briefly list Training,
Fighting, and Characteristics of each character:
Goku: Innocent
and simple, he has an incredible natural talent for martial arts and physical
training. His training style varies
depending on his teacher at the moment, everything from strongman type training
to traditional martial arts training to intense spiritual training. He is generally happy-go-lucky, but has an
incredible battle joy, and an intense drive for constant personal
development. The quote that could define
his attitude best comes from the first Dragonball series [Episode 59], Goku
says, “This is great! I'll be better
at everything once I go up there.” To which his friend Upa replies, “Do
not get your hopes up, my young friend, it may only be a legend.” Goku contests, “Oh. I want to try it
anyway.” Upa protests, “But
you're already strong.” And Goku has the final word, “I'm not the
strongest, though, so it's still worth a chance. Yeah.
It's definitely worth it. To be the best!”
Vegeta: Pride
and heritage drive him. His was—IS--The
prince of all Saiyans. He is nearly as
powerful as Goku, but grew up quite privileged.
It can be assumed that he is of average talent, but because of superior
training early on, and being in constant battle since he was young, insisting
on the hardest missions, being on the front lines, and having access to the
best science and medicine of the Saiyan race (and beyond!) he was able to
develop as only a privileged lord could.
He could never accept anyone being better than him at anything. Greatness was his birthright. He tends to be arrogant and extremely
aggressive. Prone to rage. His training is the hardest, and self
imposed. He must constantly prove that
he can do more, that he can do better than anyone else. Competition and singularity drives him. Very regimented and military in nature,
always pushing for more, he is really Goku's antithesis. The quote that describes him best is from
Dragon Ball Z [Episode 214] “Imagine my shock, to see the undeniable proof,
to discover no matter how hard I try, I would never be able to catch you. A warrior-prince forever living in the shadow
of a low level clown. So that's when I
secretly made up my mind...Yes, I saw the power of Babadi's magic at the World
Martial Arts Tournament, those two henchmen he sent. The people who had seen those fighters in the
previous tournament couldn't understand how they had become so powerful. But you and I know, don't we? It was Babadi's
magic, and I knew what his magic had done for those fighters it could also do
for me. I knew that if I allowed myself
to fall under his control, the difference in our power would disappear. I'm quite pleased with the results. Even if they do come at a price. I'd say the end more than justifies the
means...'cause I wanted him to reawaken the evil in my heart. I wanted him to return me to the way I was
before! I was the perfect warrior; cold
and ruthless. I lived by my strength
alone, uninhibited by foolish emotion.
But slowly, over the years, I became one of you. My quest for greatness gradually giving way
to this life of mediocrity. I awoke one
day to find that I had settled down, formed a family. I had even grown quite fond of them. Would you believe I was starting to think the
Earth was a nice place to live? Do you
understand now, Kakkarot? That's why I
needed Babadi; to set me free by releasing the evil in my heart. He has freed me of these petty attachments,
and I'd have to say it feels pretty good.”
Piccolo: A
loner and tactical genius. He seems to
train for personal development, and to explore the depths of his
potential. As a Namek, he enjoys a
unique biological makeup, including a diet of solely water, size changing
ability, regeneration, and high psychic potential. He is very much a cerebral, calculating
type. He looks at all the evidence, and
makes decisions based on data rather than gut feelings. This, of course, leaves him feeling alien and
cold much of the time, but without his keen sense of timing and leverage, the Z
Fighters would have lost many battles, and many lives. His training is mostly psychic/internal as
his biology is so completely different.
The quote that best describes his training potential comes from Dragon
Ball GT [Episode 44] (Yes, I know it's non-cannon, but it sums up his attitude
nonetheless!), “The powers of a Namekian have many uncharted avenues.”
(In response to why and how he went to Hell to help out Goku.) And this followup in the following episode
[Episode 45] after he got Goku out of Hell, “Well, as long as I'm stuck in
this dump, I might as well get in some target practice.”
Now that you have an idea of the characters and their
styles, we can discuss the benefits of each when training for Violence and
Vitality. We'll call Goku's method the
“Natural”. When training “Naturally” you
tend to follow your whims. Whatever
seems to be bugging you. A new skill, a
dodgy rep, just a bit of fun, etc. You
may find yourself hefting stones one day, and walking on your hands the next. This fractal kind of practice does a couple
of things. It keeps you from getting
bored with static routines, and it constantly challenges you with something
new, never letting you get too comfortable with anything. Of course, all this self experimentation can
lead to mistakes and imbalances. But
Goku's training wasn't always whimsical.
No, he studied under many masters who had him do repetitions of
fundamental principles over and over again.
But then this is what amateurs and naturals do as well, now isn't
it? They go off in a focused manner just
plugging away until they “get” it, and then they move on to the next
thing. This is, in fact, the beginning
point, and the end point. It is where
space time curves around back on itself, and we realize after all those years
of learning, we just want to play. Some
of the real-world established systems that work well with this are Strong Man
competition, Parkour and MovNat, as well as fundamental, natural martial arts
practice like Shaolin Kung Fu, or Catch-As-Catch-Can Wrestling.
Next we have what I'd like to call the “Professional”. This is Vegeta. He was born to it, and lived it as an
occupation until he joined up with Goku and his lot, and then it was an
obsession and a charitable need, as he helped save the Earth many times. This professional attitude is like many
athletes and soldiers. They have
coaches/drill instructors, and are fed their routines, nutrition, and recovery,
and have access to the best medical and scientific advancements. This regimented training can take someone
less than average, and put them into the top 5% quickly. The benefits of training like this is the
utter focus. You don't have to stress
over anything but the next rep because it's all laid out for you, and you know
you're in expert hands. It also means
there will be fewer mistakes along the way because of the constant
supervision. This is the path to glory,
but rarely ever to autonomy. Real-world
examples of this type of training obviously are reflected in military training,
but also in popular systems like Crossfit and TacFit. More systematized martial arts, perhaps like
Shotokan Karate or Brazilian Jiujitsu.
Finally, Piccolo's style we will call the “Scholar”. The Scholar is a collector and studier of
training information. They gather all
the data and make informed decisions.
They focus on form and and function, timing and leverage. They are the academics of training. Ever vigilant, looking for new data, new
observations, testing theories, and eventually coaching others in their wisdom. Of course, one cannot solely collect
information without ever moving a muscle.
That would be devastating in the long term. It can also lead to paralysis by analysis,
meaning having to filter through too much information and delaying the decision
to act. Piccolo never had this problem,
but then he's not human. The accumulation
of knowledge and the wisdom of how to apply it is quite obviously
beneficial. The real-world correlation
is not in any particular program, but rather in researching all programs. It is the journal articles, and coaching
programs, the clinics, the certifications, the ranks, the titles and
degrees. One would be best served
finding a mentor in an area of interest, and studying as a disciple. Less that, there is a world of information
available in the form of books, videos, and seminars. Pick a few that sound interesting and follow
along until you are satisfied.
In closing, you may find that one or another of these styles
calls out to you, but each one carries a drawback. The stability and focus of the Professional
is appealing, but I like being autonomous.
I am certainly the Scholar, a collector of knowledge, with experience in
a literal dozen martial arts, and nearly equal that in fitness regimens. However, I have to be constantly aware of
what path I am on, otherwise I start muddling my training into something less
effective. And of course, as a true kid
at heart, I love to just play. Playing
the natural, and just doing whimsical activities here and there helps me stay
sane and play with things that are left out of my advanced routines. How about you? What is your balance? Listen, thank you all for sitting in on this
discussion. I now return the stage to
Benjamin. Feel free to look me up,
wherever you may find The Black Sun Renaissance. Good Journey.
