Salute

Welcome. I'm J+.

[ TLDR version: this is a place where I'll write about what I learn of life via traditional Chinese martial arts. Also includes a description of who I am and what my present situation is (engineering student, family man) ]

Mostly this is a place for kung fu. I mean kung fu in the classical Chinese sense of the term, mastery acquired through hard work and study, patience, time and discipline. Mastery of life.

I do study kung fu (Chinese Martial Art: Northern Shaolin Seven-Star Praying Mantis). I do enjoy (and I really mean enjoy) coffee. (But the term connoisseur is too snobby for me). I do meditate, and explore my consciousness. I have a lot to learn, in all of the above and in everything…

I also study chemical and biochemical engineering. Someday I'll graduate and make a career out of it. I believe in simple living and strive to under-complicate my life as much as I can. I was raised in, but despise, the utterly unsustainable American-consumerist lifestyle so I struggle in the battle between convenience and frugality. I drive a shitty-awesome car. I walk, ride my bike and failing those, the bus–instead of driving–whenever I can. I have two amazing sons, my lovely wife, and live in a magical place: the mountains juxtapose against the plains with 303 days of sunshine per year.

But for all I have, I have demons that I fight. These demons have names and they live deep inside of me. Some of them were given to me, by society and my parents, more are of my own creation. I don't mean to absolve myself of my actions, I claim full responsibility for them and the consequences of those actions. Still, when these demons emerge, they–I–cause damage to my family, to my–our–health and life.

Have I digressed? I guess I should answer the question: what is it that I intend to do here?

Kung Fu: I'll write of what I learn here. This won't be my training log; if you want to study martial arts, the Internet is not the place to do that and I am not a Sifu (yet? I'm getting way too far ahead of myself…) Rather, I'll write of how I learn to defend myself and my family from life's demons and of life-insights derived from this study.

Coffee: a metaphor for chi (氣), perhaps. I probably won't write of coffee directly; I'll defer that discussion to the experts. I train in the very early morning, and then reflect on my training over coffee before the rest of the day begins.

Consciousness: this falls under the Kung Fu category, so I'll bring it around full-circle. This is a place for me to write about kung fu: mastery of life through hard work, patience, time and discipline. Being present, aware and conscious, is essential in martial arts, healing arts, engineering…

Here's to learning and life. I'm grateful for the moment, for the experience, for being alive and present.

70° Nearby Thunderstorms
Boulder, Colorado, United States

Image credit: Alton Thorngage: http://www.deviantart.com/art/Salute-158528886. Used without permission, but believed to be “fair use" and out of respect for your art and understanding of the symbolism behind the salute. I mean no harm. :)