September 2008
| Published: 30th September 2008 09:50 |
imprisoned in a concentration camp after Jack's father refused to work for the invading forces). In 1945 they were rescued by American troops.Jack's most treasured possession from this time is a plane made of bullets given him by one of the US soldiers. The family then moved to England where Jack was brought up. He studied English at Cambridge, and has spent 33 years of his life teaching in three London Comprehensive schools. Jack has received several awards and commendations for teaching both religious studies and the martial arts. He still teaches martial arts after beginning training in kung fu and karate at the age of 37. The style he now teaches is Choikwangdo. Jack is a 5th degree black belt in free style martial arts, a third degree black belt in Choikwangdo, a second degree black belt in Iai Batto Jutsu, a second degree black belt in Taekwondo and a 1st degree in Karate and a brown belt in Okinawan weapons. Jack enjoys his local daily walks and has agreed to share his Walk in the Woods experiences for all to read Monday September 29: Learn From The Fox And Cat And Rebecca!
Today I walked round the neighbourhood at midday. As I strode, or rather ambled, down Berens Way a young, thin fox came out of one of the houses on my left. It had something in its mouth. It looked at me in surprise and returned, without too much hurry, the way it had come.
A little further on, I was about to turn into Clarendon Way when a black cat came hurtling towards me. It, too, was surprised by my presence. It turned round very quickly and rushed back up Clarendon way.
It jumped on to a wall, looked round the corner of the wall, saw that I was still around, jumped higher up on to a fence and then disappeared on to the other side of the fence.
Both animals, the fox and cat, had showed survival wisdom. They did not know whether I was a threat or not but made sure they kept their distance in case I was. They didn't try to show how tough or brave they were. They just ran off.
The Chinese recognise the wisdom of animals and believe that humans can learn from them. We can certainly learn survival techniques such as how to run without hesitation.
A cat can also teach us to sit and stare at nothing in particular - a kind of meditation. Most people who meditate describe how it makes them feel relaxed and energetic. The mind is allowed to focus on just one thing like the view ahead in the case of the cat.
Cat's don't usually go for walks but they are incredibly agile. The cat in this account jumped about three or four times its own height on to the wall with casual ease. Cats do stretch slowly and luxuriously every now and then and spend a lot of time sleeping.
Maybe we should spend more time stretching and sleeping. I would find the sleeping part quite easy. Hindu pushups imitate the action of the cat. They are used frequently in Chinese martial arts. I was taught how to do them years ago by Tony Leung, a martial artist from Hong Kong.
Humans who overtrain end up with all kinds of injuries which often
shorten or limit their athletic or sporting careers. They do, however, have to train very hard to achieve the kind of abilities shown so naturally by animals or fish.
Rebecca Adlington broke a world record at the Beijing Olympics. She does not achieve her swimming speed by the occasional leisurely swim.
She is in the pool for 160 days a year and swims 8,400 miles a year - the distance from London to Hong Kong. She swims for 4 miles 10 times a week for 50 weeks of the year. Her training is relentless, monotonous and exhausting for hour after hour.
She puts in the hours of hard work so that once every four years the world is hers. She is not content with the two gold medals she won for the 100 and 400 metres freestyle swims in Beijing. She wants to push herself further and is thinking of preparing for the 200 metres as well in 2012. Three gold medals would provide her with a worthy challenge.
We can learn from the animals but also need to learn from other humans. If you want to swim well at the London Olympics don't rely on your cat to teach you how. Study Rebecca instead!
Sunday September 28: Breathing Is Mankind's Favourite Hobby
Today was a sunny and warm day. The heat was not humid - a really pleasant day.
About 100 yards from my house I saw a large aggressive looking dalmatian approaching me with its owner.
I strode confidently towards it and it seemed a little concerned. It barked but in an unassuming way.
I reached out a friendly hand as we came closer but it did not want to know. It jumped to one side and scooted past me.
The owner smiled at me - she seemed not to worry whether her dog might cause angst to passersby! She knew it would not bite but I didn't!
Later I met a jazz musician who has a gig in the Isle of Wight coming up. He will be playing the trumpet in a hotel on top of a cliff overlooking the sea for five days.
In Clarendon Way I passed another person I often have a few words with. We mentioned that the day was hot but not humid and he commented that you can breathe easily on a day like this.
I replied that I had just ordered a DVD on how to breathe deeply.
He asked if I had breathing problems. I explained that I didn't have any problems but believed that breathing is so important that it is worth learning how to do it well - it is after all mankind's favourite hobby.
Breathing properly benefits your health in so many ways. I'll write more about this after I have studied my DVD!
