Dude Jitsu as a Way of Living
Mark on left, Oliver in center. San Diego CA.
Dude Jitsu as a Way of Living
“If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One.” -Bhagavad Gita
Over the past few years, I’ve both emailed and personally met the religion’s founder, Oliver Benjamin. Dudeism is widely viewed as a spoof, and many of its followers have reinforced its washed-up stereotype of bumbling incompetence. Yet it continues to grow, and its over 600,000 ordained ministers are legally recognized. From its homepage…
Come join the slowest-growing religion in the world — Dudeism. An ancient philosophy that preaches non-preachiness.
Oliver is an articulate and thoughtful guy, and his unique ability to combine disheveled, schoolyard humor with Taoism has fueled Dudeism’s unique popularity. But a price gets paid for juvenile humor, in that the more thoughtful themes embedded in the Dudeist approach to living are often largely overlooked.
On the one hand, I really love the inclusiveness of Dudeism. And that the misfits and outcasts of society are elevated to the seats of honor. But having participated in a few online discussions with some of my fellow misfits, I’ve come away every time scratching my head over how militant some Dudeists are in maintaining idiocy, ignorance and occasionally a not-so-latent hostility toward any form of intellectualizing that travels beyond “take ‘er easy, dude.”
In “The Abide Guide: Living Like Lebowski,” Benjamin and co-author Dwayne Eutsey devote a section in Chapter Three called, “This Aggression Will Not Stand: Dude-Jitsu, the Dudeist Art of Self-Defense,” in which they draw comparisons to Jiu Jitsu.
Having begun my Jiu Jitsu studies over 25 years ago, there are many parallels that the authors get right. Parallels that are convincingly simpatico with my deep personal interest in transforming useful aspects of Jiu Jitsu’s principles and approaches into easy-to-use applications for everyday life problems, relationships, challenges and adversities.
Some time back, Oliver generously extended me an opportunity to write a book on Dude Jitsu. Given my Jiu Jitsu background and how, in a sense it is a ‘rug that ties the room together’ with Dudeism, it’s a compelling thing to consider.
“Of all ridiculous things the most ridiculous seems to me, to be busy — to be a man who is brisk about his food and his work.” — Søren Kierkegaard
When I turn toward the martial arts community to find parallels to what Dudeism is striving to convey with Dude-Jitsu, there’s little to see. Aikido and my own upbringing in Great River Jiu Jitsu, along with a few other examples, are exceptions. Because martial artists tend to get absorbed in the physical and mental discipline of their arts. They typically deeply underestimate the importance and rewards of co-developing the integration of their practices into everyday life.
Cross-relating and then applying martial arts principles is where it’s at. At least for me — along with a few others I’ve met who are just as deeply convinced that practical applications are the key. Hence, we are Dudeism’s only monastery. The relationship is understandably informal and casual.
Which brings us to religion. It’s safe to say that religions tend to begin and stay serious. Neophytes and old-timers alike become, if not zealots, well, at least convinced that their way is the right way.
Are Dudeists simply too laid back, drunk, coarse or opinionated to be bothered?
A counter to such close-mindedness is one of Dudeism’s unique quantities: that it’s own brand of zealots tend not to take themselves too seriously. But even that can become a tricky path into zealousness. Because zealotry, in any form, is problematic. Primarily because it’s often argumentative at the expense of an open mind. This is humorously true of many atheists, too.
And therein lies the rub. Can zealots of Dudeism or devotees of a movie actually lead a revival of Taoist principles and approaches to living? Or are they simply too laid back, drunk, coarse or opinionated to be bothered?
Practical Practices of a Dudeist’s Mind
In 2013, I modified Great River Jiu Jitsu’s 12 Essential Points of Self Defense into Dude-Jitsu’s Essential Points of Self Defense. I posted them on a Dudeist forum, and was gratified to see some of the responses. One of the responses basically said, “Hey, this stuff works!”
If Jiu Jitsu can make a contribution to Dudeism, I sense it may come through the principle of relaxing, along with learning how to better tune in to our surroundings. Tuning in, or becoming better aware of our surroundings, helps us to become more considerate… of ourselves, of others, of our environment and of our circumstances. These forms of consideration are aspirational within the martial arts, even if they are not widely acknowledged or overtly taught. So reaching for becoming more considerate or more relaxed is not at all far-fetched.
To be clear, I’m the wrong guy to get all cheeky with Dudeist terminology or home-grown colloquialisms or ‘The Big Lebowski’ movie quotations. On the other hand, and this is my personal question, can something as ridiculously named as ‘Dude-Jitsu’ help clear away some of the muddy waters of time, and help us self-discover some improved and easier ways to be more successful at living? I think it is certainly possible, but it will need to come from within the ranks.
I’ve devoted decades of study in matters of Jiu Jitsu and consciousness. And for all the good it’s done for me, it sure took an awful long time to get me down the road to where I am today. Can’t we do better?
The Dudeist belief system is essentially a modernized form of Taoism stripped of all of its metaphysical and medical doctrines. Dudeism advocates and encourages the practice of “going with the flow”, “being cool headed”, and “taking it easy” in the face of life’s difficulties, believing that this is the only way to live in harmony with our inner nature and the challenges of interacting with other people. It also aims to assuage feelings of inadequacy that arise in societies which place a heavy emphasis on achievement and personal fortune. Consequently, simple everyday pleasures like bathing, bowling, and hanging out with friends are seen as far preferable to the accumulation of wealth and the spending of money as a means to achieve happiness and spiritual fulfillment.