dojo — Blog — Little Creek Monastery

Dude Jitsu as a Way of Living

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 this modern spin on Taoism continues to grow, and its over 600,000 ordained ministers are legally recognized.

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.

ESSAYS, JIU JITSUMark WalterNovember 11, 2022dudeism, dojo, dude-jitsu, mark walter

Relating Martial Arts to the Start-Up

Martial arts often focus on an elusive concept characterized by the term 'center'. Students are introduced to this concept early in their training. In that context, instructors may emphasize various essential self-defense concepts such as, "Move the body as a unit, not as isolated parts." Over time, these vague concepts slowly crystalize into a series of realizations. When we examine our approach to our start-ups within the context of martial arts principles, we can see similarities emerging out of our own, unique 'everyday life dojos'.

PRACTICESMark WalterDecember 17, 2021jiu jitsu, judo, dojo, aikido, principles

Art and the Inner Journey

Can the inner mystery be quantified, defined or identified? Mystics have long believed that it could. But what about artists?

Art has long been associated with our spiritual nature, or what we might call the inner creative pulse. Often considered an expression of the deeper self, artists sometimes refer to this mysterious energy as the ‘inner muse’. But what is it? And how do we more consciously connect to it?

JIU JITSU, DOJOMark WalterDecember 14, 2021jiu jitsu, dojo, art, mark walter

Finding the Middle Way

Often, when we are attacked in life, we either meet the attack with a forceful response, or we cringe and cower. It’s an all or nothing approach. And in many cases, people only know one or the other of these polar opposite responses.

There are times when flight or flight responses are effective, but there is an entire world of other responses, found in the middle, which are often overlooked.

JIU JITSU, DOJOMark WalterDecember 14, 2021dojo, judo, jiu jitsu, mark walter

Calmness versus Emptiness

The mind has many thoughts, and it’s rarely empty. Yet, when it’s able to pause, it can glimpse the emptiness. And a mere glimpse can change you forever.

DOJO, JIU JITSUMark WalterDecember 12, 2021jiu jitsu, dojo, mark walter

Maintaining One Point

“I practiced the method of maintaining one point, one center, when there is commotion around you.” — from a student of Aikido

DOJO, JIU JITSUMark WalterDecember 12, 2021jiu jitsu, dojo, dude-jitsu, aikido, mark walter

Relaxing the mind

We often think of self defense martial arts as fighting arts and skills. But my Sensei often stated, “The biggest thing you have to defend against is your self.”

This advice is also true when it comes to stilling our mind. We typically associate a mind full of active and moving thoughts as a productive and healthy mind. But is it?

DOJO, JIU JITSU, FIELD GUIDEMark WalterDecember 10, 2021jiu jitsu, dojo, mark walter

Living in the moment

What would be different about the way we approach life if we were meditating — in some form or another — pretty much all the time, or at least at any time we chose? And not in some dull-eyed space cadet way. Rather, in a completely normalized, functional manner.

Martial arts helped illuminate the path to get me there, and I eventually learned how to meditate in everyday life. I can actually describe how to do it, although not in this short essay. It’s a skill I practice everyday.

JIU JITSU, DOJO, FIELD GUIDEMark WalterDecember 9, 2021jiu jitsu, dojo, mark walter

My Spring-Loaded Shoulders of Anxiety

I was in my brand new Jiu Jitsu gi (uniform) for the first time. I was 39 years old, needing something but not really sure what that ‘something’ was. I had all kinds of insecurity, but I couldn’t admit it. And all this tension built up in my shoulders and neck.

When I looked in the mirror I didn’t see any signs of tension. I saw a swimmer’s tapered physique. That wedge look made sense to me: I swam a lot. So this is how I looked when I hesitantly walked into my first Jiu Jitsu class in 1990… fit and ready. At least that’s what I thought.

DOJO, JIU JITSU, PRACTICESMark WalterFebruary 25, 2021jiu jitsu, dojo, ki, aikido, mark walter

Mirror Your Attacker

The attack is coming. It could be a co-worker, a customer, a partner, a patient, someone in line at the cash register, or even a family member. Sometimes it catches us by surprise, other times we can see it coming. It’s rarely physical.

How do we deal with both the expected and the surprise attacks?

JIU JITSU, DOJOMark WalterFebruary 11, 2021dojo, jiu jitsu, martial arts, mark walter

Three Martial Arts Rules for How to Speak your Mind

The martial arts has a long history, traceable to the second millennium BC. This means something: that 4000 or so years ago, we figured out there might be a better way to fight than using clubs.

Dude-Li, for example, was skinny and quite naked. He needed some kind of equalizer.

JIU JITSU, DOJOMark WalterFebruary 11, 2021dudeism, dojo, dude-jitsu, humor, mark walter

Dude-Jitsu

Jujitsu is considered a ‘soft’ martial art, as opposed to ‘hard’ forms that meet an opponent’s force with hard, solid kicks and strikes. In jujitsu, which literally means “art of softness,” you don’t meet an opponent’s physical force with your own force. Instead, like water, or wu wei, you flow with the opponent’s force and use it against them to throw them off balance and flip them onto the floor before they even know what’s happening.
Dude-jitsu follows the same basic approach, only with one important difference: There’s no physical harm intended.

JIU JITSU, DOJOMark WalterFebruary 11, 2021dudeism, dude-jitsu, dojo, humor, mark walter

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