New Poll / Beat down

Hey everyone!

I wanted to direct your attention to the side bar ------->

I encourage you all to vote!

The Beat Down: Kick-ball style

So while surfing the inter-webs this morning, I came across plenty of news. I won't touch the whole Trayvon case with a 10 foot pole (at this point anyway). There just isn't enough information yet.

But what I will touch on is a case of "Soccer Beatdown".

I saw this video on Yahoo. Many questions and comments came to mind:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/south-carolina-teen-brutal-soccer-attack-earns-assault-103322121.html

First question: What would you do if this was your kid and it happened next to you?

Second question: What if you were running through the park and saw this happen right next to you with 2 total strangers?

Third question: How would you prepare your child (or a child you care about) for such an attack?

Fourth question: What do you think would have been the final result of this fight if there were no adults around? Like if this was just a pick-up game?

I don't expect anyone to answer these questions in the reply portion, but it would be interesting to discuss. I would like you all to mull these questions.

Furthermore, when you see such things in the news, you should be preparing your mind!

Most people just see these stories and react to them. The become 3rd party observers and will often come to a conclusion. If it's a Trayvon type thing, or a soccer fight, folks just say something like "What a tragety! Person ________ was so out of line!"

Rather that just subject yourself to an opinion such as the average observer, students of the Survival Academy should be putting themselves in the shoes of everyone. Watch all these news stories with the eyes of an actor.

"If I were playing the role of Trayvon,  how would have I acted?"

"If I were playing the role of Zimmerman, how would have I acted?"

"If I observed the Travon/Zimmerman fight, how would have I acted?"

Questions like these are HUGELY important for anyone who wants to consider themselves a martial artist.

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.  ~Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See

Examine every situation this way. Do not just sit back and soak up the "tragedy". Analyze it, learn from it. Try to correct similar mistakes in your head before they happen to you. 

There is a quote that is out there somewhere, but I cannot find it. It says something to the effect of "The body cannot go where the mind has not".

This of course means that you must IMAGINE and VISUALIZE situations before you deal with them. 

Prepare your mind! It will save your body!