Martial Arts and Skepticism

So as you all know, I hope you do anyhow, I am a great skeptic.

Now, you may ask, what does martial arts have to do with skepticism?
Well I will tell you what. You see, the problem is many school of modern martial combat function like religions rather than institutions of science. Your teacher tells you something, and you have to buy it. That's it, you are not allowed to question it in the slightest. Especially if you train at one of the mac dojo's.

Each style has it's own set of techniques, and they are fundamentally very similar, however the fact remains that none of these styles are all powerful, yet many people versed in just one style tend to think it is the ultimate. I have known of Muay Thai fighters that scoff at karate and wing chun or tae kwon do, and vice versa. Only rarely does someone take a lesson from all the styles.

Now I'm not the greatest fighter, heck, I wouldn't even probably match up against any of the people I am criticizing in a "fight". However, that has a lot to do with my passive attitude, since I find fighting to be extremely stupid, and when I spar my goal is to try and defeat my opponent without harming them. Of course in a life or death situation, the only option would be a savage and brutal offense on my part until my attacker was immobilized or I was slain.

Returning to the original idea however, I will explore two different kicks. Both of them are called a roundhouse. However they hold their origins in two branches. The first being Tae Kwon Do, and the other being Muay Thai (I know other styles also have roundhouses but I will use these two for the sake of this article.)

The Tae Kwon Do Roundhouse features a snap and a return, while the muay thai version has a follow through.

Now if one were to only be versed in one school of combat, they would likely claim that their version is superior. However the problem, is that neither kick is perfect, and it is best to have both in ones arsenal. In actual combat you have to deal with circumstances like terrain, weather, environment, clothing (if you're in a suit and you get attacked, you will have to react differently than if you had your gi)

I'm not saying that these martial arts terrible, but I do ask that anyone who partakes in any type of training question every part of it. And don't be afraid to experiment, just know, that if you claim something is the ultimate style, it truly must be unbeatable in any circumstance.. I have yet to come across such a style or such a martial artist.

Learn from them all, but do not fall victim to any.

Science covers facts, Religion covers them up.

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/comments/f5tv4/so_true/   that's where the idea originated from.  

Existence Does Not Mean Worship

So, I know that many of us non believers are asked the question, "What would do if God was proven to be real?"

Well, first of all it depends which God are we talking about?
Are we talking about the scary, jealous, egocentric, mental sky man Yahweh?
Or perhaps we are speaking of Hades, or Zeus, neither of whom I would consider calling moral.
There are also the Gods of Hindu Mythology, and the Gods of Egypt, and many others, so many infact, that it would take me more time than I would care to spend to list even a tenth of them.

However for the sake of this argument I will be using the notion of Yahweh, since he is the most widely known of all Gods, and the most widely worshiped.

Now, I suppose you might call me insolent, but I can say that most people are superior to Yahweh in the moral sense, and it's possible that in the distant future, we will rival, and surpass his fictitious might.

But Alas, I am not being fair, I said I would assume that Yahweh was real for the sake of this argument.
If I were to actually come face to face with him, the results would likely be similar to the following
Replace Frieza with Yahweh
Minus the fact that I never served the mental man in the first place, nor do I have any offspring to carry on the battle, but I would nonetheless defy Yahweh.

Now some may say, but you can't go against the very thing that created you. That would be disrespecting it.
Well, if there is a being that created a world, where people suffer unfairly, and a being that gives the ability to choose but condemns us for not bowing our head to it, then I'd rather burn in hell than kiss its feet.

If one looks at Yahweh, the sick freak slaughters millions of people for trivial reasons. He's like the original Hitler... Heck, if it were real (again there's no compelling evidence to believe in it), I wouldn't be surprised if Hitler was burning in Hell only because he outdid Yahweh's KDR (Kill Death Ratio, for those of you who don't play many video games)

Regardless, there is no reason to worship anything. Any being that wishes to be worshiped, or cares who worships it and who doesn't, should be by default made unworthy of being worshiped.  Now on the other hand if such a being had been more moral, and more like us humans (when we are being rational) then perhaps, I might consider it a possible acquaintance. Possibly. Though, if the Deities turn out to be accurately described in those works of fiction.. then I will stand against them with what little might I have.

Also since I like to keep this a family friendly blog, I had to refrain from using some adjectives that would be better suited for describing those that many worship. Though I'm sure you can use your imagination.

A Must Read Book, for everybody

Here I am, never thought I would need to do this, but I'm endorsing a book...

I know, I know... books are nasty, they require you to think.. especially when you disagree with them (though I agree with Dawkins... in fact, the only reason I came across the man and his arguments is because they were essentially the same points I was trying to argue.. except he does it a million times better)

Anyhow, it's a great read, and personally, I think that any theology/ philosophy class that discusses divinity should give this a read.

Quote of the Day Jan 3 2011

if you want to do evil, science provides the most powerful weapons to do evil; but equally, if you want to do good, science puts into your hands the most powerful tools to do so.

Richard Dawkins