Daniele Bolelli on Philosophy, Martial Arts, and Some Big Ideas

Last updated on: February 24, 2022 at 5:25 pm By Andrew

Episode 9 is here! This episode features a conversation with Daniele Bolelli. Daniele is a writer, martial artist, university professor, and podcaster. He was born in Italy and currently lives in Los Angeles. After graduating from UCLA with a B.A. in Anthropology and earning graduate degrees in American Indian Studies and History at UCLA and Cal State Long Beach, he began teaching at several colleges in Southern California. He’s lectured on a wide range of subjects including American Indian history... Read more

Deep Scene Breakdown, “Everything is Kung Fu”

Last updated on: February 11, 2022 at 3:06 pm By Andrew

It’s a beautiful scene and incredibly deep. I truly enjoyed the remake of the original 1984 The Karate Kid – and this scene in particular. In The Karate Kid (2010), the art is now Kung Fu and the figure of Mr. Miyagi is now Mr. Han, played by Jackie Chan. The original figure of Daniel is now Dre, played by Jaden Smith. In both movies, Daniel and Dre are growing impatient in their “training”. They are both given remedial tasks (“sand the... Read more

Bruce Lee, Evolution, and Being Water

Last updated on: January 27, 2022 at 6:07 pm By Andrew

Bruce Lee was considered by many in the Kung Fu tradition to be a heretic. In breaking from a commitment to a singular tradition, he formed Jeet Kune Do not as a new style, but a general epistemology to be open-minded to what works. Openness to all styles was a big no-no. Martial arts traditions, like religious traditions, have a history of promoting THE way (which was exclusively their way of course). It would turn out Lee was not a... Read more

MLK Junior’s Antidotes to Hate and Tribalism

Last updated on: January 17, 2022 at 5:51 pm By Andrew

In my lifetime (I’m 40 at the time of this writing), I’ve never seen such divisive times. Perhaps its just more visible than ever with social media. To be fair, there have certainly been periods of tension in my memory, but there is a unique spirt that worries me; one of tribalism and hatred – an alarming “us vs them” sentiment. I’ve always been inspired by what I believe to be the cure found in John 1:5; that “the light shines in... Read more

Soapbox Faith: Bushido Without Scientia

Last updated on: January 9, 2022 at 8:06 pm By Andrew

It could only be by faith, at least our leap of faith on that fateful day. That, and a bushido samurai spirit of being willing to die. In all fairness, in our situation, it was most likely just severe injury. But winning, losing, death (or severe injury) was not the concern. Like the samurai, our honor was at stake. From top to bottom, the street was around a 45-60 degree decline feeding into a nice cul-de-sac landing zone, about 200... Read more

Mandela’s Stoic Wisdom on Losing as Learning

Last updated on: December 22, 2021 at 9:21 pm By Andrew

Twenty-seven years imprisoned; then to go on what he accomplished, Nelson Mandela has inspired countless individuals with his legacy. There was a quote I started using some time ago; I’m not surprised all surprised it came from his mouth: “I never lose. I either win or learn.” I wrote earlier how Mandela would reflect on prose of the poem “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley, later portrayed in the film. Latin for “unconquered”, those famous last two sentences are hard to be... Read more

Deep Song Breakdown, Whatever It Takes

Last updated on: December 12, 2021 at 2:30 pm By Andrew

The song is not just inspirational, but incredibly deep. If you’re not paying close attention, you could actually miss how deep it is. Further, it builds on my last Deep Song Breakdown, Metallica’s “Unforgiven”. In “Whatever it Takes”, Imagine Dragons decide to do whatever it takes to not be deemed “unforgiven”. Words like “whatever it takes” and “I was born to run, I was born for this”, you can definitely tell by both the title of the song and many of... Read more

Kierkegaard meets Aristotle; An Unlikely Yinyang

Last updated on: November 28, 2021 at 5:08 pm By Andrew

Is truth subjective or objective; could it be both? What lies at the intersection of virtue theory and existentialism; does such an intersection even exist? For those that dig both ideas, but find tension in radical subjectivity vs. a more objective-based virtue ethic (living to one’s potential according to our nature as a social-rational animal); the Kierkegaard-Aristotle yinyang is the key. Actually, the fathers of virtue ethics and existentialism, especially in light of contemporary neuroscience, complement and balance each other. Allow... Read more

Aristotle (and the misattribution to him) on Excellence

Last updated on: November 21, 2021 at 8:14 pm By Andrew

That famous Aristotle quote… “We are repeatedly what we do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit” Well, that’s not actually Aristotle, it was Will Durant. Aristotle did say (bold my emphasis): “Virtue, then, being of two kinds, intellectual and moral, intellectual virtue in the main owes both its birth and its growth to teaching… Moral virtue comes about as a result of habit… None of the moral virtues arises in us by nature… We are adapted by nature... Read more

What Mixed Martial Arts Can Teach us About Truth Seeking

Last updated on: November 10, 2021 at 11:24 pm By Andrew

We’re a tribal species. Our way is THE way. To break from (or even doubt) our most cherished views and traditions is heresy. Depending on the particular tribe, you risk insult, financial livelihood, relationships, and even death. Most political and religious camps certainly follow this trend. You’re either all in or risk it all. Shun, cancel, and eliminate threats; heresy will not be tolerated. Given our evolutionary history, tribalism is not a surprise. But what are the odds that the... Read more