Friday, May 25, 2007
Barbarian And Proud Of It
OK, let me just say it; I'm Barbarian, and proud of it.
Chessman over at Formosa Neijia Has a post where he explains how some of the masters he trains with in Taiwan disregard foreigners that train with them, no matter what their skill level is. He kicks their ass and they say he still does not have true martial power. They say he has to be Chinese to understand.
I have had the same thing happen to me with a much-loved old Chinese Tai Chi master I know. While discussing Chi Kung techniques at a seminar, I asked him specific questions about direction of flow in various meridians, etc.
I kid you not; he told me "You have to be Chinese to understand". Well, three or so books on Chi Kung later and I found the answers I was looking for.
I may be a Dojo Rat, I know I'm a Barbarian, but I ain't no dummy.
So with that in mind, Dojo Rat will celebrate the Barbarian in us. Take the Vikings, for instance. They were undoubtadly some of the baddest dudes in history. It was the Vikings that made it to America way before Columbus. They were in Africa. There is evidence of Viking burials in China. Europe trembled in their presence.
They were craftsmen, warriors and traders. Their ships and weapons were works of art, and the ultimate honor was to die in battle.
Yet, despite their fierce reputation as warriors, they quickly assimilated into whatever culture they had just kicked the crap out of. The Vikings were very democratic (much like the pirates), and their women and Queens were very powerful.
I could have celebrated this with clips from "The 13th Warrior", except I just couldn't take putting Antonio Banderas on Dojo Rat. So we enter "The Wayback Machine" and travel to 1958 to visit the all-star cast of "The Vikings".
If you have never seen it, I have to include this spoiler: One of the best scenes is where Ernest Borgnine kills himself by jumping into a pit full of wolves to fight to the death.
So let's hear it for Barbarians-- AAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!
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4 comments:
By my sword, that is a powerful post.
You're right about the Vikings as world travelers. They were also prized as mercenaries throughout Europe and Asia.
The word, berserk, comes from a Scandanavian word, baarssark, which means bear shirt. A Viking warrior wearing bear skin believed that he took on some of the spirit of the bear and that it gave strength and courage in battle.
A Viking's most powerful and sacred oath was "by my sword."
And lastly, I liked that movie, "The Vikings." You should also check out "The Long Ships" if you dig Viking flicks.
Lastly, if you want to see a really, really bad Viking movie, maybe as a double feature with "Plan 9 from Outer Space," check out "The Norseman" with Lee Majors.
As a Tampa resident, I can tell you it has the distinction of being the worst movie ever shot on Florida's west coast.
For example: jet trails in the skies over 11th century America; and the cast includes former Defensive End for the L.A. Rams, Deacon Jones as (you guessed it) a Viking.
Okay, for a fantastic viking picture, check out the 1996 film, The Viking Sagas with Ralf Moeller.
Great scene in the beginning where a viking nails a piece of his own intestine to a tree and walks around the tree, eviscerating himself to distract the enemy so his son can escape.
If you are a member of NetFlix, this is one of the free Instant Viewing downloads you can get.
Thanks guys, I have netflicks so I will look for those!
D.R.
Yeah, let's hear it for the Vikings! You're right: if I'm going to labeled that, then I might as well embrace it.
Formosa Neijia
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