Sunday, October 6, 2013
Sunset Beach
I live two and half blocks from the Sunset Beach. People sit and and wait for the most beautiful show each evening. This was one evening. Oh God, how beautiful are Your wonders.
Neighborhood Insignia
I find it fascinating at the neighborhood pride that is around me.
Chatan-Cho, my mihama (neighborhood) has a symbol and it is everywhere.
It is seen on buildings and manhole covers. My friend has it as a tattoo.
It is in the red above the three blue kanji.
In the center of the manhole cover.
At the 3 O'clock in the manhole cover.
Chatan-Cho, my mihama (neighborhood) has a symbol and it is everywhere.
It is seen on buildings and manhole covers. My friend has it as a tattoo.
It is in the red above the three blue kanji.
In the center of the manhole cover.
At the 3 O'clock in the manhole cover.
Bayonets and Puglesticks
As a chaplain, I do not carry a weapon and I am not trained to use a firearm.
However, MCMAP requires that I learn skills of disarming and using a firearm as a method of ending a conflict.
I held what is called a mokaju (a wooden stick that you would hold just like a rifle and is as long as a rifle with a bayonet attached at the end) and learned to move, thrust, slash, smash and disrupt. The master sergeant and I had a talk about the psychology of killing and the difference it makes being 100 yards away and being 1 foot away. I believed him with my head but not my heart.
It was not until the next day, in full padding and holding a pugle stick (a stick covered with padding, imagine American Gladiators jousting sticks) when I was told to engage with a Marine. I hesitated. My heart was telling me that I cannot hurt this Marine. I went on the defensive. I tried a couple of moves but all resulted with the Marine earning the victory point.
I am not upset at how I did in the sparing session but rather that even after having the discussion with the MsSgt about the psychology of warfare and the impact of killing someone up close, I could not overcome by basic instincts and do what I had been training to do.
Perhaps that is why I am grateful that as a chaplain, I will not have to make that decision or be in the situation where I may have to kill someone - intimately or any other way.
At the same time, choosing to take this class and learn this martial art, I hope to absorb what I am taught so I can be a more well-rounded chaplain for the Marines I am and will be serving in the future.
However, MCMAP requires that I learn skills of disarming and using a firearm as a method of ending a conflict.
I held what is called a mokaju (a wooden stick that you would hold just like a rifle and is as long as a rifle with a bayonet attached at the end) and learned to move, thrust, slash, smash and disrupt. The master sergeant and I had a talk about the psychology of killing and the difference it makes being 100 yards away and being 1 foot away. I believed him with my head but not my heart.
It was not until the next day, in full padding and holding a pugle stick (a stick covered with padding, imagine American Gladiators jousting sticks) when I was told to engage with a Marine. I hesitated. My heart was telling me that I cannot hurt this Marine. I went on the defensive. I tried a couple of moves but all resulted with the Marine earning the victory point.
I am not upset at how I did in the sparing session but rather that even after having the discussion with the MsSgt about the psychology of warfare and the impact of killing someone up close, I could not overcome by basic instincts and do what I had been training to do.
Perhaps that is why I am grateful that as a chaplain, I will not have to make that decision or be in the situation where I may have to kill someone - intimately or any other way.
At the same time, choosing to take this class and learn this martial art, I hope to absorb what I am taught so I can be a more well-rounded chaplain for the Marines I am and will be serving in the future.
The Ethical Warrior
This week, I started training for my tan belt in MCMAP (Marine Corps Martial Arts Program). This fighting style is designed to combine the physical with the emotional and intellectual. It is not just about how to fight but when to fight and why to fight.
It was no surprise on the first day, after we had worked on movement and angles (footwork), that we talked about honor. It is the foundation of the Marine Corps as well as the Navy - honor, courage, commitment.
We needed to understand what it means to fight honorably and better still, to live honorable lives.
There is an understanding that we who wear the uniform must understand. Because we wear the uniform, we are expected to live honorably, to serve faithfully and to do the right thing, even in a difficult moment. When we do that, we bring honor to the uniform. When we do something wrong, we bring shame and dishonor upon everyone who stands beside them.
Lesson number 1: move with honor
It was no surprise on the first day, after we had worked on movement and angles (footwork), that we talked about honor. It is the foundation of the Marine Corps as well as the Navy - honor, courage, commitment.
We needed to understand what it means to fight honorably and better still, to live honorable lives.
There is an understanding that we who wear the uniform must understand. Because we wear the uniform, we are expected to live honorably, to serve faithfully and to do the right thing, even in a difficult moment. When we do that, we bring honor to the uniform. When we do something wrong, we bring shame and dishonor upon everyone who stands beside them.
Lesson number 1: move with honor
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