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Sep 10
KFEB #31) A skillful warrior strikes a decisive blow and stops. He does not continue the attack to assert his mastery. He will strike the blow, but be on his guard against being vain or arrogant over his success. He strikes it as a matter of necessity, but not from a wish of mastery.
This entry into the KFEB is brought to you by Lao Tzu, making it Taoist in nature. There is some paradigmatic baggage from Taoism that we won’t go into in-depth here, but will likely touch upon it. This one is rather simple, and straightforward – it’s an almost intuitive concept, but what’s interesting is that it’s not …
Aug 07
KFEB #30) The superior man moves his lips; the common man moves his fists.
This particular KFEB entry comes from an anonymous author, but they could either be Confucian or Taoist in mindset, mostly based on the statement of the “Superior Man”. Remember that both of these belief’s notion of a “Superior Man” is essentially one who embodies the best of humanity, which is reflected here via a direct comparison …
Jul 25
KFEB #29) It is equally criminal in the governor, and in the governed, to violate laws.
This particular KFEB entry comes from someone other than the standard masters, already discussed at length – the new entry into the philosophical arena is from the Xianwen Shu (Hien Wen Shoo); a Chinese book (‘the book of virtuous writing’), likely of the Confucian persuasion, that includes this particular KFEB submission in the literal translation as: “Offending …
Jul 01
KFEB #28 – The Master said “Learning without thought is labour lost; thought without learning is perilous.”
This one is rather simple to ferret out where it comes from – pretty much any time that the words “the Master said” are used, it’s associated with Confucius. China would go through a major period in their history when people would do tests based on the different philosophies that made their way to prominence …
Jun 24
KFEB #27 – A gentleman blames himself while a common man blames others.
I have always loved this one, although I never really understood it that much (beyond the intuitive level) when I was a teenager. I’ve always tried to be a gentleman, and I’ve thought I’d succeeded on many occasions, but it’s not something that is readily available in a modern society; parts of, yes, but there …
Jun 22
The Complete Book of Tai Chi, by Sifu Wong Kiew Kit
To be forthright, Tai Chi is not my primary style, but I love this book. I consider this book to be akin to Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere (another review forthcoming) as it is a reference that helps any martial artist’s background in a conceptual manner. As the title suggests, this is a rather complete …
Jun 17
KFEB# 26 – There is no greater lie than the lie that becomes necessary to defend another lie.
I have loved this saying since I read it – and, like most people, I have felt the sting of lies… Unfortunately, I have also felt the sting from lying… which only underscores the point. In a valuation of “lies”, which is what this KFEB entry is trying to say, the initial lie does not …
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