Bettering Yourself

I feel it is up to you as a responsible individual to rise above or at least use to the fullest, everything that makes you... you. There is an overwhelming belief in the world that you are made who you are by uncontrollable circumstances and that's that, just accept it and let the world deal with how it has made you. This is, of course is true in part, these circumstances; biology, time period, parents, environment, wealth, and good old-fashioned luck do influence you greatly. I think that you should take it upon yourself to make those circumstances less of a hindrance, get to the essence of yourself. This essence is known to many people as a soul, but whatever you call it, it is the part of a being that is unchanged by these things but only clouded. And this essence, the essential part of you is forgotten by most because they rely on one of those exterior parts to cling to, such as where they are from. This is a common reference for individual identity, ironically this deludes your identity. By saying I am this person because of my geographical location is only to liken yourself to others who have been from the same area, even mold yourself to those people. To Honestly Express yourself you need to get to the bare essential of yourself and blaming circumstantial occurrences for your being is counter to that, even when these things are completely unavoidable. Stop with making your childhood or your station the reason that you don't become all that you could become, at least then you wouldn't ever wonder what you could have done with yourself because you pushed all the way. That is the next step, once you get to the base of yourself, don't let any of those factors inhibit you again. The hardest thing is that these unavoidable factors are not to be hated but accepted for what they are as long as the don't stop you bettering yourself. Become as a mirror, neither accept or deny anything, be yourself but allow all those foreign factors to come and go.

Quote about Rememberance

"I don't know how many lives I've influenced, but I hope they remember me"

Quote

"Anything worth having is difficult to get and worth fighting to keep"
-Joseph Hogan

A Quote on Beliefs

"I am a child of this world and my beliefs should not hinder my existence nor yours"
-Joseph Hogan

I feel to much time is spent trying to figure which of us is right, especially in the world of religion and spirituality. No one knows, lets get that out of the way, because there is no way to check the correctness you feel. That is all it is, a feeling, and its very important but to go as far as to assume your infallible rightness against everyone else in the world is outrageous. Let it go, not your beliefs but the hold on the idea that everyone else is wrong except you. It is much more important to allow everyone to find their own way. Help them without squashing the beliefs they already have, if they see some merit in the way you live your life and wish to follow... great. It seems that the human ego can't handle the possibility of it being wrong or accused of being wrong. If someone believes differently than you, its not an opportunity to "save them" (helping them is different), its an opportunity to learn more, be exposed to more and reinforce your beliefs even if that means changing them. In simple terms; let everyone believe what they want, it really is ok to think differently, it actually helps.

Perspective

"The correct perspective is at an axis of all of them but not committing to any of them"
-Joseph Hogan

Exceptions

"Everything has an exception, which in itself is an obvious exception"


I wrote this in my early teens, one of those trying to sound deep things that is a Zen-ish knock off I'm sure, but none the less make an important point.

Morals and Evolution

I've been asked and have asked myself many times if I believe in God, and I do and I also believe in Evolution, Science, and the natural world. I might need to say that the God I believe in is not necessarily the one represented classically but I'll get to that later. One thing that has bugged me about the evolution of our species, its the development of a God and morals. I believe in an innate sense of right and wrong in all people (even though some of it IS learned), its just so easy to ignore in order to be selfish. Evolution is necessary, but humanity has ignored the self serving nature by having morals and a God residing over those morals. Those who do believe that God was a creation of man in an order to feel comforted in a hostile world, I understand that, but why create rules that inhibit the very nature of a living organism. If you're going to create a being that governs yourself right now, it would make a lot of sense to make one that justifies everything you do. Why create a God that tells you to be a person of self sacrifice, self sacrifice is contrary to life (with the exception of preservation of species, like a mother saving her child). Life continues because it does what best serves it, self-preservation should not be trumped by self-sacrifice, but time and time again it is. Why would an organism EVER feel satisfaction from helping another, especially when there was nothing to be gained. That is my scientific explanation for God, but the "feeling" of a God and more importantly an internal sense of purpose that seems higher than anything else on earth. I have always felt a sense of duty to eventually rise to a challenge, and that doesn't come from a lack of purpose now. I personally, have always felt a need to fight for what was right regardless of consequences, and those consequences should frighten me away so that I can keep on living, and a great number of people still do. My willingness to sacrifice myself (if need be) is not made easier by the thought of a rewarded afterlife either, Even if I was sure there was no heaven or whatever, I would still want to end my life by saving someone else. All this contradicts my understanding of the natural world, and unlike most "Religious" people I test my beliefs constantly and refuse to be rigid in any faith I have.

Poor Decisions

"Making poor decisions seems to be a human right of passage".

I'm not being pessimistic, I just feel that the rest of the world relates well and finds comradery with the rest of the world when it makes mistakes.

Loyalty

I'm constantly disappointed in people, sad yes, but even sadder than my reaction, is the cause. People apparently have lost any respect for themselves and the ones around them. I am always witness to people, men and women who cannot be faithful to the ones they are with, in action or just in thought which is just as bad. None of this comes from personal hurt, I've never been cheated on (as far as I know) but none the less I am hurt by watching people who can't stay faithful. I know that my age MAY be a factor in my perspective and people in my age group are stupid and are hardly ever faithful to those they claim to love, but I don't think so. Almost every relationship I've ever heard of has been full of lies and cheating, if they're happy, they're both just lying to each other. This sadly isn't a harsh view, its the reality of how self-serving most people are. It's not that hard to say "no" to someone who throws them self at you, have some self respect and care enough for your significant other to at least let them go if you can't "keep it in your pants".

Martial arts Films in Recent history

I am a huge fan of the Martial Arts and the movies that represent them. For most of Martial Arts history, it has been seen as a mystical thing, and not just by the western world. Martial Arts have been secret tricks and powers that the easterner would never share with anyone else. Because of this mysticism, the film community amplified that perspective by having characters that can fly, shoot energy or kill a man with a single touch. Of course, this is only an expression of an idea and I wouldn't say what's right or wrong but I would say that the closer to honesty the better. The first break from this "unrealistic" style of movie was Bruce Lee, who wanted to make a fight as realistic as possible, to the point of hurting some of the cast in order to get a full feel for impact. Very few have tried to continue this ideal with the exception of Jackie Chan, making sure to keep his fighting as realistic as possible. Jackie had his choreography reflect a very realistic world of fighting, his character was never the superhero that Bruce usually played but a good guy that got mixed up in bad things and just happened to win. Jackie's characters always ended up taking a beating, regardless of how good he was. He always used the environment extensively, just as most would if being attacked by multiple assailants. One of my favorite thinks Jackie did with his choreography was that he didn't fight one man at a time while five others made themselves look busy in the background, he attacked each one just quick enough as to buy himself enough time as to continue to the next and so on, something his predecessor Bruce began. I wouldn't dare sell his competition short; Jet Li, Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung, or the new Tony Jaa, these men are amazing athletes and skilled martial artists. I will say that they don't invest as much as Jackie does. Donnie Yen has surprised me recently with his new success in the Yip Man movies (one and two), Yip Man was an astonishing movie that tried to represent the times of a nation and abilities of an amazing style called Wing Chun. His performance as an actor was just as complete as his ability as a Martial Artist.

Rare Honesty

I feel that it's hard to find those who dedicate themselves to every part of their lives. Honest and Pure souls are few and in between these days, not to say that there were more in the past. To be able to pursue your passions without any regard for those who would speak out against you, for what ever reason. I'm going to point out some of those that I feel are pure souls who push through regardless. An artist is someone who expresses themselves honestly, this honesty shows through the medium; paint, film, actions, fighting, music, whatever regardless of how the world will perceive them.


MIYAVI


Miyavi is a Japanese Musician that is a brilliant freestylist, he plays the guitar in such a way that I feel raises the bar for all who call themselves musicians. His lyrics are not overly complicated, and I had to look them up to know what the song was about but the song was perfect enough without knowing what it was about to love it. Miyavi has gone through several changes in his musical career and incorporated more and more arts in his performances. In one of his last tours he had a tap-dancer, a beatboxer, a DJ, and a group of BMX riders, all directly involved in the performances. Miyavi has a very raw and organic style of music, as with all art, it may just be my taste but I believe few can rival his musical talent. I'd like to add that this video is only Miyavi, what you hear is him, a guitar, and some bells on his ankles, that's all.

STEVE IRWIN


Steve Irwin, or as most of us know him; the Croc Hunter, is a pure soul who deserves the popularity he has obtained. This is a man who risked his life to bring the natural world to us. He was so honest and pure that I feel animals could sense his lack of fear. He could have a hold of a venomous snake that could easily kill him, and the snake would not feel threatened in the least so it would feel calm in his hands. Steve was known for his passion, he was easy to express himself even if it was his vulnerability. We have seen him several times in tears because of honest sadness for the loss of an animals life or in happiness hearing of his son's birth. There are many who would call this man silly, stupid and crazy for the situations he placed himself in, but his passion (and expertise) was in the dangerous animal he surrounded himself with. Sadly, he lost his life to a seemingly harmless creature, a stingray and will be missed greatly. As many have said, it was important that he passed by something so "harmless", otherwise dissenters will have thought they were right all along and he was just flirting with his own death and it was inevitable. I admire anyone who will pursue his passions to his extent and still be a beautiful human being.

Jeet Kune Do

Jeet Kune Do is a philosophy that is based on constant evolution of the mind and training your body to be able to handle any possibility. Your mind is to be like flowing water, never stagnant. The second that you put up an absolute in your mind; that there is only one way to do something you WILL eventually find something that will contardict or impede that thought. With the "Fluid Mind" you allow yourself to be a mirror, to only take in information and react to it, not to settle or dwell on it.
One example of this is in religion, not to take one religion as absolute but find the core principles that are important and not to be too rigid in your idea of YOU being right. Often people forget about the possibility of them being wrong because it would forever wound their visage of themselves, facing it would be too hard.
Constantly training yourself, continuing to better yourself in every way possible is what Jeet Kune Do stands for. If you find a fear, a lacking, a part of yourself that isn't honest with the rest of the world, then you work to correct it. Constant Honesty with yourself, which is incredibly hard, is the root to honest expression. In the most simple terms, Jeet Kune Do is Honest self-expression. The mind has several ways of coping with problems that take effort to get over, its harder but far more worth it in the long run, and also if you commit to it enough, life becomes much easier. The world moves with you inside it to watch and its easier to be confident in yourself when you loose the fear of failure.

Lost Honor

Something very close to my heart is a sense of Honor. Honor is the moral framework for the rest of your life, what tells you without a shadow of a doubt what is right and wrong. I look around most days and feel very sad that people seem to have forgotten what this word means. Most people are too concerned with their day to day earnings and satisfactions to remember something bigger than themselves. In all fairness I understand why people are worried for only themselves, its a proven evolutionary formula. If you were to ask someone what the most important thing to them in their life was, more than likely you would get some of the same answers; family, friends, job, money. In my opinion (and I feel its a good one seeing as I've spent a long time forming it) these things are nothing compared to self sacrifice and a duty to protect those around you. Doing what's right always comes with consequences, and I feel that they are worth it. I'd like to site some historic examples of fighting for what people saw as right, especially when faces with dire consequences. Firstly, the Spartans and their battle at Thermopole, these men stood against obviously impossible odds knowing that they were die but stood against tyranny and did the right thing. Its much easier to do what's right when nothing is in your way, but when one of the most precious things, your life is what's being waged against an ideal... that is true strength. Joan of Arc never relinquished her beliefs even to a court about to sentence her to death. She believed that her right to speak the truth was more important than giving in and lying to herself. Hua Mulan was willing to join the military in order to save a loved one from a certain death. I feel that the greatest is those who we will never hear of, and they knew it. The point is that there is nothing to drive people, no great war or any hard times to focus their lives. When people today do have hard times today, they are laughable to those with a more deep perspective. The hard times are the stolen credit card, the blown out tire, or the dreaded failed vanity. Instead of a dedication to others, people are wandering a world of immediate satisfaction and yearning for constant sympathy. I may be holding the world to too high a standard that I don't know if I can live up to, I just know that I'm trying. All I ask all of you is to ask yourselves... are you trying, and are you trying your hardest so that you can be proud yourself.

Jun Fan (Bruce Lee)

My personal hero and philosophical sifu is the late and great Bruce Lee, a man whose legacy turned him into a cliche in some respects. This was a man who tried to better himself in all aspects of his life. I feel Bruce lived his life for the betterment of himself and thusly the betterment of all around him. Bruce began a philosophy and theory for Martial Arts called Jeet Kune Do. This philosophy revolves around constant evolution in oneself in order to find the most economical way to any task, whether is be self-defence motion or a common interaction. Bruce was well known for his fighting prowess but the extent of his abilities are far less well know. Bruce had the ability to strike from three feet with his hands down by his side reached five hundredths of a second. Lee could take in one arm a 75 lb barbell from a standing position with the barbell held flush against his chest and slowly stick his arms out locking them, holding the barbell there for 20 seconds. Lee's combat movements were at times too fast to be captured on film for clear slow motion replay using the traditional 24 frames per second of that era, so many scenes were shot in 32 frames per second for better clarity. In a speed demonstration, Lee could snatch a dime off a person's open palm before they could close it, and leave a penny behind. Lee would hold an elevated v-sit position for 30 minutes or longer. Lee could throw grains of rice up into the air and then catch them in mid-flight using chopsticks. Lee could thrust his fingers through unopened cans of Coca-Cola. (This was when soft drinks cans were made of steel much thicker than today's aluminum cans). Lee performed one-hand push-ups using only the thumb and index finger. Lee performed 50 reps of one-arm chin-ups. Lee could break wooden boards 6 inches (15 cm) thick. Lee could cause a 200-lb (90.72 kg) bag to fly towards and thump the ceiling with a sidekick.Lee performed a sidekick while training with James Coburn and broke a 150 lb (68 kg) punching bag. In a move that has been dubbed "Dragon Flag", Lee could perform leg lifts with only his shoulder blades resting on the edge of a bench and suspend his legs and torso horizontal midair. This was a man who committed himself to perfecting every muscle and every possible motion. I admire that kind of dedication to anything, but the dedication to everything is unique to the world. Great people throughout history have devoted themselves to one or two aspects of their lives but I feel none of them devoted themselves to a point to involve all aspects of there life.


(Done under some Rum influences)

A Formal Introduction...

Who am I? A man of constant introspection and on the face, a 26 year old American of Irish descent. I am daily driven by my quest to better myself, my history in the Martial Arts has taught me discipline that makes that possible. One of the most important things about my starting this blog is to stimulate my mind, for a recent injury that has handicapped me a bit. I was involved in a Carbon Monoxide poisoning at my school in Sarasota (Ringling College of Art and Design) that has made typing difficult not to overly mention the memory loss, depression, lack of cognitive ability, and general apathy towards most of the world.

As most are used to, I would like to give a brief synopsis of my life, which I will be expanded upon (Honestly) in future posts.
I was born in Warrenton, Va on the 7th of January, in 1984. I spent a few years in each Kentucky, Georgia and most of my life in Central Florida (regrettably). My father (Turner Lynn Hogan) passed when I was 16 and after High school I began my stay at Ringling studying computer animation. I play Soccer quite regularly, LOVE Martial Arts, draw constantly and am a big nature nut.