“Control yourself, let others do what they will.This does not mean you are weak.Control your heart, obey the principles of life.This does not mean others are stronger.”

Rules:

1. Focus to train and condition the body.
2. Be righteous and uphold your honor.
3. Respect your parents, honor your teacher.
4. Treat others with honesty, treat your friends with loyalty.

This is the way of the Dragon style. I feel I relate to this style most due to the fact that I try my best to live my life the way a practitioner of this style would. I have a bit of trouble with the focus and my type of training is most likely different.  While researching this subject I found it interesting that this was the style that the firebending style in Avatar: The Last Airbender was based off of this particular martial art. The series has been a major part of my life, and I have actually had to represent the element of fire using this style for a previous class.

Click here to view the embedded video.

There are two forms of the Dragon style, a Northern (as mentioned in the video) and Southern.

“In both the Northern and Southern Dragon Style systems, leg work is characterized by a zig-zag motion that mimics the imagined movement of the mythical Chinese dragon. In Southern style, smaller strides are emphasized to complement the system’s short range combat style. In the Northern system, the strides are greater, utilizing the strength of the legs to move in and out of the opponent’s range of attack with speed and force.”

Based on this description, I would be best fitted for Southern Dragon Style.

Sources:

http://www.americanshaolinkungfu.org/shaolinAnimalStyles.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Shaolin_(martial_art)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Dragon_Kung_Fu

In this complex yet enjoyable movie there was somethings I really thought was interesting. I like that part where Denzel Washington was explaining to Jay that they are in way similar. Color shading. Denzel, “You are only a couple shades from his face he pointed at.” I like that cross connection because even if Jay and his family came from Africa, Denzel made a good point. Jay expressing that he doesn’t know his struggle. Denzel, “I’m a black man born and raised in Mississippi, there ain’t a damn thing you can tell me about struggle.” That right there hit me hard because my dad would say the same thing because my dad was born and raised in Mississippi. I thought that everyone in the U.S had something good going for them and my dad was like nope. In Mississippi it was a struggle everyday because not only having 13 brothers and sisters like he did, but to grow up in a state where it seemed as he explained it,”A state that was so slow in economy, production and all other things.” I think also they chose that part of Mississippi because of the country parts because imagine if the movie was in a inner-city? My dad also said that when he got back from visiting Mississippi that they are still behind. My dad also said and to this day, I was shocked beyond something fierce. My dad told me when he was little and to this day that Mississippi was considered the poorest state in the whole U.S. of A. What? No way and he said yeah. I really like that Mississippi Masala was a good movie and showed a lot of cross connections of African and Indian Americans. Home is where the heart is and I like that Jay said that even though he went back to Africa to see how it was, but seemed like the same. I would like to make a trip to Uganda and see what has happened there ever since the regimes. Reading it isn’t the same as seeing it for yourself. Hope everyone had a good weekend. Peace

This crow that appears on page 349 and I wanted to acknowledge that this crow is well put in here and each letter describes the animal in a way. It feels a puzzler. Crow. On page 349, The word appears on the horizon, black against the unbearable light, and as it comes closer, it starts to turn and spiral, elongating its C to create a spine, rounding its O into a sleek belly, rotating its R to form a forehead and a wide-open beak. It stretches wide Wings, flaps them once, twice, thrice, and then, fully feathered, it starts to fly. In a way the bird seemed like a guide for Ruth just to put the crow in this form and to see how the word has value an plays a part in Ruth’s part in the book. Nature in the book was a big part of a theme environment that I noticed a lot in this book. I like that this crow was in here because I wanted to know more on why this crow was in here. I guess in this part played a guardian crow in a way, but all in all I really like the jungle crow. Thanks for nature in this Tale for the time being.

I found a reoccurring factor and this was suicide which is a form of death. I read it on page 245 where Nao was talking about the mass suicides of soldiers at a place called Attu. Called it Gyokusai which was a suicide attack, human wave attack. I wonder was there a massive scene of suicides by soldiers on this Island. I’m also thinking about was Gyokusai a traditional thing because also in the description says, “A great man should die as a shattered jewel rather than live as an intact tile.” Is this traditional or just happened during the Tojo Hideki which was the prime minister during the time of these massive suicides. What was the point of the suicides? Were they suicide bombers or just massive suicides knowing that they were going to lose the war? Suicide in war and what it can do to people is something else entirely.

Throughout the book, but in the section I found some communication about the tsunami and what happened after it. The after effects of what nature does. When April 4, where the update log Tepco received permission from Japanese government to release 11,500 tons of contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean. After that it stated that is equivalent to five Olympic swimming pools. Wow and lasting for five days. Poisonous water into the Ocean and I’m wondering with all this communication why wouldn’t they filter the water before releasing it into the Pacific because someone will more than likely get radiation dose from it later saying that and I just wanted to know. Why just dump it, I know that’s a lot of water, but could they spare some time cleaning it first before dumping polluted water into the Pacific to later create more problems down the line. What could have happened instead. World of communication, maybe ask another country for help. Radiation and the effects are dangerous, but it is already been done. Just noticing communication of after effects of nature. Like that some communication that had to do with nature problems and the outcome to them. Anyone got any thoughts on this? What would of you done? Suggestions/ ideas?

The theme of age has been a consistent, yet under the radar theme in A Tale for the Time Being, appearing mostly throughout pages 204-304. Why this part of the book in particular? Because this section is when Nao is arguably having a coming of age, and even some of the other characters as well….and maybe even a ghost character; Nao’s great-uncle, Haruki #1.

“Something was wrong. I didn’t want to be rude and stare, but I couldn’t help it. He looked like a younger version of my dad, only a couple of years older than me, but he sounded different, and the clothes were all wrong, too.  And that’s when I figured it out: if this ghost who had answered to my father’s  name wasn’t my father, then he must be my father’s uncle, the suicide bomber” p. 213. When Nao first meets Haruki #1 he is the same age as when he died. He also does not talk to Nao very much, kind of similar to how many younger people feel defensive and keep to themselves. But later in this book’s section Haruki #1 opens up to Nao like a mature adult. “Is that you?” I whispered as softly as I could. “Haruki Ojisma…?” They gave us rifles. They showed us how to use our big toe to pull the trigger. How to lodge the tip of the barrel in the V of our jawbone so it wouldn’t slip…” p. 240. Clearly the way in which Haruki #1 is talking about death is on the same level as a very mature adult. So mature, the intensity of the topic and his description of suicide would scare most teenagers.

Maybe Haruki #1 did or didn’t have some sort of coming of age as a ghost, but I still think it’s a pretty cool theory. Wouldn’t you agree?