Access to Information

This is the last of my ramblings on how I think martial arts has changed in the past 30 years or as long as I can remember!

I would like to stress these are just opinions and thoughts as I sat thinking how to share some of my thoughts on how to make the blog interesting. I hoped some of the content would allow people reading to engage a little more with how I think and how the people in MAC think, I’ve had some really positive feedback on my thoughts and it seems to have stimulated other people to remember and compare some of their memories too.

I’d really like to hear from people reading this what they think, story sharing is as old as we are, its how we share history, culture and rules for living, have your say, share your energy, go on!

This last part, probably runs parallel to how our world has changed with the development of mobile phones, mobile communications, smartphones and tablets. In the world we live in now we are subject to a massive amount of information and honestly, for me personally and the people that I interact with on a daily basis this is very often information overload.

Like all innovations and discoveries there are two sides to this equation or a balance to be had between the ideas. What I mean is that I “need” (at least I think I do, some or all of the time) my smartphone or tablet my laptop and access to the mobile networks and the Internet everywhere I go all the time, (of course I do).

How can I stay up to date with phone calls, texts, emails, photographs, two seconds subjects, push notifications, even my e-mail lists and subscriptions and RSS feeds? Websites that I’ve subscribed to have bombarded me with information, affiliations, offers and indeed there are probably a few others I don’t know about I haven’t yet discovered.

I do really believe that these tools have a part to play in my daily existence. Yes, I do!

But… and it’s a big but, sometimes I put the phone down, turn off the laptop, switch off the TV and try to listen to the sounds of the real world. I have to say that sometimes the sweet sounds of the wind; the birds or even nature’s quiet moments are moments of pure delight. I get chance to breath; yes take a breath, not from my throat or chest, but deeply from my belly. That allows me to quiet my mind – to remind me a constant state of information overload is not good for me or anyone for that matter, in my honest opinion (should I have written IMHO –I don’t think so!).

Access to information is a wonderful thing; there are things I can find out with a few keystrokes that would’ve meant hours of alternative searching years ago. This trivia that I laugh about with my wife, my children, my parents, my family and friends. For example, who starred in the film “Bad Day At Black Rock”? Fantastic 20 seconds later I know all about the film.

What’s the weather in LA? How many miles to the moon? What about the systems/philosophy of Bruce Lee, or Jun Fan Gung Fu fan as a system or BJJ and information on Gracie Jui Jitsu How about the history of Muay Thai or the many Kali styles?

Yes, There is information everywhere and access to the information and availability is a few keystrokes or taps away, but it’s about how we interact with it, how we access it and how it integrates with the rest of our lives, with our martial arts training or anything for that matter.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that how we look at the availability of information is just as important as what the information is, it’s great to have access to so much stuff but it’s equally important to find a balance for yourself, to know, to feel when more information is important, is required and also to know when doing something, training, meeting people or just sitting quietly and breathing is the most important thing to do.

We should remember that man/woman is more important than the technology that we create and that can become king or slave to us without us even being aware that it happened.

Of course, I’d love to hear via this information highwayJ just what your thoughts are on my thoughts on this information via this information medium. So there you go, I can’t do without it!

And now I’m off to sit in the garden and breath…

Oh, I’d better set an alarm on my mobile phone first. OOPS!

So…email me, text me, message me, whatever but get in touch….