Earl Grey

After having spoken with some volunteers already, I have determined that it is important to have a baseline for practice, which are the Baduanjin/Eight Brocades at the very least, as this fitness training is good on its own, but it's meant to be for people interested in both internal and external health. Depending on what any of you are already practicing, we'll need to go over this, as well as make sure that if you don't have a clean bill of health, please let me know what any pre-existing health conditions we should be aware of to adjust the practice for your safety. I ask that if you do this to keep a journal of what you do, what you eat, how you sleep, and any thoughts about it from difficulty to boredom. You can do that in a notebook and summarize to me in weekly or semi-weekly calls, or post updates in a PPJ or here in this thread. I'll be moving the updates to a section in the PPJ soon and more public updates here. Even if you don't volunteer your own time, you will still be able to view the program in progress and do it on your own if you fancy. So enjoy.

I already stated my case and you and everyone can see that. On the other hand, if he keeps repeating himself everywhere that he is trying to infiltrate every thread again and again, he looks like this fine chap...

Keywords here are your experience. You're arguing absolutely the classroom is inferior and you learned better from video. I already said multiple times this can be possible both ways, but just like video quality affects learning, an instructor themselves can affect the learning. You've ignored these points each time and cherrypick to create a straw man argument. Let me point you out to this wonderful thing called decency, and how people based on this little primer I shared not long ago act in ways decidedly not decent: Let's go over what you're doing here: 2. Projection - When a person doesn't react to who you actually are, but to their own internal feelings about themselves or others unrelated to you. You haven't responded to any of my actual points nor have you acknowledged that no one is talking about your art, but the general idea of learning from video. You also say that it "hits a nerve in respect to [your] practice as it is something others have in the past tried to use as an argument against its validity." Here's a revelation: nobody here, especially me, was referring to your art. You got reminded of it and brought it up. I even tried to remind you that that wasn't even the point. But, 5. Minimization - When the abuser downplays the severity of a negative event they triggered, or downplays the feelings that the victims has. For example, pervasive school bullying can be minimized by the abuser as "just a prank" and tells the victim that they're overreacting. Key word here is you don't see anything to be upset over. But guess what? You don't get to decide if your behavior is worth getting upset over. If someone is upset by what you do and they can point out what you are doing, you owe them an apology. You didn't even respond to my points but projected yours, then put words in your mouth and expect others to treat you like an insufferable victim. You brought up your issues with people and how they historically treat your group and you brought up your system--not me or anyone else here. 7. Personal boundaries - The mental, emotional, and physical limits we have around ourselves to protect us from harm. Usually emotional abusers push these limits or get angry if these are enforced, and assert that their wants are more important than your needs. Shall we start with this lovely screen capture of what you did that was quite rude? This is worthy of an apology already and you already changed the title because you realized you could get in trouble for it, not because you acknowledge any wrongdoing. 8. Narcissistic supply - People on the narcissistic personality disorder spectrum have a pathological need for attention from others. They will seek attention even if it is destructive towards others, because they don't see the separation between self and other, and cannot regulate their own emotional needs. They will regularly trigger events, confrontations, and provoke a reaction, scandal, and confuse people around them. And when they receive this attention, they will gather social information about involved parties to instigate another event, confrontation or scandal to repeat the process. I think with the above definition res ipsa loquitur is appropriate here ("the thing speaks for itself"). You invaded the other thread, then you call me out in this thread, ignored my many questions and offer to take it to the PPJ of my own for friendly interaction, then you tell others to stay out of it for chiming in, all because you want to reinforce the victim narrative. You have done your best to deny how much you actually are talking about it, whether talking about it without mentioning it by name or finding ways to assume someone was attacking you or alluding to it, in this case, yours truly. Do I regret my intent the past year to bury the hatchet and try to make this forum open and welcome for your group? Nope. I have nothing against the system or your group, my contention is with you and your own behavior here. You had a clean slate and in the course of the past several days, you have managed to profoundly self-sabotage yourself to a point of no return. You may think of yourself as rational and respectful, but a more appropriate image of the kind of person you appear to be to others is this:

What's amusing is that I already said from the beginning here and in the other thread, I said that I wasn't even referring to +π! It was a general idea about learning and transmission. Twice already I have had to state that it has nothing to do with the topic but he keeps bringing it up and thinks everything is a subtle allusion to his practice, which anyone can see is not the case! Interestingly, he also makes unsubtle allusions to that system, and if it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck, he's obviously talking about it even if it's not mentioned by name. So far, he hasn't answered direct questions such as "What languages do you speak?" and "What countries have you been to?" and if he considers people who have those learning disabilities and different environments for learning as factors, but just goes to the same argument that it is only about motivation and laziness or distractions. Having this worldly awareness shows sensitivity to complexities, but he seems to want to oversimplify things and is likely with no international exposure or work with people who are of different income, educational, and ethnic backgrounds; all of that usually makes one more aware and sensitive about those factors. Tell that to refugees who struggle to learn a local language from a video that they are given and left alone to watch, which is totally not the same as a diplomat learning a language via Pimsleur method. This is a logical fallacy known as "false comparison". He also insists I am saying one can't learn from a video even if I've mentioned multiple times, you can learn, but the quality of learning is different because of the medium itself. Then, of course there are the different factors like learning styles for people who aren't visual matter, the subject material greatly affects the ability to learn such as singing, nuances one learns from in-person instruction or from an actual person guiding you, especially for physical practices, disabilities, educational background (especially people from different education systems like those I taught in Tanzania versus those I taught in Korea and in East Timor, or even Waldorf), and how video production quality affects it too, whether it's a guy in a basement or someone with high quality like Terry Dunn's series. He is completely ignoring those talking points because he's so focused on video being a medium anyone can learn from even if we mostly agree that it's possible, but my point is that there are limitations and that it affects quality! Amusingly, he acts as though he can tell people that this is a thread only he and I may engage in, and for others to start a new thread. I offered him to talk in my PPJ so I could control it better, he hasn't even responded to that point or acknowledged it. Even better: calling me out with a username for the thread to argue is actually a violation of the rules here, and if it were reported he would face action! The old admin would have issued him a slap on the wrist and ordered him to change it because it's a personal challenge and not posted in good will! Yet he thinks he can tell people not to participate when it's a discussion forum and not his PPJ or my own, let alone a private message! XD At this point, I don't think Sean will be happy to give him a PPJ if he keeps up this behavior of ignoring direct questions, putting words in my mouth, straw man arguments, and posting in the spirit of ill will, especially when everyone can note I made attempts to build bridges and he wants to continue playing victim and building walls. Even ilovecoffee wanted to make amends, offered apologies if I was upset by things he said while offering the same to others if they point out to any of his posts, and we went straight from there and had a few exchanges that made me think he is a good guy. This MildMouse23 is insufferable and this thread is great to have because it just shows even trying to be friendly and not even talk about his system, he wants to bring it up multiple times. And he calls everyone else trolls and haters...HA!

PM me then.

Honestly there is no real time commitment aside from testing a lot of things: does the program interest people? Does it work for some individuals more than others? How are their existing diets, sleeping habits, and internal practices affected and affecting this? You could spend around 30-45 minutes a day doing the stretches and foundational exercises, then do the isometric and muscle control exercises throughout the day at odd moments like on the bus or standing in line somewhere, even seated at your desk. You could even do everything in 1-2 hours if you wanted--the exercises can be done when you have a couple hours and when you're busy and get in small pockets of time to do one or two different exercises for a set of 10. The Zhan Zhuang is the big question though as people have different backgrounds and abilities in it, and I come from a Yi Quan lineage, so the physical conditioning is the focus here, but the Zhan Zhuang will be downplayed unless someone is a formal student, aside from here where I will offer a few adjustments I'll offer and critique of their current Zhan Zhuang. Really just e-mailing or calling every now and then over the course of a few weeks and a weekly or semi-weekly progress check. You could try it for a few days and say you aren't feeling it and all I'd ask is a few questions so I can help refine it and improve it. You could do it for a month or two and share your insights. You could continue for the rest of your life and then tell me what you think every now and then. I'm not advocating any diet now as people with different diets will also be helpful variables to check for my research, so eat what you will.

Coffee works for me... Except for when it doesn't. You're my cup of tea.

The Taraka mantra. Look it up and what Thomas Ashley-Farrand says. Plenty of options for you with varying degrees of quality, but come this way and we can show you how we do it and recommend others if our way is too intense.

Ha! Nice one. I could potentially bring my teacher and a few of his students based on their schedules, or another friend from other parts of the country as Sydney and Perth are the convergence points planned, with a possible trip to Adelaide and Darwin each. Nothing set in stone, but a month or two in the country is what I'm hoping to get done for some training and exploration. As for Cervantes, second match after Calvin and Hobbes!

Yeah can still make my way there too. Would be lovely to also see your martial skill in Aikido and your weapon forms and possibly a good hike. Hopefully the literal fires are out by then and the political firestorm also goes out...

Still ignoring things actually said by me and questions such as what languages you speak and countries you’ve been to or if you actually consider the variables and limitations I mentioned towards learning by video. How many questions have you ignored here? I’m not even going to count but everyone can see you didn’t even answer them, especially if you’d get surgery from someone who learned it from a YouTube video at the highest extreme or if singing and dancing can be learned. Whatever. Don’t apologize, don’t get surprised if you find yourself ridiculed later on in future dialogue with others because this whole thread is now proof of your inability to keep your system out of a discussion, how you ignore many direct questions you’ve still not answered, putting words in other’s mouths, and when pointed out what you’re doing, you deny it and dismiss it while claiming you’re stating facts but negating actual facts I’ve stated as well in addition to what’s been shared by others here too. You might think you’ve won this discussion but all that happens is this is a record of your inability to engage without bringing out the issues I’ve elaborated on above. Probably best you stay in your own forum then because your system and assuming you’re being attacked is all you can think about even if I’ve been friendly, not just respectful, and now you’re being dismissive and unquestionably annoying.

I did not say you can’t. I even said you can learn many things by video but quality is affected. If you feel that you have nothing to apologize for then you will have nothing more out of me until you issue an apology for your pompous assumptions and projections while consistently cherrypicking what I say and distorting it and ignoring many direct questions. Grow up.

I made no attacks on your system indirectly and even said earlier that this conversation has nothing to do with your system. You are now putting words in my mouth and becoming irritating. I also state as a fact from the people who have many limitations that video alone is not enough to learn in the most efficient way. Perhaps it is a good idea for you to stop making everything about you and your worldview that seems to assume everyone is attacking you and your system because you haven’t answered questions about language skills you have, I don’t know your international exposure and travel experiences living in other countries or working with people of different backgrounds from immigrants to those with developmental issues, or your understanding of pedagogy. If you think I’m attacking you and your system, cease all dialogue now because you’re wasting my time and not actually engaging. Or why don’t you ask the former ilovecoffee in your own group who can vouch for how I don’t have beef with you, your group, or your system, yet somehow you as an individual are creating a straw man argument and projecting your paranoia onto me, someone who actually spent the past year advocating to let your group be welcome here within the boundaries of your preference by not discussing the system at all? Here you are alluding to it unsubtly and then telling me I am attacking your system. Get real. Everyone can see I’ve been friendly and now you are going somewhere I have no interest in following you into. Drop the victim martyr control drama. I never attacked you directly or indirectly. You owe me an apology too.

Again: one can be serious but have learning limitations preventing people from efficient absorption of knowledge, which were already spelled out several times here, in addition to niche subjects not being optimal for learning on video. You’re describing outliers more than the norm and I have worked with trained educators who know this so I’m not sure why it seems so important for you to assert video learning is inarguably without flaws. A lot pf bobbing and weaving and plenty of posts and points here totally ignored while you sidestep more than a few direct questions.

NSW! My cousin lives in Sydney and works at Royal North Shores Hospital, and one of my teachers is in Mossberg Definitely not out of the way! Are you closer to the Queensland or the NSW areas?

Yes, key point is if they are serious, but then there are people who are serious but suffer the same limitations I mentioned earlier whether it is the quality of instruction, organization of material, learning disabilities, or context. As for the classroom, try looking at classrooms outside of North America whether it is in places like Grenada, Japan, or Nordic countries. Then, look at public schools versus private schools, then alternative learning like Waldorf and Montessori. All different contexts, all different structures and organization. Likewise, with video, there's a big difference between Terry Dunn's Flying Phoenix DVDs that have professional videography versus others that have bad audio and are just a guy doing the moves in his basement shot on his own camcorder. Can you learn from both? Yes. Is the quality the same? No. Terry has perfect quality video and still students refine their techniques on Skype and in person, as well as learning techniques that can not be taught on video due to their nuances.

As a general rule versus personal experience, totally different things. I am not discounting your learning ability. and as for paycheck serfs, they are abundant worldwide since someone said teaching English after college is easy money, the quality of learning is quite shitty in Thailand for example as the teachers go there for beaches and hookers more than teaching, and in Korea and Taiwan, many companies will choose a white guy from a Slavic company whose English isn’t as good versus a native speaker who is black or Asian. I don’t know what your institutional learning has been like but I think it definitely colors one’s perception of the structure as a whole and our dialogue here is a fine example of different experiences leading to different conclusions, chum.

Yes I have seen it. I am not saying that video or audio tools to learn don’t work, I’m saying they work better as supplements rather than primary ways to learn and context is different.

This isn’t a private conversation at the moment so chime in all you want. I offered in the first post to have this in my own PPD but that point was ignored. Even still I love having your perspective and others since it’s a topic for engagement and learning. As for Skype or e-mail, both are an option as well and is how I actually came to respect and get along with ilovecoffee as an exchange in his archived ppd shows since there were no misunderstandings once we got on a call. I have had a lot of Skype calls with members here and it totally makes a difference with understanding than just text on screen and met members in person offline as well making things even better too. Next year I plan on offering to meet others when I travel more so they can see the fruits of my own IMA in person and exchange skills. I was jokingly going to call the announcement “Earl Grey Rampage: World Tour”.

That’s the Pimsleur approach. One way of learning versus just dumping a video to a group of refugees as I said. If we’re talking about videos in general, then this is an example of how just video alone doesn’t work but the Pimsleur approach is a totally different kind of learning. I think I’ve already said you can learn from a video but the point I speak of here is that in different contexts it changes the ability to learn as well as the individual and their background. A diplomat and the Pimsleur method is a false comparisons to dumping a TV to a group of refugees in a room. As someone who also worked in the US government before in East Africa, by the way, we didn’t use that Pimsleur method to learn Kiswahili. What languages do you speak besides English and how have you learned them? Ever tried Rosetta Stone Duolingo, Memrise, or FluentU? They’re all okay, but for the languages I learned, they are better as supplements rather than primary learning. Nothing beats immersion. Also the above article was for Zork to see. Yes it was saying you can learn some things online but its main point is there are a myriad of other things from experience and college is just a microcosm for that besides saying the courses online are only part of it.

https://www.wired.com/story/you-can-learn-everything-online-except-for-the-things-you-cant/ Even better.

What is more puzzling is how he has posted a lot of good references about Leftist perspectives before, but here he has an attitude that seems to disregard a lot of complexities of people, especially the disabled, the unprivileged, and those who simply are not visual learner types, or non-native speakers and non-tech savvy cultures. Try showing a video trying to teach English to refugees in Australia arriving by boat and see how far that gets them versus actual instructors, and I don't mean college graduates trying to make an easy buck, but dedicated professionals who have nuanced understanding of learning styles, psychological profiles of refugees, and situational mastery, plus the extensive material and immersion. For both, you will have varying results, but it has nothing to do with people being unmotivated or distracted.

https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/countingthecost/2019/09/amazon-rainforest-worth-190907121817405.html

Singing, too, if we recall many of the applicants and contestants for American Idol.