What do you wish you'd learned as a kid?

[Trunk]

We already had the kids practice thread.

 

A few things I wished I'd learned as a kid (by the time I got out of high school)

- cooking

- money management

- a musical instrument

 

?

[Smile]

Chinese mandarin

[Yoda]

By the end of high school? How to get lucky!

 

Seriously though, nothing is coming to mind. I pretty much knew all I wanted to know.

[Lozen]

Yes, cooking amd money management and music. I was lucky and got some dance, horseback riding and theater. And a little guitar wish I'd wish I would've taken more seriously. Had I learned to iron, that would have been nice. Exercise, too, and I wish I'd have done real SD instead of karate.

[Yoda]

Lozen,

 

Good point... I think that karate time could've been better invested.

 

-Yoda

[Lozen]

Lozen,

 

Good point... I think that karate time could've been better invested.

 

-Yoda

 

I saw the little kiddles doing Bujinkan (taijutsu) and was totally impressed, though.

 

Did I say gymnastics yet?

[Trunk]

Yes, cooking amd money management and music. I was lucky and got some dance, horseback riding and theater. And a little guitar ..

I think the arts really pay off; they're enriching all down the road. Really, I can't say I'm using history, biology, chemistry, any math past algebra, etc., etc., most of the things I took in high school (and probably not using any of what I learned in college). I think everything I ever did in english, reading, writing, was worth while - especially the writing; it made me think. A year of forced piano in grade school would've been nice: all of western music is based on musical organization that is represented by the piano's layout. Understand the piano, and you've got a good basis for a lot.

[Peregrino]

Wish I had wrestled in high school AND done Judo. (No BJJ was available yet in the Wash., DC area. Same goes for Muay Thai and Jeet Kune Do.) Not that my initial years in Tae Kwon Do were a complete waste--anyone see how Georges St. Pierre nailed Matt Hughes with the high kick when Hughes went in for the take down?

 

What else:

--Wish I had studied French as well as Spanish. (Tried German for two years, but it just didn't click for me.)

--Learned how to cook early since I grew up in a matriarchy, but wish I had caught on to the "real deal" of female psychology much earlier on.

--Learned the piano as a kid, but by high school was wishing I could play the guitar. Now I'll just focus on improving my karaoke voice.

--Pavel's GREASING THE GROOVE method! I wasted too much time on ineffecient exercise schemes.

--Boy Scouts first aid merit badge. I still need to take a course!

--More basic "fix it" stuff. Nowadays I tend to consult DIY books, but it would have been nice to have developed a natural capacity early on.

--Ballroom dance. I know it sounds square, but it's a great foundation for all the really impressive dances involving a partner (e.g. tango).

--More McGyver-type survival skills. Maybe I really should have stayed in the Boy Scouts . . .

[Yoda]

Peregrino,

 

Great list! Greasing the Groove... OMG!! How true!! That and some Sonnon type stuff. For a kid, some mobility work and greasing the groove a few minutes a day and you can be a real superhero. Actually, that's true for the rest of us, just it takes a few years to get into the freaky zone.

 

-Yoda

[Pietro]

Since I was a social retard, I would put social skills at the beginning of my list. Which also include being able to look into the eyes, and relate with people. Especially how to relate to women. Let's say I wish I have read the books from Deida by age 16. All the things I am learning right now from the PU community should have been mastered by age 16. I remember being in this school where there where some 14y.o kids having orgies among them, and me discovering it years after. I just can't comunicate how much would have been my life different if I were among those who were doing, and not among those who were envying.

 

To know what I now know about eating would have been great. In a sense I am eating in a way that is similar to when I was a kid, but with some subtle modifications. If I had always eaten like that my health and well being now would be amazing. And I would have loved it as a kid. I mean, meat, honey and butter as the core of my diet. What kid would not subscribe to it!

 

I passed a lot of time doing Karate. It didn't do me any good. I never learned to fight. Nor did it give me any great jump on my physical appearence or health. I wonder if I should instead have been doing a different sport. Something like climbing, for example. As a kid I wanted to go join the scouts. That would have been one thing that was easily do-able if my parents were a bit more elastic on the evening time. And it would have given me so much in so many ways. So I think if I could switch all my karate years with scout years I would have been very happy to do it.

 

And to know German, instead of French could have been a deal.

But then with French I can go Africa, so who knows. in the long run.

 

I learned to play Go as a kid very young. But I knew no one who could play Go with me. I soon was able to win my father (who learned the rules from a book, like me), so I never became really good. I wish I had the contacts at the time to play it more often, and learn it properly.

 

A musical instrument would have been great.

 

So my list is:

1) social life & pick up,

2) diet,

3) scout,

4) go,

german,

musical instrument.

 

But only the first four are really important.

[Peregrino]

Pietro,

 

A great introduction to Pavel's "greasing the groove" concept can be found here: http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/69/

 

He explains everything clearly and with a clever sense of humor to boot! The great thing about his method is that you don't need any equipment (though a doorframe pull-up bar like the type Everlast makes is not a bad investment). These days I don't have much time to go to the gym, but am still getting excellent results doing strength-endurance exercises (more reps then he mentions in the article, but same principle) at home. I just live the energy I get from those short, intense (but not excruciating) exercise breaks. Way better than coffee . . . It's funny how your mind can play this old-school "no pain, no gain" game with you when you start to see results from Pavel's method. He says people write him and say, "How can it work if it isn't torture," and he responds with that blunt Slavic humor: "I always said that my method is an effecient means of building STRENGTH. If your Puritan heritage dictates that you develop CHARACTER, then look for ways to suffer elsewhere!"

 

BTW, I think I have to thank you, Yoda, for turning me on to the Pavel stuff. I think you originally mentioned the article above on a thread dedicated to "pistols."

 

Interesting to note that he gives an example of children using GTG in _The Naked Warrior_.

 

Best,

David

[Pietro]

Pietro,

 

A great introduction to Pavel's "greasing the groove" concept can be found here: http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/69/

 

 

Thank you, interesting concept. I wish I had some climbing place in the office, so I could go up and down while I think, instead of walking in circle

[Yoda]

Pietro,

 

Pavel would have you doing pullups while holding onto an open door (I'm told doors are well made in Germany) and doing pistols. That and some mobility work and you'll be a mega climbing stud in a few years without even touching a rock.

 

Nice articulation on the pick up front. I always wanted to be in those orgies too!!

 

Peregrino,

 

I have never truly mastered the bodyweight pistol. With some training, I can do 17ish one legged squats while standing on a chair, but that's a totally different thing. The last bodyweight pistol I did was at Cam's dad's house a year ago and I needed to grab a couple of pots for counterbalance. With all my mobility work, I should revisit the pistol and see where I'm at with it. My ultimate goal is to be able to do 20 reps good form, bodyweight alone. That would be too cool. Are you working pistols regularly? I read a lot over the xmas vacation, I'll reread Naked Warrior.

 

-Yoda

[Trunk]

I have never truly mastered the bodyweight pistol. With some training, I can do 17ish one legged squats while standing on a chair, ..

I've recently gotten into reps of "lateral squats". Wide stance, each foot 45 degrees out, and slowly lower into one leg, then up, then slowly into the other leg. I find that I do these only so low as I can maintain root in both feet. I find that the amount of reps, and the depth, varies a lot depending on how warmed up I am, and just different days, and that if I go lower than 'good root' then I tend to strain my knees.

 

Since I was a social retard, I would put social skills at the beginning of my list.

Similarly, here. I was awfully insecure through jr high & high school. I seriously needed intuflow! .. just to process the tsunami of adolescent angst. Looking back, I really admire several socially brave guys. Two people come to mind that didn't just hang in a clique, but deliberately made a wide variety friends.

[Pietro]

I might actually re-edit my post. Dividing my requests in those that could have happened (Go, Scout) and the ones that just could not happen because the information was not present in Rome when I was 10-20.

 

Pavel would have you doing pullups while holding onto an open door (I'm told doors are well made in Germany) and doing pistols. That and some mobility work and you'll be a mega climbing stud in a few years without even touching a rock.

Great idea! I just did one pull up. I am sure I can do some while I want to take a break, and here in the office the doors are really strong, metal, and with just the right space above to put your fingers.

I don't know what doing pistols mean. DOn't tell me, leave me in blissful ignorance for now .

 

Nice articulation on the pick up front. I always wanted to be in those orgies too!!

 

So, they are common, eh. In my high school we had a group of 14y.o. girls who decided to give a party to stop being virgin. They invited all and only the really cool guys of the school. A friend of mine was invited too, but he was the bf of one of those girls, so he just made love with his girl. I discovered the whole thing 3 years later , when I casually was in the car with this guy, and two of those girls, after a party. He brought them to some friends house, and say: "here you go, you have orgies and don't invite me". And they went:"oh, you are invited, but bring on your gf"(a different girl from before). "Oh, no, she wouldn't appreciate. Good night girls.". It took me some time to realise what was going on in that school behind the scene. I wasn't just virgin at the time. I hadn't even kissed a girl!

 

I actually subscribe to the believe that the people who had sex when they was extreemly young, with other kids, when they grow up they become 'naturals'. That is, people who have sex all the time, and have no approach anxiety, and so on.

 

 

-so you want to come to an orgy?

-sure, how many people are we?

-If you bring your wife we are in three.

 

Similarly, here. I was awfully insecure through jr high & high school. I seriously needed intuflow! .. just to process the tsunami of adolescent angst. Looking back, I really admire several socially brave guys. Two people come to mind that didn't just hang in a clique, but deliberately made a wide variety friends.

 

 

What is Intuflow? Have you got a link?

 

One of the things I am learning from the PU guys is to not just pick up girls, but pick up everybody. Generally connect with everybody. Look in the eyes everybody. Speak with everybody. Connect with everybody. As soon as I started I ended up connecting with all the people I daily relate to, but I never consider. People who sell me stuff, people I meet often, and so om.

And then, a) you expand your social circle, rising the probability of meeting girls you like,

and you are genuinely more open, and this comes out when you hook up with a girl. She knows (don't ask me how, chicks radar), that you ae not just looking her in the eyes, but look ar everybody in the eyes.

[Trunk]

I don't know what doing pistols mean. DOn't tell me, leave me in blissful ignorance for now .

 

What is Intuflow? Have you got a link?

Pistols are one-legged squats.

I think that pistols are too dangerous for the knees, at least for me, so I'm currently sticking to hindu squats, and lateral squats, and looking at Kurz's dvd occasionally for good ideas. Everything but the lateral squats (which is in my previous post, this thread) in the squats link. btw, again, Kurz's dvd is excellent.

 

Here's intuflow.

Look in the "additional reading" section of my site for a short description, maybe others could chime in w/ an intuflow description. It's become very popular here, sort of a standard.

[Pietro]

Pistols are one-legged squats.

I think that pistols are too dangerous for the knees, at least for me, so I'm currently sticking to hindu squats, and lateral squats, and looking at Kurz's dvd occasionally for good ideas. Everything but the lateral squats (which is in my previous post, this thread) in the squats link. btw, again, Kurz's dvd is excellent.

 

Here's intuflow.

Look in the "additional reading" section of my site for a short description, maybe others could chime in w/ an intuflow description. It's become very popular here, sort of a standard.

 

Thank you.

I can see me trying the Pavel method. Not much of the rest, for now. Maybe if Trip is doing it, I'll ask him to show me something next time I pass through Switzerland.

 

Is your favorite book: "6 yogas of Naropa" part of the Dzog Chen tradition? Bruce was saying at the last workshop how the Dzog Chen tradition is probably coming from the same source as the water method he is teaching.

 

Pietro

[Trunk]

Is your favorite book: "6 yogas of Naropa" part of the Dzog Chen tradition?

I'm not good at comparative stuff w/in Tibetan Buddhism, but... the 6 Yogas of Naropa is more native to the Kagyu & Gelugpa lineages, and Dzog Chen is of the Nyingma lineage.

 

There are 4 major lineages of T.Buddhism: Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelugpa.

 

"Dzog Chen" is the name that the Nyingma's call the Big Nameless, and they undoubtedly have specific ways to accomplish and refine that. The Nyingmapas might use the 6 Yogas of Naropa, but I don't know.

 

The Kagyu & Gelugpa lineages are closely related, and the 6 Yogas is integral to their advanced practices, and "Mahamudra" is the term that they use for the Big Nameless.

[Pietro]

I'm not good at comparative stuff w/in Tibetan Buddhism, but... the 6 Yogas of Naropa is more native to the Kagyu & Gelugpa lineages, and Dzog Chen is of the Nyingma lineage.

 

There are 4 major lineages of T.Buddhism: Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelugpa.

 

"Dzog Chen" is the name that the Nyingma's call the Big Nameless, and they undoubtedly have specific ways to accomplish and refine that. The Nyingmapas might use the 6 Yogas of Naropa, but I don't know.

 

The Kagyu & Gelugpa lineages are closely related, and the 6 Yogas is integral to their advanced practices, and "Mahamudra" is the term that they use for the Big Nameless.

Interesting. I wonder if Bruce meant the whole Nyingma lineage, or he was thinking more of a particular teacher. Surely no teacher exist by itself. So probably he was speaking about the whole lineage...

 

I suppose with time we will know better as more and more comes in the west

[Peregrino]

On the subject of pistols, it's been a while since I tried any, but I have in the past managed to crank out two on each side before collapsing with spaghetti legs. For now I'm focusing on GTG two-legged squats with strength-endurance as the goal (30-40 reps for each "break," several times a day), along with weighted squats once a week when I have a normal gym routine. I also do push-ups, pull-ups, chin-ups, and hanging leg raises, plus light barbell work (high-rep military presses and good mornings) when I'm at home, and push-ups and bodyweight squats when in the office or in an empty classroom. Pistols still really appeal to me because they seem capable of giving you the effect of heavy lifting without needing any equipment, and they resemble movements that could help you when grappling (e.g. returning to stand-up position when someone's got your leg in a tight hold).

 

I am worried about knee integrity too, esp. since I like to shadowspar with ankle weights, so now I think I'll either buy some milk crates or freak out my neighbors by using the stairs in my building to get into an *incremental* pistols routine:

 

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mahler2.htm

(Don't be fooled by the word "bodybuilding" in the title--Mike Mahler's really big on *functional* strength, and has lots of articles and interviews about MMA too.)

 

I just got _The Naked Warrior_ and appreciate it as a general explanation of principles I can apply to a great variety of strength training exercises, as well as a how-to guide to pistols, but I like to supplement it with other materials like the above.

 

BTW, does anyone here use the Reebok slide? Apparently they don't make them anymore, but I used to love 'em for developing lateral movement and the way they actually STENGTHEN the connective tissue of the knees--a welcome change from most cardio/explosive excercises. Then again, maybe Sonnon's got some good exercises for knees and other joints? I really need to check his materials out in-depth.

 

*****

 

On the subject of pick-up, I have to say that so much of what I read from the "seduction community" really brought in a paradigm shift in the way I think about relating to women and socializing in general, even after filtering those ideas through my very particular ethical and cultural criteria. Nowadays I'm in a very happy monogamous relationship, but I find those teachings very helpful in maintaining attraction (or "polarity," as David Deida would say) within the commitment. In fact, I don't really care for the word "seduction," but prefer "attraction dynamics" (when referring to erotic communication) or simply "social dynamics" when referring to other types of communication requiring confidence and connecting with other people. I can say with assurance that the confidence I got from such a paradigm shift has helped my teaching immensely, as I'm no longer attached to outcomes (whether crowd-pleasing or coming across as "too hard"), but the result of maintaining integrity is that my students now generally show more enthusiasm and work harder *and* we have a good rapport.

[thelerner]

bump

[Aetherous]

A few things I wished I'd learned as a kid (by the time I got out of high school)

- Fluency in at least one other critical foreign language and culture.

- Managing money. Knowing first hand what it would take to get by in the real world, through role playing with actual rewards and losses (like reduced allowance for the week).

- Understanding investments and having parents start a portfolio early on, that you take over with their help.

- Understand the options for a job that doesn't require the typical 4 year college. Apprenticeships, like electrician. Tech degrees, like working in IT. Understanding the jobs that pay off with more college, like architect, or doctor. This is what you're aiming to do for the rest of your life, so it's important to spend the majority of time looking into it and maybe job shadowing.

- Impressive study skills, starting at a young age. At least personally, this is what kept me from attempting med school...and now I'm making not even a quarter of what those guys typically make. Do it first thing after school until homework is done to an A level!

- clear understanding of how the country works, and how to be effective in changing things. Already be thinking about what's worth fighting for, and understand current events as well as history.

- understand the way people are...for instance, knowing that in general, if you're fat you will likely be disrespected by others...whereas if you're really in shape, there's a greater chance of people respecting you in all ways. Also, know how important character is. As shallow as the whole game is, know that it's better to play by the rules, and at least understand them rather than live in denial, and be controlled.

[zanshin]

Wish I'd learned better organizational skills, took a little study skills class in college and it was like the lights came on, using a calendar, planner, breaking down components of tasks and making lists and schedules.

 

Also basic home and car maintenance. My dad always did this; he should have shown me how to do some things. Have learned a lot from you-tube though. You-tube doesn't yell or drop "honey, sweetie" stuff.

 

Wish I could have understood adults and authorities did not always have all the answers, was raised to be very respectful and not challenge things.

[joeblast]

I understood that adults and authorities didnt always have all the answers - especially when they could not articulate the why for any given thing they were talking to you about. Its what I tell all of my friends who are getting around to having kids, its what kept my opinions in high regard in my son's mind. When you tell your kid something, be able to explain WHY, otherwise before too long they are going to deduce that you are just going through the motions and dont know why you are doing whatever it is you are doing, or why you are telling them to mimic you. =your kid's logic circuit gets left to the winds of the world and the busted logic circuits thereof.

[GreytoWhite]

I grew up in Stockton, CA wish my mother had put me in the Cabales Serrada Escrima class instead of the wimpy aikido dojo. I would also liked to have known money management. When I opened my first checking account after moving out I was clueless how any of it worked and impoverished myself. Also, I would have liked another language other than English.