Perhaps we should, as a community, in a non-Flag fashion,
Look to the humanitarian, effort,
to rebuild the grappling gyms decimated in:
Gaza,
West Bank,
Jersusalem,
Other Israel,
Ukraine,
Russian,
or anywhere else vile war has disrupted grappling gym operations.
If Sport, and sporting gyms, cannot provide an alternative to War,
And if War is allowed to obliterate Sporting Gyms with no consequence,
Then we have only ourselves to blame for not putting War and/or those Politics, in their Place.
As they are not the wrestlers, or grapplers, or practitioners of our arts.
And, we are not so easily fooled.
Given our practices, when they are not bought with cheap things, rather than earned more expensively.
"If Sport, and sporting gyms, cannot provide an alternative to War, And if War is allowed to obliterate Sporting Gyms with no consequence, Then we have only ourselves to blame for not putting War and/or those Politics, in their Place. As they are not the wrestlers, or grapplers, or practitioners of our arts."
Russia DOES have a leader practicing a grappling art closely related to BJJ. Feel free to convince him that the war needs to end right away so no more(?) grappling gyms are obliterated. The other consequences of his war doesn't do it for him, but this one might, so try your luck!
"Russia DOES have a leader practicing a grappling art closely related to BJJ. Feel free to convince him that the war needs to end right away so no more(?) grappling gyms are obliterated. The other consequences of his war doesn't do it for him, but this one might, so try your luck!"
Putin does seem to like Judo.
Human sacrifices do not seem to move him.
I prefer Putin's distracted by Judo,
Or living up to those, or whatever Furies,
To Putin's without distractions,
That might be more efficacious than mosquitoes.
Then again, there is nothing that causes more deaths than mosquitoes.
So, the only way to fight an idea, is with another idea.
I can debate an idea, I can grapple an enemy.
But, I cannot do anything with nothing.
Except make soup from a stone.
The same stone, scrupulo, that seems inconvenient because it gives us pause,
Maybe as a community we should focus on something more practical and humanitarian. Many grappling gyms have been destroyed by war in places like Gaza, the West Bank, Jerusalem, other parts of Israel, Ukraine, Russia, and anywhere else conflict has disrupted training. Helping rebuild these gyms could be a meaningful way to support people affected by war.
Sport is supposed to be an alternative to violence. If wars destroy sports facilities without consequences and we do nothing about it, then we share some responsibility for letting politics and conflict take over spaces that belong to athletes and practitioners, not to governments or soldiers.
Someone pointed out that Russia’s leader practices a grappling art, and suggested trying to convince him to stop the war. Maybe he enjoys Judo, but even human suffering hasn’t changed his course, so it is unlikely that destroyed gyms will either.
The point is that you cannot fight an idea with nothing. You need another idea to counter it. You can debate an idea or grapple with an opponent, but you cannot fight empty space. Sometimes even a small thing that forces us to stop and think can make a real difference.
Finally, if we dislike the results of certain methods, we should not copy them. You cannot defeat something destructive by becoming like it. If you try to fight monsters using the same tactics they use, you risk becoming one yourself.
"This thread translated to English by ChatGPT: ****** Maybe as a community we should focus on something more practical and humanitarian. Many grappling gyms have been destroyed by war in places like Gaza, the West Bank, Jerusalem, other parts of Israel, Ukraine, Russia, and anywhere else conflict has disrupted training. Helping rebuild these gyms could be a meaningful way to support people affected by war. Sport is supposed to be an alternative to violence. If wars destroy sports facilities without consequences and we do nothing about it, then we share some responsibility for letting politics and conflict take over spaces that belong to athletes and practitioners, not to governments or soldiers. Someone pointed out that Russia’s leader practices a grappling art, and suggested trying to convince him to stop the war. Maybe he enjoys Judo, but even human suffering hasn’t changed his course, so it is unlikely that destroyed gyms will either. The point is that you cannot fight an idea with nothing. You need another idea to counter it. You can debate an idea or grapple with an opponent, but you cannot fight empty space. Sometimes even a small thing that forces us to stop and think can make a real difference. Finally, if we dislike the results of certain methods, we should not copy them. You cannot defeat something destructive by becoming like it. If you try to fight monsters using the same tactics they use, you risk becoming one yourself."
"This thread translated to English by ChatGPT: ****** Maybe as a community we should focus on something more practical and humanitarian. Many grappling gyms have been destroyed by war in places like Gaza, the West Bank, Jerusalem, other parts of Israel, Ukraine, Russia, and anywhere else conflict has disrupted training. Helping rebuild these gyms could be a meaningful way to support people affected by war. Sport is supposed to be an alternative to violence. If wars destroy sports facilities without consequences and we do nothing about it, then we share some responsibility for letting politics and conflict take over spaces that belong to athletes and practitioners, not to governments or soldiers. Someone pointed out that Russia’s leader practices a grappling art, and suggested trying to convince him to stop the war. Maybe he enjoys Judo, but even human suffering hasn’t changed his course, so it is unlikely that destroyed gyms will either. The point is that you cannot fight an idea with nothing. You need another idea to counter it. You can debate an idea or grapple with an opponent, but you cannot fight empty space. Sometimes even a small thing that forces us to stop and think can make a real difference. Finally, if we dislike the results of certain methods, we should not copy them. You cannot defeat something destructive by becoming like it. If you try to fight monsters using the same tactics they use, you risk becoming one yourself."
The strange Scandanavian fascination with legos....
And, that the violence of Sport is not like the violence of War.
One is an expression of the limits of human potential regarding athletic performance,
And the other of human frailty (what is our worst possible interacting potential with other humans).
One brings people together despite and past their differences.
The other results in Flander's Fields.
There are many counter intuitive dynamics present in the universe and in human behavior.
Lots in probability maths, and also certain socio-biological phenomenon.
In the real world, amateur sports programs can and do reduce individual violence, and aggregately those effects would have to be tallied.
Amateur sports programs, frivolous as they may seem, give all the world, some common interests to discuss, besides the division of limited resources, over limited time, with such impatience that terminal violence results.
The desire for the supply chain for the most basic consumer goods did help drive the internal players of the former Soviet Union to disalign.
Sometimes, just the chance to do something, anything, other than killing each other, or having to think or deal with the bullshit and potentially life or death tyranny from whomever is running those harsh environments is enough.
So we are not in the perfection business, in our sports.
We are in the gut it out and we are going to try, endlessly, wearing our opponents down, business.
War is not an Angel, but can in fact sometimes be wrestled to a stalemate, or provided a diversion, a delaying tactic, and an alternative.
So, I am for combatting war, with sport, and art, and other seemingly more gentle alternatives, especially ones that seem more ridiculous than practically violent from a resource seizing perspective.
I prefer my humans less rushed in their practicality, more restrained, more considered, and more ridiculous in that regard - including and especially myself.
I am speaking an obvious truth that most of us already manifest by our actions, and activities.
Hence our constant advice to the people that we coach: avoid street fights, there are sporting opportunities for contests.
Likewise, on a grander scale, the Olympics are a regularly recurring reminder that there are alternatives for Nation States and people from all geography to come to get together in contest that need not be to the death, or until only one Nation remains.
So, sporting clubs are a societal release value, but also can have surprisingly good effects.
Much like the effects of planting trees and gardens in urban areas, or mitigating the heat sinks, and facilitating air flow.
Also Christian, and Jonah, I applaud you both, for not just taking the time to respond, but to provide competing methods, or satire, or other art, or to point out that a coin that is flipped, lands on one side or the other.
So, thank you, Johan, for taking the time to point out that Putin is not moved by human bloodshed, although he does seem moved irrationally by Judo.
And, thank you, Christian, for illustrating to everyone, what every child in every First World Nation with Internet, Energy, and Computing is now deciding:
1) Run all questions through AI to do "my" thinking for "me", or
2) Do work, which hardly seems necessary when the servants can do that work, or
3) Opt out, as "I am in my parents' basement and I have an app, tied to their credit card, which will deliver pizza to me, and AI sex agents", or
4) Godot and Sartre.
I will counter-point, that we cannot be surprised if we place an augury against ChatGpt, and a die rolls, and lands on a face.
That is the problem with auguries, they are done, in augury.
This is like the euphemisms pro-life, and pro-choice, what bullshit.
If you wish to perform rituals to summon invisible spirits, who are known to tell lies, that is up to you.
Not my business.
In the stories, those invisible spirits, often can answer questions or seemingly so, are known to lie, and often grant wishes in manners such that those that made the wish would prefer they had never done so.
I prefer humans to AI, and I often prefer animals to humans, for the same reason.
Not enough morality, empathy, fairness, kindness, and honesty.
And way too much, I will be LOYAL and just follow orders, without the real virtues of honesty, kindess, and fairness.
