Made the news again.
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-30576-Nashville-True-Crime-Examiner~y2010m7d14-Four-Rivers-K9-Search-Rescue—Recovery-Team
Entry 53: Integration – SAR
This weekend I went to the state of Kentucky’s BSAR class. This is my second time completing it, and it was much better the second time. It was not a large group, no more than 20. This class involved more compass and nav study, ropes, knots and how they are used rescuing victims.
This was a multi-day class culminating in a night search to test skills. We found the victim only after an hour and a half of searching. I was again given the the responsibility of leadership, commanding a squad in the field.
A very good class, and I logged 20 hours of training.
Entry 50: PLP
| Name: | Andy | ||||
| Advisor(s): | Anglus | ||||
| Date: | 5/16/10 | ||||
| Rank working toward: | Adept Rank | ||||
| Integrative Practice Hours | |||||
| Activity | e.g. Physical Activity | Date Completed by: | Number of Hours: | ||
| Martial | ARMA | Continuous | Noted In Log | ||
| Search and Rescue | Four Rivers K9 | Continuous | Noted In Log | ||
| Excecise | Free Running | Continuous | Noted In Log | ||
| Reading | The Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe | TBA (Wedding) | |||
| Reading | Trust your Vibes | TBA (Wedding) | |||
| Reading | Germanic Mythology | TBA (Wedding) | |||
| Seminar | Kentucky BSAR | 5/31 | |||
| Institute for Jedi Realist Study Courses | |||||
| Courses: | Date to be completed by: | ||||
| Warrior | August 2010 | ||||
| Communications | August 2010 | ||||
| Additional Goals: | |||||
| Date to be completed by: | |||||
| CPR Certification: | Done | ||||
| First Aid Certification: | (if not part of CPR course) | ||||
| Done | |||||
| Personal Development: | |||||
| Asatru | Continued Partisipation | ||||
| Art | SAR Poster | ||||
| Work/Career Goals: | (if in school, set goals for education) | ||||
| Move into new room | 7/20 | ||||
| Lesson Plans | 8/6 | ||||
| Obstacles to training | Ways to work around them: | ||||
| Wedding | Extension of Deadlines | ||||
Entry 49: Force 101
Wrap Up
This course has been very helpful to me. These concepts for the most part are not new to me. This has however helped me shape my own beliefs into a more coherent form and commit them into writing. Something I am notoriously bad at.
I do not get a very good metaphysical base for my development becasue of the area i live in. Not a lot of energy workers out here in rural kentucky. This has been a very good way to start me down that path on my own though. The exercises were fun. I especially like the walking blindfolded. It is hard to say if these exercises were too hard for beginners or to easy for experienced people. It was something different each time, so that was what kept things interesting.
I hope to learn more about this when 2.0 comes out!
Entry 48: Force 101
Classifying energy
I have tried the energy classifying exercise, and I don’t know about seeing colors or auras. I can see people and their demeanor pretty well. I can get a feel for how they may be feeling. Of course this system of evaluation is very dependent on the moment and people can change minute to minute.
Steph
Slow, relaxed, cool, calm
Neutral, Healthy, calm and honest
Justin
Fast, Relaxed, Warm and Vibrant
Happy, Healthy, Calm and Honest
Mary
Slow, Relaxed, Warm and Vibrant
Happy, Sick, Calm and Neutral
Colin
Slow, Dull, Warm, Vibrant
Neutral, Healthy, Neutral, Honest
Matt
Slow, Relaxed, Cool, Calm
Happy, Neutral, Calm, and Neutral
Entry 47: Integration – Martial Arts
5-16
Today practice was held in a building with hard stone floors to the activity was limited to standing drills. One of the most interesting things about the day was that one of the members brought up the point that some of the stances left one open to be heeled. (a stance that is unstable and easily pushed over). We thought about this for a while and thought of a few solutions to this. We worked on dagger techniques and using the high and low key locks. I did not spar today becasue i am within a month of the wedding and my bride to be will not allow injury right before we have a bunch of pictures taken.
2 hours
Entry 46: Integration – Research and Reading
I will be reviewing 2 books today. I departed from my original reading list in favor of a couple books I was more excited to read.
The Art of War – Sun Tzu 
The art of conducting a successful war was something that was greatly sought during the early history of man. It still is a skill that many can learn from in our modern age even if we have no place in battle.
The most important part of any endeavor according the the author is Knowledge. Sun Tzu does not place as much emphasis on the skill of the armies or their make up. But on knowledge, making sure you have it, and your opponent does not.
Deception of ones intentions is paramount. He stresses the fact that one can loose battles and win wars if those losses are made for a purpose. It is important to deceive your opponent so they think they know what is going on, but in reality have no idea. To achieve this, a good leader shows disorganization, panic, weakness when there is really order, strength and resolve.
He stresses the indirect techniques of victory. Use of terrain, of fire and of spies. Sewing discord, lies and otherwise softening up your opponent before ever engaging them. This way victory is assured.
As jedi we can use this in our dealings with others. We must not just barrel into a situation, but must approach it from the stand point of gaining as much knowledge of the situation as possible. “There is no Ignorance…”
We must also learn to use all aspects of a situation to our advantage. There is no cut and dry solution to every problem. To say that as jedi we “oppose this” or “always do that” are absolutes and in reality, we must take each situation, and its variables into account. There are always exceptions to the rule, and for the most part, those are the most common things to encounter. Careful we must be when considering the outcomes of our actions. Always endeavor to find a solution though indirect means and just get the job done. We do not do what we do for glory. We do it to help and as sun tzu states, those that do the most get the least recognition for they do it in such a way that it is as ordinary as washing their hands. Work smarter, not harder.
Völsungasaga
This is the story of the Volsung family line. This is a good glimpse into the life and times that were prevalent during the viking migration. I read this particular epic right now becasue it is the most well known of the icelandic saga’s and one of the most influential.
The most important character of the epic is Siguard. He was a hero of great importance and shows the proper virtues that were valued during the time. Above all else, strength seems to be that which was most prized. All the men and women are said to have preformed great feats of strength, bravery and in many cases stupidity. They none the less were applauded becasue of their freedom from fear.
There is an understanding that must be made clear to the modern reader. These are epics. Not meant to be taken literally. It is like someone 1000 years from now reading about Paul Bunyan and thinking the story is literal.
There are some things that were real though. The accounts of battles and the grisly accounts of injuries were real. People of the time inflicted great violence on each other. Modern readers may have a hard time relating to the epics becasue of how often people were killed and how little consideration was given to the taking of life. There is a huge value shift between the peoples of today and the peoples of that age. Not a time i would like to be alive during.
This story was important for me to read because of my recent exploration of Asatru. The religion of the ancient Germanic peoples. This ranged most of northern Europe including Germany and parts of England, Especially after the saxon invasion. This is the folklore of my ancestors so i felt the need to read it first hand and make my own interpretations rather than rely on those of someone else.
Entry 45: Integration – Martial Arts
So lets pick up back in April where I left off.
April 4
Today we had a visiting Tennessean. John Farthing came up and we ran some parkour then trained with the sword for 2 hours.
April 7
We worked on snapping transitions and we looked at some throwing techniques.
3 hours
April 21
Did lots of sparring today. We went up to the Quad and practiced rolling, grappling and sword throwing.
2.5 hours
May 5
Last day of the real school year. Most of our group leaves during the summer becasue they are college students and they all go home. Today was our last big meeting of the school year and we had a cook out. I had a brat. We filmed our sparring today so people could see if they got better or worse over the summer. The goal is to show improvement. I sparred nearly 2o bouts in a row without stopping and received an epic cut to the thumb that will leave an impressive scar. It is healed now (May 16).
4 hours
Entry 44: Integration – SAR
So lets pick up back in April where I left off.
Search and Rescue
April 8-11
So this weekend was a great training weekend. I was able to practice many of my skills in the field. This was a camp out so it was days strait of working on our rescue. We ran around 10 scenarios. These included meth lab identification, dealing with drunk, armed or hostile victims. We had 3 trails of cadaver. We had stokes basket training. We learned how to use the rescue throw bag. We had fire building skills. Fire starting skills and open flame cooking. We did a long scenario in which i was the victim who had broken his leg and fallen off a cliff. This required the team to use ropes, coordinate with dogs, use the basket to move me and set up an emergency landing zone for an evac heli. I got HORRIBLY sick Saturday morning and was not able to shake it till the evening. That day was mostly a waste for me. We had another team drop in and help with the night scenarios we ran. Since i was off my feet, i was in charge of communications, paperwork and debrief.
Total time training 36 hours
April 21
We trained in down town murray. We met up with one other team member and ran 4 trails in an urban environment. All dogs did well considering I got up in high places and took turns that doubled back!
Total time training 2 hours
May 8
We trained in Noble Park, Paducah. There was a lot going on in the park this day. There were many distractions. The first trail involved laying a path with flags so the handlers knew when they were on the correct path, and to see where the wind was blowing my scent when they were off trail. For the more experienced dogs, I went a good quarter mile into the bush to mess with them. All dogs were able to make a find. I then ran backup for the handlers as they ran a short trail. I used this time to practice my own tracking skills and was able to determine a general location for the victim using foot prints and sign left by her passing.
Total time training 6 hours
May 15
Fund raiser, Fulton Kentucky. We raised 510 dollars for the team.
Total Volunteer time 7 Hours.
Entry 43: Meditation 101
Wrap Up
This course is certianly a must for any beginner in the meditation field. All jedi should be able to meditate. This course is also a boon for those like me, who know how, but have gotten out of practice. I do not think that without being required to do coursework, i would have found the motivation to go sit and make the time for it. So for me, this has been a great class.
Yes, some things were easy. But for a beginner, no these would not be. I also found ways to challenge myself during the process. If the lesson called for one example, i would try to do 3. This is all important and when doing these lessons alone, you are able to do things your way.
I do not micro manage, so I found writing up each individual meditation session to be tedious. It was worth it though to keep me working toward a goal. When given the freedom later to write up observations for a week, it was a relief.
Over the course of the lesson and my research, I found a meditation tradition that i would be interested in pursuing. This is the medieval study of alchemy. Alchemy has multiple parts. The one we are most familiar with is the eclectic recluse standing in front of bubbling glasses of various material. This is the physical alchemy. They also believed in an internal alchemy. That by following the same processes in your imagination in a meditative state, you are able to refine your spirit into gold.
This is a system that relies greatly on the power of symbols. I am very interested as an artist in the power of images and their effect on the physical. I have begun research into the symbols and the powers they are said to possess. But as this meditation lesson ends, i think I will spend some time looking into this form of meditation.
-Andy out.
