This is the first blog on my brand new WordPress. My name is Josh, but most of my friends call me Mouse. This blog is a sounding board for my thoughts and exploration of life. Some of it will be silly; some of it will be serious. You can expect plenty of blogs on my main interests and hobbies – martial arts, free running, nature walks, philosophy, cooking, drawing, woodcarving, gaming, and more. I want this blog to be an extension of my self-expression. I want it to be another way of interacting with the world. So I invite questions, comments, critiques, and conversation on anything I have to say. Please be polite, but don’t pull any punches. I intend on being as honest as possible, brutally sometimes if needs be. I only ask honesty in exchange.
As for a bit of background on myself. I am an amateur martial artist and free runner. My martial arts practice is informed by 2 and a half years of formal Karate training and many years of solitary study of Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do. I have only begun practicing Parkour in the last two years. My progress has been slow, but invigorating. I definitely lean more towards strict Parkour’s more basic and simple approach than the more expressive oriented Free Running or Tricking. One could call me a spiritual person, although I do not strictly adhere to any particular religious path. I take a great deal of inspiration from the the martial arts fusion of physicality with spirituality, as well as Gaia theory, pantheism, Zen Buddhism, and the philosophies of Alan Watts (and Josiah Royce, to an extent) in particular. I enjoy games in general, with a particular emphasis on action/adventure video games (i.e. Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden, Prototype) and the Magic: the Gathering trading card game.
I believe that the world is a beautiful network of creation and expression. Everyone and everything is a part of that. And deep, deep down it is basically a thing a wonder and joy. The hearty laughter and the aching bruises come together, but that’s not something to fear.
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