{"id":3507,"date":"2016-04-09T01:57:16","date_gmt":"2016-04-09T07:57:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jessemoynihan.com\/?p=3507"},"modified":"2016-04-09T01:57:16","modified_gmt":"2016-04-09T07:57:16","slug":"bullies-create-artists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/jessemoynihan.com\/?p=3507","title":{"rendered":"Bullies Create Artists"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was shooting the shit with my Jiu Jitsu instructor the other day about cultivating a positive vibe in the dojo by vetting out meatheads. We sort of joked that there seems to be two kinds of people who get into martial arts: assholes and nerds. Individuals who just want to learn how to hurt people, and outsider introverts who geek out about movement and philosophy surrounding combat. <\/p>\n

The latter group (I think) gravitate toward martial arts the same way they gravitate toward underground music, games with weird rules, academics, trading vhs tapes of anime, conspiracy, magick etc… any system or cultural movement that is hidden and has layers of initiation. Hidden because while growing up, one method of nerd-survival is to keep out of sight. This overt, oppressive social order fosters a hidden corner-space for the weak to build interest in hidden knowledge and to gain power slowly, over time, over those who were born with immediate physical advantages. <\/p>\n

The clearest example I can think of that blurs the line between hidden, initiation nerd culture and fighting arts was the ninja craze of the 80’s. <\/p>\n

\"muscle-nin2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

If you were doing martial arts in the 80’s-early 90’s, you were a fucking nerd. That meant you were collecting X-Men, watching WWF, and drawings dragons in your spare time. In the cafeteria hierarchy your were considered a piece of shit. For that reason the ninja mythology was super seductive to many kids like me, who were not strong in the insane psychological jungle of public school. The idea that I could hide in shadows, shoot tranquilizer darts, and paralyze someone with a finger jab to the correct nerve was an incredible fantasy antidote to the chaos of surviving bullies. My brother and I actually subscribed to Ninja magazine and practiced with nunchucks and wooden katanas in our attic. We bought grappling hooks and rubber ninja stars. In high school we even had a shitty ninja club where we’d practice boosting each other into trees and shit. <\/p>\n

Eventually my parents transferred me out of public school into a Quaker boarding utpoia where I was allowed to be weird openly. But the foundation was set in place. Like so many others, the pressure of cruel survival had turned my interests inward. That’s why I was obsessed with drawing, writing, music, filmmaking and personal philosophy. And that’s why when Institutions campaign against school bullying, part of me feels a weird twinge of apprehension.<\/p>\n

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