[lyrics written around 1994]

reference earlier blog on 'anti-love songs'

icicle love 

I dont feel as cold as i do when I'm with you

it took millions of years to form these stalagmites

in this cave

it took only two seconds for our love to grow  cold

our love to grow old

our love went molded

on Jefferson street

walk my feet live my lips and brush my teeth

cause I'm walkin' on jefferson street

icicle love where you live

I look at your house

i see that its on fire

Im walkin up icicle love puts it out real fast

startle me as you walk down the street

spilling the beer all over my new shirt

my new shirt smells like beer

the stain over where it says no fear

i feel like i love you

but i feel real cold when i do

i know i should just pack up and move

whos that man youre with

its probably your brother

I know you wouldnt cheat on me I know you wouldnt cheat

come to think of the consequence

your brother isnt alive anymore he is not

veitnam war took him

I wish I died with him

I never thought i'd hate you so much

now we are married and we have beautiful children

I never thought I would hate you so much

feel as I get colder

the icicle on my beard

the cornflakes on my shoestrings

the beer on my hair

I smell like pigeon powder

and I dont where i got my fear

and i think i'm going to melt with my hate

icecile love

puts it out real fast

blast from the past

I think i like it

come on give me a spade

ones thats black

instead i didnt get it

I got an icecile with a wreath behind it

with a temple dedicated to the god of hate

the god of hate is the same as the god of love

icicle love

my lips freezin

my tongue stickin to the mail box

here i am standin naked with my tongue on the mailbox

here i am naked and I dont love you

i dont love you, i dont love you

without my icicle

icecream man goes to dairy queen buys him a sundae

i stand behind i say do you have some of that icicle love

the woman winks and says ya thats me

I said get away from me

she said wanna get married

I said lets have three

three what she said

three kids gosh darn it

we are going to have icecilce babies from our icicle love

lets go icicle communion

at the pentecostal church down the road

ah ya

dont stick your nose in the air

dont stick it too high

you might smell some stuff that doesnt smell all too appetizing

no it doesnt

my retarded son puked all over the floor

it got moldy and it melted and the rats came home for dinner

the cows left one evening went to mass and never returned

all i have left is my chick

and my icicle love

icicle love, ya

icicle ya, love

if the wilderness could breath on my shoes and make em clean again

like the wilderness could breath on my heart and make it beat again

im a naked skeleton

Im a naked gem

im a naked gemstone

and I know

not much at all

not much at all, ya

not mucha ya, all

icicle love, meow

Chicken fried steak

breaded texture on

striations of succulence

a distinct chewing

vegetarian for animal rights is pro-choice

fundamentalist who is pro-life and for the death penalty

Old drunk edit

[intro brought to you by miller genuine draft]

cold white sheet

play upon your rules

cold white sheets

despite us

if it feels like

the cruelist rain

you might be listening to

this side of you

how do you reinvent away

that which is just an image

that which in your youth

gave you a reason

gave you hope

but now chemicals

are just about all you have

in mind

and all you can do

is take your time

and find when

its time

to banish

your mind and

drink it all away

[soul escapes]

Ninpo collage 2

Ninpo introduction

An hour-long review of class styles and to demonstrate a variety of teaching modalities inherent in Ninpo Taijustu

A “living tradition”: 

Ninpo is a storehouse of knowledge that integrates its strategic core to modern needs.  Ninpo has always been a functional combat system that is for the weak as well as the strong; slow as well as the fast.  The function of Ninpo is to teach appropriate conflict resolution; its history is tied up in the experiences of the noble and the poor depending on what era.  

In the modern age, there is a need for a strategic knowledge of short-range techniques, opposed to the long-range techniques of Japan’s past.  The way one can tell a living tradition from a dead tradition is if the strategic core is still intact and can adapt to the changing needs of the age.

Basic concepts explored in Ninpo training

General conditioning: Spine, base, core and coordination

Kinesiology:  effective structure and movement.  The union of centuries of combat experience coupled with the principles of physics.  Effective bone structure and appropriate muscle firing that one learns in class allows one to tap into the root of stability and power.  This prevents any premature fatigue from over use of the muscle and with proper body mechanics that come from the root, we can adapt to need instead of relying on robotically trained “forms”.

     Three dimensional space:  Instead of focusing on linear dualities of distance such as near or far (close to opponent or out of danger zone), we focus on using height, angles and space to manipulate the opponent but keep us safe at the same time.

          Sensitivity and receiving:  By honing one’s ability to sense changes in distance, rhythm, in areas of tension in the opponent, we can yield to the opponents momentum, and redirect or interfere with it in many ways.

          Strategy:  The education of the combat artist is made truly effective when one understands timing and the equation of distance and timing, which is rhythm.  What starts out as theory and repetition of concept, becomes a natural and automatic perception of the subtle signals that the untrained artist misses.

          Shinken Gata (real life application):  Shinken Gata is the necessary removal from martial art “style”, to test the training of the artist.  One’s ability to adapt and compensate with the opponent’s energy in a variety of situations is an essential part of training.  This is where sensitivity is put into the refiner’s fire of spontaneity. 

          Traditional Techniques:  The old scrolls of Ninpo are like dry sponges.  We must hydrate them with training to extract the knowledge of hundreds of years, and then apply them to meet modern need. 

The union of knowledge and influence that forms the system of Ninpo is tied most notably to the mountain regions of Japan.  Although Ninpo has been influenced by the samurai classes, it was the ronin(master less samurai) and retired officers or long dead affiliations and a broad array of peoples who were at odds with the feudalistic central government. 

Other major influences of the art are from the infamous Yamabushi (warrior priests), the ninja clans, foreigners and those hiding from the mainstream of Japanese civilization. 

The Yamabushi in particular can be considered a major influence upon the art of Ninpo.  The Yamabushi are mentioned many times in Japanese history:  “The fugitive emperor Godaigo, who had once placed two of his sons in the temple on Mount Hiei, was assisted by the yamabushi, who fought the Kamakura warriors from hill to hill, mountain to mountain, and temple to temple, with a savage display of valor which equaled – where it did not surpass – that of the professional warriors.”

It is also interesting to note the influence the Yamabushi had on Japanese warriors. The yamabushi combined their ability to objectively sense the manifestations of the mind and control them; which the most highly trained warriors realized this as an invaluable tool to remain lucid and adaptive in life and death conflicts.  The yamabushi are also thought to be the earliest to adapt a Chinese pole arm to the ever-popular halbard, known as the ‘naginata’.

“…These monks and priests still continued to participate actively in developing bujutsu(methods of the warrior), being considered experts in its theory, particularly in regard to those inner factors based upon mental control and coordinated power.” 

This coordinated power is the efficiency of using proper bone alignment, muscle firing and adaptive flow.  It is an art for the weak as well as the strong, the trained as well as the untrained.

“The bushi(warriors) themselves acknowledged this theoretical dependency upon their religious masters by flocking in large numbers to the temples or abodes of abbots or humble monks who had become famous as teachers of techniques and disciplines…”

As one learns Ninpo the concepts and strategies of power and grace are uncovered and revealed in each person as a process of stripping down the hesitation of the will and to force the mind to let go of its expectation.  This is also one of the main benefits of meditation, so you can see why the Yamabushi nourished the world of physical conflict with insights into its strategies. 

The beginning student will begin learning how to bypass the armor of tension and rely on sensitivity that allows the freedom of adaptation and the ability to concentrate objectively on the subjective conflict.

The subtle principles of bone alignment over muscle flexing are applicable equally for the combat artist as well as those who are looking for a method of grace and efficiency.  You will hear it repeated by many of the great fighters of various ages.  It is the insight that if one is loose, then this person can adapt and control the conflict.  It is also known that those who remain relaxed during impact will spread the impact out; whereas tension absorbs impact as a whole and the damage is greater.