Someone reached out recently and asked about how my work as a fencing coach impacts my work as a magician. I think he was concerned that the question was overly personal, but it was really a very fair question. The concern that it might be too personal of a question kind of helps bring up what I want to talk about here.
People have
asked this question a few times. I think a lot of people who know me via social
media like seeing me talk about my work coaching and little stories I tell
about the athletes I work with. Fencing is an unusual activity, less than 20%
of Americans have ever tried fencing, and while it is more common in some parts
of the world, it's still not an everyday kind of activity. Magic is also
something that isn't super common in most places. It's probably natural to
assume if I have these two unusual activities that they dovetail. I've had
magicians ask me about teaching classes on the spiritual elements of fencing or
on how fencing philosophy and magical philosophy and practice go together.
The issue
there is that they really don't align in any special way. Fencing doesn't have
something like Bushido so we don't have spiritual elements. When I briefly took
some iaido classes, there were interesting things where the kata related to
particular directions or to particular bodhisattvas. Fencing doesn't have
anything like that. Modern Olympic sport fencing is pretty purely a sport.
Does that mean
that there isn't an overlap between me as a fencer and me as a magician?
No.
On a very
surface level you might point out that I have incorporated asana, pranayama,
and vipasana practices into working with my fencing students - and in a couple
examples drawn inspiration from Kinhin as well. This isn't really because I'm a
magician though. We actually studied all of these things in high school, so I
could have been familiar with them even if I wasn't into magic. They probably
stuck with me, and I explored them more deeply, because I was into magic. Many
of these ideas are incorporated by lots of sports coaches though. Aladar
Kogler, a former Hungarian and former
Does the fact
that these things are utilized by other coaches who aren't magicians mean that
this is not a point of overlap?
Not entirely.
The thing is,
magic is not a costume I put on and go parade around in on certain days or at
certain times. Fencing is also not a costume I throw on when I want to express
some flamboyant romantic artistry of the sword. Both are things which are core
parts of who I am. I'm also someone who grew up in boy scouts and went to a
prep school. I'm someone who maintained investment and financial planning
licenses for over a decade and worked in those fields. I'm someone who went to
college for film, and for history, who also took a lot of traditional art
classes in high school.
All of these
interests and experiences shape who I am. All of the activities I do, and
encounters I've had through these pursuits shape who I am. The way I've had to
solve problems as a fencer, as a coach, as a financial advisor, as a manager,
as a magician, as a member of a fraternal occult organization, all of these
shape who I am. Who I am shapes how I think, how I respond to things, how I
look at and understand things.
I can't think
about the world or an experience without my life as a magician influencing it.
I can't think about the world or an experience without my life as a fencer or a
fencing coach influencing it. Anything I have majorly spent time on, and even
many things I have minorly spent time on, are part of the complex of influences
which build me into me.
My mom has
said I was a fully formed person from the time I was an infant, with my
personality already set. So maybe some parts of me have strongly been there
since the beginning. But like all people, each little tick and tock of time
against my being carries with it a myriad of influences and elements which
might chisel and reshape elements of how I comprehend and respond.
I could
probably dig deep and say "I tend to look at things this way because I'm a
magician," or "being a fencer makes me think about problems this
way," or "being an advisor makes me focus on solutions this
way." It would probably be easier to do when making a choice about a
particular situation I encounter and unpacking how I experienced and thought
about that situation. On some level, elements of
I don't think
I could say one influences the other specifically, because any influence
fencing has on me as a magician probably is an influence that it has on me as a
person in general.
I think we
often think of magic as something special. Being a magician is something we
think of as special. I think magic becomes more powerful and meaningful when it
isn't special, when it's an element of our lives that we interact with,
address, and use like we do any other element of our lives. When magic is woven
into who we are as a person just like our relationships, our taste in movies or
food, our sense of style or how our occupations can influence who we are when
they are the right occupation...magic has the opportunity to thread itself
throughout life and interact with your life more fully. I think growing to look
at it and experience it this way can be a great and meaningful goal to achieve.
I'm writing this
post the night before I'll be celebrating a big birthday (although the birthday
comes a few days later), so, an even better time to show support than usual.
Sharing a post or a link to one of my books is a greatly appreciated option,
and you can of course pick your favorite post if you'd like to share one other
than this one.
Anyway...
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