“When you redirect your opponent’s energy, you force him to change. So in essence he defeats himself. If you learn to be fluid, to adapt, you will be unbeatable.”
(Yasuaki Kurata as Fumio Funakoshi in Jet Li’s 1994 martial arts epic “Fist of Legend”)
“Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself makes you fearless.” Lao Tzu
Important lessons for any walk of life!!
Now last week I watched Jet Li’s latest (and apparently last) martial arts epic “Fearless” (called “Spirit” in Japan). It’s the fictionalized story of China’s legendary martial arts guru Huo Yuanjia and as one would expect from a Jet Li movie, the fight scenes are fantastic. But it’s also a very moving story of a man’s pride, grief, and redemption through the realization that his true opponent is his own self. One small point I liked was the relationship of mutual respect between the main character and his Japanese opponent (played by Shido Nakamura).
Jet Li has stated that in this movie he wanted to express his martial arts philosophy. He felt a strong responsibility to do so. Well, I was inspired! I actually watched it twice! Watch trailers here:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10006530-fearless/trailers.php
And now go watch the movie! WATCH IT!
FOOD
Last night, we went to a little eatery, not far from my house, which must have the healthiest menu in Kyoto. The name is Café Oishii and it’s specialty is vegetables fresh from the field, cooked in such away that not a smidgin of flavor is lost. We had the omelette and tofu steak and some vegetable gyouza (steamed dumplings). Actually, for my taste the gyouza was a bit too strong, too much ginger and garlic, but everything else was super delicious. A nice little place and I recommend it. Here’s a couple of pictures: 
I’ve been having trouble uploading pictures to this blog, (for problems with computers go here: LINK) so for the map to the location you’ll have to wait till tomorrow. I’m not going to waste any more time on that today. Cheerio!
(Added later)Here’s the map to Cafe Oishii I promised to post a couple of days ago. If you can’t read it then you are either: a) not in Japan so it doesn’t matter, b) in Japan so you can ask somebody Japanese.
