Whatever you study or whom you try to be does come handy some day! OP your words reminded me of one small(!) incident that happend to me... In early 1970's, after Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon hit all of us kids (I was not even a teen then), we began immitating him -- we few friends began meditating, learned about Zen meditation, talked about all the related things he did and said, began reading all about Bruce Lee and his fighting techniques (no internet was on our horizons then, most didn't even had a TV), and began training ourselves like him -- we even tried punching into hot sand, doing Kathas (spell?), practicing stances, even trid to do two finger push-ups (WOW, how those hurt later!!!), and beating the walls with the sides of our hands and legs(hahaha)!
One of most important things we learned and practiced with lot of attention was his defense techniques. We practiced them and almost tried to become perfect in those as much as we could ... and we were also practising with the nanchaku
! The defense techniques were practiced so much that they almost became instinctive, second nature, and we were confident (not overconfident -- we knew when we
must run away, or do something else
) then that we can stop any sudden attacks...
Fast forward:
In 1990s, I worked as a graphjics manager at an exibitions center in Riyadh. We worked very hard and without any rest or even sleep for days trying to complete the millions of jobs of producing the logos, graphics, texts for the exhibitors. And I worked non-stop on computerised vinyl-cutting robots creating all the graphics.. The vinyl rolls used to produce the logos were very expensive and very heavy (3 meters wide, 50 meters long each), the heaviness was really felt after a long days' work, more after 2 or even 3 long days of work! lol.
All that drained our energies when we worked at that pace for almost 24~72 -- 72 happened twice , 24~30+ nonstop was a normal and dull lifestyle for us, hahaha -- hours nonstop). Sometimes we went to the restroom, they were kept very clean by the related workers may be for this special usage, lol -- and rested there -- dozed there, and felt/hoped/actually-prayed that at least the boss would not come there and disturb our little special moments!
But even then the boss would come there serching for us and knock on the door and yell -- S@@@@@@, come out now! We got to complete the graphics of @@@ company, and themn some more... I KNOW you're sleeping there -- but remember you're not sleeping till the next evening, and only after this show begins even then if you are not needed at the desk for some last minute jobs!...)
So when we were overstreatched and the group of my assistant working on a huge logo, made a rather big mistake, and I said some words in irritation, one of my assistants got very angry,... naturally too!
When I told him that he was not properly transfering the different colors of a logos, and when the logos are this big, the errors would be seen by every visitor in the exhibition -- and that it would make the main boss (we had 3 borthers for a boss -- one was good, the other was bad, and the third the youngest was a terror whom eveyone hated) angry at us... the worker, a Phillipino, who was already overstretched and overworked, and who had a cutting blade in hand which they need while doing those jobs, came rushing at me and tried to swing his blade at me, to hit me on the left side of my neck. I could barely see the blade-point fast moving in and reflexively my left forearm blocked it with equally forceful impact... the blade instantly went flying out of his hand and hit the far end of the room and broke on impact. This guy was starting me with wide-eyes and stood there motionless, and he was beginning to feel a lot of pain, his face showed that very clearly! All that happened in a fraction of second... with the passing of time though, about 2 minutes or so, he realized that he was about to harm me very badly... his friends were watching all that in fun. I guss such things are very normal to them... but when my action stopped this guy, they all felt silent. He stared at me for a few more moments, and then they all left me alone in the room. I was by that time ready to take on as many, and if I had to get hurt or killed, it was accepted by my mind, but nevertheless, it was prepared to fight...
That incident which saved me came from the practiice that we kids did, and did with enthusiasm and for wanting to be like Bruce Lee, a real life-size hero for us!
Never did I knew that it would come handy one day and save me, but the self-defence techniques, however crudely we learned, had been embeded in my subconscious mind along with the live images of how Bruce Lee was doing it live on the huge movie screens! And that technique that at least I practiced with utmost zeal, almost with a devotion, came instantly to help me when I most needed it! Nothing was planned on how to execute the defence at the tiime that person tried to kill me... there was no time, and also the brain was so tired after working for more than 24 (was it 36+) hours at a stretch, and it was well past 2 AM local time! So nothing inside me was prepared to repel this sudden attack, but the technique helped and came out instaneously within a fraction of a second and my forarm bone hit the soft part below his left wrist with almost pefect timing and with a sufficiently forceful impact... lol. I think Bruce Lee, my real-life Hero for all time, would have patted my back in real happiness and would have softly smiled at me then if he was personally present!
So when you are at something you love to do, and if it's a real good thing (like training self-defence techniques), then put everything into it without trying to become exacly like the master. You can NEVER become like him, but even if you become a fraction of what he is, then believe me that's worth it! Subconsciously the real master and his blessing will always be with you, and will appear in one or other form, in the time of need, to make his techniques, however you've learned them, really fruitful. I believe in that. You need to keep yourself all the time open to receive that help though!
~~~
Anyway, just weeks later, that worker fell terribly ill, and it was a Friday (public holiday, but not for us who worked without holidays or weekly offs), and no one bothered to take him to a doctor, or call the company doctor, or the bosses. I saw him in the small kitchen which was for us officers and not for those workers, and where he trying to drink hot black coffee, and he had a lot of pain on his very pale face. He was amost about to collapse any time.
I sensed something was very bad with him and asked him 'if he was really ok, and anyway I could help?' The way he stood and the way he kept his abdomen side protected told me that he needed very very urgent medical/surgical help. I, being a med graduate, got him talking like we would do a medical case-taking, and soon came to a conclusion that he probably needed apendectomy very fast. I called and asked his friends to take him to King faisal (Hospital) IMMEDIATELY, got it done.
Then I took the bosses telephone number and I could only find the 'terror' at his home. He wasn't in a mood to listen to me or listen about the incident, thought very little and surprized me by telling that I am overdoing things! He simply wanted to do nothing. THAT snapped my patience! I still told him, still very nicely, that the doctor from KFH had talked with me on phone that the patient needed urgent appendectomy, and wanted someone with authority to come to the hospital to authorize/sign the legal papes on the patient's behalf which would enable them to begin that lifesaving operation (obviously the boss of the patient must sign the papers because no patient's relatives are present or can come all the way from a distant country to sign them).
When I then lost my temper and told (actually I yelled at him, was yelling all the time after that uintil he agreed) the boss to go there and that he can dispatch me back to mumbai in one or more pieces, on the next flight, it was still ok with me, but he MUST get off that damned bed and go to the hospital imemdiately, and sign the damned papers without losing any more time -- also told him in anger that he had already lost it, -- he obliged...
Eventually the worker got operated, and he regained his health in due time, and then when he came out of the hospital, with all his Phillipino friends he came to me at my work-desk and in front of the other boss (the one who was lot better) and collegues, he apologized for what he was trying to do with the knife that other day, and in spite that I tried all I could to save him... he said he was really sorry to god and to me... He then began weeping uncontrollable...
He actually had murder on mind, and he then told me that if I hadn't stopped and ended the attack, he would have had the knife through my neck... the boss and many of the staff and my friends knew it the first time then, and all were thoroughly shocked that I would have been killed! Then everyone came to me and congratulated me, thanked me, and said many kind words! While they stood and did that, they made me sit through the "ordeal"! lol. This friend was openly weeping and I tried to soothe his feelings. I knew that he had becomes a great friend whose friendship I would cherish for the rest of my life, and I told him so.
So, the reallife Guru, the one and only Bruce Lee, not just (in a very spiritual and amazing way) helped me one day, he (his teachings) made the attacker turn a great friend soon after! I believe in such Gurus and the powerfilled things they are capable to do, even after their passing away from this earthly home... God bless!
!!!
And thanks, many thanks, guys for being patietly reading this rather long rant! lol
