Guardian Mt. Hood Jiu Jitsu

People love to ask the question, “What’s the best martial arts technique?” The funny part is, the answer is the same as when someone asks, “What’s the best spiritual path?” or “What happens when we die?” The answer always sounds like a riddle:

Yes. No. Always. Never. Sometimes.

It frustrates the logical mind because we’ve been taught to seek a singular right answer. But when you live in both the seen and the unseen world, when you’ve walked into the dojo and meditated in the silence of your soul, you realize existence doesn’t play by the rules of either-or. It plays in the paradox.

The physical world is duality. Day and night. Life and death. Attack and defense. This is the movie set, the visible stage where we train, sweat, suffer, succeed, and feel pain. This is where we learn the forms, earn the belts, go through heartbreak, and look for meaning in the script.

But behind the scenes is non-duality. The film director. The consciousness watching the actors forget their lines and improvise their growth. The one who knows all the genres are part of one greater narrative. There is no villain or hero, just roles and growth.

So what’s the best technique? The one that works when you need it. Sometimes it’s a roundhouse. Sometimes it’s stillness. The best path is the one you’re on. Until it no longer serves you. Then the path will change. Or you will. Or both. That’s the paradox.

We are not just actors in the film. We are also the screen the movie plays on. And when death comes, it is not the movie ending, it is the projector light going out in one theater, only to light up another. The audience changes seats. The actor forgets his lines. A new role begins.

Martial arts taught me that every block is a strike. Every retreat is a setup. Spirituality taught me the same. Every loss is a return. Every end is an unveiling. And death is just one more scene in a longer story that was never just about the body anyway.

So next time you ask “Which technique is best?” or “Why must we suffer?” or “What happens when we die?”, remember, you’re asking a question from within the film. The answer, from outside it, might just be:

Yes. No. Always. Never. Sometimes.

And somehow, all of it is true.