Dancing with Fire's definitions

Shin Bet

Israel's internal security service.

Shin Bet is one of three principal organizations of the Israeli Intelligence Community, alongside Aman (military intelligence) and the Mossad (foreign intelligence service).

by Dancing with Fire April 22, 2013

Product of the environment

It means that the person you are is a direct result of how you grew up. The "environment" you were brought up in influenced the decisions you make now. Your environment makes you who you are.

So for example, product of the environment implies that if one grows up in a home full of domestic violence, one of the children in that home may become violent as well when they have a family of their own. If someone grows up in the hood, that person may become a gangster. If somebody grows up in a descent home that is filled with good resources (computer, good books, television, radio, etc.), then they are more likely to become successful. If somebody grows up in a Christian home, they will most likely become a Christian. If somebody grows up in the Middle East or in a home with Muslim parents, they are more likely to be Muslim.

by Dancing with Fire June 18, 2011

Battojutsu

Battojutsu is a sword-based Japanese martial art. Generally, schools which style themselves "battojutsu ryu" emphasize the perfection of Tameshigiri cutting technique, as opposed to iaido ryu which tend to focus on drawing/sheathing, or kenjutsu ryu which stress dueling ability. "Battojutsu" or "iaijutsu" can also refer to the concept of drawing and striking in a single motion. Batto/iaijutsu techniques often involve drawing the saya (scabbard) back and the sword forward, allowing the wielder to begin and complete the cut faster than would otherwise be possible, generally half to three quarters of a second. Historically, battojutsu was developed around the mid-15th century, around the advent of the uchigatana (a type of Japanese sword). The saki-zori curvature (more curved near the tip, as opposed to koshi-zori, curved near the hilt) of uchigatana aided greatly in iaijutsu because it allowed the strike to begin before the blade had completely left the sheath.

The term battojutsu was used during the Warring States Period, while the term iaijutsu was developed slightly later in the period as evidenced by its more philosophical name. Since martial styles generally did not have intercourse because they were enemies (among other reasons, including geographic isolation), what one style (ryu) might call iaijutsu is what another style with similar movements would call battojutsu. The term iaido was not used until the end of the beginning of the 20th century, when it was first coined by Nakayama Hakudo, and therefore should not be confused with battojutsu. Battodo is another similar word and simply means the "way" of drawing the sword, while Battojutsu the "art" of drawing the sword.

by Dancing with Fire May 13, 2011

Silat

Silat, sometimes also called Pencak silat, panchak, or montjak, generally refers to Martial Arts styles that originate from the Malay. These people can be found spread throughout Southeastern Asia, more specifically around Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, and the Philippines. Silat isn't just one style but is used to describe anywhere on up to a hundred different styles, or what they call alirans, and schools. As with many Martial Arts styles, learning silat is not just about fighting. While learning Silat, one learns the mental or spiritual aspects of life, self-defense, the fighting techniques, and the culture of the people the art originated from. For more traditional schools, this includes having a uniform that is based off the Malaysia culture, rather than the Japanese or Chinese one that most people see in Martial Arts. In addition, the schools will have their own "dance," which is composed of movements from their particular style. It is a way to distinguish one style of silat from another.

Silat has a strong influence of learning from the environment. Many of the movements will reflect animals that you will find in nature moreso than some of the other Martial Arts. One of the most important animals to them was the tiger, being seen by the culture as a symbol of importance. Thus, one will find the movements in Silat to be explosive and aggressive bursts of attacks. In ancient times, Silat was as much a part of their lives as any other form of education and prepared young men for adulthood. Because of this, there is a strong emphasis in this art on self-defense. This emphasis is what has made Silat spread through Europe and now the United States. When watching a Silat practioner, one will notice that the artist starts at a much lower stance than most other Martial Arts. In many forms, the practioner will actually go down on one or both knees to gain the advantage. Each step will not only move the fighter but also turn the angle of their body, thus constantly changing and protecting different zones from their attacker. Silat's growing popularity has brought forward several forms within the Western world based on this system. The more known and unique examples of these emphasis the use of small knives, which is one of many weapons seen in a silat arsenal.

by Dancing with Fire June 8, 2011

Erik Erikson

After spending some time traveling throughout Europe, Erik Erikson studied psychoanalysis from Anna Freud and earned a certificate from the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society. Erikson moved to the United States in 1933 and was offered a teaching position at Harvard Medical School. In addition to this, he also had a private practice in child psychoanalysis. Later, he held teaching positions at University of California at Berkeley, Yale, San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute, Austen Riggs Center, and Center for Advanced Studies of the Behavioral Sciences. He published a number of books on his theories and research, including Childhood and Society and The Life Cycle Completed. His book Gandhi's Truth was awarded a Pulitzer Prize and a national Book Award.

Erik Erikson was the guy who came up with the Stages of Devlopment:

1) Infancy: Birth to 18 Months - Ego Development Outcome: Trust vs. Mistrust

2) Early Childhood: 18 Months to 3 Years - Ego Development Outcome: Autonomy vs. Shame

3) Play Age: 3 to 5 Years - Ego Development Outcome: Initiative vs. Guilt

4) School Age: 6 to 12 Years - Ego Development Outcome: Industry vs. Inferiority

5) Adolescence: 12 to 18 Years - Ego Development Outcome: Identity vs. Role Confusion

6) Young adulthood: 18 to 35 - Ego Development Outcome: Intimacy and Solidarity vs. Isolation

7) Middle Adulthood: 35 to 55 or 65 - Ego Development Outcome: Generativity vs. Self absorption or Stagnation

8) Late Adulthood: 55 or 65 to Death - Ego Development Outcome: Integrity vs. Despair

by Dancing with Fire September 6, 2011

SVA

South Vietnamese Army; another name for the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN).

The South Vietnamese Army (SVA) had been financed by America throughout the late 1950’s, 1960’s and as a result of Vietnamization, to an even greater degree from 1970 to 1975.

by Dancing with Fire June 24, 2011

Viet Cong

The Communist-led forces fighting the South Vietnamese government. The political wing was known as the National Liberation Front, and the military was called the People's Liberation Armed Forces. Both the NLF and the PLAF were directed by the People's Revolutionary Party (PRP), the southern branch of the Vietnamese Communist Party, which received direction from Hanoi through COSVN, which was located in III Corps on the Cambodian border. After 1968, as negotiations began in Paris, the NLF established the Provisional Revolutionary Government.

The Viet Cong were organized into three levels: regular forces operating under the command of the southern communist leadership, full time guerrillas organized into companies serving under provincial leadership and finally, a part time self-defense militia, composed of units organized into squads and platoons used primarily for village defense.

by Dancing with Fire June 19, 2011