Zealous fanatical cults that, overtly or covertly, demand unquestioning obedience and absolute fealty to a headman feel threatened by the nature of mutually supporting communities like TACFIT. We’ve seen these groups lash out with extreme hubris at our members because we bravely dare to follow our own unique path. Such freedom, and its resultant self-mastery, shakes the very foundations of hierarchical cults.
Throughout my years in the martial arts I did not bounce from one style to the next. I carefully worked my way up the ‘ladder’ of three separate organizations, and I became the elected leader of each one. I had great hope that I would be able to fix things from the inside. I was mistaken. Hierarchies by their very nature transmit myopic expectations of internal relationships — in martial art: guru – disciple; in fitness: drill sergeant – plebe.
I found it as impossible to effect significant change when ‘leader’ of these organizations as I did when I was a ‘follower’. With the hierarchical model firmly in place, only razing it to the ground and rebuilding from scratch holds any chance of success.
I chose to start from scratch. I composed a daily health practice of the most fundamental biomechanical movements. I created a training approach to sophisticate these movements into flow, and to strengthen these dynamic ranges with weights. I sought to empower individuals so that they could experience their own unique movement potential and reclaim autonomy over their faculties.
I crafted an approach that uses progressive drills to control the tempo of interaction between participants. That tempo is the thin-sliced time framing which operates in the intuitive and emotional centers of the brain. These drills don’t just allow members to create their own unique solutions to physical riddles. The ability to improvise solutions carries over to all spheres of living, because the brain operates in practice in the same way that it does in an actual crisis.
Despite how sophisticated TACFIT is, it’s as simple as that. It amazes me that such an uncomplicated technology could be so revolutionary. It’s revolutionary not because of its content, but because of its radical departure from traditional models of physical education – the outdated memorization of the technical and tactical edicts of self-appointed gurus.
We have proven through member after successful member that there is no need for rehearsal, no need for memorization, and as a result no need for subordination. Sure, you can choose to be a follower if for some reason that suits you, but it is a choice and not a necessity.
TACFIT is a deliberately created approach to uncovering and refining your own unique truth. No matter how much vitriol this may elicit from the sycophantic followers or the untouchable gurus, every individual is born with the right to find their own light and to follow their own path. I believe that we have a duty to support anyone who sets out upon such a daring personal odyssey.
When I started this community I first set out to magnetize those like-minded spirits who possessed the strength to support others in the daunting task of escaping the asphyxiating yoke of hierarchies. It was an enormous challenge, because even good-natured, well-intentioned martial artists and fitness enthusiasts seem never to have considered such a radical notion before TACFIT.
Can you believe how far we’ve come in such time? Our numbers continue to swell around the globe. Wayfaring travelers marooned by the traditional hierarchies that infect every culture can now find an oasis of relief from oppression in our community. ‘Merely’ continuing as we are, supporting each new member in the pursuit of the dreams they hold precious, is ‘enough’. Once on that individual road to self-mastery, the freedom they experience is impossible to relinquish. We know to the core of our being that we will never go back to that tiny prison. We see the universe of possibility that has opened up before us. We know that, Heaven forbid we should err, we have a community to support us with the mirth of empathy — for we’re all here together laughing at ourselves and at our silly, wonderful journey on this spaceship Earth.
Very Respectfully,
Scott B. Sonnon
Whatever may have motivated this post, I am saddened by the apparent ill will of those who create mischief and dischord. Keep advancing. We learn by watching.