I am currently growing my hair. Basically in my young 20's until recently (I am 31) I kept it short as a means of conformity/ fitting in, such as job security. But I realized I no longer care. I had recently grown it to shaggy lengths but trimmed it again. Now I have not trimmed it since July 2015 and plan to keep letting the hair grow out. This is not a question of should I grow my hair out or not. I know that it is time, and it has been growing.
When training for athletics I have noticed that cutting the hair short does work. for instance I had buzz-cut style hair when I ran boston marathon in 2009. it seems to get the male energy moving. however, there does seem to be a flaw to this. the power of a short hair style only goes so far. I have heard that one reason why military cadettes trim/ buzz their hair is because they are more easily controlled by their superior officers this way. I also realize that hair is an extension of our central nervous systems. growing one's hair out develops extra sensory perceptions. Here is a link to an article that covers this topic called "The Truth About Hair and why 'Indians' would Grow Their Hair Long":
So as you can see from the above article there are advantages to long hair. Using the biblical Sampson analogy was interesting- his hair gave him strength and when it was cut he was defeated.
I also seem to relate better to nature letting my hair grow out. For instance, if my hair was short I wonder if I still would have been able to erect a six foot standing stone on a hill-top ledge and build other stone structures such as the stone wall enclosure (I am actually still building that site up and have made a few changes and have built some new structures. For instance I opened up the “J” shape stone enclosure and linked it to another structure, a mini-chamber.) I also know that when going out to a site in nature, one should expose themselves to the elements, whether it be rain, sun or wind. And our bodies respond to this stimulus, and I think that the sensories in our hair can play a big role in this.
As the above article says, when hair is cut it “numbs out” our senses. To have true power one must grow their hair long. Of course there are a number of reasons to cut one’s hair short too. Unfortuneatly most people in mainstream society think that long hair is rude and just don’t get it. What do other people think? Anyone else with any experiences or insight into growing their hair long? Do you also feel that long hair gives you more power? do you athletically perform at a higher level with long hair? do you feel more ninja-like with long hair? (I know I do, this is a mistake I think I made when cutting my hair to conform to mainstream society- it just doesn’t work and I can’t express myself on that higher level as well). Please share your insights here.
I would also like to discuss Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo movies, the fact that Rambo has long hair and wears a crystal necklace.
Hi, Matt. Interesting subject. Back in the mid-'90s, I spent over 2 years growing my hair out. I grew it as long as halfway down my back. Mainly just to see what it’s like. My older brother has had long hair and a full, long beard since the late 1960s. He’s been a musician (guitar) since then and still plays gigs with bands to this day. He’s in his early 60s now and his hair has a lot of gray now. When I fully grew my hair and beard out, I looked just like a younger version of him. Other times, I shaved the beard but kept the long hair.
After 2+ years, I finally cut it off. I never really felt comfortable with long hair. In the 1970s and early ‘80s, my hair looked like Bruce Lee’s, or the Beatles’ “mop tops”. When I grew my hair long in the '90s, I didn’t like the extra weight on my head. During KF training and much of the day, I had it in a ponytail. TBH, these days I mostly keep my hair short or even in a buzzcut. It’s more comfortable for me. And in spite of occasionally growing out my beard, I always end up shaving it all off. I feel like I can breathe better ‘clean-cut’, plus I look younger this way. Last time I grew out a full beard, I looked like a mountain man, lol.
I heard somewhere that traditionally, most Yakuza gangsters buzzcut their hair so it isn’t easy to be grabbed and pulled during a fight. Be aware of that possibility. Maybe that could be one reason behind the tradition of soldiers buzzcutting their hair(?). Even though in modern warfare, hand-to-hand combat is mostly not as big a factor as it would have been in past generations. I’m sure that conformity is also a factor. As a soldier, you’re part of a unit.
If you prefer long hair, more power to you! Everybody’s experiences and goals will be different. Follow whatever feels right to you.
[QUOTE=MarathonTmatt;1292446]Do you also feel that long hair gives you more power? do you athletically perform at a higher level with long hair?Please share your insights here. I would also like to discuss Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo movies, the fact that Rambo has long hair and wears a crystal necklace.[/QUOTE]
If you want to source from movies, look at Vikings. Ragnor Lothbrok’s, through four seasons, has progressively shave his head until it is bald and it does not seem to attenuate his fighting acumen (though the cocaine leaf does.)
Back to reality. I can tell from your posts that you are interested in anthropologic studies and given your propensities with such studies, most of the cultures that you study did indeed sport long hair. During my first two decades of training, I had such hair as I worked with Native Americans as well as Gung Fu teachers. At some point I shaved it all off and said to myself, “I must become the training.” This, I think, is a natural progressions in the training arts. As the arts internalize, you become the art, and the outward manifestation of the training wears off. You become an old man walking down the street that nobody notices. You become the point of the spear. Those striving, while wearing long hair, are the sportive, still striving to understand and are the blade, the ‘cutting edge’ of the training. While striving on that edge, understanding and ability do not match. They leap frog each other for decades until they are one thing. ‘One thing’ is the tip of the spear. The blade of the spear is prestige, money, fame, fortune, and long hair.
Strategically, the longer the hair, the easier it is to grab.
[QUOTE=SKM;1292448]Those striving, while wearing long hair, are the sportive, still striving to understand and are the blade, the ‘cutting edge’ of the training. While striving on that edge, understanding and ability do not match. They leap frog each other for decades until they are one thing. ‘One thing’ is the tip of the spear. The blade of the spear is prestige, money, fame, fortune, and long hair.
Strategically, the longer the hair, the easier it is to grab.[/QUOTE]
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa, to this.
In Buddhist iconography the earliest depictions of people who have attained enlightenment had hair: lots of it, to the point where you will see it in various types of braids. It was the later depictions that showed bald headed statues. In the religious traditions of India, the gods/goddesses have a lot of hair.
In serious training you do not become the tip of the blade. You disassociate yourself from the blade and learn to handle the blade, fully able to sheath or draw it at will. To draw it or to sheath it is achieved through oneness.
Finally, longer hair gives the women something to hold on to. It enhances their shouts during moments of passionate release.
[QUOTE=mickey;1292459] In the religious traditions of India, the gods/goddesses have a lot of hair.
[/QUOTE]
Hair had a special mojo in Indo-European societies. If you cut a chieftain’s hair and nails, he lost his charisma and power. Hindus shave their heads as a sacrifice. Come to think of it, Samson and Delilah has a similar trope.
Marilyn Manson has a story to tell about the special abilities bestowed upon him by his mustache.
[QUOTE=mickey;1292459]Finally, longer hair gives the women something to hold on to. It enhances their shouts during moments of passionate release.
mickey[/QUOTE]
Why would she be holding your HAIR during those moments?
Of course, in most(?) ancient societies, including the warrior classes, long hair was common if not the norm. As well as spiritual leaders. Although the images we see of Jesus Christ are Eurofied (hey, I invented a new word), the depictions of him with long hair are most likely very accurate. The same with the long hair of Hindus, as well as Buddha. Buddhist monks shave their heads to sever their connection to earthly affairs.
Also remember, in the distant past, it was seen as normal for men to grow their hair and beards (if they had the ability to grow beards) long. Whether it was actually better, or it was just the custom, or even if it was more difficult to trim or shave back then, I don’t know.
IMO, in SOME ways, hair has the power that you ascribe to it.
[QUOTE=mickey;1292459]Whoa! Whoa! Whoa, to this. In serious training you do not become the tip of the blade. You disassociate yourself from the blade and learn to handle the blade, fully able to sheath or draw it at will. To draw it or to sheath it is achieved through oneness.
mickey[/QUOTE]
“Whoa?” I am not riding your horse an you are not riding mine. Disagree if you choose. Do not choose my disagreement for me. In serious training the blade becomes the tip and the tip disappears into nothing. If you choose to disassociate yourself from the blade and aspire to become one with the blade, that is your choice. My point was that the tip dissolves even though it is the pure focus of the blade. It is called a metaphor. You are still blade training at your level and that is acceptable. My blade no longer has a tip. At my level that is expected.
[QUOTE=MarathonTmatt;1292446]there are advantages to long hair.[/QUOTE]
Many years ago I went back to Taiwan with long hair. The taxi driver asked me where did I come from and what did I do in Taiwan. I told him I was helping my friends to settle some business. Since one of the Taiwan gangs “4 seas” leader was assassinated that month by a guy from US. When I got out of that taxi, the taxi driver didn’t even want to take my money.
When I had my long hair, people stay away from me. A long hair China-man can be as scary as a bold head white American. That’s an advantage.
Being a fan of long hair, I would have my afro cut down to an inch once a year. In recent years, twice a year because my hair is growing faster. Getting my hair cut affects my memory. I am totally jacked up for a few days. My need to get my hair cut is approaching because I am experiencing breakage and, for the first time in my life, my hair is starting to braid itself. I have always associated long hair with strong sexual energy and strong spiritual potential; especially, when it grows out the top of the head faster than on the back and sides, As mentioned in another thread I refer to this kind of hair growth as the Kennedy Syndrome.
[QUOTE=YouKnowWho;1292470]Many years ago I went back to Taiwan with long hair. The taxi driver asked me where did I come from and what did I do in Taiwan. I told him I was helping my friends to settle some business. Since one of the Taiwan gang “4 seas” leader was assassinated that month by a guy from US. When I got out of that taxi, the taxi driver didn’t even want to take my money.
When I had my long hair, people stay away from me. A long hair China-man can be as scary as a bold head white American. That’s an advantage. :)[/QUOTE]
My brother looks like a biker with his long hair and beard, though he’s Asian. With his hair and thick beard, his ethnicity is almost indeterminate. The same for me when my hair was long. A lot of people assumed I was Native American, and I was even mistaken for Mexican twice (once by a Mexican, no less!).
if you are not forced by your job to conform hair then do whatever u want. i want to grow a fu manchu with buzzcut and get yellow contact lenses to look like the bad guy from disney mulan cartoon and i would if i could.
having counterculture style doesnt justify not grooming and looking like a hobo tho
Great insights everybody. Yeah Jimbo, as the hair continues to grow I will have to feel out how it weighs on the head ie if it feels right. And mickey… wow! Thanks for ur posts- dropping the knowledge.
found this clip on YouTube- the Foundation Benefits of Growing Long Hair Pt 2- (Part 1 he basically reads from the article I posted @ beginning of thread… seems to be a deep subject but not a lot of material about it.) Some more great revelations and insights about growing hair in this vid:
Just when I thought these boards couldn’t get any more ridiculous…
[QUOTE=MarathonTmatt;1292446]I have heard that one reason why military cadettes trim/ buzz their hair is because they are more easily controlled by their superior officers this way.[/quote]
For ****s sake… The military requires strict haircuts because you need to be able to properly seal a gas mask. Secondary to this, the last thing you need is head lice eating away at your scalp in a combat zone. Why does this need to even be spelled out for you?
I also realize that hair is an extension of our central nervous systems.
The CNS doesn’t extend beyond the spinal column. The word you’re looking for is peripheral. At least know the anatomy if you’re going to reference it.
growing one’s hair out develops extra sensory perceptions.
If its linked to your nervous system, that would by definition make it not extra sensory, would it not? There’s no such thing as ESP.
In terms of increasing my power, I will say it does increase my sensitivity but not for combat really. Having all that hair, it’s like antennae in a way - it’s attached to your scalp after all. As a writer, I have to be a good listener, and long hair did help on that front in a subtle way. But it didn’t increase my qi or anything like that. I’m not Samson. :rolleyes:
It’s actually kind of a pain to have long hair in training. It’s easy to grab and you got to wash it a lot. I used to shave at Shaolin Temple because showering wasn’t always as accessible, so it was a matter of hygiene.
It is an appallingly new low in the respect shown by forum members towards each other to shade someone’s statement with some silly kind of color. I never contributed anything blue.
Try cobalt blue, beautifully latticed with flecks of gold.
