Mr. Sylvester

Recently, I took a trip back to New Orleans and, while there, I had occasion to visit “The Backstreet Cultural Museum.”  I can’t take credit for the visit because it wasn’t my idea and I’m embarrassed to say that I had never been there before; it was entirely my companion’s idea (as usual, she hit it out of the park).  The museum is located in the Farborg Marginy neighborhood and occupies the old Blandings Funeral Home.  Mr. Sylvester had been an employee of the establishment for several years and, when the owners retired, they left the building to him (he still lives on the second floor).  An icon of the city, he’s literally seen it all and the central corridor proves it with countless photos and stories.  The museum itself is dedicated to the preservation of black New Orleans culture, society, and history.  When you walk in, you find two main rooms; to the left are exhibits about the social aid and pleasure societies as well as all things concerning “Second Line” parades. To the right, everything New Orleans Indian including several donated costumes.  When we arrived, we walked past a group talking on the corner and it wasn’t until after we entered that we turned around and found one of the men we had just passed standing before us who introduced himself as Mr. Sylvester and informed us that, while there was no admission fee, there was an $8.00 “cover charge” (you HAVE to love a city with a museum that treats itself more like a nightclub!). We were then invited to look around and ask any questions we might have but it didn’t take long for Mr. Sylvester to begin speaking about that which he loves most. 

 

On the Indian side he began talking about the history of the New Orleans Indian Tribes, their story, and what they stand for. Part of the speech struck me to the point that I tried to write it down later that day so as not to forget.  I’m sure that I’ve probably left something out, but here goes;

 “So you got Uptown (Tribes) and Downtown (Tribes); Uptown don’t like Downtown and Downtown don’t like Uptown.  When two chiefs agree to come out (to meet), Uptown know he don’t got it, so he go to the next apron or chest piece, he know he still ain’t got it, so he go on to the next (one); he got like maybe four or five chest pieces and aprons one on top of the other, but he still ain’t got it because those aprons and chest pieces are like paint by number and anybody can do that, they ain’t three dimensional; not creative. Also, when you got that much on your outfit, it weigh like 80 pounds and you can’t dance in it. With Downtown, it start with a single little patch each year and builds out from there, all done by hand and in three dimensions, creative.”

 And there it was; within two minutes, this man standing before me had broken down the essence and difference between creativity and art.  Pick a discipline and try to find how it doesn’t fit (I don’t’ think you can, personally).  But the place for me that it also seems to fit the best is in the Martial Arts.  Many of us who study the Bujinkan come to it later after exploring different schools of the martial arts and find ourselves wanting more.  While there are many good teachers out there, far too many fall into the “Uptown” school of thinking.  How many of us were initially taught in these styles to “have a bag of techniques” that we could/should fall back on?  Of one didn’t work, go on to the next set and so on and so on.  The problem is that it assumes a static environment that, frankly, doesn’t exist in real life.  Furthermore, when you do nothing but have a “set of techniques” to use in a fight, you weigh yourself down with those very same techniques and are unable to respond to a fluid situation like a fight or a potential fight.  Think of it this way, if you start with that single little patch (Kihon Happo, Sanshin, etc.) as a grounding to build out from and think in three dimensions (think “taking the space” here) then when you find yourself in a conflict or potential conflict,  you become more fluid and able to respond more effectively and while your reactions are based in the aforementioned training drills, what you actually do will bear very little resemblance to those forms and will, if done properly, never be seen again because the exact same situation will never be repeated again. 

On a more esoteric note, this same principle can be applied even before a conflict begins and can often diffuse a fight before it begins which is a good thing since I often find myself fighting to keep from falling back into the whole “hulk SMASH” mentality that was drilled into me for so many years at different dojos and law enforcement academies.  I can attest to the ability of the principle working from personal experience in my job as a law enforcement officer and finally understanding the difference between power and authority which understanding is often sorely lacking in my field (a topic for another post perhaps).  

So the moral of the story, if there is any? Start with the patch, be creative, think in three dimensions so you won’t be weighed down and will always find yourself able to dance.  Oh, and when in New Orleans, make a trip to the Backstreet Cultural Museum, pay your cover charge, and visit a while with Mr. Sylvester.  He will talk as long as you listen and I promise you a single word won’t be wasted.