In My Humble Opinion, the newest frontier we all face is Technology.  Advances in Science & Technology is astounding.  The new Wild West is TECHNOLOGY, one can easily presume.  There was the Wild, Wild West of the 1800's.  The Transcontinental Railroad, the taming of the West, the advent of telegraph, etc...  That was then the era of transition.  Nowadays, technology & science continues to challenge all of us.  I work in the IT (Information Technology) Field.  In other words, my Day Job is to deal with IT. Computers. PC's, Macs, Routers, Networks, viruses, spyware, software quirks, wireless devices, blogs, Microsoft, Novell, email, Facebook, hardware, firmware, etc.... An overwhelming array of tasks that requires meticulous decisionmaking skills and troubleshooting. My passion is Filipino Martial Arts, my night JOB.  My  Other  job is to teach, promote, practice, preach, perform, preserve, demo, write, document, videotape, blog, counsel, present, give seminars, conduct classes,  eat and think Defensor Method of Filipino-Indonesian Martial Arts.  

          Mainland USA has transitioned from an Agricultural society to a Service Economy  and along with it comes tons of Technology. Some of  our earlier Filipino immigrants who reached these shores were Migrant Farm Workers like Manong Angel Cabales.  Yes, Grandmaster Angel Cabales worked the Asparagus fields of Stockton, CA.  He would toil the fields during the day with the long Asparagus Knife and escrima was his play at night.  With the advent of the new Age, new laws were implemented.  In the 1960's, Filipinos leaving the homeland to come to USA were required to be professionals.  A new era began whcih formulated a population and a new breed  of Filipno-Amrericans and Filipino Immigrants.  A more educated and professional population emerged in the US shores.  As a result, here we are a product of an era where the fruits of labor of the earlier generations have produced and paved the way for  a more successful population of Filipino-Americans.  A recent survey places Filipino-Americans among the top in measruements of success meaning in the areas of Education, Wealth, Professianlism, etc...I am in one sense a proud product of this new era.  My parents were professionals who migrated the whole nuclear family to America and made sure all of us kids finished College and equipped with Middle Class mindset, values, upbringing, etc...

          Fast forward to 2010, tons of technology is at hand and a typical week for someone like myself in the IT industry can present numerous challenges like numerous angles of attack coming at you.  Somewhat of a different era than the earlier Stockton, CA Manongs like Granmaster Angel Cabales had to experience.  Their era was a simpler time in terms of technology.  They did not to deal with modern day cellphones, PCs, Internet, Viruses, Software quirks,  etc...  The one constant though and thanks to their generation, is FMA!  It is alive and well today just as FMA was alive in Stockton, CA or in Honolulu, HI or in Cebu City or in Iloilo city or in Bacolod City back in  the day.  Here in Chicago, IL  & throughout mailand USA there has been some growth in the past in terms of the population  FMA practitioners.   But allow me to blog on a newer X factor and let me add technology to the equation.  Nowadays, we can twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Blog, emal, and take videos in High Def with FMA.  We can use software, advance cameras, edit audio files, and create webites to present, promote, proliferate & document FMA. Here at fmapulse.com we even have Online FMA Lessons available now.  Technoloby itself is a major challenge and a major boon.  The way I approach IT as a professional is no different than I approach teaching FMA.  In FMA you have various ways to tackle a problem.  Someone hits you with a stick, let's say and angle One, you have several ways to counter an Angle One.  There is somewhat of a parallel in the IT field.  A computer gets hit with a Virus, an IT Pro has several ways to eradicate or counter the virus-laden computer.  A warrior hones his/her skill thru study and constant practice.  He//she takes the time to understand the nature of the enemy.  In IT (Information Technology) you do labwork, you research, you document, you test, you use logic/flowchart, and pretty nuch approach poblems in a similar fashion a warrior does to prepare and study the enemy. The warrior has a weapon, a knife/stick/pistol/rifle/sword and the IT Ninja has a laptop/Google/Wikipedia/Microsoft/tools/the Network at his disposal.  The Warrior uses the environment to his/her advantage, the IT Pro works within the confines/parameters of that environment or that Program or that Operating system.  Here is one difference, the IT Pro needs to be flwxible and learn to appease the client plus be politically correct if needed.  The Warrior has to dispatch the enemy ASAP and take no prisoners in dealing with the enemy.  When provoked, the Warrior will use all means necessary in a fight to WIN and rid of the enemy.  If the IT Pro deals with BAD code or Viruses or Spyware, then He/She will act like a Warrior and get rid of the problematic Code or Virus or Spyware.  There are numerous parallels.  The world of IT and the Way of the Warrior has similarities and differences. 

Typical IT Pro's Work:

Dy 1 - see  client having Microsoft Operating System problem Windows 7 cannot connect to the netwrok.  Solution: change Router settings use WPA-PSK encrytion/security settinss.  Run tests and change all PC and Mac machines to match new settings.  

 Parallel Warrior approach -see the enemy, identify the problem, provide a plan of attack, and execute maneuver to all sides of the battle.

Day 2  - see Medical Clinic client having Windows XP PC problems with the desktop. Icons reportedly missing.  Solution: remap/reinstall icons on desktop and put all needed shortcuts to the All User profile in XP. 

Parallel Warrior Approach - gather information & do reconnaissance, then attack the enemy at all sides.

Day  3 - client drops off three laptops which cannot connect to the internet but still boots up. fix: remove virus/spyware, remove all unnecessary programs, install security, antivirus, anti-spyware & secure all machines, and  reconnect to the Internet.

Parallel Warrior Apporach - opponent attacks you with various weapons.  You counter each attack and defend yourself successfully. Then you implement a plan that would stop  & disale the next round of attacks with these same weapons so they can never affect you or threaten you again!

          This might sound mumbo-jumbo but you get the point.  There are parallels in the IT world and in the Warrior Ways in their approach to dealing with challenges and problems. There are obvious differences and one needs to identify them so it will not ill-effect one's situation.  One warning to FMA practitioners, there is a counter to every attack, to every altercation, to every fighting scenario.  One need not take it literally and apply this only in situations you may see fit.  For example, relationships with your boss or partner or spouse, there is a fine line between diplomacy and countering.  You may counter every verbal attack or criticism but there are times when you need not counter.  Your wife tells you to clean up the computer room since it looks kinda messy.  Do you counter that with saying she needs to clean the Fridge or the Kitchen? If one sees it or attacks it as adversarial, this might lead to unwanted results.   However, if one is in the legal profession, or in a court room situattion where point and counter point is the order of the day, then countering has its place.  Some gives you and angle one, you block, you nullify, and you counter with a stronger Angle or an angle with the speed and power that they cannot counter.  For after all, at certain time if I may quote Grand Tuhon Leo T. Gaje Jr,  "the goal is to develop non-counterability".  This has a parallel with the IT world in terms of a computer virus, the Administrator upon discovery of this virus has to counter this and make doubly sure it does not comeback.  It is then a counter to the virus but the virus is unable to defeat the secured device!

Nate Defensor

Defensor Method of Filipino-Indonesian Martial Arts

http://www.defensormethod.com