What's Wrong with my Eyebrows?

What is self image? I often think that most Students have some kind of preconceived notion of things in their head and when they meet me for the first time I am not quite what they expect.
Again, too many Kung Fu movies, maybe they were expecting some old guy with a flowing robe, bald head, and white eyebrows (well, I have the bald head part down at least).
Maybe I should work on being a little more vague with things, as should we all, wouldn't that be an interesting exercise? Not to speak unless you can word things in as vague a way as possible - then what would be the point of speaking?

No, instead what they find is not quite what they expect, which is true of anything, especially any type of Martial Art.
Then you have those students that shop around until something fits the bill, which is French for 'conforms to preconceived notions/beliefs.' (or is that Spanish?).

In that case they are fooling themselves and the one who sells them exactly what they are looking for is playing off that foolishness to make a buck, and being as vague as possible is a good tool for many frauds.
Even if it is offered for free, there is some kind of exchange going on, and payment is expected in full, even if you don't know it, you have just bought a load of crap (otherwise known as Snake Oil).
Maybe you have learned something of value in the art of being vague and making your eyebrows white somehow, but that is about all.
You can tell the real deal from the fakes, trust me on that, some of them may be old asians that speak in vague tongues, others may be some white guy in a flannel shirt and cowboy beats saying 'Good, now do it again, git'er done!'
Does it really matter all that much?

Training in Martial Arts is not about conforming facts to beliefs or about following and building upon some preconceived notion - much like boot camp, it is about breaking those things down, though not replacing them with some new ideal, but clearing the way for something solid.
You won't find something that fits the bill because what you expect is not what you are going to get, plain and simple; if you are expecting something and find that your feelings are hurt when you don't find it, perhaps you need to start looking at just what it is you are expecting to find and dash that to a bazillion pieces.
You may have some notion, some idea, sure it sounds good, does it stand up even in a good simulation? Again, sounds good, but the proof is in the pudding, show me.
Face value is not a currency in which we deal, not if we are really doing what we should be doing.

There are a lot of people out there that can, and have, kicked my ass; I've always learned something.
Testing is not something we do once a month, on the floor, you are tested every day, at least you should be - if the fire seems mild then something is wrong.
If you can't even take the heat of a simulation and try to justify quitting by saying it didn't fit the bill (which is usually what people do) then you are fooling yourself, again.
What would you expect to do in reality? This isn't a game, this isn't a movie, this isn't some exercise to strengthen your sense of identity, the persona you wear, the story you tell yourself, the expectations you have.
This is all useless bullshit, and like all other forms of bullshit, must be left outside, otherwise it will be knocked out of you and burned to a crisp until there is no substance left but ash.

Brown Eyebrows has left the building.