Even serial killer Wally Wilson gets it.
On page 168 of “Blood Red Syrah,’ Wally reflects on his victims, his naïve philosophy of life, and the justification he embraces to excuse grotesque violence.
“It’s nice to be nice and they were not nice people,” he says.
Wally is severely mentally ill so his take on reality is not what it should be. Wally knows he’s wrong and out of control, defending his wanton violence with excuses he knows are not acceptable.
“I’m sick,” he says. “But the moral of the story is it’s nice to be nice.”
Ex-convict murderer, newspaper columnist and seeker of truth Jesús Zarate is another character who gets it. A high-ranking aikido and aikijujutsu martial arts practitioner, Jesús believes deeply that it’s nice to be nice, convinced that the way of peace and harmony is best. But, violence sometimes chooses an unsuspecting victim. Jesús prepares to survive.
Aikido is constructive.
Aikijujutsu is destructive.
Ying and Yang make the world go round.
Screams erupt regularly in the dojo during aikijujutsu training. Pain is part of practice. So is respect for partners and a literal feel for when to stop applying a technique designed in feudal Japan to hurt and/or kill. Aikijujutsu is an art of war meant to be deadly.
Fewer screams resonate during aikido practice. The way of peace and harmony is less destructive. At its highest levels aikido is designed to protect the attacker by welcoming the attack as a gift. Yet, aikijujutsu lies at the root of aikido that evolved to offer deep spiritual discovery within the self rather than blood spills on a battlefield.
That doesn’t mean aikido is harmless. I’ve been injured more severely practicing aikido over the decades than when I briefly boxed internationally as an amateur, practiced judo in college, or trained for years in several styles of karate. Aikido hurt me more than any of the serious street fights in which I engaged as a young savage.
Aikijujutsu as self-defense can be devastating. We work at a fast entrance and exit – striking and breaking in a combat situation whatever bones we can – particularly fingers, wrists, elbows or shoulders, etc.
My philosophy is to never fight. It’s nice to be nice – until it isn’t.
I don’t want to hurt or get hurt. Fighting back is serious business, especially at my age, 4th degree black belt or no 4th degree black belt.
Each character in “Blood Red Syrah” strives to find truth and overcome whatever demon possesses him or her. Some make it. Some don’t. Violence is very real. So is peace. One of the strongest lessons in my book is to give peace a chance.
Peace makes the world and our place in it better for everybody.
It’s nice to be nice.
Be nice.