What Do I Know?

What do any of us know?

I, for example, am nothing more than a product of my own reason and common sense. I pair perception with experience. I observe, report and conclude, all the while, trying my hardest to do the best I can within my capacities.

But do I actually know anything?

Given my many limitations, I get asked a great number of questions. Don’t get me wrong: I am grateful for each one I receive and I certainly do not wish to appear otherwise. I consider it an honor that any of you value my opinion enough to have me weigh in on your training, diet or life, and I thank you for the opportunity. But the truth is that I can’t possibly know all the answers to every query that anybody may have. I do my best. But sometimes my lack of firsthand experience with a given situation holds me back.

For example:

There is no one-size-fits-all resolution here. A beginner and advanced practitioner will have wildly different rest periods. It depends how long and frequently this person has been training, what their current physical condition is, genetics, outside habits, environment and more.

Still, I am glad the person in the above scenario had a specific question. Sometimes, they’re not quite as thought out:

Um… ok. Sure. Get back to me…

I live by trial and error. I’m no different than you. In fact, you shouldn’t instantly look to me until you’ve made some important personal discovery on your own. That’s not to say that I cannot be of service. Of course I can, but I encourage you to do some soul searching first. Know thyself, friends. There is no experience like firsthand experience. Don’t look at me. Look at you. While some think I’m a guru, others are not so kind. The truth is, I’m somewhere in between.

Not only do I accept these natural differences in people’s opinions, I embrace them. I am an advocate of free thought and individual will in all their forms. I’m grateful when my beliefs evoke a passionate resonance in anybody in whatever capacity they’re capable of. Some feel that my words are inspirational; others are less kind.

And still, some folks would prefer if I just went away. Well I’m not.

How about this fun comment on a recent Danny’s Dos and Don’ts article:

That’s cool. Look, there are a lot of people out there. The natural constraints of my knowledge and intellect may not provide what you seek. Perhaps I can’t give you what you need.

Or can I…?

We all have opinions. That’s what makes life beautiful—the transparent fact that it beckons to be lived. You see, progressive calisthenics (or bodyweight training, street workout, whatever you want to call it—I don’t get bogged down on semantics) embodies an experiential component more than it demands wrote text. In a way, our very training ties into not knowing anything. We dispel dogma. We celebrate improvisation. We choose movement over academia. These are the attributes that comprise excellence in our realm.

Every truth-seeking individual on this planet will undoubtedly go through changes. Things we know (and things we thought we knew) can morph over time. This is how we evolve. Therefore I urge you to experiment, to reason and to go with your senses. Trust your intuition but keep an open mind. Learn from what’s around you every day. After all, the purest form of science is observation. Remain nonpartisan and objective, particularly when it comes to matters of the self.

I don’t know anything. You decide for you.

Keep the dream alive,

-DK