7/3/2024 0 Comments Happy 4th of July!I thought it fitting on Independence day to share a couple of sketches inspired by my time in the Marine Corps. The Raphael above is a sketch I really enjoy. :) I drew him around 2016-17 ish. I like it, kind of simple and to the point compared to a lot of the other work I'll be sharing with you in the future. Before we dive into those check out the piece below... If someone knows anything about US Marines they know the phrase "Every Marine a Rifleman!" Every marine is required to stay current on their marksmanship regardless of their specific military ocupational specialty. I drew the above picture laying in a cot just before hiking down range to requalify after we got back from Ramadhi, Iraq in 2007.
My friends tell me I'm a chronic over thinker. They told me this when I first drew this, and they still tell me now years later. I see my overthinking in a lot of my artwork. It's one of the main reasons I like to steep my art in a healthy dose of symbolism so I can unload multiple concepts into a single piece. This piece is no different. The basic components are the rifle, the wings and the scythe. Inside the silouette of this M4 you'll find the actions of the rifle represented symbolically. Above the trigger you see where the hammer hits the firing pin accented by a mini explosion. Traveling toward the buttstock you'll see the bumper tube has some action lines, because everytime we decide to "balance the scales" by pulling the trigger this action strikes back as much as out. Recoil is a comforting feeling for many Marines. An imediate release from stress, and more specifically, I link recoil to a release from danger. Us grunts are always taught, "The best form of cover is a wall of lead". Machine gunners call it fire superiority... Force them to keep their heads down and you gain freedom to move. Freedom to move leads to victory on the battlefield... It is no different in business. Instead of saying shoot 'em we used to say "Reach out and touch 'em." We have many ways to "touch someone". In the case of modern projectiles reaching out is the action of the primer in every bullet casing. The hammer striking the firing pin presses on the primer which sparks the powder which pushes the bullet out of the gun. You'll see the firing pin striking the primer accented by the small circle just behind the siloette of the slip ring. The fire after this circle moving toward the barrel is the ignition of the powder in the casing. The movement of the bullet through the barrel corkscrews to add a stable trajectory to every bullet fired. Once the bullet leaves the chamber it becomes an arbiter of death. The smoke and mussle flash signals your enemies to fire back on you, which is why the skull is just past the barrel. Everytime you send the reaper's scythe you'll surely find some coming back towards you. The scope is our sight. Knowing how to align our sights we land on target. Being aware we can decide wisely. Once set in our decision we pull the trigger as arbiters of justice. For good or evil, the feathers fall and only through time can we tell if the decision made was right or wrong. Principles of marksmanship can easily be applied to all other fascets of our lives. As every Marine is a rifleman. Every person must have a target, purpose, and a way to get there. Without it they'll surely wonder aimlessly acomplishing nothing in life. Here's a little elaboration to link mechanical actions of marksmanship to living a better life. Amunition is important. The gift of semiautomatic weapons is that we can fire multiple shots without having to manually work the bolt to feed the chamber. Technology in modern times is no different, we can "reach out and touch" so many more people with only the swipe across a screen, as long as our followup actions become semiautomatic. The benefit of semiautomatic weapons is negated if we are still loading bullets one by one. Similarly your actions are minimally effective if there hasn't been consistent learning to support the reload. Just like how a loaded magazine houses multiple bullets we must load our knowledge and goals into a streamlined system to keep our relationships and business actions flowing smoothly. If the bolt isn't cleaned and oiled after use, the rifle will lock up. As in life it is important to journal and reflect on actions to clean up unnecessary thoughts and lubricate our future actions. Training reactionary drills to handle jammed bullets and get the gun back up and running is no different than working with trouble areas until we can improvise, adapt, and overcome without hesitation. Aim true, shoot straight. Semper gumby and semper fidelis. Enjoy the fireworks, watch your fingers. Have a happy independence day!
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Author- Daniel HydeInstructor of Kwan Ying Dao Kung Fu and Shu Family Tai Chi Chuan. Archives
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