I think laws were given to us by God, but for practical reasons (That's if you believe in God I guess, let's not turn this into a theist vs. atheist thread htough, please). Look at any of the ten commandments for example, or any other laws of hte bible. They all have practical reasons.
However, I see what you're saying. Watch the movie "the God's must be crazy." It's all about that sort of thing.

O I don't intend to turn this into a "God vs. Atheist" thing.

That's why when I spoke on them I spoke on them as seperate discussions, in a sense.

We have to keep this from being a "There is/isn't a God" thread and yet we can't leave the belief in God out of the equation and still keep this thread valid.

So I'll adress both (note the "theistic" and "atheistic" responses)

As for "The Gods Must be Crazy" I must have been too young when I watched it, I just remembered laughing at the kids hitting each other lol

Let's keep the topic 'what return to the source' a little more on mutual ground. It isn't about focusing on an religion, and it gets that way...the thread will be closed.

Back on topic please.

To get back to the original question, or "return to the source" , I would like to give you my experience.

I started out in Isshin Ryu karate and Judo in 1962. Since then, I've studied Shotokan, Shuri Ryu, TKD, jujutsu, Aikido, sword, Kyudo, Kong Soo Do, and back to Isshin Ryu.
Each art I studied, I tried to get "as close to the source" of the development of the art as I could.

I wouldn't study with "just anybody"... I purposefully sought out people who had studied with Shimabuku Sensei in Isshin Ryu, Nishiyama in Shotokan, Trias in Shuri Ryu, etc. to get "as close to the source" as existed in the style and could be visited here. In Aikido, my teachers were deshis with Tohei and ukes for Ueshiba Sensei.

When you say "return to the source" to me, it means that you get as close to the origination of the art as possible. Understanding karate from Shimabuku Sensei's and Nishiyama Sensei's perspectives, Aikido from Ueshiba and Tohei's perspectives, gives you a full grasp of what their arts were developed to do and accomplish.

My purpose in training with the people I've trained with and under, is to get that perspective... and while I've trained with many hundreds of others (if not thousands), I have kept my information base as close to the originators of the styles and arts as possible... which is probably why I have such an attitude about "junk" martial arts and "xtreme" junk MA.

Gaining the perspective of the founder of a martial art gives you a whole different picture of what constitutes "legitimate" technique and "junk" techniques... and it might surprise you to find out just how violent many of these "peaceful" arts were. While the "do" form of martial arts is a personal search for one's path, the "jitsu" form of the arts is the search for perfection of technique... and many of the old ones used brutality to mold character. Understanding that, you have a different perspective yourself...

bump

When I was young,
I thought of changing the world,
But when I realised,
The world was not going to change,
I thought of changing my country;
But when I realised,
My country was not going to change,
I thought of changing my family;
But when I realised,
My family was not going to change,
I thought of changing my dog;
But when I realised,
My dog was not going to change,
I left them all alone.
Now on my death bed,
I realised that,
Perhaps if I had changed myself first?