badhangover
New Member
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2006
- Messages
- 701
Attributed to the martial arts legend:
"Before I studied the art, a punch to me was just like a punch, a kick just like a kick. After I learned the art, a punch was no longer a punch, a kick no longer a kick. Now that I've understood the art, a punch is just like a punch, a kick just like a kick. The height of cultivation is really nothing special. It is merely simplicity; the ability to express the utmost with the minimum. It is the halfway cultivation that leads to ornamentation."
I find this quote very prescient of our hobby and its many accoutrements. When I first began cigar smoking, I casually stored them in makeshift containers and clipped and lit them with cheap materials. I then heavily delved into the hobby and gleefully spent many hours in search of and procuring exotic and expensive accessories to store, clip and light them. Now I find myself regressing back into simplicity. With a greater understanding of cigars and their common embellishments, I employ simple and nominal methods of storage, clipping and lighting with greater frequency.
Where I once eschewed all but the most solid and ornate (obvious signs of quality, so I thought) humidors, I know find perfect use of plastic cigar bags and plastic containers. Where I once prized and sought out the highest grade surgical steel cutting implements available, I now find great pleasure in the simple effectiveness of my fingernail(s). Where I once considered nothing less than the most handsomely striking butane lighters, I now pack wooden matches into my pocket with complete confidence in their useful abilities.
No, I do not regret my past purchases. Yes, I still commonly use them. I do, however, appreciate the segue into my greater appreciation for the cigars themselves and give scant attention to their overhyped and overpriced trappings.
The Jeet Kune Do master certainly displayed a measure of wisdom in this quote (as it may be applied to far more than just martial arts or cigars). RIP, Mr Lee.
"Before I studied the art, a punch to me was just like a punch, a kick just like a kick. After I learned the art, a punch was no longer a punch, a kick no longer a kick. Now that I've understood the art, a punch is just like a punch, a kick just like a kick. The height of cultivation is really nothing special. It is merely simplicity; the ability to express the utmost with the minimum. It is the halfway cultivation that leads to ornamentation."
I find this quote very prescient of our hobby and its many accoutrements. When I first began cigar smoking, I casually stored them in makeshift containers and clipped and lit them with cheap materials. I then heavily delved into the hobby and gleefully spent many hours in search of and procuring exotic and expensive accessories to store, clip and light them. Now I find myself regressing back into simplicity. With a greater understanding of cigars and their common embellishments, I employ simple and nominal methods of storage, clipping and lighting with greater frequency.
Where I once eschewed all but the most solid and ornate (obvious signs of quality, so I thought) humidors, I know find perfect use of plastic cigar bags and plastic containers. Where I once prized and sought out the highest grade surgical steel cutting implements available, I now find great pleasure in the simple effectiveness of my fingernail(s). Where I once considered nothing less than the most handsomely striking butane lighters, I now pack wooden matches into my pocket with complete confidence in their useful abilities.
No, I do not regret my past purchases. Yes, I still commonly use them. I do, however, appreciate the segue into my greater appreciation for the cigars themselves and give scant attention to their overhyped and overpriced trappings.
The Jeet Kune Do master certainly displayed a measure of wisdom in this quote (as it may be applied to far more than just martial arts or cigars). RIP, Mr Lee.