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There aren’t any rituals, rites of passage, memorized chants or graduation ceremony for manhood or womanhood. As men our sisters get the benefit of nature assisting their ascension through puberty, the first period and several other private things. For men we get theories, comparison checks to our forefathers and conflicting feedback on what constitutes a “man”. It is something that we never think about in detail but it has to leave many guys pondering, “am I truly a man, or am I a boy pretending at this grown-up thing”? It seems as if the blood, sweat and tears spilled by women of the past to gain equal grounds with their testosterone fueled mates, has left many men scrambling to figure out our respective “roles” in a family structure. If you think I’m making this up just observe the barbs being thrown across gender lines in 2010 by the single, middle-class, each blaming the decline of… [Read more]

There are times when a man will find himself in a situation where he must choose between appearance and comfort. The standard of our time is to choose the latter especially if there is no need to impress a female (the man is either married or in a lengthy relationship). While this standard may seem ideal and “comfortable”, it goes away from the warrior standard. The ancient Samurai known to be the most impressive of warriors stressed appearance as well as skill on the battlefield. An unseemly appearance before and after being cut down in battle was shameful. For this an ideal Samurai would have his armor clean, and beautiful, his nails clipped and together, his hair tight and his appearance solid prior to joining the ranks to do war. Men of today use the logic of “I am going to die anyway so who cares” which is a lazy and tired outlook. A man… [Read more]

Ever felt like Atlas the Titan bearing the weight of the world on your shoulders? Sure you have, we’ve all been there at one point or another. Last year was probably one of the worst years any of us will ever experience in terms of large-scale issues (not those standard personal ones) and for me it was no different. The Hall of The Black Dragon was one of the only positives going for me in 2009 since business yielded more than a few unpaid invoices and an occasional rip-off artist here and there. The money flowed south but I found my stability through writing and of course maintaining this beautiful site. We were lucky to get a few friends on-board, namely Nia Syrah and Niambi Dawn to add a female perspective to our testosterone laced opinions, Beauty and the Eats told us which restaurants were worthy and The Marksman helped build articles for you dating… [Read more]

One of the ways us men show affection for one another is through an activity called “breaking balls”. The term is referred to by many names but being who I am, I tend to go with that term over the rest. Synonyms include but are not limited to “ribbing”, “chewing” and “razzing”. Chances are you have heard one of these terms before. It takes a special kind of bond to get into breaking balls effectively, if you and your comrade aren’t on a certain level of friendship it will be misunderstood as an attack on his character. It is not a simple gesture being that effectively breaking balls weigh on not only the temperment of your friend but the results you seek in doing so. There are different reasons to break balls and different methods in doing so. The friendly jab – This is the norm amongst close guys. It is an ongoing thing that… [Read more]