I for one would have to agree that Martial Arts has evolved over the decades since it was first introduced in the United States and I as well do not hold to all of the old ways of teaching, however I will always defend the ways of tradition. We can debate till we have no air left in our lungs the opinions of what purpose it serves to hold to the old ways of teaching and as to whether or not the serve a genuine place in our America today. I recently read an article stating that the tradition was no more than a “Mindless Dedication”. I would assume this person is of our now popular MMA generation. I myself do not keep and hold onto the complete ways of teaching a traditional class however I do make it a point to teach my students the history of what they are doing as well as differences of the then and now. I have been doing the martial arts long before it was the sport you now see and our younger generation is idolizing. As I have grown and aged in the Arts my thirst for the history as well as the philosophies of the arts has grown as well. I understand the want of training and the need to be the better man in competition however even in my youth I was amazed and fascinated with the passion I saw in the teachers then, the fire that was inside them and the love of what they do and not so much the concern of physical . I have had the pleasure over the years to have trained not only the traditional sides of the arts but the physical and fighting side as well. I feel it is a good thing to be able to test yourself in competition against another well trained martial artist .but there should always be the respect of the other. The self defense side of the arts is a totally different aspect of what we do, it is not for competition nor is it in my opinion to be taught without conscience. Teaching someone to fight in a ring or a cage is a totally different from a real fight and as a teacher if you are teaching otherwise you are fooling the people you train or maybe yourself as well. The arts were designed to protect and defend what we treasured and not for show, they are fighting systems and systems of self defense, what we see so much of today is a lot of schools teaching fitness and exercise programs and claiming them to be a “Martial Art”. What makes this country great is having the right to have an opinion and to choose our beliefs .but before you decide to think you know what true martial arts are might I suggest that you do the research of how the arts started in the U S and what they have now become today. Look to the past so that you may understand the future. You may just find that there are some really great ideas as well as ideals that await you in the world of the traditional arts. For many years I have taught and trained the average person, the fighters and the police and firemen that protect us, from young athletes to bodyguard and security people. Everyone trained in different ways with varying methods yet all based from traditional martial arts. “In the heart of a warrior there is a peace that most will not see, a conflict that rages daily in his soul and a demon only a fool would unleash”
Posted on: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 01:01:42 +0000
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