While surfing the web recently, I came across a Kenpo site that explained why the author did not furnish any useful information about Kenpo on the web site. He said it was because of the 9/11 terrorist attacks; that he did not want to reveal the deadly techniques of Kenpo to any terrorists who may visit the site. What a bunch of bull!
This reasoning posits that a terrorist who is willing to blow himself up and kill hundreds of people and go straight to heaven, with no prior training except for how to push a button, will be searching the Internet for some secret Kenpo technique he could practice using for years so he could kill one person, and then have to wait even longer to get to heaven.
Can you picture bands of radical Muslum terrorists roaming the streets of America secretly killing unsuspecting shoppers using secret Kenpo techniques they learned from a web site? The real reason for not putting free information on the web is that the author wants the public, which could also include terrorists, to pay for the information, either through the purchase of classes, books, or videos. There is nothing wrong with wanting people to pay for your expertise, just don't be afraid to admit it.
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Combat-Ki
Have you seen the demonstrations of Combat -Ki on television. Combat-Ki is supposed to be a way of absorbing punches and kicks so that they are rendered harmless.
As you watch Combat-Ki in action, watch the way the practitioners are struck. First, they are always stuck by another Combat-Ki practitioner. Second, most of the techniques are slaps and pushes. If that is the way Combat-Ki practitioners attack, then I see why they need the ability to absorb punches because they will receive a lot of them. If that is the way Combat-Ki practitioners spar each other, then don't see the reason they need the ability to absorb blows because slaps and pushes are not going to injury anyone.
Watch how the Combat-Ki person who is kicked is knocked backwards. If a person struck by a kick is knocked backwards, it is because the kick was a push, not a strike. A proper kick only penetrates the target 1 or 2 inches, and then is retracted. This means the force of the kick is a strike, not a push.
I have held a body shield for Taekwondo masters who were demonstrating a proper kick. I was not pushed backwards, I was jarred from head to toe by a shocking, shuddering blow that made me think my teeth filings had fallen out or that my eye balls were bulging. One time, I was sweating from a workout when I held a body shield for my instructor's side thrust kick. When the kick stuck, I was suddenly blinded; all the sweat on my whole head had suddenly rushed to my face and into my eyes.
When using a proper kick, the force of the kick is not expended in moving the opponent backward, it is expended within the opponent's body. Just as you see in the punches of professional boxer, the punch does not knock the opponent backward into the ropes, the opponent just suddenly drops to the floor. If a Combat-Ki practitioner tried to absorb a Taekwondo side thrust kick or a karate reverse punch, he or she would be injured, guaranteed.
As you watch Combat-Ki in action, watch the way the practitioners are struck. First, they are always stuck by another Combat-Ki practitioner. Second, most of the techniques are slaps and pushes. If that is the way Combat-Ki practitioners attack, then I see why they need the ability to absorb punches because they will receive a lot of them. If that is the way Combat-Ki practitioners spar each other, then don't see the reason they need the ability to absorb blows because slaps and pushes are not going to injury anyone.
Watch how the Combat-Ki person who is kicked is knocked backwards. If a person struck by a kick is knocked backwards, it is because the kick was a push, not a strike. A proper kick only penetrates the target 1 or 2 inches, and then is retracted. This means the force of the kick is a strike, not a push.
I have held a body shield for Taekwondo masters who were demonstrating a proper kick. I was not pushed backwards, I was jarred from head to toe by a shocking, shuddering blow that made me think my teeth filings had fallen out or that my eye balls were bulging. One time, I was sweating from a workout when I held a body shield for my instructor's side thrust kick. When the kick stuck, I was suddenly blinded; all the sweat on my whole head had suddenly rushed to my face and into my eyes.
When using a proper kick, the force of the kick is not expended in moving the opponent backward, it is expended within the opponent's body. Just as you see in the punches of professional boxer, the punch does not knock the opponent backward into the ropes, the opponent just suddenly drops to the floor. If a Combat-Ki practitioner tried to absorb a Taekwondo side thrust kick or a karate reverse punch, he or she would be injured, guaranteed.
Monday, October 18, 2004
Slow Students
Instructors shouldn't hold a class back so a slow student may catch up; the class should move along at a steady pace. The slow student should be encouraged to keep up and may need extra instruction, but you do not punish the many for the imitations of a few.
Commercialism
Ever notice how the people who put down commercialism in the martial arts usually have the least profitable schools. Once again, it is the "have nots" criticizing the success of the "haves." To rationalize their failures, they consider themselves the martyrs of the martial art world. They think they are the only ones who are "true" to arts and thus will not lower themselves to be profitable.
Wednesday, September 1, 2004
Olympic Taekwondo
I watched the Olympic Taekwondo coverage on television and it was a major disappointment. Why do the WTF patterns have hand techniques in them if competitors never use them when sparring? Why do the WTF rules permit hand techniques in sparring if they are never used in competition, especially when there are so many opportunities to use them? The reason appears to be because you will not receive a point from the Korean influenced judges if you use a hand technique in international competition. Therefore, WTF instructors do not stress them and they have gradually disappeared.
Tae-kwon-do is the way of kicking and punching. The WTF should change the name of its martial art to Tae-do, the way of kicking. In their effort to remove the influence that Japanese karate had on traditional Taekwondo and to create a uniquely Korean martial art, the Koreans in the WTF have indeed created a new art, but one that is totally useless as a martial art. WTF Taekwondo is now a totally different entity from traditional Taekwondo. It is now a pure sport, such as is Greco-Roman Wrestling, and as such, it is now totally useless as martial art. There is no guard, there is no blocking, and there are no hand techniques. All the fighters just bounce around with their arms hanging at their sides and throw kick, after kick, after kick. It reminds me of a production of Irish Riverdance. There are no defensive techniques, only offensive kicks. An armless person could win an Olympic gold medal in Taekwondo.
I have been neutral in the WTF vs. ITF battle in the past, viewing the two arts as merely two different ways of accomplishing the same thing. However, that view has now changed. WTF Taekwondo is now purely a sport and does not deserve the title of martial art; it should be called leg fencing.
A martial art is defined as a method of self-defense. WTF Taekwondo is useless for self-defense. A WTF fighter would be slaughtered by any street thug, not an experienced street fighter, just an ordinary neighborhood thug. In a real fight, you cannot drop your guard, ignore hand attacks, and ignore kicks just because they will not score. Nothing can be ignored in a real fight, since the purpose of every attack is to hurt you.
You fight as you train. If you train in the WTF style, then, in stressful self-defense situation, you will fight that way. Likewise, if you train in the ITF style, you will fight that way. As explained in TKDTutor, the only difference between ITF sparring and a real fight is range. In a fight, the overall range is merely decreased by one or two inches so techniques are delivered with full-contact instead of a light touch. In a fight, a WTF practitioner that fights as he or she spars would be slaughtered. A street attacker is used to getting hit and getting kicked, so after blocking or absorbing a kick, the street fighter would be all over the defenseless WTF practitioner.
All this would not be a problem except that the two styles share the same name. If WTF Taekwondo had a different name, it could be considered a separate sport and be treated as such. But, because of the Olympic exposure, the world now thinks that the Taekwondo they witnessed in the Olympics is what Taekwondo really is all about. That is sad.
Update
In the the spring of 2005, the WTF rules changed so that hand attacks to the head are now permitted. Time will tell how this will affect the course of sport Taekwondo.
Tae-kwon-do is the way of kicking and punching. The WTF should change the name of its martial art to Tae-do, the way of kicking. In their effort to remove the influence that Japanese karate had on traditional Taekwondo and to create a uniquely Korean martial art, the Koreans in the WTF have indeed created a new art, but one that is totally useless as a martial art. WTF Taekwondo is now a totally different entity from traditional Taekwondo. It is now a pure sport, such as is Greco-Roman Wrestling, and as such, it is now totally useless as martial art. There is no guard, there is no blocking, and there are no hand techniques. All the fighters just bounce around with their arms hanging at their sides and throw kick, after kick, after kick. It reminds me of a production of Irish Riverdance. There are no defensive techniques, only offensive kicks. An armless person could win an Olympic gold medal in Taekwondo.
I have been neutral in the WTF vs. ITF battle in the past, viewing the two arts as merely two different ways of accomplishing the same thing. However, that view has now changed. WTF Taekwondo is now purely a sport and does not deserve the title of martial art; it should be called leg fencing.
A martial art is defined as a method of self-defense. WTF Taekwondo is useless for self-defense. A WTF fighter would be slaughtered by any street thug, not an experienced street fighter, just an ordinary neighborhood thug. In a real fight, you cannot drop your guard, ignore hand attacks, and ignore kicks just because they will not score. Nothing can be ignored in a real fight, since the purpose of every attack is to hurt you.
You fight as you train. If you train in the WTF style, then, in stressful self-defense situation, you will fight that way. Likewise, if you train in the ITF style, you will fight that way. As explained in TKDTutor, the only difference between ITF sparring and a real fight is range. In a fight, the overall range is merely decreased by one or two inches so techniques are delivered with full-contact instead of a light touch. In a fight, a WTF practitioner that fights as he or she spars would be slaughtered. A street attacker is used to getting hit and getting kicked, so after blocking or absorbing a kick, the street fighter would be all over the defenseless WTF practitioner.
All this would not be a problem except that the two styles share the same name. If WTF Taekwondo had a different name, it could be considered a separate sport and be treated as such. But, because of the Olympic exposure, the world now thinks that the Taekwondo they witnessed in the Olympics is what Taekwondo really is all about. That is sad.
Update
In the the spring of 2005, the WTF rules changed so that hand attacks to the head are now permitted. Time will tell how this will affect the course of sport Taekwondo.
Friday, August 13, 2004
Ego
Egotism is the anesthetic given by a kindly nature to relieve the pain of being a damned fool -Bellamy Brooks
Taekwondo, as well as most other martial arts, is overrun by people with egos that are larger than their intelligence or abilities can support. Since most martial artists, and thus most senior black belts, are male, this egotistical behavior is expressed by machismo. You find instructors who say they support the tenets of Taekwondo and they tell their students to be humble and gracious, but then they act as if they are Taekwondo royalty. An example that comes to mind is Eternal Grand Master H.U. Lee, the founder of the American Taekwondo Association. Lee is only one example, there are many, many more grandiose Taekwondo masters. Being a high ranked black belt or being considered a master of the occupation of Taekwondo is not enough for some; they feel the need to be called grand master, supreme grand master, or eternal grand master. What is next, "Supreme Grand Master of Taekwondo in the Milky Way and Other Galaxies Far, Far Away."
What is a master of an occupation? He or she is merely an expert in the occupation. There are master electricians, master craftsman, master masons, etc. but there are no grandmaster electricians or supreme grandmaster carpenters. In an occupational, master is a description of the skill level of a person who is a expert in that occupation; it is not the person's name. A brick mason may tell people his boss is a master mason but you will not hear the mason calling the boss "master." If a mason did, he or she would probably be looking up at the boss from the ground.
All martial art masters are instructors, since one who has not been an active teacher of a martial arts for many years cannot become a master. A mere practitioner of a martial art cannot become a master in the art. Therefore, a more appropriate title for a senior instructor should be Teacher, Sabum (Korean), Sensei (Japanese), or Sifu (Chinese). Actually, a more appropriate title should be merely Sir or Ma'am or Mr. or Ms. Donald Trump is called Mr. Trump, not Grandmaster of Real Estate Trump.
Having an ego is not a bad thing. Everyone has some degree of an ego; it is what makes us feel unique in a world full of people. An big ego is valid if it is backed up by a lot of talent and ability, but many people maintain a large ego in an effort to hide their lack of talent and feelings of inadequacy. People who know they have an ego are usually not a problem because they try to suppress it, since they consider it a weakness. It is the people who deny having an ego who are a problem. They tend to have large, out of control egos that make the lives of those around them miserable.
Some psychologists believe that individual self-interest is the motive of all conscious action. They call this trait egoism. But this should not be confused with egotism (an exaggerated sense of self-importance).
Egocentric masters look for ways to make themselves appear better than everyone else regardless of the consequences. They wear gaudy uniforms. They make the simplest techniques seem complicated and then proclaim themselves the ultimate experts in the techniques. They seize on every martial arts myth and exploit it to the hilt. They portray traditional arts as the enemy and consider any student that consorts with the enemy a traitor to their art. They tend to hangout with egotistical masters of other arts and, as a group, they consider themselves the true leaders of the martial arts world. They have no authority or power in any other aspect of their lives, so they make themselves the supreme authority in their schools and make students "worship" them.
If you meet any of the "old" masters of martial arts, they wear a basic uniform, they are humble and unassuming, and they offer assistance instead of commanding respect. A true master has a modest ego. Like the true hero who does not think he or she is a hero, a true master does not think of him or herself as a master. A true master thinks of him or herself as merely an experienced teacher who has seen and learned a lot in his or her lifetime and is willing to share this knowledge with others.
If you want to be a great martial artist and maybe even be a master in your chosen art someday, maintain a healthy ego. All masters have egos, but the great ones never show it.
Taekwondo, as well as most other martial arts, is overrun by people with egos that are larger than their intelligence or abilities can support. Since most martial artists, and thus most senior black belts, are male, this egotistical behavior is expressed by machismo. You find instructors who say they support the tenets of Taekwondo and they tell their students to be humble and gracious, but then they act as if they are Taekwondo royalty. An example that comes to mind is Eternal Grand Master H.U. Lee, the founder of the American Taekwondo Association. Lee is only one example, there are many, many more grandiose Taekwondo masters. Being a high ranked black belt or being considered a master of the occupation of Taekwondo is not enough for some; they feel the need to be called grand master, supreme grand master, or eternal grand master. What is next, "Supreme Grand Master of Taekwondo in the Milky Way and Other Galaxies Far, Far Away."
What is a master of an occupation? He or she is merely an expert in the occupation. There are master electricians, master craftsman, master masons, etc. but there are no grandmaster electricians or supreme grandmaster carpenters. In an occupational, master is a description of the skill level of a person who is a expert in that occupation; it is not the person's name. A brick mason may tell people his boss is a master mason but you will not hear the mason calling the boss "master." If a mason did, he or she would probably be looking up at the boss from the ground.
All martial art masters are instructors, since one who has not been an active teacher of a martial arts for many years cannot become a master. A mere practitioner of a martial art cannot become a master in the art. Therefore, a more appropriate title for a senior instructor should be Teacher, Sabum (Korean), Sensei (Japanese), or Sifu (Chinese). Actually, a more appropriate title should be merely Sir or Ma'am or Mr. or Ms. Donald Trump is called Mr. Trump, not Grandmaster of Real Estate Trump.
Having an ego is not a bad thing. Everyone has some degree of an ego; it is what makes us feel unique in a world full of people. An big ego is valid if it is backed up by a lot of talent and ability, but many people maintain a large ego in an effort to hide their lack of talent and feelings of inadequacy. People who know they have an ego are usually not a problem because they try to suppress it, since they consider it a weakness. It is the people who deny having an ego who are a problem. They tend to have large, out of control egos that make the lives of those around them miserable.
Some psychologists believe that individual self-interest is the motive of all conscious action. They call this trait egoism. But this should not be confused with egotism (an exaggerated sense of self-importance).
Egocentric masters look for ways to make themselves appear better than everyone else regardless of the consequences. They wear gaudy uniforms. They make the simplest techniques seem complicated and then proclaim themselves the ultimate experts in the techniques. They seize on every martial arts myth and exploit it to the hilt. They portray traditional arts as the enemy and consider any student that consorts with the enemy a traitor to their art. They tend to hangout with egotistical masters of other arts and, as a group, they consider themselves the true leaders of the martial arts world. They have no authority or power in any other aspect of their lives, so they make themselves the supreme authority in their schools and make students "worship" them.
If you meet any of the "old" masters of martial arts, they wear a basic uniform, they are humble and unassuming, and they offer assistance instead of commanding respect. A true master has a modest ego. Like the true hero who does not think he or she is a hero, a true master does not think of him or herself as a master. A true master thinks of him or herself as merely an experienced teacher who has seen and learned a lot in his or her lifetime and is willing to share this knowledge with others.
If you want to be a great martial artist and maybe even be a master in your chosen art someday, maintain a healthy ego. All masters have egos, but the great ones never show it.
Thursday, August 12, 2004
Pain
Pain is only in your mind. An incapacitating injury will prevent you from taking action no matter how much you try. Howecver, an injury that only hurts, but will not be further injured by use, should not be an hindrance to action. You may sit and whine about the pain or you may get up and do something. People with broken legs walk out of the wilderness.
A hiker with an arm pinned under a rock for days cut the arm off with a pocket knife and walked out of the mountains. Professional ball players are expected to play with pain. But there are also people who quit when they get a bruise. You can sit on your butt and complain about the pain or you can suck it up and get going. If you can't stand the heat, stay away from fire.
Those Who Have No Defense, Only Attack
One self-defense axiom is "When you have no useful defense, then attack with vigor!" Ever notice how some people use this in defending their opinions and ideas. When they have no valid defense to back up their thoughts, they attack you and your even daring to question their thoughts and ideas.
Sheep, Wolves, and Shepherds
Some people are sheep, some are shepherds, some are wolves. The sheep have a need to be led and will follow any shepard who will lead them, even it is to slaughter, such as the followers of Jim Jones in Guiana, or the Branch Davidian followers of David Koresh in Waco, or the Heaven's Gate followers of Marshall Applewhite in California. Sheep are not necessarily unintelligent. Doctors, lawyers, and professors are among the dead of cult followers. Some people are wolves who prey on sheep. They are the criminals who only seek to hurt, injure, or kill others for their own benefit. There are no "good" wolves but, thankfully, there are "good" shepherds. There are leaders who genuinely care for others and will guide them to greatness.
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Judging Others
The holier than thou's in the world say it is not right to judge others, yet they judge you for judging others. If you do not judge others, you are what is known as a "victim." If you see a guy dressed as a gang member and do not think it is right to judge him as such, and then challenge him by entering his turf to say hello, then you should prepare to meet your final judge.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Followers of the Weird
Thought. Why are there so many ardent followers of weird beliefs, off-the-wall religions, cults, and strange martial art styles. It is because some people feel a need to succeed at something, since they cannot succeed at anything in the real world. To be a success, they have to invent something in which they may succeed. Then they seek other losers to join them. This type of people rejects the normal and accepts the abnormal as being the truth since they feel this will make them feel important. Since there are few followers of the weird and there is little legitimate literature on the weird, it is easy for a loser to become an expert on the weird. The more abnormal something is, the more an idiot will believe it. This is one reason why there are so many "styles" of martial arts.
Monday, August 9, 2004
Secret Arts
When hearing about some ancient, unknown martial art that is the ultimate fighting system, accept it with a grain of salt. If one had a secret punch that could incapacitate with just a poke, or some way of training that would allow a person to take direct punches with no harm, don't you think professional fighters, or player in all kinds of sports, would be using them. A person with this training could make millions as a professional boxer. Use common sense and don't be a sheep that follows a wolf wearing a shepard's robe.
Excuses
The only person that can cause you to be a failure is you. For every sob story I hear about why a person has failed to succeed, I can give an example of a person, who under the same circumstances, has succeeded. This doesn't mean that you will succeed the first time you try, or the tenth time you try, but, if you keep trying, you will succeed. Excuses are like opinions, everyone has one. I don't want your excuse for not fixing a problem, I want you tell me what went wrong, what you are doing to fix the problem, and when it will be fixed.
Sunday, August 8, 2004
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a talented martial artist and actor. Had he not been an actor, his "greatness" would probably have been local, not national. His prowess was only legendary in film, not in the ring. Many other great martial artists are not legendary, because they were not popularized by the media. Why are professional fighters not using Bruce Lee's Jeet Kung Do style of fighting if it so much better other styles? We do not need to deify a person simply because he is dead.
Thursday, August 5, 2004
Belt System
Some say the "belt system" used in the martial arts is antiquated and useless. Why is it that something that is supposedly useless is being used so successfully by so many? Why are there grades in schools? Why are there different college degrees? Why are there performance levels in so many sports, such as novice, amateur, expert, semi-professional, and professional? Why are there ranks in the military, police, fire departments, religious organizations, video gamers, etc? It is because people want classifications.
Classifications help people understand the positions and abilities of others. It gives people a goal to work toward. It gives people satisfaction. Those who say the "belt system" is useless, are usually rationalizing their own lack of achievement within a belt system. For some who can't reach the achievements of others, it is easier to try to chop away at the achievements of others in hopes of bringing them down a level that may be achieved by anyone.
Classifications help people understand the positions and abilities of others. It gives people a goal to work toward. It gives people satisfaction. Those who say the "belt system" is useless, are usually rationalizing their own lack of achievement within a belt system. For some who can't reach the achievements of others, it is easier to try to chop away at the achievements of others in hopes of bringing them down a level that may be achieved by anyone.
Wednesday, August 4, 2004
Junior Ranks
What position should junior belts hold in the belt hierarchy of a school or organization? Most martial art schools seek to attract children, for that is where the money is at. If it were not for the children, most commercial schools would not make enough money to stay in business. Most schools accept 5 or 6 year old students, and some accept 4 year olds or even younger. Therefore, a child that trains regularly and gets promoted on schedule could easily be awarded a black belt by 8 or 9 years old. In junior classes, belt hierarchy is not a problem since all the other students are juniors. However, at some age, schools transfer junior students into the adult classes, usually at age 13. This is when a problem arises. Is a child color or black belt senior to an adult belt of any color? Some schools consider all belts equal in seniority regardless the age of the belt holder.
People are legally classified as children until 18 years of age. People cannot vote, join the military, or enter into a contract until 18 years of age. Fourteen year olds may have the skills to be professional race car drivers but experience has shown that they do not have the maturity required to drive on the street until at least 16 years of age. All these limitations are due to the immaturity of children. Just because a child has the physical ability to perform all that is required for a belt rank does not mean they have the maturity required of that position. There are some gifted children who have graduated from college and even have a PhD before age 16. However, they still cannot vote or enter into a contract. Who would want to hire a 16 year old account to handle their business or have a 17 year old teach their children in an academic school?
In martial art schools where all ranks are considered equal regardless of age, many children have the false impression that they are equal to or better than adults. The traditional martial arts have always stressed respect of elders, since this is a major belief of the oriental cultures from which the arts developed, and yet many school will have a child black belt hold seniority over an adult black belt. Children are children and they should always be subordinate to adults. The law considers anyone under the age of 18 a child, unless a court declares otherwise: so should martial arts schools.
Up until recently the Army had two enlisted rank structures, the Non Commissioned Officer(NCO) and Specialist ranks. The NCO is the traditional combat Army enlisted rank and has leadership authority and responsibility within the chain of command. The Specialist was a solider who had a specific job field that was in demand. The Specialist got the pay and benefits of the NCO to help retain people in a special job field, but they had no military leadership authority or responsibility. Nowadays, the Specialist rank exists only at the E-4 level.
Martial art ranks should operate similar to the specialist rank structure. Until they reach the age of 18, all children should be subordinate in rank to adults. In a formal lineup, adults should line up by seniority, and then children should line up by seniority. When a child reaches the age of 18, he or she should then test for their present rank under adult requirements and their date of rank should start again at the date of their successful retesting.
People are legally classified as children until 18 years of age. People cannot vote, join the military, or enter into a contract until 18 years of age. Fourteen year olds may have the skills to be professional race car drivers but experience has shown that they do not have the maturity required to drive on the street until at least 16 years of age. All these limitations are due to the immaturity of children. Just because a child has the physical ability to perform all that is required for a belt rank does not mean they have the maturity required of that position. There are some gifted children who have graduated from college and even have a PhD before age 16. However, they still cannot vote or enter into a contract. Who would want to hire a 16 year old account to handle their business or have a 17 year old teach their children in an academic school?
In martial art schools where all ranks are considered equal regardless of age, many children have the false impression that they are equal to or better than adults. The traditional martial arts have always stressed respect of elders, since this is a major belief of the oriental cultures from which the arts developed, and yet many school will have a child black belt hold seniority over an adult black belt. Children are children and they should always be subordinate to adults. The law considers anyone under the age of 18 a child, unless a court declares otherwise: so should martial arts schools.
Up until recently the Army had two enlisted rank structures, the Non Commissioned Officer(NCO) and Specialist ranks. The NCO is the traditional combat Army enlisted rank and has leadership authority and responsibility within the chain of command. The Specialist was a solider who had a specific job field that was in demand. The Specialist got the pay and benefits of the NCO to help retain people in a special job field, but they had no military leadership authority or responsibility. Nowadays, the Specialist rank exists only at the E-4 level.
Martial art ranks should operate similar to the specialist rank structure. Until they reach the age of 18, all children should be subordinate in rank to adults. In a formal lineup, adults should line up by seniority, and then children should line up by seniority. When a child reaches the age of 18, he or she should then test for their present rank under adult requirements and their date of rank should start again at the date of their successful retesting.
Wednesday, June 9, 2004
Death Penalty
While driving today, I heard a radio ad calling for a moratorium on the death penalty. The ad said that of all the people on death row, 1 is found innocent for every 4 that are executed. That is a misleading statement. Since everyone on death row is sentenced to be executed, the statement should say for all the people on death row, X number have been proven innocent.
This ratio will be much. much smaller so it would not support the call for a moratorium, therefore the false ratios is used. Because of numerous appeals, it is over ten years before a death row inmate is executed. During that lengthy process, the truly innocent are freed and others get new trials. Contrary to what to the misleading ad says, there is no proof of an innocent person having been executed.
Also, being granted a new trial and the trial not being held due to a lack of current evidence or witnesses, or the trial being held and the person being found not guilty, does not mean the person is innocent. Innocent means the person was proven not to be the person who committed the crime, while not guilty means the state could not prove to a jury that the person committed the crime.
The ad also said that the innocent people on death row means that the actual killers are going free. If there was no death penalty and those innocent people were given a life sentience instead, the actual killers would also be going free.
Listen to what you are hearing. People mislead, people lie.
Sunday, January 4, 2004
Multi-Art Masters
Here is the resume of a well known martial arts grand master from his web site:
- 9th Degree Goju-Shorei Karate
- 9th Degree Shudokan Karate
- 8th Degree American Kenpo Karate
- 7th Degree Tae Kwon Do
- 7th Degree Jujitsu
- 6th Degree Judo
I would not want to study Taekwondo from this Taekwondo "master." It takes decades of dedicated training and instructing in an individual art, a multitude of hours of work at tournaments, camps, clinics, demonstrations, etc., and tireless work for the certifying organization to achieve master rank in an art. Lets say this person is a martial arts savant who can achieve grand master rank in an art in 20 years, then to acheive this many ranks it would mean he would be over 120 years of age, actually he is only about 60. I assume then that most of this rank is "honorary," which means it is worthless. If you needed a brain operation, would you prefer the surgeon to have 20 years experience in brain surgery or to have an honorary medical degree. I would rather have a Taekwondo instructor with some knowledge of other martial arts, but with a dedication to Taekwondo.
Taekwondo uses its own kicking and punching skills that take years to develop. Its sparring techniques and self-defense techniques are based on its particular way of kicking and punching. Its patterns are not performed as a mere sequence of movements, they are performed in a way that is consistent with Taekwondo's method of kicking and punching. Styles of karate and other martial arts have their own ways of kicking, punching, sparring, self-defense, and performing patterns that are different from Taekwondo, and from each other. It is possible to excel at two martial arts that have little in common, such as Taekwondo and Judo, or Karate and Kendo, but reaching master levels at each is near impossible due to the amount of time and effort that must be dedicated to each one to gain master rank in it. Again, if you needed a brain operation, would you prefer a surgeon who practices medicine daily, or one who also has a law degree and a law practice outside the hospital.
When it comes to acceptance of the rank qualifications of instructors, use your education, reason, and experience to evaluate their qualifications. Do not just blindly accept their certificates, notoriety, or hype.
Saturday, January 3, 2004
Martial Arts Web Sites
Some sites spend more time condemning other martial arts than they do explaining their own art. I don't know about you, but I tire of this "my art is better than yours" playground mentality that most of us grew out of at a young age. Do not waste our time by attacking other arts in an attempt to popularize your own art. If you don't like patterns, point sparring, kicks, hard styles, soft styles, or weapons, etc., then find an art that does not use them and keep your mouth shut.
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