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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Decisions

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.

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.

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.