My Martial Art is Best!!

You hear martial artists say, “My martial art is the best!” and others condemn them for saying it. What would you expect a martial artist to say, “That other martial art is better than mine. I am just training in my lesser martial art because I am stupid!”

Ethics

I just watched a video on the Internet of a “master” teaching a clinic on intricacies of knife fighting to a group of young children; so much for ethics and intelligence in the martial arts.

Sixth Sense

You hear martial art masters claim they can sense people behind them, when the people are going to attack, from what direction they are going to attack, and in what manner they are going to attack. Rubbish? These masters cannot tell you what you thinking when you are standing in front of them starring them in the face, but they want us to believe they can sense and read the mind of a person behind them. Rubbish?

People with disabilities or deformities say they can sense when people around them are staring at them and are feeling disgust at them. When I call my mother, she says she sensed that I was going to call. How do we know they are correct in their assumptions—we know it because they say they are correct. Everyone claims to sense things, and yet, when it matters, such as when a drunk driver runs a stop sign in front of them or when a tree falls on their house, they never have even slightest indication that it was about to occur.

People claim to have predicted events after they happen, but they have a problem predicting things before they happen. After things happen, psychics and the like find things they previously said that they say shows they had predicted the events. However, the predictions were vague statements with no definite details. In addition, psychics predict hundreds of things every year, most which everyone knows have a good chance of occurring, and, when one of the predations occurs, they claim success—neglecting the hundreds of predictions they got wrong. No one predicted the World Trade Center Attacks or the Iraq War. I remember in 1997, when Princess Diana and Mother Teresa, two of the best known women in the world, both died within a month of each other—no one predicted either death.

Think about your own experiences. For every time you have sensed something and been correct, you will have sensed something else and been incorrect. That means you were correct 50 percent of the time; the number expected in random chance. Even if your success rate exceeds 50 percent for a short time, it is still random chance. No one has been proven to be able to predict or sense anything consistently or significantly.

While being aware of your surroundings and the circumstances will help you avoid being in a position to be attacked, no amount of training will enable anyone to sense an attack. People believe what they want to believe, regardless of facts to the contrary.

Limits

There are limits and requirements in life. When it comes to their beliefs and behaviors in respect to a limit or requirement that may affect them, people fall into one of five categories:

• Category 1: Those who agree with it and obey it.
  
• Category 2: Those who agree with it but do not obey it.
  
• Category 3: Those who do not agree with it but still obey it.
  
• Category 4: Those who do not agree with it and do not obey it.
  
• Category 5: Those who agree with it but think that it is arbitrary and does not always apply to them, so they do not always obey it.
  

This topic deals with people in the fifth category: those who think limits and requirements should be flexible and change according to the needs or desires of the people to which they apply. For example, these are the people who believe there should be a speed limit in their neighborhood and it should be used to catch speeders from other areas who use their neighborhood streets as a shortcut when going to work. However, these same people will scream and complain if they are caught speeding on the same streets; they always have reasons why they should be exempt from the speed limit.

These people see a limit or requirement as merely a base mark from which decisions may be made as to whether the limit or requirement should be obeyed under the circumstances, or who should obey it. For example, while most people would agree that 32 degrees Fahrenheit is the established freezing temperature of water, category five people would argue that if pure water is cooled without being disturbed, it will not freeze until much lower temperature, so therefore, contrary to it being everyone else’s limit, to them, 32 degrees is not the freezing point of water.

There are limits and requirements in the martial arts. There are limit on the age a student may be to enter a certain program, test for a certain rank, or participate in a certain event; or there may be limit on the size students may have to be to compete in certain divisions in a tournament. Some limits and requirements were established at the beginning of a martial arts existence and traditionally have been observed since that time, such as the minimum requirements for attaining a black belt. However, even that sacred requirement has been changed in the last few years to make it easier for students to make rank so more students will be retained and a steady supply of income will be maintained.

Category five people, while agreeing that there should be limits and requirements on certain things, think that the limits and requirements should not apply to them, or to certain groups of people, because of their special circumstances. Many times, after these people are given an exception to a limit or requirement, they will then argue that the exception should not be given for others under the same circumstances. A perfect example of this is people who are trying to build a house in area where the homeowners are attempting to prevent new construction due to overcrowding. These people will hold protests and fight in court until they are allowed to build, then they will join the homeowners in efforts to keep anyone else from building in the area. In the martial arts, we see people who think black belt requirements should be lower, and then after they make black belt, they argue that the requirements are too low and should be raised.

One martial art set of requirements that draws much controversy are the requirements for attaining ranks. Each rank in a martial art has certain age limit and requirements that must be met before a person may be awarded that rank. As long as people have no problem meeting these requirements, they think the requirements are fair. However, when they have a problem meeting the requirements, or they see some “limited” person who is not able to meet the requirements, they demand the requirements be changed, waived, or a special exception given.

Regrettably, many martial art organizations, schools, and instructors have given into these demands. Now there are so many exceptions to rank requirements that they are considered guidelines that may or many not apply depending on the person and the circumstances. The following are a few examples of these expected exceptions:

• During testing, a student makes a mistake on the pattern or did not break the board, but he has done it properly in class many times, so he should not be punished for not doing it this one time because: a) he was sick, b) his grandfather just died, c) his parent overslept and caused him to have to rush to get to the testing, or d) a friend gave him the wrong advice on how to do it.
  
• The student is mentally or physically disabled and is doing the best he or she will ever be able to do, so he or she should be promoted.
  
• My child may be young but she deserves a black belt now because otherwise she will have to wait years until she is old enough.
  
• My son may have failed the test, but he came to class everyday, is a very good student, and he is well liked by everyone, so he should be promoted,
  
• My daughter is small for her age so she should not have to break the same number of boards as others her age.
  
• My student is good at sparring, but is only able to spar one round instead of the required five rounds due to a heart condition.
  
• If a child can perform the pattern movements correctly, spar effectively with children of the same age, and break a smaller or lesser number of boards that adults are required to break, the child should be awarded a black belt regardless of his or her age. Physical, mental, and emotional maturity should not be a factor.
  
• Aged students should be promoted just because they are doing more than others of the age are capable of doing, or are doing.
  
• The student is a community leader and could do much to further the acceptance of the martial arts within the community, so she should be promoted.
  
• The student is wealthy and, if promoted, will continue to train and pay testing fees for many years.
  
• The student comes from a minority or an underprivileged group and, if not promoted, it will damage his self-esteem and self-confidence.
  
• The student has volunteered his time to assist at every event and is a staunch supporter of the school, so she deserves to be promoted.
  
• Although the person is not nor has never been a student of the martial arts, he is a celebrity or a politician, so giving the person an “honorary” black belt will be beneficial to the school and increase the school’s image.
  
• The person is a master in the XX style so he or she should not have to complete our style’s normal rank progression; he or she should be awarded a master rank in our style based on rank in another style.

No matter what the level of a given limit or requirement, category five people will argue, why is this the limit when it is nearly as good. Following their logic that the next lower limit is just a good, if you lower the limit to that level, they will make the same argument again, etc. etc. until there is no limit remaining. This is what has been happening to the traditional requirements on rank promotion.

As a result of all these exceptions to traditional limits and requirements, martial art rank now means little to nothing outside of the school or organization that issues it, and, in many circumstances, it mean little within the organization or school. Nowadays, martial art rank merely indicates the length of time a person has been a paid up student of good standing within an organization or school.

When limits and requirements are not enforced, they cease to be limits or requirements and they become meaningless.

Evolution of the Martial Arts

In the beginning, martial arts were promoted as the way of life, bushido, the way of the warrior. However, there were few people who wanted to be warriors and even fewer who were willing to do what it took to become a warrior. This was not a problem until modern times when martial art schools become businesses. To be profitable, the martial art businesses needed to attract more students.

Since there was not much demand for schools that taught warriors, martial art schools, in an effort to attract students, started promoting themselves as “secret” fighting arts that were known only to a few masters. They promoted themselves as manly fighting arts that boys could use to builEdit Postsd themselves physically so they could stop bullies from bothering them or their girl friends. When meditation and yoga became popular, martial arts promoted their relaxation aspects and how they promoted peace though personal fulfillment. The “kung-phooey” movie craze led to martial art schools concentrating on oriental weapons and fancy useless techniques. When aerobics became popular, martial art schools promoted their aerobic benefits and offered such things as kickboxing and boxer-cize. The Teenage Mutant Turtles got more children interested in the martial arts, so schools concentrated on teaching children. They began watering down the martial arts to please parents who did not want to teach their children violence. For example, students no longer learned fighting stances; they learned sparring stances.

Since their inceptions, the martial arts have gone from being fighting systems that taught you how to kill with your empty hands to the point that they now are being promoted as being nonviolent children sports. Why have these changes taken place? Has it been a logical growth path for fighting systems? I say—no! It has been because some people with an interest in the martial arts wanted to make money from the martial arts, so they kept reinventing them to fit the prevailing mores so they could attract more students, not to teach them true martial arts, but to make more money.

Nowadays, most of the martial arts have little or nothing to do with fighting or self-defense, they are martial art related sports for children designed to attract socially conscious parents. They only have adult programs to accommodate the children when they get older and to attract adults who want to stay fit using the latest “in” system. ]

Nowadays, you will have to search long and hard to find a modern martial art that is anywhere near being a real martial art. While there is still little demand for warriors, there is a need a need for people with warrior spirits and there are basically only two places to get that—the military and the martial arts.

Brackets

In drag racing, two vehicles in different classes (different size, shape, horsepower, etc.) may race against each other on relatively equal footing by the use brackets. In this type of racing, to make the race more equal, the more powerful car starts a few milliseconds after the slower car, thus giving the slower car a head start. Why can’t we do the same thing for senior citizens in martial art competitions? For example, for every year older a competitor is than the opponent, the competitor is spotted ½ a point; i.e. if the competitor is 10 years older than the opponent, the competitor starts the match with 5 points. No matter the fitness or skill levels of competitors, age is a major factor in how well a competitor will perform.

Self-Defense

How many people in your martial arts school have ever had to use their skills in real life, other than in the performance of their job, such as a police officer or a bouncer? If there are more than a few, or if a few have had to use their skills more than once, then you are probably in the wrong school, unless you are one of the few yourself, then you probably don't care. In in today's supposed violent society, most people will never have to defend themselves or others from an unsolicited attack. If you are the type of person that seems to always have a reason to defend him or herself, then you have a problem. There have been numerous masters of traditional martial arts who died of old age never having had to defend themselves. Does this mean their life in the martial arts was a waste of time?

Women, Warriors, and a Warrior Society

Ask women what type of men they want and they will say they a man who is caring, kind, and has a good sense of humor, and who would make a good father. Then look around. What type men do you see women gravitate to? It is the rough, tough, crude men. Why is this?

Like it or not, women are the nurturers; they are the mothers who raise children to further the species. They are smaller and less strong than men and, at various times, such as while pregnant or with small children, they need protection. This means that women are instinctively drawn toward men who appear to offer the most protection, the warriors. Instinctively, they feel this type of men will make the best fathers.

This paradox is why men stay confused. Women say they want good guys, so men try to be good; then the women are attracted to the bad guys. Even when women do choose the good guys, when the good guys are not tough enough when the trouble arises, the women leave in search of tougher men.

Western society views warriors in much the same way. People say they want peace, and they criticize and look down upon warriors as a type of low-class throw back to uncivilized times. However, as long as there are humans on the planet, there will never be peace, so there will always be a need for warriors. And when that need arises, the peace lovers look to the warriors to protect them, for, in their quest for peace, they have lost the ability to protect themselves.

To be effective, warriors must kill, sometimes ruthlessly. Nice people can become warriors, but nice people do not usually train to be warriors, so even in times of desperation, they will not be able to do what is necessary effectively. Warriors are not nice people. They can pretend to be nice and may outwardly appear to be nice, but when the time comes they can be ruthless killers. Warriors can pretend to be nice and fit into a peaceful society, however, even when nice people try to be warriors, they can never fit into a warrior society.

Peace lovers hate warriors, but warriors do not hate peace. Warriors do not seek wars, but they realize that war is inevitable and are prepared for it. Peace lovers have been preaching their beliefs for thousands of years and mankind is no closer to peace than it was in the beginning. Peace is not a natural state, so it always tenuous. Warriors realize this and so they stay prepared. They know that any peace is short-lived so they cannot become complacent.
Humans act civilized by choice, sometimes personal, sometimes forced upon them, and by exercising self-control. When a group of sports fans erupts into violence, it is not because they were there to cause trouble. When a group of shoppers fights to be first at grand opening sale, it is not because they came with the intention of fighting. When people do not behave badly, it is not because they are “good” people, and that the people who behave badly are “bad” people; it is because they have better self-control than the bad people. When their self-control relaxes, their bad side emerges. Good people are better at controlling their bad side.

No matter how intellectual humans may think they are, they still are instinctual animals. We may try to suppress our instincts and pretend they do not exist, but the instincts are still there and they govern our day-to-day interactions. If someone tells you not think about pink elephants, you will think about pink elephants no matter how hard you try not to think about them. During the process of trying not think about them, you will have to think about them. Instincts behave in much the same manner. They will rise to the surface no matter how much you try to suppress them.

If you are a warrior, you will be criticized, ridiculed, and looked down upon as being crude and uncivilized, but do not be discouraged. Know that when things go bad, you will be in demand and sought out by all the “civilized” intellectuals who will demand that you protect them. Maybe the best thing to do is let them fend for themselves. Then their breed will die out and warriors will again have their place in society.

Posing

People make decisions based upon the information they have at the moment. Sometimes these decisions are instantaneous life or death decisions.

If you pretend to be a “gangsta” by acting and dressing as a tough guy, you will be assumed to be one and will be treated as one. If you confront me while dressed as a thug and presenting the mannerisms of a thug, I will assume you are a thug and will take action as appropriate for dealing with a thug. If you want to pretend to be something you are not to gain some perceived benefit, then you must also be prepared to deal with the negative consequences of your posing.

As related to posing, you may:

• Be tough, and act and dress tough. You will probably be able to handle of most confrontations, but you will attract many of them and chances are you will lose some of them and may even lose your life.
  
• Not be tough, but act and dress tough. You will attract many confrontations, but not be able to handle them and you will lose most of then them and may even lose your life.
  
• Be tough, but not act and dress tough. You will not attract confrontations, but when they rarely occur you should be able to handle them. Since there are so few confrontations, you will rarely lose and there is little chance that you will loose your life.
  

If you present a threat to people, they will eliminate the threat. If you were only posing—too bad.

Are Taekwondo and Soccer Compatible?

2006 has been a World Cup Soccer year, so soccer has dominated the world’s news for the last few months. However, most people in the United States could care less about World Cup events.
Despite the efforts of soccer supporters for over 40 years, soccer has not become a major sport in the United States. It was pushed as a children’s sport in an effort to build a base of what would hopefully become adult players and supporters, but it has not worked. “Politically correct” mothers see soccer as a no-violent, competitive alternative sport to football; players struggle for the ball but they only make minimal contact with each other.

Both Taekwondo and soccer stress kicking and footwork and both require precise control and a high level of fitness, so it would seem they would complement each other. However, there is at least one major difference between the two, and I think it is a glaring difference.

In soccer, when hit by opponents, players fall to ground and behave as if they were in excruciating pain and were about to die. Once an opponent draws a red card, suddenly the downed player is miraculously healed and able to play again with no apparent problem. Players are taught that when faced with a problem, it is best to whine and complain and blame others until they get what they want. Apparently, this is acceptable behavior to many parents who believe that when faced with violence, you are supposed to whine, cry, and hope someone else will step in and protect you. Then, while others are fighting to protect you, you can continue your life as if nothing has happened.

In Taekwondo, and in all other martial arts and most other American sports, when confronted with a problem such as a hard hit, we are taught to “suck it up” and get on with the game. Therefore, the basic philosophies of Taekwondo and soccer are not compatible.

For example, as an instructor, I am constantly dealing with children and teens, and sometimes even adults, who have been conditioned to whine and complain when faced with adversity. For example, this week I had students play a reaction game in class where one student holds a hand target in front of his or her body at waist height. The other student stands in front of the student with his or her arms down the sides. This student then “fast draws” and tries to clap his or her hands to either side of the target before the other student can react and jerk the target up or down before it is trapped by the clap. If the clapper succeeds, the target is trapped. If the clapper fails, his or hands clap together with great force, causing a stinging sensation in the palms. There is no injury, just short term pain. Most students, celebrate their successes, and suck up their pain of the failures and keep trying. However, many whine and cry over the pain, blame the target holder, get angry and clap harder that causes even more pain upon a miss, quit trying, and then look to the instructor to make it better.

Taekwondo teaches students to face adversity with courage and conviction and to either overcome the adversity or accept it and make the best of the situation; not to whine and hope someone else will take care of things. For this reason, Taekwondo and soccer are not compatible.

Like It or Not, Taekwondo is the Number One Martial Art in the World

When it pertains to cars, people have their preferences. Some like cars from certain counties, such as Germany, Sweden, Japan, or the United States. Some like certain manufacturers, such as Ford, VW, BMW, or Mazda. Some cars have extras, such as GPS, leather seats, wood trim, etc., all of which add noting to the performance of the vehicle. Some cars are made for specialized purposes, such as the SUV, van, or wagon. However, all cars are basically the same, four wheels, a steering wheel, brakes, windshield, headlights, taillights, etc. The ‘in” cars, the one everyone want to have, changes periodically. The current “in” vehicle is the Cadillac Escalade. However, like it or not, the number one selling car is the Toyota Camry. It got to be the number one best selling car by providing a quality vehicle that the public wants, and by making a car that is reliable and does what the public wants it to do, and do well.

When it pertains to the martial arts, people have their preferences. Some like martial arts from certain counties, such as Japan, Okinawa, or the United States. Some like certain systems, such as Karate, Judo, or Wrestling. Some martial arts have extras, such as weapons, fancy uniforms, elaborate techniques, etc. Some martial arts are indented for specialized purposes, such as only punching, only kicking, or ground fighting. However, all martial arts are basically the same, armed or unarmed combat against another human. The current “in” martial art system is “ground fighting.” However, like it or not, the number one best selling martial art is Taekwondo. It got to be the number one best selling martial art by providing a product that the public wants, and by providing a quality martial art that is reliable and does what the public wants it to do, and do well.

If you want to study another martial art that has limited scope and limited availability, that is your prerogative. If you want to pursue the latest “in” martial art, then go for it. However, if you want to study an all around, effective martial art that may be used for defense and sport, and is available in every city in the world, then study Taekwondo. Like it or not, Taekwondo offers what the public wants.

Posing

People make decisions based upon the information they have at the moment. Sometimes these decisions are instantaneous life or death decisions.

If you pretend to be a “gangsta” by acting and dressing as a tough guy, you will be assumed to be one and will be treated as one. If you confront me while dressed as a thug and presenting the mannerisms of a thug, I will assume you are a thug and will take action as appropriate for dealing with a thug. If you want to pretend to be something you are not to gain some perceived benefit, then you must also be prepared to deal with the negative consequences of your posing.

As related to posing, you may:

• Be tough, and act and dress tough. You will probably be able to handle of most confrontations, but you will attract many of them and chances are you will lose some of them and may even lose your life.
  
• Not be tough, but act and dress tough. You will attract many confrontations, but not be able to handle them and you will lose most of then them and may even lose your life.
  
• Be tough, but not act and dress tough. You will not attract confrontations, but when they rarely occur you should be able to handle them. Since there are so few confrontations, you will rarely lose and there is little chance that you will loose your life.
  

If you present a threat to people, they will eliminate the threat. If you were only posing—too bad.