The Loudest Voices- and the things they don't say
Back in the days before the Internet printed media was the easiest source of information on martial arts.
Having bought books and magazines on martial arts back in those days I have found that although you had to search a bit- you were able to get hold of some really interesting information.
My Qigong training for instance had undergone very little adjustment when I have met an actual teacher.
A lot can also be said about Bruce Lee's Tao of Jeet Kune Do. Even though it got published way back in 1975 I have not found a more comprehensive book on martial arts seen from a fighting perspective.
If you did belong to a dojo back in the 90's I can imagine how you may not have felt like reading up on martial arts at all. Many consider belonging to a dojo as enough and that taking in any information from outside is actually a bad idea.
Still- if you WANTED to find more information- it was out there.
Then the Internet came about...
I have joined martial arts groups on social media and have gotten a good idea of what trends got started and followed over the years.
The thing with the internet is- subscribe to the channels, groups and pages that fit your field of interest and you don't even have to look for information. It just gets fed to you.
The most memorable messages that I got from martial arts posts were things like:
1. Traditional martial arts are less effective than modern fighting systems like MMA.
2. The rigidity of forms make them useless for combat training.
3. Beware the McDojo!
4. (Insert the name of a technique or style here) won't work in a real fight.
5. Videos of any person doing something uncanny must be bullshido.
Before I go on to list a couple of things I have not seen/ hear the Internet say I want to take a break and let us look at the photos and the videos in the links below:
https://youtu.be/uQVh7XDN6Dg
https://web.facebook.com/342321769524162/videos/339546439953168/
If this girl is in your dojo you are probably Japanese and training at her dojo in Japan. You just might be in a better position to explain this phenomenon.
If you have NEVER studied Karate at a known dojo at all you might not know why I would make a fuss over a kata, but trust me, Karate students will tell you that there are adults struggling to master THAT particular kata.
Kids... Damn! It is tough enough trying to teach a 7 year old Heian Shodan. This girl (her name is Mahiro Takano by the way) had done this kata (Kanku Dai) at the age of 7! Believe me- I have not seen any 10 year old move like her over here where I live and train.
The videos of Mahiro's kata performances have gone viral. How she got trained to have this perfect form, however, is something that I have not found at all.
It does not stop there, however.
With traditional Kungfu having taken somewhat of a beating on the internet in the last couple of years... (just think about that video of the Tai Chi guy getting his ass kicked by an MMA fighter) Shaolin's introduction to the public sports arena looks a lot better!
https://youtu.be/dTxMvMdRR-I
This was after centuries of hype that got created by demonstrations of amazing feats! I have not yet seen anyone else saying this online, but I will say that Shaolin has done a great job of living up to its hype.
Now- let me tell you a couple of things the tutorials, self defence videos, podcasts, demonstration videos and -oh yes- those exposé videos- have yet to tell you:
1. Much of what martial artists do in their training seem insignificant or senseless at first, but the results that follow after years of training are real enough;
2. Learning more efficient techniques from a 1 day course will never measure up to years of training. The human body as it is without training is ill-suited for combat. It takes a lot of training to make your body into a weapon.
3. 1 day, not even a month- of training in a certain style is not enough for a person to form an educated opinion on how effective a martial art is.
4. The martial arts can cover a wide spectrum of activities ranging from sports, self defence, spiritual development or in some cases they can focus on only one or two of these activities.
5. You can have the best Sensei/ Sifu/ Gru/ Professore/ Sabumnim/ Coach on earth, but it means nothing if you don't train regularly. In fact- not training dilligently in what your teacher teaches you is actually an insult to him/ her. Some train by themselves- some visit the dojo more often than others. Whichever way- it is the training that makes you, not the brand under which you train.
6. Real fights are not pretty. Thing with real opponents- they won't attack like your training partners to help your techniques work. In many cases teaching you a move is what your teacher will do. Making sure it works in reality would then be your responsibility. The key is learning the principles and not the move itself.
These things, however, we don't hear a lot with all the noise that is out there these days. Still- if you are willing to look-
Having bought books and magazines on martial arts back in those days I have found that although you had to search a bit- you were able to get hold of some really interesting information.
My Qigong training for instance had undergone very little adjustment when I have met an actual teacher.
A lot can also be said about Bruce Lee's Tao of Jeet Kune Do. Even though it got published way back in 1975 I have not found a more comprehensive book on martial arts seen from a fighting perspective.
If you did belong to a dojo back in the 90's I can imagine how you may not have felt like reading up on martial arts at all. Many consider belonging to a dojo as enough and that taking in any information from outside is actually a bad idea.
Still- if you WANTED to find more information- it was out there.
Then the Internet came about...
I have joined martial arts groups on social media and have gotten a good idea of what trends got started and followed over the years.
The thing with the internet is- subscribe to the channels, groups and pages that fit your field of interest and you don't even have to look for information. It just gets fed to you.
The most memorable messages that I got from martial arts posts were things like:
1. Traditional martial arts are less effective than modern fighting systems like MMA.
2. The rigidity of forms make them useless for combat training.
3. Beware the McDojo!
4. (Insert the name of a technique or style here) won't work in a real fight.
5. Videos of any person doing something uncanny must be bullshido.
Before I go on to list a couple of things I have not seen/ hear the Internet say I want to take a break and let us look at the photos and the videos in the links below:
https://youtu.be/uQVh7XDN6Dg
https://web.facebook.com/342321769524162/videos/339546439953168/
If this girl is in your dojo you are probably Japanese and training at her dojo in Japan. You just might be in a better position to explain this phenomenon.
If you have NEVER studied Karate at a known dojo at all you might not know why I would make a fuss over a kata, but trust me, Karate students will tell you that there are adults struggling to master THAT particular kata.
Kids... Damn! It is tough enough trying to teach a 7 year old Heian Shodan. This girl (her name is Mahiro Takano by the way) had done this kata (Kanku Dai) at the age of 7! Believe me- I have not seen any 10 year old move like her over here where I live and train.
The videos of Mahiro's kata performances have gone viral. How she got trained to have this perfect form, however, is something that I have not found at all.
It does not stop there, however.
With traditional Kungfu having taken somewhat of a beating on the internet in the last couple of years... (just think about that video of the Tai Chi guy getting his ass kicked by an MMA fighter) Shaolin's introduction to the public sports arena looks a lot better!
https://youtu.be/dTxMvMdRR-I
This was after centuries of hype that got created by demonstrations of amazing feats! I have not yet seen anyone else saying this online, but I will say that Shaolin has done a great job of living up to its hype.
Now- let me tell you a couple of things the tutorials, self defence videos, podcasts, demonstration videos and -oh yes- those exposé videos- have yet to tell you:
1. Much of what martial artists do in their training seem insignificant or senseless at first, but the results that follow after years of training are real enough;
2. Learning more efficient techniques from a 1 day course will never measure up to years of training. The human body as it is without training is ill-suited for combat. It takes a lot of training to make your body into a weapon.
3. 1 day, not even a month- of training in a certain style is not enough for a person to form an educated opinion on how effective a martial art is.
4. The martial arts can cover a wide spectrum of activities ranging from sports, self defence, spiritual development or in some cases they can focus on only one or two of these activities.
5. You can have the best Sensei/ Sifu/ Gru/ Professore/ Sabumnim/ Coach on earth, but it means nothing if you don't train regularly. In fact- not training dilligently in what your teacher teaches you is actually an insult to him/ her. Some train by themselves- some visit the dojo more often than others. Whichever way- it is the training that makes you, not the brand under which you train.
6. Real fights are not pretty. Thing with real opponents- they won't attack like your training partners to help your techniques work. In many cases teaching you a move is what your teacher will do. Making sure it works in reality would then be your responsibility. The key is learning the principles and not the move itself.
These things, however, we don't hear a lot with all the noise that is out there these days. Still- if you are willing to look-
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