I’m a reader, and, as part of my dedication to Martial Arts, I like to hear what other people are saying and doing. I like hearing new bits of history and different takes on the philosophy and methods of teaching and training. In the Martial Arts world, we are fortunate to have a fair number of practitioners who also like to write and share their ideas, opinions, and concerns with us all. There is a great value in this: if we agree that a Martial Art is a multi-faceted, multi-layered thing, we depend on one another to understand both its methods and its core.
I write because a) I like to share what I have come to understand and b) it helps me sort and process my own thinking on a topic or method.
The issue I have is when the finger-pointing and belittlement start: where a writer (often a Sensei) spends pages of ink running down what another Sensei, club, or organization is doing. Sometimes this is subtle, while other times it is direct and derisive.
Here in NL, Canada, I’ve had my own writing on Karate attacked as being too progressive, and not relevant to ‘traditional karate.’ (A good read on the concept of Traditional Karate by Andries Pruim can be found here). The complainants didn’t write anything down in rebuttal but chose word-of-mouth to voice their superior opinions and to voice their “He doesn’t know what he is talking about” remarks.
So, what’s my point?
It’s this: It’s better to be FOR something than AGAINST everything.
In writing, in Karate, and in life, we do the best from where we are.
We write from our current understanding of something; we train and teach Karate to the best of our knowledge and ability at that particular time (this evolves as time goes on); and we make decisions in life based on what we know and where we are at the time. I think keeping this in mind before we condemn someone else’s ideas or beliefs would go a long way.
Rebuttal and counterargument are helpful. Condemnation and judgment are counterintuitive.
Before I go further into my own thoughts on feeding the grass to overcome the moss, let me give you an example of somewhere I think that positivism could have been more effective than negativism.
I recently read an article on Karate Kata. The title indicated that the article would tackle Kata in the sense of its history and its evolution. I was hoping to learn something about where Kata came from and where it has come from. Instead, I spent two pages (very articulate and well written, mind you) expressing the ‘fact’ that most Karateka don’t understand Kata or Karate, its purpose, or its usefulness – a pretty broad assumption. It condemned the concept of Bunkai and Sensei to attempt to teach it, and it expressed disdain for the spread of Karate to the masses. It spoke often of the idea that the vast majority of Karate practitioners are missing the ‘essence’ of Kata, and it stated that most of our notions of the history of Kata are wrong.
What it didn’t do was offer any counter insights. It didn’t tell us what we were missing. It didn’t tell us how to make our study of Kata better, and it didn’t attempt to articulate another version of a more correct history. It ran in circles saying that we are wasting our time looking for the essence of Kata, and yet we are missing the essence of Kata.
The article seemed to be against what most of us do (sometimes with an obvious disdain) but didn’t suggest alternatives around what we should do.
I would have loved this very experienced Sensei to tell us what works for him in terms of his Kata practice and study, as well as his methods (successful and unsuccessful) for gaining a deeper understanding of Karate itself. I can accept anyone telling us we are wrong about a concept if they can then show us a viable alternative.
To wax philosophical, the divisions amongst Karate leaders and followers in this world will continue to broaden if condemnation and judgment are our basis of communication. I don’t know if my Art or style is better than yours, and I am not concerned with that. I guess through freedom of speech I have a ’right’ to say I think it is, but it does nothing for anyone. I am better off concentrating on what I can do with my own Art to keep its legacy alive and to help it improve. The silly and selfish argument about what real Karate is sometimes reaches the depths of an argument on politics or religion.
Recently I have been watching Pencak Silat. I’m not watching it to try to justify a way to criticize it, I am watching it to see what other Martial Arts are doing and what I can learn from it.
I’d like to hear more from others on how their training in a particular way is working for them; what methods of teaching they use to reinforce fighting principles in Karate; their opinions on how important Kata is in training; how we bring youth to our Dojos and how we keep them; if and how they are addressing the Shin Gi Tai of Karate; and their take on standards for gradings. To name a few.
Yes, I might be considered too philosophical in that I believe we overtake moss by nurturing the grass to grow. Karate training takes a lot of energy and I believe we waste a lot of it on politics, closemindedness, and in-fighting.
What I want from the Martial Arts might not be the same as you, and I like it that way. Separate paths on a similar journey should be a means to educate one another professionally, not ridicule one another’s steps.
Isn’t the ‘essence’ of a Martial Art subjective? Its essence for me may be mental health, for you, it might be perfecting fighting skills, and for someone else, it might be the goal of becoming a better human being (the perfection of character). These are not all the same.
Either way, I do believe there is room in the Martial Arts for quiet confidence, reverence, and dedication to your Sensei and Dojo, but not for self-righteous down-talking about how others “aren’t getting it.”
So, if some of you are already thinking about ways to denounce me in this little musing, reconsider and offer an educated opinion that will be helpful to all of us. I have been on the Karate path for over thirty years and I feel like I have only scratched the surface of what there is to know and the amount I have internalized. My quest is to share what I think I know and to encourage you to do the same so that I can learn from you.
We don’t need to stand around and pour adoration on one another, but we need to build Martial Arts pathways, not barriers. We need to stop preaching that there is a single way to Karate utopia, band stopping short of giving directions.
A Martial Arts journey is personal, meaning mine belongs to me, just as yours belongs to you. Having said that, the need to get along and to make one another better Martial Artists (and human beings) should belong to all of us.
- The Moss and The Grass - February 28, 2024
- Sensei Jeff, Why Is That? - February 8, 2024
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