In the year 2018 we are, unfortunately, becoming more and more ideologically polarized.
The vast majority of people have figuratively, if not literally, joined one of two tribes, much to the detriment of our society. Unless you are a hermit living in a cave somewhere, part of your daily life will, from time to time, or even frequently, involve interacting with people from the other tribe; whether in traffic, shopping at the local store, eating at a local restaurant, or training at the martial arts Academy. For such day-to-day activities to go smoothly I think it’s important to maintain a certain level of civility.
No matter which tribe you belong to, casually tossing off politically or religiously driven statements among training partners whom you don’t know well demonstrates arrogance and rudeness, EITHER through the implied casual assumption that others among the students and instructors SHARE your ideology, OR through the implied message that you don’t care if you offend them. This is sometimes done in an effort to proudly display that you are not bound by any sissified shackles of political correctness.
But I assert that it is potentially toxic to your training environment to treat a martial arts academy like a public forum. You and the other students are engaged in drills which place your SAFETY in the hands of your training partners; and even if safety was not an issue, everyone wants to learn their martial arts techniques as efficiently, as QUICKLY as possible. Muddying the waters with ideological pronouncements can inhibit this process.
Martial arts academies are already threatened by the potential formation of cliques, or what might be called “lesser tribes” among the students. Just like high schools, martial arts academies can have jocks, nerds, and hoods.
When you add political, cultural, or religious ideology into the mix you make a potential problem far worse.
For the academy to function at peak efficiency and safety, it’s important that the students develop positive training relationships with each other. I think it’s best to reserve sensitive statements for if and when you get together with other students OUTSIDE of the Academy, say over a cup of coffee or a beer.
Other students at the Academy may have EQUALLY strong opinions about whatever topic was the subject when the culprit in question dropped the turd into the punch bowl, but stayed quiet because they didn’t want to risk damage to the relationships with their training partners. I assert that the turd in the punch bowl statement was, whether intentionally or not, extremely disrespectful to these more considerate students.
Another important consideration is the instructor
The instructor may also have equally strong opinions; but keep in mind that the Academy is often the instructor’s place of business. If a toxic environment begins to grow in the Academy it’s not simply a training relationship that is endangered, but his or her ability to make a living! Of course, if it’s the INSTRUCTOR who drops the turd in the punch bowl, I think any resulting decline in business is simply a well-deserved form of commercial karma.
No matter whether it’s the instructor or a student who makes the toxic proclamation, things can quickly get worse if someone else takes the bait and initiates an argument with the turd-dropper. Did you notice that I said “argument” and not “debate?”
That was on purpose.
True debate is nearly a lost art. Our genetic heritage as dominance-hierarchy primates still rules much of our behavior. What I mean by that is that we would much rather be seen by others to “win” an argument, to assert dominance over our foe, than to get closer to the truth through a rational process of reasoned argument and critical thinking. For the turd-flinging primate that lives inside all of our brains, and that is always right on the hairy edge of seizing control of our behavior, “winning” an argument usually means doing the better job of interrupting and shouting over one’s opponent.
I can’t emphasize my next statement enough!
The strong potential for chimp-like behavior exists in all of us, regardless of which side of the ideological spectrum we inhabit! Real, reasoned debate requires courtesy, an appreciation of subtlety and nuance, and most especially TIME! Time is something that is already in short supply during a training session that you have blocked out in a schedule that includes work, family time, and other important pursuits. Such arguments are not only usually uncomfortably divisive; they are also nearly always pointless and futile! The odds of actually changing the mind of your opponent in an ideological argument are very slim. It would be an insult to astronomy to call them astronomical.
If you feel the need, for whatever reason, to stake out an ideological position at the martial arts academy; to metaphorically state that “This is the hill I will die on to defend my tribe,” you just might find yourself all alone on that hill, without a training partner, or maybe even an instructor to be found.
What do you think? Agree or disagree, let me know in the comments section below!
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This is an excellent article. Many points here seem to apply to the college classroom as well, but I’d love to hear more from the Martial Brain on that: What can a college class learn from a good martial arts academy?