Everyone wants to be included into a group. It’s part of human nature. Even those who don’t fit into the “mainstream” society create their own groups to belong to. It used to be (way back in the 90’s) that comic books weren’t considered cool. I hid my comic books from all but a few friends. Only with those few friends would we debate the pro and cons of various stories and hero qualities. We would do role-playing games and create our own superheroes (I know, extra geeky right!). We were a tribe unto ourselves. There were certain codewords that anyone within the tribe would know, but those who weren’t in the know would just stare at you quizzically. Like “Adamantium” or “Zeta Beam.” There were logos on shirts or hats, what you doodled on the margins as you were taking note that let everybody in the know… that you were in the know. It was our secret handshake if you will. The same thing applies with fantasy novels like Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, or with Star Wars. They were the secrets amongst our miniature society. But it kept us together, united.
That was until our secret society became mainstream. Star Wars returned with a vengeance, Marvel’s movies about superheroes became blockbusters, and Lord of the Rings won Oscars. It’s a melancholy victory. On one side, we got to see all of our favorite stories done with magnificent storytelling on the big screen. At the same time, now everyone in the world knew who Gandalf was. Our secret society had lost its secret.
One response people have to this loss of secrecy is to dig their heels in deeper. They have to become “true fans.” By having more than a cursory knowledge of the subject you could prove you were a “true fan” and not just someone who bought a shirt at Hot Topic in the mall.
Suddenly, there was a quiz to be able to join the club, and you sound more like the Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons.
“Oh yeah, what was the name of Darth Vader’s Super Star Destroyer in Empire Strikes Back?”
It’s the Executor by the way.
The second, more positive response is to just enjoy the fact that now there are more people in the world with your same fandom. Take a step back and realize, that other people can enjoy your interests for the same reason, or even for different reasons. Interests and fandom are not a society. There is no membership fee. If people like Iron Man in the movies, but never have read a comic…so be it.
The same type of things happens in martial arts. At first, everyone with an interest is included in the tribe.
“You like karate? Well, I practice Taekwondo.”
“Cool, we should talk sometime.”
It’s a simple gathering of like-minded individuals who want to practice martial arts. They may practice for different reasons or even different arts, but its all still one all-encompassing tribe. But, as time goes by, the secret society of being a martial artist seems to not be so special, so unique. That has a psychological effect on people. It makes them want to become more special. When it seems a lot of people have that same interest, it’s just not special enough. Just like when Captain America was made into a movie, and now everyone knows what Vibranium is. Now everyone is taking karate at the YMCA. So again, you follow one of two paths.
Many people become the super-secret knowledge guy, and start discrediting everything that isn’t “Street Lethal” or “the way O-Sensei did it in 1922.” They become the comic book guy in the dojo. They either start making knowledge a requirement for being a “true martial artist” or start to really discredit anything that doesn’t fit into their knowledge base. Don’t be this guy. I’m sure everyone has seen youtube comments like this. Just don’t do it.
Take the higher road. Take the second option. Instead of trying to limit your tribe, expand it. Include more people. When more people are practicing martial arts, enjoy the fact that they have a common interest with you. Everyone takes martial arts for a different reason. I still couldn’t put into words why I do martial arts. When you’re talking with other martial artists, don’t immediately disagree with their art (or them), instead, find out the reasoning why their art has a different theory. Speaking for myself, anyone who practices martial arts is immediately part of a small group of like-minded people, that I want to call friends.
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Great article, Jaredd. For me, it wasn’t comic books but becoming a parent for the first time. My wife and I would take our infant son around in a stroller and when we’d pass another young couple with a child around the same age, all of us would give a subtle smile and head nod to each other – we were part of a small group going through something together at the same time.
I think when we find others who hold our same interests and values, our need to find safety in numbers becomes a strong drive and we bond. Whether its over comic books or the (in)ability to execute a decent mawashi geri, we find out “tribe” and, more importantly, we find meaning and community.
I think that the desire to create/join the martial arts community is one of the primary differences between a “martial artist” and “someone who does martial arts”.