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ARTICLES
AND COMMENTARY
ENJOYMENT VS. PURPOSE
In the coming weeks, a Dragon Jam here in Greenville will be
announced. We have a tentative date of March 10th but are waiting to see if that
conflicts with other events. People will convene to our dojo for mainly the same
reason; they enjoy the activity. While the reasons stay the same the purposes
vary. Some just like the activity and spend the day enjoying it with a hobby
like approach. Some are competitors who are continuing to hone their skills by
training with other skilled people. Some are dojo owners who are attaining
additional knowledge to pass along to their students. Some are students in
dojo’s that do not teach or even approve of progressive martial arts teachings.
They are traditionalist in the strictest sense of the word. But what ever the
purpose, the motivator is enjoyment.
Seminars and training gatherings have been going on for as long as
I can remember. However, I cannot remember when there were so many. I believe
the reason for this is the emergence of the progressive, eclectic, martial arts
approach of combining multiple styles, (hence, “MMA”) and the desire to avoid
political gatherings. I think the proliferation of people gathering for the sole
purpose of training is fantastic. As I said, there have always been such
gatherings but they were by and large held by Associations, or people charging
for their time. The down side of this is some of the associations threw the same
people at you; that taught the same things over and over. Couple that with the
fact that, some of the instructors were not even good dojo instructors (if they
even have one) and you have a waste of time on a mass scale. Not only that, you
never got a chance to participate. You just stood, watched and tried to figure
out what the heck they were talking about, as unbeknownst to you, they either
just made it up, or they really didn’t know what they were talking about. Adding
insult to injury, you had to pay when you were already paying dues and if you
spoke up, the “ego Dans” were all over you. Next was the,” Pay for play,”
professional seminar giver. A few are worth it. Most, if you held out, would pay
you to stand there and listen to them. It was a combination of talking about
themselves, demonstrating three stooges techniques and beating the hell out of
two or three unsuspecting ”volunteer” uke’s. The theory was, if they can
demonstrate putting the poor uke in enough pain and suffering, you would believe
the technique worked. I also love wasting mine and my students time watching
kata bunkai. It is fun and entertaining but the greatest majority is made up and
basically only demonstration worthy. It is not that some of the masters have not
created some good bunkai from the kata. Some are just more analytical than
others and are still training themselves. The problem is the amount that is
thrown at relatively inexperienced students. Not to mention that some is not
street wise and you need some jujitsu training to execute it. I know, I teach
some street defense using some kata moves that are usable bunkai. There are two
schools of thought here. Some say that all the bunkai is striking bunkai. Others
do not. The danger is Sensei’s and Masters teaching something in theory that
they themselves can not do. There are only about 69 different techniques in all
eight empty hand kata. The rest repeat themselves throughout. So making up
things that are not even there is Voodoo martial arts.
All that having been said, I still say that if you enjoy it, do it.
I don’t think point fighting has much relevance to street defense, but if you
enjoy it why not. Just don’t teach something to your students as street defense
that is not. Kata and weapons have very little to no appeal for me. I teach
straight street defense so anything that is too hypothetical or pretend, is not
a productive training tool for me or my students. I can name some good reasons
for kata and budo practice, but they are not for the development of ring or
street fighting. At least not as I understand them. I am however open to
learning what ever works. I don’t mind running kata and teaching it, but you
can’t teach everything, so time management for me is a factor.
Specificity in training is the key. What your purpose is for
training in the final analysis, is where you should spend your time. You don’t
go out and run ten miles a day to run a hundred yard dash. I suppose there is
room for argument that it doesn’t matter what you teach, as long as it is
legitimate and you teach it well. There are many ways to maximize your enjoyment
of the martial arts, and doing what physically and philosophically appeals to
you, is the right decision. The truth is that 90 plus percent of us will never
be in a street fight or be attacked. Another percent of us are not going to
compete on an elite basis, or maybe not at all. Some are at an age that dictates
the degree and what amount of physical activity is wise. Some do not care to
roll around on the floor or be thrown to it. Just be careful not to treat your
students like they are seniors. This is why Jams and like activities are so
important. You can expose your students to things that they maybe interested in
and make some contacts with teaching masters and sensei’s, that are willing to
visit your dojo for additional training. It is a sharing affair that never has
to end.
Last but not least, the informal, social, aspect of Jams and
training get-togethers, are a way to involve yourself and or your students, in
the best part of the activity. Making not just friends, but life long friends,
is sometimes overlooked as the major benefit. It is a meaningful gathering with
your like minded brothers and sisters of the martial arts. Anyone who doesn’t
attend Jams or seminars because, you don’t like someone or your instructor
doesn’t like someone's politics, is promoting division. It is not about damn
politics. It is just the opposite of that. Most people are sick of all that crap
anyhow. Yes, there are still grumpy old men who are keeping people from
attending anything that they don’t have control over, and that is pathetic. What
is even more pathetic, is if you are spineless enough to allow people to tell
you where you can and cannot go. If you are friends with people who give these
training jams and do not go due to the politics, or chip on the shoulder of
someone else, you are just as guilty of politics as they are. There is NO ONE
that is not welcome to join us at any of our Jams. Whether this gathering or
some else’s, lets keep the movement of non political training and fellowship
going. That should be the new tradition and help to push the grumpy old men back
into the shadows where they belong. No one has ever been able to stop progress
forever. The evidence is all around us. It is a new day and sharing knowledge
with many, is the smart trainers way to go.
Hope to see you at the Jam or seminar, where free thinking, hard
training people gather.
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