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ARTICLES
AND COMMENTARY WHAT IT TAKES FOR ME TO HAVE FUN,
AND WHY I OFTEN DON’T!!! Ever since the last tournament I have been thinking about the term, ”just have fun” and what it really means. I’m sure since it pertains to tournament action and participation at the time you can draw your own conclusions. Reason being, as it is a general statement or wish, it has its own definition to many. I won’t speak for the people who wish it for me, or their event. I do know it is a hope on their part that as host, people will enjoy themselves and want to come back next year. For me coming back next year has always been a matter of supporting friends more than the enjoyment received. No matter, the point of this article is a self examination of what I consider fun and what I do not. It may resonate with some and make others wonder why I even bother to attend. The reason some of us bother is our basic hard wired nature. So if you care, or just want to compare your curious psyche to mine, read on. Since no one in their right mind (no comments here from the audience!) would continue to do something that was no fun, I have taken a position on my own couch for analization, (is that a word?) Here goes.
What I consider ”FUN” in the martial arts and what I don’t consider ”FUN” at all.
FUN THINGS: 1) Teaching class 2) Monday night advanced class/ Sparring, grappling and training with my guys. 3) After class bull sessions with my Dragons 4) Visiting other dojos, or being visited. 5) ICA JAMS: They are casual, social, and without agenda’s, politics, or people just hanging around. 6) Learning anything new or different, from a good instructor that still trains. 7) Being allowed to teach other good instructors that don’t profess to know it all and know how to keep their mouths shut when it is your time to teach. 8) Fair, unbiased, Competition of any kind. 9) Writing a complimentary article about a friend. 10) Reminiscing with karate friends my age. 11) Telling and listening to Mr. Long stories. 12) The Hall of fame weekend. 13) When first arriving at any event seeing friends. 14) Eating dinner after a Jam with my guys and talking about it. 15) Giving a Dragon tab to a special person. 16) Giving or participating in a promotion. It is always like giving a part of yourself whether it is a little piece to a yellow belt, a big chunk to a black belt, or a huge chunk to a Master. 17) Driving home from class and calling Reese to tell her I’m on my way. She always eagerly asks ”How did class go”, even though she can always tell in my voice right away how it went. 18) Going to bed exhausted from a good class and waking to a body still willing and able. 19) A new student that acts interested. 20) Watching the individual dojo’s meet after the tournaments. You can see the leadership at that point more than any other. It is reassuring and like days of old when a dojo was a team not a bunch of individuals coming and going at will.
THINGS THAT ARE NOT MUCH FUN 1) Point Tournaments that my friends give. I’m torn to be myself and maybe step on their toes. 2) Attending the same three or four tournaments every year. And fighting the same people over and over. 3) Leaving a tournament pissed off at somebody. 4) Watching people who can’t or shouldn’t be refereeing. 5) Judging kata. I think I’m a decent judge, just a bored one. 45 years and God knows how many tournaments, watching the same three or four kata. Still I focus and give it a 100%. 6) Listening to tournament rules over and over that are going to be followed only on a ring to ring basis. You can throw an ax kick that could break a collar bone or shoulder joint, but no face contact.. You can kick someone in the groin hard enough to give them and amateur vasectomy, but no face contact. Somebody tell me how this makes sense. 7) Standing at the front of the line with your students, bowing to less ranking people or those who wish your head would roll off when you bend over, and asking your students to do same. No way. It ain’t protocol anyhow, and it ain’t happening. 8) The uniform rule: one black belt was told he could not fight in his uniform t-shirt by a master wearing a baseball hat. Mr. Long,,, forgive us all. 9) Judging or refereeing my own students. 10) Watching people referee their own students. 11) Having people call me weekly and daily after a tournament, complaining about the same people, then cracking loveable on their site. 12) Me… I don’t like me very much at tournaments, because I can’t keep my mouth shut when everyone else waits till after it is over with to hoot and holler. 13) People pissing over rank. Just make damn sure you deserve to out rank them or be the same rank as them. And don’t use age and years to judge. Go by ability and accomplishments. There is nothing more embarrassing than someone worrying about another person’s rank, that shouldn’t be the belt they are wearing or sounding shrill and “pissy” over it. I finally told one guy; you and your organization set the standards by promoting you. The other guys promoted someone better than you. What’s the problem? 14) Someone in my ring looking at me every time they think they scored, or holding their hand up in the air and running around, not bowing out, or slamming equipment on the floor and especially hot dog. You will get No call from me. 15) Side judges that don’t hustle and don't get the lead out of their a--. 16) Kata judges that punk up their score for a favorite. I don’t like kata center judges that don’t catch it and don’t warn or dismiss the judge. 17) People leaving a tournament the minute their, or their kids match is over. I make it mandatory that everyone stays till all have fought. If we are going to get there early and watch the kids fight, then the kids are going to watch the black belts fight. Even if you have no black belts in the ring they deserve the respect and support of a good audience. 18) People lining up in civilian clothes at the formal bow in. Or strutting in later in civvies like some celebrity. They are only there for their own matches. 19) No coaching rule. The only athletic event where a coach can’t coach. Allow a designated coach at each ring and penalize any other. 20) Spectators on the floor. Man I really hate that. Karate tournaments are really screwed up in so many ways. What other competition allows the spectators on the floor or field. Why do we go on making the same mistakes year after year? 21) Last but not least; when a black belt quits. Other than health, transfer, or school, to drop out and stay out is inexcusable. They have had three years, give or take, to understand their role and obligation, to you and the dojo.
So there they are. There are more to list in both categories but why bother. The obvious answer here is, if I don’t like it, stay home or go where I do like it. If I’m going to be a distraction and not blend with the culture of the group, stay home. If I don’t like the game, chose another. I believe you, that read my last article, already know about my decision. I just have a few more parting observations to offer before this becomes a dead subject in our dojo.
I want people to get real and admit to themselves if they can or can not be totally objective, when judging their own. Often judging your own student or child, you either call points with your heart or you cheat your own student by trying to be too fair. Either is unacceptable when giving someone a fair shot. Maybe some can. I cannot. I never judged in my granddaughters kata or matches and I knew I never could. Some time ago at a Hall of Fame Tourney, I watched a very moral man (no he is not at our tournaments) of high standards and reputation, go in the tank so hard for his own son, I was shocked. I told his friend and he said, I know, he can’t help it. In the day, you had to bow out when your student was in the ring, to eliminate any chance of that happening, or even the appearance of it happening. That should happen now. Human nature is a hard thing to recognize in one’s self. Only in Karate; can you imagine any coach or player calling balls and strikes, or basketball fouls, for his own team. No other sport or competition allows the predictable improprieties or reasonable doubt theories that karate is willing to suffer. I understand the finances of a tournament and how volunteer help is essential. However make a conscious effort to identify judges or ref’s that have a history of tanking or are just incompetent and quietly keep them out of the ring. Or just make the judges bow out of a students ring. This problem alone is going to bring down point fighting not the rules. At one time point fighting was it. Now there are other options and avenues of competition. No one wants to fight the opponent and two or three of the judges at the same time.
Last word on having fun and why some have more than others.
1) They have no dojo, no vested interest, no six weeks of tournament training with students. Since tournaments are all they do, they are free to have lots of no-responsibility fun. 2) Their powder has gotten wet and they no longer care like they use to. 3) In some circles students see and fight the same people over and over. So it has become less competitive and more friendly. This creates a confusing, double attitude standard, of a shiai with trophies and grand championships. 4) Many have aged and don’t like to deal with misunderstandings or miss-deeds. So they want a kinder gentler atmosphere. It’s kind of a kids play nice plea. 5) Isshin-ryu fights mostly in closed tournaments and has lost some of the “us against them” fire. We know each other so well, now it is us against us. Tournament directors want everyone to enjoy themselves and go away happy. I call it the “cum by ya” syndrome. But who can blame them after the work that is put in. 6) Some have a different temperament and can take things more in stride. God bless….I envy you. Keep having tournaments. YOU are right for the job. 7) They don’t want to put pressure on their students. That’s part of the lesson people. Playing and working under pressure is one of the most important things we teach. It is life in and out of the ring. A street fight is pressure, we need to rehearse in the ring. Coaches say a lot, to just go out there and have fun!! Ha! Wonder how much fun practice is when they lose. Losing gets you fired. Losing, looses you students and their confidence in your teaching. Sensei’s put their students and their trophies on their site. Not a synopsis of how much fun they had. So where is the REAL emphasis??
I’m not making fun of anyone that says or especially believes that. I hear it a lot now in several places. That is their belief and if I didn’t support some of them in that belief (without agreeing with it) I wouldn’t come around you. Even so, your mode of training, teaching and running your tournament is your business. There is more than one way to approach everything and anyone who puts his time and money on the line deserves to run it as he sees fit. So I’m not saying that it’s wrong. It is wrong for me and how I train for competition.
All that said, I must say that I can not, will not, and don’t even, want to change. I’m talking now to people who have known me all my Martial arts life. I was a fiery competitor. I was Sensei’d by a fiery guy (Mr. Long of course) who encouraged me to go hard all my days with him. I still go hard and have not lost even one ounce of that fire. I have never once had fun losing and I’d better not find out that one of mine has. The first thing I ask them is ,”can you live with losing”? This doesn’t mean being a bad looser. It means being a hard loser. Losing is a bitter pill for some to swallow. I always tell my guys not to let them see you sweat. In other words don’t let you opponent know he beat you physically and emotionally at the same time. But walking out of a ring knowing you got hosed is a load to carry for a spirited fighter. For me it is a lot easier leaving a tournament knowing I lost my cool than knowing I took a match away from some kid because I didn’t like his instructors politics, or I was jobbing for my own guy.
Now here is something cool to end on. Three of Kelly’s guys told me before the tournament, that friendship is for outside the ring and at the parties. I say whoo whaaa !!! There is plenty of time for friendship when there is mutual respect. The Dragons say go Kelly and the Hero’s. You’ve got it right and we’re going to raise some ring dust with you every time to prove it. NOW THAT’S FUN……. |
