being better people

[CANDANeh]

I know an individual who claims he trains in MA in order to one day be able to save some ones life (maybe even his). If true honorable but the effort could be better spent taking courses in Search& Rescue, First aid, CPR, Life Guarding or become a professional such as a Paramedic.
And being a “Self Defense Expert” could I guess fit the role of a life saver.

Just my take on where I am now in my evolution in my MA training, I`m learning (attempting) to understand how our bodies move when “fighting” to protect itself from injury during physical confrontation...be it in the ring, dojo or street some aspects of each tie together to weave an interesting “tapestry” for each individual. Some may have more “violent reds” or “peaceful greens”...it is who you are or are becoming. Neil`s “tapestry” for example may look not at all like mine and Laird`s may resemble it closer, but fortunately were not made to make all the same.
If we all trained together in a Monastery without individual influences then yes ours would resemble each others.
During our evolution we may decide to remove some “treads” of the “tapestry” and add more dept and color.
MA training in reality is for most of us only a small portion of our day, we are influenced by so much outside the training. However, it is evident that we savor the moments we work at the “loom”.

[gmattson]

Martial arts as part of our lives, not dominating our lives. Everything in moderation.

[Dana Sheets]

Neil - did you save it? Do you know that 95% of what I put up here isn't a finished thought? In-process thinking is very very welcome here.

[2Green]

Dana:
I didn't save it in MS-Word, but the thoughts are preserved, yes. Upon re-reading it seemed too encompassing -- too far away from the points.

I'm trying to reel it in, to be more compact and concise.
I too am guilty of "thinking into print".

NM

[2Green]

OK: here's attempt #2:

...damn!
Deleted. I'll try again. That was an hour wasted.

NM

[2Green]

Attempt #3:

There are two questions:
1: "Are you training to become a machine of aggression"? (DS)
Define "aggression".
I have never found a definition of "aggression" in terms of "self defense" except on these forums, although it may be out there.
All references to "aggression" are negative, pejorative. The word "aggression" is, in our modern context, not meant to include "righteous anger in self defense". Aggression is taken to mean self-serving brutality upon defenseless individuals. This, to me, is the antithesis of MA.
So, no, I am not training to become that.

Question #2:
"Why look for a peaceful resolution at all if you are training to fight?"
I coin this "Laird's paradox" since it came from one of his posts.

This is the HUGE question which I had so much trouble with, cancelling my posts twice.
The key is "insecurity and fantasy".

Essentially, fantasy can satisfy insecurity.

I'm 5'6",155 lb.I'm a mechanical artist and a musician.
I always felt that self defence was a missing dimension in my life. I thought that Karate would fill that missing dimension.
In the beginning, the fantasy of Karate did indeed satisfy my insecurity.

But as I learned more, I began to see that this was false security, a fantasy I was building/buying into.
I dug deeper (thank God for a great teacher), and discovered "Reality Karate" where nothing is perfect and more hard work will return "baseline" results where at least you might get lucky, using real techniques and having a basic level of conditioning.
This is "Fantasy" Level 2"

Why? Because you think you've pierced the veil and "broken through" to some "reality" in terms of techniques and scenario training, and so you attain "False Confidence, Level 2".

This is SO dangerous.
False confidence, as I've stated before, is the WORST thing a teacher can give a student. It may pass in a bluff situation, but there is no empowerment of the student in it. It's a lie.
Is false confidence better than none?
Only if it is never required to be proven.

I dug deeper again.
I began to find and experience the emergence of reflexes that 5Dragons has referred to. I questioned the whole premise of what the training is really all about, and found the answers in what I might term :"the changed me."

I am not the same person I was before I started training. My thought processes, my interactions with other people, many of them strangers, have been profoundly affected by my training, and very much for the good.
I think I have become a more patient person, more eager to hold the door for an elderly couple, less eager to gossip and judge, and (we're getting to the point now), less eager to engage an assailant upon points of pride.
This is Laird's paradox: All that training, why no fighting?

Because the TRAINING reveals the TRUTH about fighting.

In the face of a challenge, a mature MA'ist might walk away for the "right" reasons" (superior power, declined to be used.) or the "wrong" reasons (the fantasy of power, untested.).

I guess you can see why I tried this three times...)

NM

[Dana Sheets]

That is an excellent post.

Thanks Neil - for taking the time.

[Dana Sheets]

NB: This is a repost of my own post on another forum that I felt applied to this discussion. -Dana

This is a short excerpt from a recent article in Patrick McCarthy's newsletter
Uchinadi©
An Informal Journal for the Progressive Traditionalist
4th Quarter 2005, No. 41
IRKRS

Article:
Okinawa’s Bushi
Karate Gentlemen
By Charles C. Goodin

I think this applies to the discussion as well:

]What was the problem with the word “Bushi” itself? Fortunately, my sensei, Katsuhiko Shinzato, is a professor of linguistics at the Okinawa International University. I emailed a series of questions to him about this subject. He explained that although “Bushi” uses the same kanji and is pronounced the same in Okinawa and Japan, it means different things. In Japan, a “Bushi” was a member of the warrior class. In Okinawa, the term “Bushi” was honorific. It was used to refer to a Karate practitioner who was respected and revered not only for of his superior martial arts skill, but for being a civilized, principled gentleman as well. “Bushi” did not mean the Japanese “samurai.” As evidence of this, even the Okinawan King’s official guards, who were referred to as “samurai” in Okinawa, were not referred to as “Bushi.”

and this later quote

Walter Dailey, who then was the publisher of Bugeisha: Traditional Martial Artist. Daily had studied Shorin-Ryu in Okinawa under Zenryo Shimabukuro...

“Karate makes us into gentlemen.” ... “That is what is missing in Karate today!”...
“Character is the goal. Karate training is simply an excuse for developing character. Blood, sweat and tears are to form the character of the student. Karate is a means to an end.”

and finally:

Character is not one of the benefits of Karate training. It is the goal. Without it, there is no Karate, only athletics.

[Van Canna]

Admirable ideals, Dana.

But why is it that for many this gentlemanly character [becoming a better person] never develops regardless of who the sensei was, and the ‘quality’ of their training and 'guidance' _

In fact we often see the opposite _ the practice of martial arts _ spawning arrogance, conceit, superiority, phobias, and snootiness. It is as though karate changes people for the worse.

Best way to learn to spot this is to ‘listen with the eyes’ > even in the absence of word signals.

Body language_ you will see a swagger, often hiding a slump, their interacting with a slightly elevated nose, an edge to their language combined with a shuffle or glide_

The way some karate practitioners move, and speak_ is their autobiography and genetics in motion.

However, we see much success today at the children's level, in the right dojos such as in Gary Khoury's Academy.

[Valkenar]

In fact we often see the opposite _ the practice of martial arts _ spawning arrogance, conceit, superiority, phobias, and snootiness. It is as though karate changes people for the worse.

I think there's also an extent to which martial arts attracts people who have this kind of mentality. Not to say that most martial artists are this way or anything, but any discipline will attract a majority of reasonable people who quietly go about things in a positive way, and then a highly visible minority who are in it for what we might call the wrong reasons. I think because of the mythos surrounding karate, some of those who are looking to bolster their egos and throw their weight around gravitate towards the martial arts.

It's why the police have a bad reputation in some circles. Most officers are fine people trying to do a good thing, but the few bullies who just want to push people around make a bigger impression.

[-Metablade-]

With respect to all forms of Budo, I find that the core definition of "why we practice" is very similar from art to art, and since Karate and other Japanese Budo are married to one another in many areas, I though I might share with you what the All Japan Kendo Federation put forth on paper regarding the subject:

Though the artisitc details may differ, the key ideals
may sound familiar to you.


The concept of Kendo is to discipline the human character through the application of the principles of the Katana (sword).

The Purpose of Practicing Kendo

The purpose of practicing Kendo is:
To mold the mind and body,
To cultivate a vigorous spirit,
And through correct and rigid training,
To strive for improvement in the art of Kendo,
To hold in esteem human courtesy and honor,
To associate with others with sincerity,
And to forever pursue the cultivation of oneself.
This will make one be able:
To love his/her country and society,
To contribute to the development of culture
And to promote peace and prosperity among all peoples.

[Van Canna]

Justin,

I agree.

Meta,

Yes and karate has the same ideals. However, a few and only a few, never rise to the occasion because of innate defective character.

Over the long years we see them imprint their genetic signatures on the dojo floor and in the cyber world.

[Dana Sheets]

Ful text can be found here:
http://www.quastl.de/BlackBeltMag.htm
Selection from:

Okinawan Journey
by Katherine Loukopoulos.
From: Black Belt. World's Leading Magazine of Self Defense, May 1983.

Shinzato told me that in his impression of foreign martial artists, they have developed the wrong idea of Okinawan karate. To correct this, he wanted to take me to as many different dojo and let me train with as many different teachers as time would permit. I could formulate a better opinion, by observing classes and asking questions, about student and teacher relationships.

Shinzato felt that foreigners entertain a notion about Okinawan karate that the students are always slaves and teachers always bosses. But he himself maintained the opinion that students and teachers, through their karate training, through their philosophical discussions and through the application og their idealistis perceptions of martial arts etiquette, should wholeheartedly try to promote better relations among themselves and with the members of the society in which thy live.

"Their first responsibility is to train themselves honestly and sincerely, " SHinzato stressed. "Once attained, they then may teach and share their knowledge with other karateka."

"As a karate group they care for the welfare of each other and their families, " Shinzato continued. "When one martial artist has a problem, everyone in the group tries to help until it is corrected. This is performed with the utmost etiquette so that the person in need does not become embarrasses."

Fourteen days quickly came to an end. I had learned much about the philosophy, the tradition, the etiquette, and the manner with which people in Okinawa approached and trained karate. I did not see giants or gods performing supernatural feats of strength; I saw ordinary people diligently training in the art they love so much. I did not see competition among them, but each one strived to create a better character and human relationship with those they came in contact.

[Dana Sheets]

I dunno if this applies in Okinawan or not...just found it interesting.

Inside old Japanese Martial Art Dōjō it was very frequent to find a scroll hanging down on the wall where we could read three characters: SHIN, GI and TAI.
They expressed old time guidelines for all Budōka. They meant the most important characteristics that all practicioners had to strive to perfect:
1. SHIN (Kokoro) - Spirit, soul.
2. GI (Waza) - Technique(s)
3. TAI (Karada) - Body maintenance, physical condition
The proportion of attention on each field was: SHIN - 60%, GI - 30%, TAI - 10%.
Naturally, depending on master or Dōjō the proportion among these characteristics could vary, but spirit was the most important point to be developed, followed by technical and physical aspects.

http://judoforum.com/blog/joseverson/in ... m=3&y=2006