Real Wood????

[Stevie B]

Sometimes people in Uechi just crack me up!!! I was just on Youtube checking out a few of my Uechi Comrades in the States (and over seas)... One of them had the comment on their page that they actually broke "real wood"... As opposed to what??? Fake wood??? Freaking retards!!!

Oh please bring back some real Uechi Ka that aren't all tied around politics and egos...

[Bill Glasheen]

One of them had the comment on their page that they actually broke "real wood"... As opposed to what??? Fake wood??? Freaking retards!!!

It harks back to martial arts as it was portrayed 40 years ago. Oy!

Poor, defenseless wood... Personally I'm into breaking faux wood, Stevie. Save the rain forests and all, you know?

Oh please bring back some real Uechi Ka that aren't all tied around politics and egos...

The schlock has always been there, and it always will be. There's probably less of it now, what with information getting around as quickly as it does on the internet. We're not quite at an iPhone App which locates the nearest "authentic Uechi" (TM), but we are a bit better off than before.

The biggest issue I see today is the numbers being lost to the fad du jour. The latest is MMA gyms and/or karate aerobics. Reputable instructors have their work cut out for them. But a little loss to the fads isn't necessarily a bad thing.

- Bill

[Stevie B]

LOL!!! Next it will be "fake sweat"!!! These people make me nuts!!I wish nI had Glut implants so I could tell them to Bite My Fake A$$!

[Kevin Mackie]

More or less a Typical Uechi Class:

Line up
Stretch
Kata
Condition
Kumite
Kata
Line up
Bow

No trees were killed in the process.

I was surprised whenever a marketing demo was put on at a dojo or local school.

The wood would come out and be shattered all over the floor.

Where the hell did they learn to do that?

[Bill Glasheen]

The wood would come out and be shattered all over the floor.

Where the hell did they learn to do that?

It's a case of mistaking the moon for the finger pointing at it.

The breaking demos were done to impress the public in a way that was meaningful to them. After a while however it takes on a life of its own. Thankfully the "magic" in the demos is starting to go away - IMO mostly due to martial sport (e.g. MMA). While that creates its own obsession with dueling, it has served to take the P.T. Barnum mystique away from Traditional Martial Arts.

- Bill

[Stevie B]

I think my point was more that people shouldn't get so caught up with their own Egos and that the PT Barnum factor sometimes has more to do with the carefully crafted words than the reality.. In reality, anyone that has reguarly performed Demos realizes that breaking wood isn't that difficult.. It is a true test of some things but not all..It's a good show and tests the courage a nd focus a bit.. But most can do it..My point was more that the guys all caught up in breaking "real wood" are the same guys that will overly strike a student in Sanchin... They do it to appease their Egos and couldn't care less about preserving a wonderful art..

" Think lightly of yourself and heavily of the World" Miyamoto Musashi- The Way of Walking Alone... Go Rin Sho

[Bill Glasheen]

I like that line from Musashi's Book of Five Rings. Good stuff!

- Bill