harlan wrote:
I don't think that posting a circus act on a karate forum, mislabeled as 'karate', and 'boobs' added to increase 'the gate', is really adding anything positive to the forum.
I see your point - if you're taking this seriously.
But if you've been in this business long enough, and have done enough demonstrations, you begin to see the furniture beneath the veneer. Then when someone shows you the real furniture without any veneer whatsoever, one is tempted to dismiss it.
Or should we??
See the following video. (No accounting for this gentleman's taste in attire.)
Martial Arts Breaking Tricks Exposed-Michael Kinney
Now check out some academic treatments of the subject. Here's a laboratory exercise for the freshman physics students at Harvard.
Karate Blow
No, not freshmen KARATE students. This exercise is for the pencil-necked geeks who take physics in an Ivy League school.
The truth is, ALL karate breaking is a circus act. Articles have been published in peer-review journals (Feld, The Physics of Karate,
Scientific American, 1979) which make it VERY clear that breaking is not karate. It's its own "thing" which may or may not have anything to do with the preservation of a martial art, the ability to defend yourself, or the ability to wage war.
What the woman has done is
- Yes, increased the gate. What else is going to get us interested in breaking any more? It's so passé.
- Show us a unique striking surface. I said it before (as did Mary Ann) and I'll say it again. Large mammary glands CAN and HAVE BEEN used as striking weapons. Fists work. Palm heels work. Elbows work. Knees work. Feet work. Myriad hand weapons work. And yes, a large mammary gland can be used as a potent projectile when in the hands (or on the body) of a skilled individual.
- Show us a unique skill. I can't do that. And very few women have breasts large enough to pull off that feat.
IMO spending so much time minimizing what "it" is gets away from the point that this all can be fun. One thing I learned after spending 14 years teaching college kids is that I suk at teaching karate to little kids. And why? Because I don't quite have enough kid in me to make the material interesting for them. And that IMO is a vitally important skill whether it's martial arts or mathematics.
All of us teachers can and should pull out all the stops when teaching. My experience at Phillips Exeter was less about more math and science textbooks, and more about getting down and dirty with it. All science sections started with a "Mr Wizard Show" day. Then we did experiments BEFORE ever reading any books. THEN we'd read the books and do our problem sets. By the time we got to the end, we had a pretty good feel of what "it" was all about.
And for the boys out there... As a father of two boys who must constantly endure modern education where boys are treated like "defective girls" (See
Raising Cain), I'm all for any and everything that gets them out of their stupid chairs and up playing with the real world where life happens. And I'm never beneath using trickery or even a little T&A if it enlightens without degrading.
As for this female entertainer, well I say "You go girl." And if it rubs you wrong, walk away. Or... Listen to one of *MY* favorite female musicians from a few decades back. (Sorry, Madonna, but you just didn't do anything for me.)
Girls Just Want To Have Fun
Dojo Roundtable isn't a church. This is all about the "bureiko" experience we used to have after every karate workout at UVa. Find a dozen students, a place, some wine, cheese, and bread, and just have some fun. "We" are about more than Sanchin in pajamas.
- Bill
Half of the subjects on this forum have some questions and concerns to others opinions but then again LIFE HAPPENS. Get over yourselves and enjoy life. Or are you just ignorant to the fact that you are human? Which is it?
