Politically Incorrect

I took about half of my students from the dojo to The Progressive Care Center Wednesday night to sing Christmas carols for the elderly residents there. We stopped in the dining room and sang for the ladies and gentlemen still eating their dinner. Then we walked down the hallways singing a nice variety of songs. There were many greetings, salutations, and best wishes passed on. The words “Merry Christmas” were exchanged several times. These people said that freely with no guilt or regret. Why? Because that is the way they were raised. They were, for the most part, brought up being taught that Christmas was a special day that was meant to bring people together and bring out the best in them.

Today, at work, I wished a co-worker Merry Christmas. She said the words back almost as a natural reaction. Then a very strange look came over her face and she told me that she hoped that didn’t offend me (this after I initiated the greeting). I looked at her and smiled. I asked her why she thought being wished a Merry Christmas would offend me. In the same vein, why would celebrating a day that emphasizes peace, love, and good will to all people be considered offensive?

 

I am 54 years old. I, too, grew up holding Christmas as a special time of the year where we shared love and joy with each other. I remember those years as being happy and learning that this was a time of the year we look to our fellow men with love and compassion. We go out of our way to do special things for each other out of love.

 

Have we come so politically correct that we snub our noses at those sentiments? Are we so worried that we will offend someone that we forsake good will? And by the way, what the hell is so offensive about wishing someone peace and happiness?

“It offends me that you said that because I am (fill in the religion or non-religion of your choice)”

 

So you’re telling me that because you do not believe what I believe that my honest and sincere wishes for your prosperity and good fortune are offensive? You’re saying that because you worship differently, or don’t worship at all, that my holiday greeting to you is bad? I’m a bad person because I wish you and your family the best during this season. That is one of the most insane things I have ever heard.

People stand up on a soap box and speak about their Constitutional rights. Let me give you a lesson in the Constitution. The First Amendment gives you freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion.  The founding fathers of our country realized that the Church of England had been ruled and directed by the government for many, many years. In those days practically everyone, and I mean everyone, went to church. The monarchy controlled the church. They knew that if they controlled the pulpit, they controlled the citizens. The fathers wanted nothing like that happening in the new country they had fought so hard to establish. So they wrote the First Amendment so that the government could never have that kind of control.

I know that I am going to take a lot of flack over publishing this. I know there will probably be some people who leave nasty responses to it. The thing is I’m going to read those comments and smile. Why? Because I’m not a Christian. I have been a practicing Wiccan for 20 years. I have no problem with “Merry Christmas”, nativity scenes, Silent Night, Joy to the World, or any of the other things associated with Christmas. So, that being said, I have one thing to say to those who just might be offended,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. May the peace and love of the season be yours and your family’s.   

 

Visitors in a Traditional Dojo

 

Early evening on any Monday and class is in session at a local karate dojo. There are eight to ten students in the room. Sweat is pouring and occasionally a shout cuts through the air. To the passerby the studio may look almost empty. Surely there are more students than this? The Sensei and his Senior Students (Sempai) walk through the group correcting a technique here, offering advise there. Sensei is happy. To him, this is a medium sized class. If there were very many more students he might miss something in one’s training.

 

The average on-looker judges by what they see. There is a karate school around the corner and down the street that has a class going with at least twenty students. There are a lot of children in it. They are playing games and laughing. Earlier one of the instructors was holding a hula hoop and all the kids were taking turns diving through it and landing on an over-stuffed mat. The two or three younger students in this dojo are punching and kicking a hand mitt that one of the Sempai is holding for them. Then on his command, they break away and begin working on kata (open hand forms). As they diligently work on their kata the Sensei will stop one of them every so often and make a correction on a technique. “Make your kick stronger!” “Punch to the solar plexus!” and several other commands can be heard often as the session continues.

 

After a bit Sensei shouts “Yame!” and the students cease whatever they are doing and come to attention. The teacher lines them up and calls one of his Sempai up. He then breaks one of the kata down by sets of movements and demonstrates the “bunkai” or practical applications of what they have been doing. He then tells the students to get a partner and do what he has just done. Even the children are taught the techniques and taught to use them on a partner much larger than themselves. After a bit of this he nods to his most senior student who shouts another word in Japanese and the students fall into line facing the front of the dojo. They bow. They kneel. They close their eyes and sit perfectly still for a couple of minutes. Then they do a kneeling bow to the Shomen. Sensei turns and they then perform a kneeling bow to him. They then stand coming to attention and bow to Sensei who then dismisses the class. As they head for the changing area, they pause before leaving the training floor and once again bow facing the work out area.

 

Most people who witness a traditional karate class for the first time are a little confused. They do not understand much of what they have just watched. They have come to the dojo with a preconceived idea of what is going to happen and in most cases are shocked that this school that professes to be a traditional dojo doesn’t play a lot of games with the children. They are surprised to see that the smaller students work right alongside the older, larger, stronger ones. There is a lot of bowing and a lot of words being spoken that they do not even understand. Most of them will never come back. There is no flash or glam here. There are no wildly colored uniforms. There are no hoops or bouncy balls for the children. There is only…karate.

 

Sadly, what has been forgotten (or never realized) by most people outside of the martial arts is that karate is not a game.

 

Karate is training. It is learning how to defend yourself and learning to defend yourself from attackers that are larger and stronger than you are. If Little Suzy spends her class time bouncing tennis balls off a huge round piece of brightly colored tarp with ten of her BFFs, she will never learn how to defend herself. Likewise, if Little Johnny spends his class playing Red Rover he will never grasp the concept of bunkai. If the student is never encouraged to do better, work harder, and try their best at the art they are learning, they will never grow. They will never become stronger.

 

Karate is dedication. Like the person who was checking out the class for the first time, a staggering percentage of students will take classes for a while and then become bored with the constant repetition of techniques. Every class starts the same. Bow in and do basics. Basics, basics, basics. They never comprehend that they are trying to perfect a technique. They never truly understand that they are building muscle memory. They get bored. They get burnt out. They leave. It’s a sad thing. It’s sad for the student and it’s even more so for the instructor if “growing a business” is the only thing he is there for. The student must be willing, no the student must be strong enough, to endure boredom, repetition, and constant criticism. That said, the traditional Sensei is not heartless. The traditional Sensei knows what limits are. He or she also knows what kindness and compassion are. Sensei will take the student to the edge of what they think they can do and help the student break the barriers and limitations of their beliefs. In doing this, there is growth.

 

Most people ask, “What about team building?” That’s one of a huge number of New Age politically correct terms that we have adopted in our society today. By training with each other and working hard towards a goal the student learns valuable lessons that will last them an entire lifetime. Once they have accomplished a task or reached a goal, they have something to look back on and be proud of. When they reach this state and they see another student struggling with the same obstacle they overcame, they reach out to that student and help them overcome it as well. You see, it’s not team building. It’s not a team. It becomes a family. Families help each other. I’m not sure about you but I would much rather that my family had my back than my team. Most business professionals today would have you believe that team and family are the same thing. They are not and they never will be.

 

The traditional dojo is struggling these days. We live in a society of instant gratification. We see something. We want it. We get it We do this sometimes regardless of the situation. I can’t pay my mortgage this month but I sure do have a fine new truck. Some people walk into a martial arts school these days and they want it all and they want it now. They want to be a black belt in six months. They want to run their own school in a year. They want to have the most popular self- defense course out there in a matter of months. The sad fact is that there are many martial arts schools and martial artists out there that are willing to give someone that…for the right amount of money.

 

Yet people on average take things at face value. They believe whatever hype that someone tells them simply because they don’t know any better. Those who are actually willing to do some research on something often read a huge steaming pile of bull on the internet and take it as gospel because a website said it was true.

 

So here’s some advice for any of you instructors out there that want to take it. If you have a sign on your building that states that you are a traditional stylist, be a traditional stylist. Teach your art for what it is, your art. If you have someone who walks into your dojo wanting to watch because they are interested in perhaps taking your classes, send one of your adult senior students over to sit with them. Instruct them to be there to answer questions the prospective student may have. Don’t preach to them, simply be a source of information. Be proud of your style, your lineage, and the rich history of your art.

 

What Are We Doing To Ourselves?

 

Some time ago I read an article about a 10 year old martial arts student who had just earned her THIRD Black Belt…her THIRD. I had to sit back and ask myself “How does this happen?”

Have you ever walked into a martial arts school and saw all the black belts roaming around? They are everywhere and they range in age from 6 up (at least I hope they are at least 6). I was in a dojo one time and a very polite, very well mannered young man walked up to me and asked if he could help me. Around his waist was a black belt with several stripes on it of various colors. I smiled and bowed slightly. I told him that I was only there to watch. He smiled courteously at me and said if I had any questions to please feel free to ask. He then added that he was one of the Assistant Instructors. He might have been 12.

Perhaps you are reading this and know very little about the martial arts. Perhaps you are a parent and your child has been going to the same studio with the same instructor in the same art for a couple of years. All you know of what your child is studying is what you have been told by her instructor. Basically all you know about the martial arts is what you have learned from your child’s training. I’m going to pass on some information to you that you may not know.

In the vast majority of martial arts it takes at least four years of constant, hard, repetitive training to master the basics in order to even be considered for testing for a First Degree Black Belt, or Shodan in Japanese. Four years is being very generous. Some people train for up to six years to test. The four years would be someone who literally lives their art and train every time the dojo door is open. When it’s not, they train at home.

That’s the physical part of the process. However any teacher who is worth their merit knows that the physical aspects are only the surface. A student has to have a certain mental and emotional maturity as well. It’s not enough to be able to execute a nearly flawless side thrust kick one has to know when, why, and why not to throw that kick. What most people seem to have forgotten is the “martial” part of martial arts. Karate, Jujitsu, Kung Fu, and the majority of other styles were created for self defense purposes in times when a conflict could very easily turn into a live or die situation. Warriors trained to make war. Warriors trained to defend themselves from an attacker who had the sole intention of killing them. There is great power and great responsibility in the art that we teach. In feudal Japan a person well skilled in a form of martial art was as powerful (and dangerous) as a person with a firearm in modern times. The training was deadly serious and the skills were deadly serious. Yet, with seemingly no regard for any of that, there are schools out there that award six year olds with the rank of black belt. Would you give a six year old a firearm?

Why are we doing this?

In America the answer is blatantly and painfully obvious:  money. Trust me, there is big money in it. For example I know a school right now that charges $600 for the opportunity to test for a black belt. The under black belt tests are pretty costly as well.

But Little Johnny has trained for two years and has promoted all the way up through the ranks.

And that is the way you, as good paying customers, have been conditioned to think. It seems like every month there is another test. There are only eight belt colors in the system your child is studying yet she went through 32 rank tests to get to black belt. Every time you turned around you were shelling out $100.00, sometimes for a piece of different colored tape on your child’s belt. Here’s some info for you: Martial Arts didn’t even have a belt ranking system until Jigoro Kano, the founder of Judo created one.

An instructor promotes an eight year old to black belt. It’s great for self esteem. He has made a ton of money off this kid. But come on, what does it tell the public? It tell them that this is The Best you have. Or even worse, the training being offered there is kids stuff. A certain level of maturity and competence is expected with a black belt. A level that no eight year old could possibly have. I have a couple of rather large men in my dojo and my first question is: Does this kid really have the training, skill, and mental discipline to fight off an attacker of that size?

We are what the public sees us as. In my system, here in America, the youngest one can be awarded the rank of Shodan is 16. The rule varies slightly in Japan. It pains me sometimes to see a six year old child walk into the dojo and want to take classes because I know the odds of that child training under me for ten years are next to impossible. I will take students as young as 6 and I will do my best. Most of them burn out or move on to other things well before they are ready to test for a black belt. When they leave, it is my hope that I have instilled in them some of the basic lessons that karate has to offer.

Don’t misunderstand me. Martial Arts are great for kids. It does teach them valuable skills which makes it easier for them to be better student, better athletes, and better people in general. But have we so badly lost sight of what a black belt means that we promote children to that high of a level of proficiency when in our hearts we know it isn’t right? And it’s not right. If you believe it is then your training was flawed somewhere down the line. Or perhaps you look at it from the point of view that it’s your business and that’s the way you run it. It being a “business” to you is part of the problem. We need to bring back some of the pride that has been lost in what we do. We need to bring back some of the honor that has been lost in the never ending quest to have a successful business. If you make your black belt ranks mean something, it makes your style mean something. If your style means something, you mean something. So by all means, teach kids. Have kids classes. Have a kids program. But let’s not take the very thing that should have the most meaning and the most honor in our systems and make it a children’s game.

Through The Dark Night

It has been quite a while since I have posted on any regular basis here. For those of you who actually follow and enjoy this blog, I truly apologize.

As most of you know, my wife of 18 years passed away in May from cancer. It was sudden and it was very fast. I think myself and my daughters actually held on to the hope that we would beat it until the very end. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing has never been certain in my mind or in my heart.

After the funeral was over things calmed down a bit. People stopped bringing food by the house. The visits became fewer and further between. I found myself with a lot of time on my hands. With that came time to think, meditate, and reflect. To be totally honest, that actual time period became a part of the gray “black and white” world I had found myself existing in. If you have ever been very sick, suffering from a fever, and woke up on your sofa in the middle of the night with an old B&W movie playing on the tv you can grasp what I mean. You see the movie playing in the dark. Yet there is no color. You see the people’s mouths move. Sometimes you even hear the sound of their words, but you can’t quite understand what they are saying. That was my life in a nutshell at that point.

Then something happened. I made a decision. I decided that it was imperative that I get some kind of normality back in my life. I had to do things I was used to doing. I had to be places I was used to being. Work was one thing that happened quickly. All of my vacation time and sick time was exhausted and financially I HAD to get back there. But there was something else. Like an old friend or a comfortable warm blanket, the dojo called to me.

I have to admit the first time I entered the building was rough. You have to understand that my dojo is decorated and furnished to look as much like a traditional training hall as possible. It is at least done that way to the best of my knowledge and ability. There are fans on the walls, oriental screens set around, and various wall hangings and scrolls. My wife had either bought these, been with me when I bought them, or jokingly pitched a fit when I spent what she believed to be too much money on them. There is a collage on one wall with photographs of students, past and present. Of course she is in some of those photographs because even though Carol never took one single formal lesson from me, she was very much part of the life-blood of the dojo, even to the point that a lot of people, students and parents alike, called her “Mrs Sensei”. Her spirit was as alive in that studio as it was at home.

Instead of letting it get me down I began to take comfort in it. I remembered all of the things she had done and things she had helped me do including the benefit for Family Crisis Services which had been the last event she had played a major role in. The day of the event she stayed at the dojo, working the front door until she became so tired and fatigued she was forced to leave.

Something amazing began to happen. I didn’t even realize it at first but with each passing moment spent there I, out of reflex, began to change back into the Sensei I had lost for a long time. My focus shifted to doing what I was supposed to do: teaching. I stopped worrying about what other instructors were doing. I stopped stressing on what bill to pay first. I remembered a saying someone told me or I read a long time ago: “Treat every single class like it’s your last one and every single student like it’s the last time you will ever teach them”. Considering what I had just went through, and still was going through actually, that struck a very deep chord inside of me even though, as I said, I didn’t even realize exactly what was going on.

A few really special things happened in the process. My students sensed something different and it became contagious. Sensei was actually living up to the Go Do Shin (5 Way Spiritual Path) and remembering the “Spirit of First Beginnings”. It became contagious. They started enjoying classes again…and…they told friends who came in to try classes. Many of them stayed.

Something else that is worth mentioning. Many of you who have read this blog at all know that I have had some serious issues with the Fight Like a Girl Women’s Self-Defense program. I’m not saying that some things about it still don’t bother me however, I looked at the phone one day and there was a strange number on the voicemail. I hit the play button and it was Sensei Kym Rock, the founder of FLAG. Sensei Rock had saw my post on this blog about the guy teaching self- defense techniques that were weak and wouldn’t work and calling his program Fight Like a Girl. She had checked and the guy was NOT part of her organization and she had taken steps to rectify the situation. But more importantly, more dear to my heart, the thing that touched me, was that Sensei Rock had heard of Carol’s passing and offered me very sincere and heart-felt condolences. Because myself and some types of modern technology simply don’t get along and I accidentally erased the message and number, I never got to tell her “thank you”. So, Sensei, should you happen to read this please accept my deep and true appreciation for your time and your kind words.

I have also looked back on some things in my life and come to terms with them. Life is too short and far too precious to waste your energies on silly things or stupid bickering. It is far better to let that kind of negativity go and channel your time, energy, and emotions into helping other people with a sincere spirit of care and compassion. Carrying around hatred and other negative energies serves no purpose at all. We are put here in this life for a very short time. It is precious and should not be squandered on trivial things. You can’t live a happy fulfilled life if your spirit is in constant chaos.

Perhaps this will make sense to you. Perhaps it won’t. Either way, reflect on it for a while. We can all find a positive even in the most negative time of our lives if we simply allow it to happen.

7 Virtues of Bushido

27 Trees

I have wrestled within myself as to whether to write about this or not. I have simply not wanted to use a tragedy to promote myself, my art, or this blog. Today, as I look out at the beautiful white blanket of snow that covers my little corner of the world I can’t help but reflect on what Christmas must be like in Newtown Conn.

I have been hearing and reading that there are all kinds of memorials there today, all kinds of services taking place. No words I can say here can possibly put in perspective the sadness that this nation feels at this senseless tragedy. As I have, over the past couple of weeks, looked at the faces of those precious children whose lives were so abruptly taken from us a great sense of sadness and loss overcomes me and I am at a loss for words.

If you notice I titled this “27 Trees”. There is a victim of this craziness that has seemingly been left out. We must remember that Adam Lanza also murdered his mother, Nancy. She was the first victim on December 15th. There are 27 Christmas trees in Newtown with presents underneath that have no one to open them.

I am accustomed to social violence. I have lived through it. I worked in it for almost 25 years. I have saw human beings do unspeakable things to each other and had to defend myself from them attempting the same level of violence on me. Yet even with the understanding that evil like this exist in the world looking at the faces of those innocent First Graders, it is difficult even for me to wrap my mind around what happened.

People, family and friends, those who know me, have asked me questions about what I would suggest.

Quite frankly I don’t know if I have anything.

Improve security in schools? That is certainly a good idea. I do think we have to use some caution and common sense with it.

Allowing teachers to carry firearms? That’s a tough call. There are a lot of pros and cons to the idea. I think it’s a very slippery slope.
Of course there has been another outpouring of opinions wanting to crack down on gun control. For those people wishing to do that let’s keep a few things in mind.

First of all remember that Adam Lanza was only 20 years old. He did not purchase any of the firearms he used. They belonged to his mom who was a gun enthusiast. I was a Federal Correctional Officer for 21 years and in that capacity considered Federal Law Enforcement. My credentials, even now that I am retired, are a Concealed Carry Permit. That being said, I obey the laws concerning carrying a weapon. Should those laws change I will continue to follow them. I’m a “good guy”. I obey the law. Most people who use firearms illegally are “bad guys”. They disregard the law. That’s part of their make-up being a criminal. The saying “If we outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns” is very true.

This blog is not, nor will it ever be, a forum for Second Amendment rights. It will also never be a sounding board for gun control. This blog is about martial arts, self-defense, and martial philosophy.

Which brings me back to the question of what I suggest.

What I suggest right now is for anyone reading this to quite simply stop. Take a deep breath. Pause for a moment and send your hearts, prayers, and positive energies to those people gathered around those 27 Trees. If you have young children go right now and give them a hug. If they are grown and living away, call or text them and tell them just one more time on this Christmas night how much you love them. Tomorrow take time to look at the people around you. If there is someone you see that you believe may be hurting emotionally let them know you are there and make an honest effort to reach out to them and help if you can. You may never know what kind of difference you have made in someone’s life by doing something so simple. A wise man once told me to teach every single karate class like it was my last one. To treat each student like it was the very last time I would ever teach them. Those words resound in my spirit here as I type this.

If anyone is reading this there in Newtown, know that my heart and soul are very sad for you. I know your loss. My mother was murdered when I was 8 years old. I understand what you are feeling and I pray that you find some sort of peace and comfort in the midst of your sorrow.

Wetmore Fire Relief

DROP OFF STATION AT DOJO

We are setting up a Relief Station at the dojo for victims of the Wetmore fire.

Rocky Mountain Shito-Ryu Karate-Do / USA Tang Soo Do

323 Main St Canon City CO

Please bring:

• Toiletries

• Non-Perishable Food Items

• Blankets

• Bottled Water

• Household Items

THE PEOPLE OF WETMORE COLORADO NEED YOUR HELP NOW!!!!

Hours will be announced ASAP. WE WILL BEGIN COLLECTING ON 10/24/12 (WEDNESDAY)

Good-bye My Friend

Please forgive me. I usually type out my posts on a word sheet and check the spelling. Tonight I will try my best without that so please overlook the typos.

I got the news today that my very best friend in the whole world had passed almost two weeks ago.

Les had been ill for a long while. He had contracted Hep at his job at the prison. To complicate things, he had diabeties. When I last saw him, back in the spring, his arms and face were skinny, yet his stomach was bloated beyound belief. His mom came out here to stay with him and remained all summer. Les retired on a medical from the state prison and went home to MO so his mom could look after him. He had moved to Rifle CO and was too far away for me and my family to check on him,

Les went home. His health steadily declined. We had hoped that being home and being with his family would have helped improve his health. Instead he grew worse. His mom told me that he went to the hospital and it took two deputies and the two ambulance attenents to get him loaded. She said that until they got his pain under control, he would lay there and scream. Once they did he was peaceful. He was put in a nusrsing home for a little while. Terrible thought that a 53 year old man be in a place like that. His mom arranged for hospice and he was brought home. Very soon after Les’ kidneys shut down and in two days time he passed from this world in the middle of the night. He was in no pain when he left this world and surrounded by his family.

I cannot put into words the emotions I feel right now. When I first began my career in the MO Department of Corrections, Les was my teacher, my mentor, and my guide. He became much more than that. When people endure the stress of working in that enviroment on a constant basis, they become more than friends. Les became the brother I have never had. He stuck by me in thick and thin and was more of a family member to me than anyone I am related to by blood.

This blog is all about karate. Les never took one single lesson in his life. Yet he was one of the greatest warriors I have ever known. He was hard and gruff and tough as nails. Unless you knew him personally, you probably would not have liked him. I was one of the few people who was honored to know him personally and to know that he had a heart as big as he was (and trust me he was a BIG man …over sx feet and well over 200 pounds). He treated my daughters like they were his own. Both of them, along with my wife, are deep in mourning for him. He was a force to be reckoned with inside of the walls. He very seldom saw a gray area. There was only right and wrong, black and white. I didn’t always agree with him but then again, he didn’t always agree with me, on philosophies and world views. Yet we blended. In the truest sense we were brothers.

I miss him. I will miss him for a long, long time. He gave me a love for guns, harleys, and helped me discover who I was and become the man I am.

Please forgive me. This may not be the proper venue for this but it’s 2 am and it is heavy on my heart.

Good-bye, my brother. The prison took your life in the most subtle way and it took it way too soon.

This is for you…until we meet again…because we’ve only got 100 years and you got cheated out of half

http://youtu.be/tR-qQcNT_fY

Stop Flattering Me Already

Someone once said, “Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.”  I suppose this is true but it can really get annoying after a while. Actually it can be considered stealing if you look at it in a certain light.

I think everyone who gets involved in something, no matter what it may be, wants to succeed. Many people who have no vision of their own or no creative power to make their vision reality often look to others and copy what has already been done.

What’s wrong with that?

Well, nothing if it is done with some sense of honor. There’s nothing wrong with studying something to learn how it works in order to make what you’re doing better. Let’s look at a couple of martial arts for an example.

Shito-Ryu and a few of the other forms of traditional Japanese karate have many similarities. These styles were based for the most part on the ancient Te styles that originated in Okinawa. Those Okinawan styles, in turn, evolved from the various forms of Kung Fu and Chinese boxing styles that were born in China. Now, take a look at Tang Soo Do, a Korean style. Tang Soo Do and Shito-Ryu are very similar in many aspects. They share many of the Itosu katas which are soft and flowing forms.  The Koreans took those form and implemented high kicks and jumping techniques thus making them uniquely their own. There is nothing wrong with this. It is the natural evolution of a style.

Soooo, what the heck are you talking about?

Fair question. Let’s say you live in a small town like I do. You have several local businesses which serve your community. These are people you know and people who know you. They get up, go to work, and pretty much bust their butts to make a living. Times are tough. They have been for a while now and honestly, I personally think they will continue to be for quite a while. These folks, your friends and neighbors, are out there doing what they can to make an honest living and serving their community by providing a service to it.

One of these businesses, John’s Hardware we’ll call it, has been a staple in the community for a very long time. It is a family ran business that does everything it can to make things better for its customers and the community. Now…we have Big Box Store Inc., we’ll call it BBS for short, who’s executives or owner just thinks Home Town USA would be a hunky dory place to open up.  There’s just one little problem: our friend and neighbor, John’s Hardware. Hometown people are for the most part a very faithful group. BBS knows that it’s a gamble to move into Hometown. But we have to remember something, BBS is a huge company. BBS has the funds to weather out a lot of things that other businesses don’t. BBS has something else too…a bunch of people who get paid to come up with ideas to make money. So what does BBS do?

The Pod People come to Hometown USA

I love horror movies. I’ve probably watched most of them that have ever been made. My daughter gave me a DVD set of “100 of the Greatest Horror Movies” for Christmas last year. Most of them a VERY B-rated and most of them are in black and white with terrible story lines and even more terrible acting. One of my favorites is Invasion Of The Body Snatchers which is a re-make of an older movie. In it, aliens from outer space invade the Earth. They don’t come down shooting everyone and blowing everything up. They quietly and slowly make themselves carbon copies of humans by using plant-like pods to connect to the victim and copy his or her looks.

This is what BBS does. It moves in to Hometown and begins to copy John’s. At every corner it sells merchandise that is sub-standard to John’s. It uses its monies to promote huge deals and sales. Yet at the same time, BBS copies John’s every chance they can get. They start claiming that they are your “hometown BBS store.” Subtle things of that nature.  They promote themselves to be something that they are not, never have been, and never will be. People are always infatuated with something new. It’s simply human nature. Before long BBS is booming and our friend John is scrapping to keep his doors open. More often times than  not the Johns of the world cannot afford to keep up with the big companies and sadly, do end up shutting down. It’s about that time that the true nature of BBS surfaces. Gone are the great deals. What’s sadder is gone is the vain attempt that BBS made to care for its customers in the first place. Just like the Borg on Star Trek: Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.

OK, Sensei, but what does this have to do with karate?

What I have just described to you, my friends, is one of the tactics that a McDojo will use to move into an area and sufficiently shut down the competition. The big box martial arts company, or the shrewd “business-man Sensei” will open up quietly at first. He will watch what is going on around him. He will analyze the area and research to see just what kind of marketing strategies will be most effective. He will begin to lay the groundwork by establishing himself in the community. He will begin copying the successful studios in the area. At times he will attempt to get closer to the school owners by feigning a kindredship with them.  He will take things someone id doing, copy them, then twist them in a certain way. If the economy starts to turn or another school appears to be a threat, he will fall back on his establishment in the community and pull resources and connections from that.  In the end, all it is to him is a waiting game.

Keep your flattery.

I’ve actually saw this very scenario happen and it’s not pretty for anyone who falls victim to it. Sadly during the process most people will see the imitations happening. They will simply smile and even wish Sensei Businessman the best of luck. They are flattered that he has taken an idea of theirs and made it his own. The public will see it as well and never for one second realize what is going on. “Wow, Master Businessman is doing this awesome (fill in the blank with any program, offer, seminar, ect)! That is SO cool!” That’s when the guy who’s been around forever says, “But wait a second, we’ve been doing that for years.” Of course it’s almost always too late. The foundation, hype, and groundwork have already been done. Just like John, the little guy is struggling to survive.

What can you do to protect yourself?

Amazingly enough, you already know the answer to this. No matter what style you practice, no matter what title you carry, there are certain basic things you have learned in your martial arts training that apply and will serve you well in protecting yourself from a “hostile takeover”.

• Be aware of your surroundings.  Keep your eye on your “competition”. If you notice that now he has a kids’ program that is a lot like yours, red flags should start flying.

• Be honorable. Maintain your dignity. Don’t stoop to his level in order to “compete”.

• Strong basics. We’ve heard it since we were white belts. To have strong karate, you must have strong basics. Have strong basics and roots in your community. Establish those from the first day that you open your doors. Remember: if it was not for the community, you would not have students in the first place. You need to get out there and set an example of what true martial arts are about.

• Be honest. Honesty will carry you a long way. If you join that honesty with honor and dignity you will be able to withstand almost anything. Do not be afraid to open your mouth if you see something that is just blatantly wrong. A lot of us may see something and shrug it off making an excuse for someone. DO NOT do that! I have a personal experience with this that I regret to this day.

There are a ton of other things you have been taught and that you live by and teach in your school that can help you. Look back and remember those things. The Japanese people have taken the writings from The Art of War and A Book Of Five Rings and used those martial philosophies in business and their every- day lives with a great amount of success. Take the lessons you have learned in the dojo and apply them to the way you actually run your dojo.

As a traditional instructor you don’t need the flattery of another. Don’t allow your ego being stroked to blind you to what is going on around you.

 

Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea

I recently had the opportunity to view a video that a friend of mine sent me of competition at an “open” martial arts tournament. For those of you who don’t know; an Open tournament is a competition that is open to all styles and types of martial arts. On the opposite side, a Traditional tournament only allows competitors from, say, Japanese or Okinawan styles.

What I saw on that film was disheartening to say the least. The kata (empty hand forms) competition looked like a combination of gymnastics and choreographed dance moves. They even had a “musical kata” division where the kata was set to music. The weapons division wasn’t much better. Actually it was worse. I saw a guy doing a sword kata. I had never even heard of it before. At one point he actually threw his sword into the air, where it spun about 20 times, then caught it in his hand. A young lady in the kata division stood in place on one foot and threw very high roundhouse kicks while turning in a 360 degree circle. I had to admit some of the things I saw were beautiful. Some were impressive. Not many at all were practical or useful.

On the other side of the coin we have MMA. Mixed Martial Arts. When someone says “karate” these days MMA is what most people think of. Two guys, or girls (yes, Virginia, there really are women MMA competitors…and they are BAD TO THE BONE), square off in a cage with a referee and beat the living snot out of each other. MMA is big money with big events and pay-per-view ratings through the roof. Some of it has every bit of the pyro, music, and drama of professional wrestling. If you’re not careful you may think you purchased tickets to a live show of Monday Night Raw.

Somewhere in the middle is traditional karate. Although traditionalists usually practice Japanese or Okinawan styles, I know quite a few Chinese and Korean practitioners who remain true to what their art is about. Likewise I know a couple of teachers of traditional Japanese or Okinawan styles that are simply in it for the all-powerful buck. I’ve written about what I lovingly call McDojos before here and I probably will again…cuz I hate ‘em.

So here I sit in the middle. I’m somewhere between the two side of the coin. Most of us Sensei who are worth our salt are. We like it here but we hate what we are seeing happen to karate and the martial arts.

You’re probably asking yourself “So, what exactly are you talking about when you say you are a traditionalist or teach traditional martial arts?”

Good question, Grasshopper. I will try to answer it for you.

A traditionalist practices his or her art because that is what it is…an art. It becomes far more than simply a way of life to them. It becomes part of them. The philosophy behind the style becomes ingrained into their very being. They benefit from the peace and peace of mind that comes from the code they live by.

A traditionalist does not train to make money. They do not teach merely to make money. I read in a martial arts business (God, just saying that makes me grind my teeth) article one time that if you went to a school and the owner worked another job and his studio was not his main source of income, that it was a terrible place because he wasn’t good enough at what he did to make a living out of it.

Excuse me???

I believe it’s just the opposite. A teacher who runs a school and has a job runs the school because he LOVES doing it. I have taught since 1996. I cannot tell you how many times I have taken money out of my own pocket to help pay the dojo rent, pay a power bill, or purchase equipment. I also cannot tell you how many times one of my students has been going through a tough time and I have let them slide on their tuition for a month or two. I know, I know…BAD business choices, right? Guess what?

I’m not in it for business!!!

A traditionalist doesn’t fight for money either. A true martial artist, karate-ka in Japanese, knows what he or she is capable of physically doing. The need to use that skill to make money is not thought of. We train, not only our bodies, but our minds and souls as well. Part of the Code of the Karate-ka says:

1. I will train faithfully to strengthen my mind and body.

2. I am willing to endure rigorous training to achieve my goal.

3. As my strength increases I shall seek to cultivate a gentle heart.

4. I will not use my skill outside the dojo except in the most extreme circumstances.

5. At all times I will try to avoid inflicting injury upon another person.

6. I will not brag about my skill nor will use it maliciously.

7. I will train with the spirit of humility.

With the possible exception of #2 will someone PLEASE tell me where that says anything about hoping into a cage and beating the holy crap out of someone???

All of that being said, the karateka does have strength and power. The karateka does have skills, some of them even considered to be deadly. I have worked in prisons for the majority of my life. I have been in situations that, as #4 says, were extreme circumstances. While enduring an attack I see nowhere that standing in place and doing multiple roundhouse kicks while turning in a circle would have done anything for me but ensure the thugs attacking me got a really good laugh just before they beat me within an inch of my life.

Open tournament martial arts are great for show.

Try to use them in a real life situation and you will not walk away…unless your attacker is so busy laughing at you he feels pity for you and refuses to take advantage of someone so stupid.

The traditional teacher teaches. He does it because that is what he does. Simply: that is what he or she really is in their heart. Many of us do it because we wish to preserve our style. We want to pass it down to the next generation and keep it as pure as possible. We sit quietly teaching our classes, our style’s philosophies. We want to pass on to our students the real meaning of karate. We are not MMA fighters. Nothing wrong with them. They have their place like everything in the universe. Likewise we are not dancers or gymnasts. They too have their place.

The traditional student trains. She studies. She knows after a while that it isn’t all about kicking and punching. She is forging a strong spirit through her training. She finds ways to deal with life’s problems through the philosophies she learns in the dojo. She finds peace knowing she can handle difficulty.

The middle isn’t such a bad place to be.