Well yeah, I wouldn't really have cared about just calling him "Sir" if all the other rubbish I'm talking about wasn't in there as well.
Timmy, you're absolutely right... but for the guy to say that karate is in essence a fascist system seems a bit off. I'd love to see the evidence that he mentions though.
Well, I'll leave it to the karateka to decide whether he's right or not, all I'm saying is I can see his point.
As i said in an earlier post alot of people might not agree with what he says but how many can claim to have walked a similar path. He has over the years trained with the teachers many of us have only read about in books. He has over the years and still does do the business he is what i would call a real martial artist. He might not be politiclly correct but you cannot fault his martial arts. I dont agree with all the stuff he says but you do have to listen to what he says because he talks from personal experience. Few of us have had the experiences he has had.
I was talking to Tim about this on messenger last night. I've had similar experiences. And to save time I've chopped his post up and left some bits which sound very familiar. My earlier training was like being in a boot camp. Which seemed fine at first when you know no better, you question nothing and accept this is how they got good so you must do it also! Then you realise there only good at what they do, not a good all round martial artist. The harsh environemt isn't in your best interest, and in fact its potentially damaging to you emotionally whilst all you're getting for is at best average training! Times are changing and theres no excuse for the training environment to be like this anymore, it doesn't get the most out of students! Modern training environments and not just MMA, can be pleasant, use good effective training techniques and produce good happy fighters....
I guess we can never know. The only way to do it is to find out how many classes of each MA there are worldwide, and what proportion of these instructors are considered "bad" - it's an impossible task really.
I think thats a slightly different issue. I'm not talking about bad instructors, but the culture with runs through styles, clubs, oranisations etc. I think theres a big difference between a bad instructor and an instructor that teaches in the way his martials arts club has trained him to.
The problem is that when people say "bad instructor" they usually mean someone who's bad at teaching. In this case we're talking about authoritarian bullies who brainwash people into believing in a fascist ideology (which invariably involves students rolling out the red carpet for them) and take their money for it. At my uncle's old aikido dojo, for example, the kyu grades had to fold the black belts' gis. The things they teach are morally wrong IMO and that makes them worse than mere bad instructors.
I agree that this is entirely morally wrong, but I'm still inclined to think it's a few bad apples rather than a systematic thing (admittedly this is only through my experience of karate dojos as I've never trained in anything else, but the article did specify karate). I'm sure there are a few gung-ho teachers of modern MA styles who conform to the "jock" stereotype and bully their students in a different way. I've seen a lot of university Rugby teams or Hockey teams 'indoctrinating' new members into their drinking culture and quickly forcing out the tea-totallers and moderate drinkers - this is the same kind of brainwashing - it forces and condones extreme/unhealthy behaviour. If anything, martial arts clubs are fairly easy-going compared to some other clubs.
We'll have to agree to disagree Maybe you've been lucky to avoid the "institutions" that me and Tim mention. Its not a Karate club I'm talking about but I don't think the problems unique to any one style. And within these clubs theres still the good and bad instructors. Its not the instructors as such I'm talking about. But the rituals, methods of training and culture which runs through the organisations from the top down. I'm not going through it because its all been said before in this thread.
It's not that this kind if thing is restricted to karate, it's just that Steve obviously can't speak for every martial art out there.
That guy needs to lighten up a bit, stop taking things so serious!. Go for a run, clear your head. Go on holiday, have a few drinks with your mates (if hes got any ) . Go to Alton towers or Disney land Paris. Enjoy the finer things in life christ doesnt he have more important things to worrie about. Loser.
So how come it took this guy so long to realise that karate wasnt for him? it took me a year. But i dont go round with a bitter pill in my mouth.
I dont believe there is a problem with the old rituals i have been in various clubs Japanese and Chinese which are run in the old manner and i have never come across the problems you are talking about. Again its very much down to the teachers attitude at each particular club. As for Mr Morris taking a Chill pill the differance is that his martial arts is his way of life. Most people doing martial arts train a couple of times a week and feel thats all they need to do.
I trained with the man Gary Spiers (sadly deceased now)who he mentioned and three other teachers who are good friends of mine have trained with him. They all consider him about the best martial artist they have met. Though saying that i do not think any train with him anymore due to the fact that it was a quite brutal training regime.
Because he only realised what he thought was crap about it towards the end of his karate training. And he goes around with a bitter pill in his mouth because it spreads fascism and discredits MAs in general.
