Forgive me, but ... is a statement that I feel tries to put "words in my mouth" (by insinuation) that I didn't say. I never mentioned IHS when discussing how some MA organizations seem to be run as a dictatorship (although I don't deny that authoritarian rule is embraced by WKSA, just not in a harsh or severe manner). I do like the idea of a foundational set of rules to govern your IDEAL association, but I still feel that there should be a way for it to be amended (not unlike the Constitution of the USA). Change is inevitable and I feel that ignoring this fact could be detrimental to the future of any MA organization, imaginary or otherwise. But starting with a strict set of rules (as in clearly laid out, not restrictive or austere) that also incorporates a solid structure for changing these rules, would help ensure that only stable changes be undertaken, rather than allowing revisions to be instituted by a simple majority vote which might send your core members running for the hills if an unfavorable outcome were to win.
You guy's are going to make me PUKE!(LOL) Your trying to take away all the reasons I began MA training. "Democracy", "Votes", "Majority rules" PLEASE! I live that everyday of my life. Give me something stuctured with someone kicking may ass if I stray from the line. Man when I go to class I know exactly what is expected of me, I know what to say and what my resonsibilities are. I don't have to look over my back to see if someone is going to stick a knife in it.... That's my escape I can release the everday stress that trying to keep ahead of the game brings me. PLEASE KEEP THE POLITICS OUT OF MA TRAINING
Ever thought of moving? You could always move to another country if you want your **** kicked more... They tell me that places like North Korea or Cuba are nice at this time of the year... or anytime of the year come to that! :evil:
Branches I think that it is essential for international organisations to not only allow, but to insist that member schools/clubs around the world have a national organisation overseeing things. The same as in any sport organisation, or otherwise, that you care to mention. It's nothing to do with politics either, as Obewan seems to think. It's to do with having some kind of structure in place. In any case, why shouldn't fee-paying members have some kind of voice anyway? What's so wrong in that? The head honcho of any organisation could always have the power of veto, in order to protect his/her own best interests and that of the organisation. What that would mean, however, is that when it came to issues such as franchising, for example, the members would be able to openly show their feelings regarding the idea, instead of griping and whinging about it on forums such as this.
LOL, I could I suppose. Seriously, although I was joking around, there is some truth to the fact that MA was born out of military rules. Control came from the top down and respect came from the bottom up. Why can't we just accept it, that is what we signed up for, and follow the rule set up by the leader of the organization. I wouldn't like to live in a society based on those totalitarian ideals, However a break from reality is sometimes a good thing. Thoughts?
Just an idea Be careful!! that kind of break from reality is never a good thing, not even for a minute. You can follow rules and strict order within a organization without falling into servility. Leaving aside politics, any organization should be settled based on mutual respect, and as you well stated, rules set up by its leader. It is ok for WKSA to have rules, and all of us who has joined must follow such rules, but to follow a rule does not mean to allow others (masters or the so-called "masters") to disrespect you in any form. It is my opinion ... Cheers!
Just so you know, Obewan, the 'politics' of how a MA organization is set up, shouldn't have any direct affect on how discipline is carried out within class. But as long as the ground rules I spoke of include details about how classes should be structured (and maybe even if they don't), you could very well 'zone-out' to your heart's content while in class and still voice your opinion WRT how the association is run when the time comes to vote on such matters. And if you don't want to participate in all the politics, abstention is always an option, right?
That may be however surely it makes more sense to ignore his ignorance, educate him on the many things Britain has given the world and not make yourself out to look just as ignorant as he? I think the word racist is used far too often these days out of context. Extolling the virtues and being overly patriotic do not in any way make you a racist, even if you are doing so to the detriment of other nations. Respect is indeed a two way street, but if one of those pedestrians you bump into you don't like offends you that doesn't mean you should look out for everyone who looks like him at every turn to put them down. I don't particularly love Britain and it is a place that has lost a lot of what made it great. I do however love Liverpool my city of birth and while I realise it has both good and bad aspects I would defend it to the hilt. With all that being said, if I could move to Sevilla or Minnesota tommorow and still do my KSW then I would. By being "speechless" you played right into his hands, if you had kicked off you would have too. If however you had reeled off the list of great inventors, engineers, writers, sportsmen and so on, then he would be the one left speechless and would have thought twice about asking that question again.
On the subject of discipline for me it is a two way street and that is how it has to be. Obviously there is a "chain of command" but in KSW in my experience so far, the higher it gets the more respectful and more intent on teaching, receiving and giving respect it becomes. Sa Bum Nim is the most respectful person within our gym (is there a name for it other than that?) and because of this respect is shown by everyone who trains regardless.
Nah! Minnesota! You must like snow and ultra-cold weather my friend... Last time I was there it was about minus 50 or something ridiculous. When the sun came out and it was only minus 10 we went out into the garden and had a barbecue. In any case, the Minnesota Kali Group offers some of the finest training available - albeit not under the banner of Kuk Sool. As for your other point, I got the impression that he was the one doing the talking. It wouldn't have mattered what I said, it would have been like ****ing into the wind. If his education was that defunct, after however many years he'd been on this earth at that time, there was little likelihood of me filling in the gaps in just a few minutes. I bet if I'd mentioned names like: James Watt, John MacAdam, Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, etc., etc., he wouldn't have known who I was on about. I could have mentioned Frank Whittle, or Rolls Royce perhaps, but even then I bet he'd have thought I was talking about an American female soul singer. And as you only get so many breaths in a lifetime, and I wasn't about to waste any of them on him!
Fair enough but I don't see why you should hold a grudge if he was just an idiot. Incidently I have no problem with hot or cold (extremes both of them) but the reason I would love to live in Minnesota is I love the look of the place, support the baseball team and could think of nothing better after a hard days work of kicking back in the ball park and watching the Twins. Interesting thing next year is, they are going to be playing open air (as opposed to the indoor metrodome) and I'll be watching closely to see how this affects us. We have one of the biggest home advantages in any sport playing in the dome at the moment but the flipside of that coin is we get so used to playing there that we struggle on the road.
