A question for the guys: Do you know what "The Dream" is?

[Ronin74]

This question is geared towards the guys, but not at all exclusive. So ladies please feel free to chime in.

In any case, guys do you know what "The Dream" is? I'll elaborate on it a bit later, but for now, it seems like it might a common "ideal" amongst guys in the martial arts. I've actually met several fellow martial arts practitioners who've used that term, and I'm just curious to see how widespread (or not) it may be.

Let me know if you've heard of it, and I'll explain it in detail in a follow-up post.

 

[jks9199]

You're being pretty vague; there could be a lot of dreams that fit there.

One thing that's nearly universal among LEOs is some variant of the thousand-pound trigger, where you're drawn down on a bad guy, who's shooting at you, and you can't pull the trigger or your gun won't fire or fires in slow motion... There are number of variants -- but they're all a common theme.

 

[astrobiologist]

I have no idea which dream you're speaking of. What martial art style(s) are you referring to?

 

[mook jong man]

I had a dream about Pamela Anderson once does that count .

 

[elder999]

Could it be the Dream that you're Bruce Lee? :lfao:

 

[astrobiologist]

I Dream of Genie!

...no, but seriously though, what dream be ye aspeakin' to?

 

[Nolerama]

I had The Dream once... and realized that women weren't icky and had cooties... They were hot.

All joking aside, I used to have an ideal of performance as a martial artist. But sparring regularly really puts you in your place, and instead of thinking of yourself as bigger than you are (as in The Dream) you become humbled, and work on what needs to be worked. The Reality of improving your own skill renders The Dream moot.

(I like relating MAs to cars for some reason.)

"The Dream"= Lottery winner buys Ferrari
The Reality= Regular guy buys a junker and works on restoring a classic.

My $.02

 

[Ronin74]

Sorry for the delayed replies guys. The weather knocked out the power out here. So what was supposed to be a few hours of wait turned into sleeping through the power outage.

So clearly, "The Dream" does mean something different to everyone. Here's the reason I asked.

Maybe more than about 5-7 years ago, one of my friends (his background was in TKD) and I were out getting coffee, and talking about the "ideal" girl. So I asked him, "wouldn't it be cool to meet a girl who loved martial arts along the same line as you do?" He replied to me, "Dude, that's The Dream!" So we laughed about it, and continued on with our random conversation.

A few years later, when I was working at a college, I began mentoring a student who had done Shotokan. He was asking me advice about some student he had a crush on, and I mentioned, "Too bad she's not into martial arts. Then you'd have a topic you both really enjoyed." He responed with, "Oh, you mean The Dream!?" So I was actually surprised to have heard that from someone else. I relayed this conversation to my TKD buddy, and he said that the "girl-who-loves-martial-arts" was sort of a common thing amongst guys. But when I asked him about referring to it as "The Dream", we both set out to ask other male friends and acquaintances who were involved in martial arts.

Surprisingly, it was a common thread, but even more so, a good number of them referred to it as "The Dream".

So I had been wondering how widespread that may be amongst other martial artists. LOL.

 

[astrobiologist]

Since my lovely lady and I train together I guess I don't really have any need for that dream. We just got back from class and now we're starting dinner. I guess if we weren't into martial arts and all the other sports we do together, it would make it hard to get in the quality time we have now. We mountain bike, climb, hike, and party together as well.

My father and his wife, as the owners and primary instructors in our school, are also living that dream. They too do just about everything together.

Don't get me wrong. My girlfriend and I need some time apart once in a while. But it is nice to share our lives together.

 

[MA-Caver]

I have no idea which dream you're speaking of. What martial art style(s) are you referring to?

I'd appreciate a bit more specifics too. "The Dream" even in relation to Martial Arts can cover still quite a bit of ground.
:asian:

 

[Rich Parsons]

This question is geared towards the guys, but not at all exclusive. So ladies please feel free to chime in.

In any case, guys do you know what "The Dream" is? I'll elaborate on it a bit later, but for now, it seems like it might a common "ideal" amongst guys in the martial arts. I've actually met several fellow martial arts practitioners who've used that term, and I'm just curious to see how widespread (or not) it may be.

Let me know if you've heard of it, and I'll explain it in detail in a follow-up post.

My First Thought was Dr King.

I have a Dream.

Sorry for the delayed replies guys. The weather knocked out the power out here. So what was supposed to be a few hours of wait turned into sleeping through the power outage.

So clearly, "The Dream" does mean something different to everyone. Here's the reason I asked.

Maybe more than about 5-7 years ago, one of my friends (his background was in TKD) and I were out getting coffee, and talking about the "ideal" girl. So I asked him, "wouldn't it be cool to meet a girl who loved martial arts along the same line as you do?" He replied to me, "Dude, that's The Dream!" So we laughed about it, and continued on with our random conversation.

A few years later, when I was working at a college, I began mentoring a student who had done Shotokan. He was asking me advice about some student he had a crush on, and I mentioned, "Too bad she's not into martial arts. Then you'd have a topic you both really enjoyed." He responed with, "Oh, you mean The Dream!?" So I was actually surprised to have heard that from someone else. I relayed this conversation to my TKD buddy, and he said that the "girl-who-loves-martial-arts" was sort of a common thing amongst guys. But when I asked him about referring to it as "The Dream", we both set out to ask other male friends and acquaintances who were involved in martial arts.

Surprisingly, it was a common thread, but even more so, a good number of them referred to it as "The Dream".

So I had been wondering how widespread that may be amongst other martial artists. LOL.

A friend of mine say LTD all the time. LTD stands for Living The Dream. Of course he is being sarcastic. One of the security guards now says it back to him as well.


My Dream Woman would understand my passion for training and teaching the martial arts. If she was interested it would be a bonus, but it is not required.

 

[Andy Moynihan]

I never remember my dreams.

 

[girlbug2]

Can I suppose that the female version of The Dream is a man who shares her passion for martial arts?

Then I'm living it! It's partly what drew us together to begin with.

Seriously, it's not hard to find females who love martial arts. Doesn't anybody train with ladies in their dojos??? Start there!

 

[Ronin74]

Seriously, it's not hard to find females who love martial arts. Doesn't anybody train with ladies in their dojos??? Start there!

There Was a Time (my favorite James Brown track) where the places I trained had women. When I first did Karate, there were a few girls, but sometimes there was a bit of a maturity (or immaturity) problem that killed any interests. As for the others, I guess they came to find out that our dojo wasn't for them.

When I started doing FMA, the girls were rare, but when they came around, a lot of the other guys were always trying to make a play for them (sadly, that includes the instructors, who more or less threw their professionalism out the window when the girls would show up.) They also came around when I was teaching, but I couldn't bring myself to cross that line from being their instructor, to trying to ask them out.

And since I pretty much train on my own now (hence the name), I'm pretty much never around them.

 

[tellner]

A shared interest in martial arts has been one of the cornerstones of our relationship since before we were married.

 

[JadecloudAlchemist]

I got my dream girl.

Japanese punk rock anime loving violent tattoo buddhist named Chi(like Qigong)who thinks I am the best thing since sliced bread.

 

[astrobiologist]

I got my dream girl.

Japanese punk rock anime loving violent tattoo buddhist named Chi(like Qigong)who thinks I am the best thing since sliced bread.

Nice

 

[zDom]

Oh, THAT dream.

I'm living it, presently

{picture links edited out at posters request}

I feel pretty fortunate.

 

[Rich Parsons]

Can I suppose that the female version of The Dream is a man who shares her passion for martial arts?

Then I'm living it! It's partly what drew us together to begin with.

Seriously, it's not hard to find females who love martial arts. Doesn't anybody train with ladies in their dojos??? Start there!

The building I train is boarded up from the front and looks horrible. The neighborhood has drug houses burned down and active and also those without siding as it was stolen.

Many guys refuse to stop by and train, let alone women.


And those that do, almost always show up knowing someone in the club already. Or with someone to train with as a partner.

 

[Rich Parsons]

I feel pretty fortunate.

Keep the feeling. It will be good for you.

I would say I was jealous or envious of those with partners who train but those are negative qualities. I prefer, to say I am happy for you all.