Are Martial arts going out of Style?

[Jas0n]

Or just starting to get big?
I was thinking about this? Everyone knows Karate...or so it seems everyeon is saying they took a yr of Karate...Is it getting bigger or smaller? In a very selfish way I hope it is getting smaller.

 

[Master of Blades]

You might think me rude but to be honest I will be glad if its going out of fashion. I get bored of those doing it to be hip or cool, I just cant take them....So in my own selfish way as it was so well put I hope it is. However I can see how those who run business's out of MA might feel the opposite. :asian:

 

[Jas0n]

Originally posted by Master of Blades
You might think me rude but to be honest I will be glad if its going out of fashion. I get bored of those doing it to be hip or cool, I just cant take them....So in my own selfish way as it was so well put I hope it is. However I can see how those who run business's out of MA might feel the opposite. :asian:

i dont think your rude I feel the same way. And I just started

 

[Master of Blades]

Originally posted by Jas0n
i dont think your rude I feel the same way. And I just started

Well least were on the same track :asian:

 

[SRyuFighter]

I agree with both of you. You wouldn't believe the number of people who come to my dojo and stay for a month or so and then leave because something else is cool all of a sudden. I hope it becomes un cool so we only have serious people in our training halls.

 

[tshadowchaser]

I think many people get into the martial arts sceen because of friends and/or relatives. After a while they disapear into the "yep I studied that" catagory. A few stay and get a better introduction into what the arts are about, and a verry small number last long enough to learn something.
The trend of schools teching (or pretendong to) what is the current vouge in the arts( sticks, weapons, acrobatics,etc) worrys me more.
That and those who study areobickickboxing and think they have learned a martial art.
Please forgive any spelling mistakes I've been up for 18 hours and am just to tired to use my spell check
tshadowchaser :asian:

 

[tarabos]

i'd say whatever is on movies and tv is probably the most popular thing to do. these days i also see that more men want to just hit the weights at the gym and get as big as they can, and most women want to go to the local YMCA as well and do the latest "fad" class ie: spinning, those bouncy balls, aerobics.

taking "karate" was super popular in the 80's and early ninties i would say because there were a lot of different tv shows and movies focused on martal arts. the seagals and the vandammes reigned supreme and back in the eighties everyone wanted to be a ninja. kids i think are less motivated by tv and movies to take up the martial arts.

i'd say that the martial arts "fad" will be back in full swing before you know it. if it's getting smaller now, then i say enjoy it...less numb nuts walking into you school acting like morons.

 

[cali_tkdbruin]

Originally posted by Jas0n
Or just starting to get big?
I was thinking about this? Everyone knows Karate...or so it seems everyeon is saying they took a yr of Karate...Is it getting bigger or smaller? In a very selfish way I hope it is getting smaller.

IMHO, from what I've seen, the MAs are fairly static right now. Neither growing or becoming less popular. I've seen new students join up, train for a while get tired or decide they don't like it and quit, only to be replaced by the next wave of new students. Seems to be a recurring cycle.

So, I think the MAs' popularity is remaining level which is unlike what it was in the 70's. During the Bruce Lee induced MA craze of that decade it seemed like just about everybody and their brother wanted to be a martial artist... :mst:

 

[yilisifu]

I think REAL karate is still quite rare.

But there are a BUNCH of McDojos out there......

 

[James Kovacich]

Originally posted by yilisifu
I think REAL karate is still quite rare.

But there are a BUNCH of McDojos out there......

I would say the same thing but replace "REAL KARATE" with "REAL MARTIAL ARTS."

 

[Elfan]

I think martial arts schools are getting more common and more culturaly main stream. I live in a town of about 25-30 thousand and have 5 schools of differnt sizes. Two schools with 150+ students are within a 20 minute drive. However, as others have said, many "karate schools" are nothing more than day care centers where everyone dresses in white pyjamas. Someone less lazy and more connected to the buisness side of things then me could probably come up with some stats based on NAPMA membership and such.

 

[Zepp]

I've got to agree that strip mall dojos seem to be a growing fad in bigger cities. How well they're all doing in business, I couldn't tell you.

I think as far as people being interested in studying martial arts goes, I don't think things are changing too much one way or the other right now. The UFC has made certain arts/styles more popular, but I think the overall proportion of people casually taking classes in various arts is the same.

 

[Ronin]

Originally posted by Master of Blades
You might think me rude but to be honest I will be glad if its going out of fashion. I get bored of those doing it to be hip or cool, I just cant take them....So in my own selfish way as it was so well put I hope it is. However I can see how those who run business's out of MA might feel the opposite. :asian:

I agree sometimes martial arts gains students after each new martial arts film appears. Then they fade away and get their butts kick and wonder what went wrong forcing them to say "Martial Arts does'nt work!" Over time however I think a lot of the dedicated students will stay. An example based on my experience was that I am from a school that had a great but demanding instructor. After awhile his demands were thought by others to be too strict causing many to leave. I remember have 60 people per class for years on end 6 days a week. Now after the school closed many thought it was a hassle and quit instead of training at my instructors house for the time being. Now we have less that 10 left and thats out of 500. It goes to show you when the going gets tough the wimps head out the door. I am glad to be rid of students like that. They usually head to a sub-par martial arts school to get a quick black belt in 6 months. Oh well....great martial arts skills arent for everyone.

 

[Disco]

Ronin. please don't think I'm trying to be rude or a smart@ss. I'm just really curious as to how a school with 500 students at one time falls to less than 10. Was it due to economics or did the student pool just dry up? I've seen this happen before, but there was nobody that I could ask why.

It's a shame that it happened. I know that some people get turned off when you tell them that your training in a garage. They don't realize that it dosen't matter where you train as long as you desire to learn and the instructor is good.

 

[Master of Blades]

Originally posted by Ronin
I agree sometimes martial arts gains students after each new martial arts film appears. Then they fade away and get their butts kick and wonder what went wrong forcing them to say "Martial Arts does'nt work!" Over time however I think a lot of the dedicated students will stay. An example based on my experience was that I am from a school that had a great but demanding instructor. After awhile his demands were thought by others to be too strict causing many to leave. I remember have 60 people per class for years on end 6 days a week. Now after the school closed many thought it was a hassle and quit instead of training at my instructors house for the time being. Now we have less that 10 left and thats out of 500. It goes to show you when the going gets tough the wimps head out the door. I am glad to be rid of students like that. They usually head to a sub-par martial arts school to get a quick black belt in 6 months. Oh well....great martial arts skills arent for everyone.

I believe thats down to training being too hard rather then it going out of fashion. My teacher (Yes I know I have told this story many times) had Korean Army instructors teaching him Hapkido. Now these guys were STRICT! Beginning of each class 100 of every kick on both legs. This was followed by 100 press ups and a load of situps and running before 100 more of each kick. Then the lessons started. This was everyday 6 days a week 360 days a year, so it was tough. Everyweek someone was sent to Hospital, the class started out with 300 people. By the end of the first year is was down to only 100. At his blackbelt grading he was made to do Breaking, but the person behind the wooden board moved back with the punch so my teacher shattered his hand but still had to grade. He then was an instructor for a further 3 years before leaving to do Kali. Out of a class beginning of 300 only my Teacher and his best friend reached Black Belt. I'd say about 10% was because Martial Arts were no longer popular, the rest was because the training was too harsh. Theres a differance :asian:

 

[Kroy]

You can blame it on the movies, if a great MA movie comes out and it's advertised enough people will flock to the schools and then it dies out when they realize that they have to sweat and that it can be painful. It's a vicious cycle that will keep repeating itself.

 

[Andi]

I recently read in...I think it was "Martial Art" magazine, that the martial arts as a whole was the seventh fastest growing sport in the United States last year.

That sounded pretty good I thought, until I read the definition of a practitioner. "Somebody who participates more than once in a year". I don't have the article to hand unfortunately, but there were more useless statistics of that nature that can be used to prove everything and nothing.

So there you are.

 

[chufeng]

I would say only 5% of MA schools teach any REAL MA.

Certainly SOME people get what they need from a McDojo (whether it's day-care, or a false sense of security, or a feeling of belonging to a group) and I don't have a problem with that, EXCEPT when said McDojo advertises their wares as the end all and be all of deadly technique.

I REALLY hope that the martial art fad is burning out...because I can expect a larger percentage of serious students, if that is the case.

:asian:
chufeng

 

[yilisifu]

yes, I hope the "fad" dies out (or at least withers), but I also hope that the desire to learn REAL martial arts gorws....

 

[Matt Stone]

With the advent of the new WB show Black Sash, as well as the minimal exposure it gained from the Jet Li movie The One, I think Bagua is going to end up being the new BJJ... maybe.

It will take a little more exposure, but I suspect that since it is still relatively unknown, with a tad more publicity I think there will be all sorts of folks coming out of the woodwork advertising their particular version of Bagua.

But God I hope not.

Gambarimasu.
:asian: :tank: :asian: