The Social Position as "Martial Artist"

Buka

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DocWard

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your fact sheet on Wallace seems to be short of facts, particularly the atrocities he was reasonable for,

"My" fact sheet was the Encyclopedia Brittanica, once recognized as the world's finest source, also an English source. I refuse to write a Master's Thesis for your personal edification though.

pointing out that good kind (sic) Edward was kingdom building doesn't detract from the actions of brave heart, I could quite easily refere you to the American Mexico war, as a comparable exercise in taking land of a rival country by armed intervention. are we citing president Polk as a war criminal or even considering given back Texas to its rightful owners, no thought not, what about the land grab of the from the native American, was that better than king Edward's invading Scotland, Wales and France

So, first we have the obvious logical fallacies to point out. "Two Wrongs Make a Right," occurs when a person attempts to justify actions via pointing out the actions of another as a comparison." Nice try. Actually, no, not a very nice try at all. Deflecting from the point at hand by changing the subject is also generally referred to as a "Red Herring."

Secondly, I certainly didn't comment on the actions of Wallace, merely that you left out the most important reason for Edward's pursuit, capture, trial and execution. That is, Wallace was a traitor to the crown. While we're on the subject of "Good King Edward," though, are we talking about the same "Good King" who bankrupted himself pursuing wars in Wales, Scotland and France? The same king that systematically robbed the Jews in England of their wealth, before expelling them entirely? That King Edward? Because that is what the encyclopedia indicates.

the Scottish invaded England on multiple occasions just to even things up and bizarrely Panama, which bankrupted them, requiring that they had to beg England to take them over or they would all starve, which is how Britain come into 3xistanc3 as a political entity

Wholly irrelevant to the topic at hand. But, as I recall, Scotland did invade England on a few occasions, first well before the time of Edward I, by well over one hundred years. Subsequent invasions can in part be attributed to the actions of Edward, the good king that he was.

the Scottish like the Americans are generally delusional about their own history

I'm unclear here, are you the pot or the kettle? No, definitely the pot, never mind.

nb its Scottish not Scots, the Scots were a particular tribe in the Roman era

I'll allow you to take that up with the Oxford Dictionary, another English source, I believe.

The normal everyday word used to mean ‘of or relating to Scotland or its people’ is Scottish, as in Scottish people; Scottish hills; Scottish Gaelic; or she's English, not Scottish. The normal, neutral word for ‘a person from Scotland’ is Scot, along with Scotsman, Scotswoman, and the plural form the Scots (or, less commonly, the Scottish). (emphasis added)

Scottish | Definition of Scottish in English by Oxford Dictionaries
 

DocWard

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I had to think about the actual OP for a period of time. I tend to think of martial artists as generally having a positive image and positive social standing within most communities. Think about it. A martial artist who runs a school is typically considered an entrepreneur, working for himself, or herself and trying to make a living. A martial artist giving lessons at the local YMCA, Salvation Army, church, or elsewhere is seen as sort of an "outreach" person, trying to better the lives of others.

For those who simply study, it isn't much different. It rarely comes up in conversation that I study the martial arts, or partake in any of my other hobbies, for that matter. I don't golf, so I don't have that common hobby with most of my attorney peers. We end up talking about things we do have in common, be it sports (I'm not a big sports buff, but enough so to hold up my end of a discussion), or history, or some other subject. When it does come up, the response is either "I took ____ as a kid," or "I wish I had taken lessons when I was younger." (You're NEVER too old!) Only rarely do I get the wise crack "remind me not to piss you off." (I had a long military career, complete with training to be a door kicker and deployments to combat zones, and I like to shoot guns for competition and fun, and it's my Kenpo that worries you?). When I see attorneys, police and fire, military, welders, mechanics, secretaries and housewives taking martial arts, and more importantly taking their kids to martial arts instruction, I tend to think it is not looked down upon by the general public.

Having said all that, I do believe that there is still a fundamental misunderstanding by some within the general public about what the martial arts entails. Seeing the brutality of MMA, the choreographed violence of action movies, and hearing martial artists trash talk other systems, practitioners, and such things as the "worthlessness" of kata in a curriculum, can all be problematic. They can cause a person with no experience with, or not involved in an art, to to not recognize that the martial arts as a whole constitute a multi-faceted set of traditions, systems and skills that offer something for nearly anyone with an interest and desire to explore them.
 

dvcochran

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your fact sheet on Wallace seems to be short of facts, particularly the atrocities he was reasonable for,

pointing out that good kind Edward was kingdom building doesn't detract from the actions of brave heart, I could quite easily refere you to the American Mexico war, as a comparable exercise in taking land of a rival country by armed intervention. are we citing president Polk as a war criminal or even considering given back Texas to its rightful owners, no thought not, what about the land grab of the from the native American, was that better than king Edward's invading Scotland, Wales and France

the Scottish invaded England on multiple occasions just to even things up and bizarrely Panama, which bankrupted them, requiring that they had to beg England to take them over or they would all starve, which is how Britain come into 3xistanc3 as a political entity

the Scottish like the Americans are generally delusional about their own history

nb its Scottish not Scots, the Scots were a particular tribe in the Roman era
Clearly you have forgotten what country most "Americans" originate from. The history books must be written very differently across the pond.
 

dvcochran

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I had to think about the actual OP for a period of time. I tend to think of martial artists as generally having a positive image and positive social standing within most communities. Think about it. A martial artist who runs a school is typically considered an entrepreneur, working for himself, or herself and trying to make a living. A martial artist giving lessons at the local YMCA, Salvation Army, church, or elsewhere is seen as sort of an "outreach" person, trying to better the lives of others.

For those who simply study, it isn't much different. It rarely comes up in conversation that I study the martial arts, or partake in any of my other hobbies, for that matter. I don't golf, so I don't have that common hobby with most of my attorney peers. We end up talking about things we do have in common, be it sports (I'm not a big sports buff, but enough so to hold up my end of a discussion), or history, or some other subject. When it does come up, the response is either "I took ____ as a kid," or "I wish I had taken lessons when I was younger." (You're NEVER too old!) Only rarely do I get the wise crack "remind me not to piss you off." (I had a long military career, complete with training to be a door kicker and deployments to combat zones, and I like to shoot guns for competition and fun, and it's my Kenpo that worries you?). When I see attorneys, police and fire, military, welders, mechanics, secretaries and housewives taking martial arts, and more importantly taking their kids to martial arts instruction, I tend to think it is not looked down upon by the general public.

Having said all that, I do believe that there is still a fundamental misunderstanding by some within the general public about what the martial arts entails. Seeing the brutality of MMA, the choreographed violence of action movies, and hearing martial artists trash talk other systems, practitioners, and such things as the "worthlessness" of kata in a curriculum, can all be problematic. They can cause a person with no experience with, or not involved in an art, to to not recognize that the martial arts as a whole constitute a multi-faceted set of traditions, systems and skills that offer something for nearly anyone with an interest and desire to explore them.

LOVE this post. Very well said.
 

jobo

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Clearly you have forgotten what country most "Americans" originate from. The history books must be written very differently across the pond.
I'm not sure iv3 forgoton are you implying that most American originate in England .? a quick Google says the largest ethnic group of origin. in the USA is German? perhaps we do have different history books, but probably the same Google, try it, it's fun and informative

and of course the English themselves are mostly decended from the Germanic peoples. so even the English immigrants have origins in Germany, or at least where Germany now is, so the English Americans are mostly of German origin, so following your logic,what ever atrocities America has committed the germans are responsible ?playing the country of origin game always gets silly
 
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Buka

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My wife is a descendent of William Wallace. Her other ethnicity is Sicilian. Her historical opinions may differ from others. As does her attitude.

You can only imagine.
 

Buka

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I embrace my self-perceived social position in anything. Lone Ranger at heart with sheepdog tendencies, what's a man to do with that? I was luckier than most, I had resources by happenstance, just fell into them, be crazy not to use them, especially in the Martial World.

Gives the dojo good word of mouth. That can be a big plus social wise as well as business wise.
 

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