Why does martial arts attracts so many nerds? In particular karate and kung fu?

[Bullsherdog]

One article Marc MacYoung has written that I always read over and over is this.

Violence Geeks

Indeed I notice compare to other physically intense hobbies and sports such as football, the martial arts attracts a disproportionate number of nerds as does the RBSD community.

By nerds, I don't mean some random guy who plays Dungeons and Dragons or watches Star Wars but guys big into nerdy stuff such as obsessing over who would win Superman or Batman and knowledge of obscure details of the Star Trek universe alongside often lacking basic social skills. Often also quite obese or really frail and skinny.

What theories do you have?

In addition I notice karate and kung fu attracts the highest proportion of nerds even within the martial artists community? What is it with these two styles that get the level that say Muay Thai doesn't?

 

[now disabled]

One article Marc MacYoung has written that I always read over and over is this.

Violence Geeks

Indeed I notice compare to other physically intense hobbies and sports such as football, the martial arts attracts a disproportionate number of nerds as does the RBSD community.

By nerds, I don't mean some random guy who plays Dungeons and Dragons or watches Star Wars but guys big into nerdy stuff such as obsessing over who would win Superman or Batman and knowledge of obscure details of the Star Trek universe alongside often lacking basic social skills. Often also quite obese or really frail and skinny.

What theories do you have?

In addition I notice karate and kung fu attracts the highest proportion of nerds even within the martial artists community? What is it with these two styles that get the level that say Muay Thai doesn't?

Sorry no don't agree

 

[Headhunter]

What a load of rubbish. It attracts all types of people in all different types of life.

Do you actually train martial arts yourself because looking at your posts it seems like you have very little idea about it and are just falling into martial art stereotypes like this

 

[Xue Sheng]

Don't agree. Been in MA since 1972 seen all types

 

[CB Jones]

 

[Martial D]

One article Marc MacYoung has written that I always read over and over is this.

Violence Geeks

Indeed I notice compare to other physically intense hobbies and sports such as football, the martial arts attracts a disproportionate number of nerds as does the RBSD community.

By nerds, I don't mean some random guy who plays Dungeons and Dragons or watches Star Wars but guys big into nerdy stuff such as obsessing over who would win Superman or Batman and knowledge of obscure details of the Star Trek universe alongside often lacking basic social skills. Often also quite obese or really frail and skinny.

What theories do you have?

In addition I notice karate and kung fu attracts the highest proportion of nerds even within the martial artists community? What is it with these two styles that get the level that say Muay Thai doesn't?

Troll on...

 

[Steve]

I think BJJ appeals to nerds.

 

[geezer]

One article Marc MacYoung has written that I always read over and over is this.

Violence Geeks

Indeed I notice compare to other physically intense hobbies and sports such as football, the martial arts attracts a disproportionate number of nerds as does the RBSD community.

By nerds, I don't mean some random guy who plays Dungeons and Dragons or watches Star Wars but guys big into nerdy stuff such as obsessing over who would win Superman or Batman and knowledge of obscure details of the Star Trek universe alongside often lacking basic social skills. Often also quite obese or really frail and skinny.

What theories do you have?

In addition I notice karate and kung fu attracts the highest proportion of nerds even within the martial artists community? What is it with these two styles that get the level that say Muay Thai doesn't?

 

[JowGaWolf]

One article Marc MacYoung has written that I always read over and over is this.

Violence Geeks

Indeed I notice compare to other physically intense hobbies and sports such as football, the martial arts attracts a disproportionate number of nerds as does the RBSD community.

By nerds, I don't mean some random guy who plays Dungeons and Dragons or watches Star Wars but guys big into nerdy stuff such as obsessing over who would win Superman or Batman and knowledge of obscure details of the Star Trek universe alongside often lacking basic social skills. Often also quite obese or really frail and skinny.

What theories do you have?

In addition I notice karate and kung fu attracts the highest proportion of nerds even within the martial artists community? What is it with these two styles that get the level that say Muay Thai doesn't?

I'm far from being a nerd. I don't have the brain power, I don't get into the Superman vs Batman stuff. I like to spar, I enjoy competitive fighting, Sometimes I rather punch someone in the mouth instead of just ignoring them like I always do. I don't back down and I'm pretty sure of myself and my abilities to fight.

If I had to generalize Kung Fu then I would have to say that it tends to attract people who "don't fit in with the crowd" and are people who are fairly independent and don't mind doing things that they enjoy even if it means that they have to do it alone.

The 2 schools that I know in my area only had 2 people who would be classified as you described. One dropped out and is no longer doing kung fu. The other still does kung fu from time to time but was interested in being one of the few women who knows how to use kung fu.

In terms of lacking basic social skills, everyone I have trained with, young and old had good social skills. Kids would talk to and play around with other kids in the school, adults would talk to and joke with each other with no problem. Topics about Superman, Batman, and Star Trek never popped up.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Dup.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

One article Marc MacYoung has written that I always read over and over is this.

Violence Geeks

Indeed I notice compare to other physically intense hobbies and sports such as football, the martial arts attracts a disproportionate number of nerds as does the RBSD community.

By nerds, I don't mean some random guy who plays Dungeons and Dragons or watches Star Wars but guys big into nerdy stuff such as obsessing over who would win Superman or Batman and knowledge of obscure details of the Star Trek universe alongside often lacking basic social skills. Often also quite obese or really frail and skinny.

What theories do you have?

In addition I notice karate and kung fu attracts the highest proportion of nerds even within the martial artists community? What is it with these two styles that get the level that say Muay Thai doesn't?

Weren't you the one who wrote practically a dissertation on natural talent based around an anime?
I also like how you are gatekeeping nerds while generalizing martial artists

 

[Danny T]

What is the resource for your data?

Maybe there are more if so it's most likely due to the willingness of most in the martial arts being open to all who want to train and that all are able to participate...(no benchwarmers) compared to other team type sports.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Side note, from a really small sample size, a lot of my friends are nerds and also do martial arts. By nerds i mean we go to a rennaisance faire together once a year, play magic the gathering occasionally, and like super hero movies. We also all are in different martial arts. But we're normal people with nerdy hobbies, so unless you know us and we tell you about our hobbies, you wouldnt know that we like martial arts or that we like nerdy things.

So, from that again super small sample size, i would have two theories about qhats going on. The first is that youre a nerd, who hangs out with other nerds, so they tell you if they practice a MA. I would guess youre not as close with "non-nerds", so you dont know if they do or dont. At the same time, i dont think most of the people at my dojo are nerds. But i also dont know them well enough, so thats just an assumption since they dont fit my stereotype of nerd. They probably dont know Im a nerd (by my definition of the word not yours). So overall, who knows? And honestly, who cares?

Edit: just thinking about it, the more likely reason for my group of friends is that i become friends with people with similar interests, so it makes sense theyd be maists and semi-nerds

 

[marques]

To me it is clear that X art/school attracts certain time of people and Y art/school attracts another one. Ex: ‘muscle’ people vs ‘brain’ people, practical people vs theoretical people, young people vs mature people...

This is way we should visit the school before choosing anything. I have chosen schools with not great instructors (IMO) because they were gathering quite educated students; and have left good instructors (technically) because they were gathering weird students (IMO).

 

[geezer]

One article Marc MacYoung has written that I always read over and over is this.Violence Geeks

BS Dog - Have you really read this over and over? ...Because I found that although Mac made a few good points early on, after that the blog became repetitive and really boring, to the point where I had to struggle to skim read to the end! ...But then I am probably a little ADHD, and even if I'm not, I get impatient when reading stuff that annoys me. And, along with the pertinent info and opinions expressed, there was a lot to be annoyed with here!

Discalimer: I'm a bit of of what Mac Young calls a "geek" myself. Not in a good, tech-y way like the term is used today, either.

...No, I was small, introverted, read a lot, and was sometimes bullied a bit in Jr. high. I was what, in Jungian psychology, was called a thinking introvert. I talked a lot, but inappropriately, and many of my interests were, frankly, escapist. Like Mac's dated definition of a "geek", I lacked social skills, and maybe did spend a bit too much time enjoying fantasy lit. in a period long before things like the internet and "Comicon" etc. allowed nerdy types to form their own social groups, and enjoy harmless interests with others.

But that wasn't my whole life. I also wrestled (bottom weight-class, of course), did some ski racing and rock climbing ( both of which were still a bit "odd" in the late '60s), and I went beyond what Mac Young terms "cement airplanes" to earn both a pilot and a sailplane license by the age of 18, ...and when flying got too expensive (my dad sold his interest in the Cessna), I built and flew hang gliders in the early 70's (when that was definitely "odd"). Then came the martial arts after "Enter the Dragon". Pretty much another harmless fantasy-based hobby at the beginning.

So back to that long-winded Mac Young article. A lot of the nerdy types Mac dismissively writes of as "geeks" are simply introverts with off-beat interests. And Guess what?You don't have to be a extroverted conformist to be a person of value and merit. Mac's arrogant and derogatory attitude towards all these "misfit toys" among us may sell well with his target audience of a certain stripe of LEOs, security professionals, and wannabes, but as a somewhat nerdy guy, with a lot of nerdy friends (who are very fine people btw) ...the overall tenor of this article left me cold. And that's a shame, because he does have a few good points.

The main, and only point that I care to agree with here is that there is a sub-culture that glorifies violence in a dangerous and utterly unrealistic way, and that this culture is encouraged and fed by both the entertainment market (movies and video-games) and by the entrepreneurial sales of useless, crappy "self-defense" weapons and courses, and stupid Youtube clips. (Hey Doug Maracaida! ...not a fan.)

As an long time FMA instructor, I completely concur with Mac that a knife is a a great tool, but a very poor choice for self defense. And something like that "wasp" knife he describes is worse than useless, it is dangerous to the person owning it as well as to others. It might have one functional purpose: assassination. So if you work for Vladimir Putin and you intend to eliminate someone on orders from the KGB, it might have a place in your arsenal ...next to the plutonium pellet shooting umbrella. Otherwise, it's a sure ticket to your own murder trial!

BTW here's second disclaimer: I actually am in possession of something stupid like that. A couple of years back, my crazy, gun collecting brother, who is a former athlete, former high school student body president, ivy educated, and now retired corporate exec. (ie. anything but a geek/nerd) gave me a ballistic knife as a present. This crudely finished device works like a stiletto, so that when a lever is pressed it shoots out a blade so forcefully that it will fly across the room and inbed itself deeply into a board 6 feet away. As a tool it is useless. As a work of the knife-maker's craft, it fails, for although strongly made, it is as crude and esthetically hideous as if made by orcs.

About it's the only function that I can discern, besides impressing your 12 year old nerdy nephew, would be to press it up against some intended victim in a crowd, press the button and quickly escape ...if you want to effect an assassination. And since old Vladimir P. hasn't offered me any jobs lately, the thing sits taking up space in the back of my sock drawer, safely disassembled, it's greasy parts wrapped in plastic.

Well, what else can I do with it? As a gift, I don't feel right throwing it away, ...and I' sure not going to give it to my nephew ...or to Goodwill. So for now I'm stuck with it, right? Pardon the pun. Anyway, the fact that such things are sold, does give some credence to Mac's point. On the other hand, I wouldn't want to live in a place that was so heavily regulated by law, that you couldn't buy your choice of knife or martial arts weapon, so long as you use them responsibly. So what say y'all???

In addition I notice karate and kung fu attracts the highest proportion of nerds even within the martial artists community? What is it with these two styles that get the level that say Muay Thai doesn't?

IDK ...maybe this is another pot shot at non-competitive martial arts, as compared to Muay Thai, MMA and so on? Maybe such arts do appeal to more folks who are not physically cut out to be fighters, but It seems Mac doesn't have much regard for the non-alpha, non competitive types that avoid pressure testing. So are these guys are "geeks" or nerds? Social misfits? Seems like painting with a broad brush to me.

 

[Martial D]

IDK ...maybe this is another pot shot at non-competitive martial arts, as compared to Muay Thai, MMA and so on?

If so, he's really missed the mark. More 'nerdy' types do bjj than anything else, and that's pretty foundational to MMA. It's certainly competitive.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

The OP may have a point.

 

[Buka]

Heck, why do you think we got into it?

 

[Flying Crane]

Who is this Marc MacYoung fellow?

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Who is this Marc MacYoung fellow?

Quick google search says he is a 'world-renowned' RBSD guy