Change Over The Years

[MJS]

This question isn't geared towards any one art in particular, just a general question...

What changes, if any, have you noticed over the years, that have happened in your art? Ex: the direction of the art has changed, less or more contact, etc.

If there have been changes, what do you feel about those changes? Have you done anything to change any changes that may've happened?

 

[mib2112]

This question isn't geared towards any one art in particular, just a general question...

What changes, if any, have you noticed over the years, that have happened in your art? Ex: the direction of the art has changed, less or more contact, etc.

If there have been changes, what do you feel about those changes? Have you done anything to change any changes that may've happened?

With the school I teach and train at, the older senior instructors tell me how things used to be.

Back in the 80s, they didn't worry about belts so much. Everyone started class at the same time, and progressed together. Each belt level they would have earned was a different animal they worked on until everyone had it, then moved up together to the next animal.

Now days, we have new students drop in, students quit coming, etc. Be it due to money, time, family obligations, students come and go. So our head instructor has changed the requirements to test for your next belt, instead of doing one animal per belt you learn a set number of forms, self defense, and whatnot.

It does have draw backs, as when you have people are very new to martial arts come into a class with people who are a little more experienced, and you spend several classes simply going over basics. Then a month or so later another new person comes in, and it starts over again.

It is alleviated a bit by doing private / semi-private classes with the instructor and a couple of students close to your skill level, or who want to study the same things you do, so you get to learn something new, instead of going over Shaolin Crane 1 through 5 for the 100th time

And we don't have enough students really to make it worth while to set up Advanced Group classes and Beginner Classes, least not till spring when attendance hopefully goes up.

 

[terryl965]

Well inside my Art the sport has really taken over the Art. Not that it is a bad thing but I would lave to see more in SD developement done.

 

[Kacey]

This question isn't geared towards any one art in particular, just a general question...

What changes, if any, have you noticed over the years, that have happened in your art? Ex: the direction of the art has changed, less or more contact, etc.

If there have been changes, what do you feel about those changes?

It's hard to say how much of the change is really change, and how much is due to my understanding of what was going on around me when I was less experienced; however, with that caveat, I will say that the emphasis on technical proficiency and understanding of technique at all levels has increased - and I think it's a good thing. Too much was lost under instructors who taught using the "do what I say because I say it" method - and I understand that that method was traditional... but it worked a lot better with a small number of students who stayed with the same instructor for decades than it does in today's different situations. It also much better suits my personality and learning style - I much prefer to know why and understand how than to respond solely by rote; luckily for me, my instructor has always taught concept along with technique. It's just that now, I understand a lot better what he was doing than when I started in 1987.

Have you done anything to change any changes that may've happened?

No - I agree with and support the direction our senior master instructor (my instructor's instructor, GM Walt Lang) is taking us in - as stated above, toward a better understanding of the techniques, how to teach them, how to research and answer questions that arise in the course of training. As a teacher, it's a direction that suits me very well, and I agree with the underlying rationale behind it.

 

[seasoned]

Re: Change Over The Years

Rant time.

Mid 60S karate wasn't for everyone.

2 hour classes

1 class fit all with all belt ranks lining up for warm up, basics, then breaking off to do
your belt requirements.

Respect was at a hight level, with an emphasis on bowing.

Not much sparring gear if any, and no suing.

No unnecessary talking in class.

Cruel and inhuman treatment was the norm.

No one became friends with Sensei, but at the higher BB levels there was finely an acceptance.

No potty breaks during class.

Monthly due were $15.00

During testing if you forgot your kata you failed.

No set time for grading to next belt level.

Don't ask just do as your told.

That was then, this is now.

 

[ralphmcpherson]

Ive done martial arts twice, once as a teenager and again in my 30's. The primary difference I have noticed is why people do martial arts. It used to be the only reason a person did a martial art was to learn how to fight. If they wanted to make friends they would join a bridge club, if they wanted fitness they joined a gym and if they wanted fun they went to a theme park. These days when I ask a new member why they chose martial arts very rarely do they say they want to learn how to fight, they see fighting/self defence as a great bi-product of their training but not the whole focus. I personally dont have a problem with this. I didnt start MA to learn how to fight, I havent been in a fight for 18 years, I dont hang out where fights occur and I doubt I will ever need to defend myself again in my life, so to invest time and money soley to learn how to 'fight' would not suit my situation. Basically, I think these days MA provides different people with different things other than just learning how to fight.

 

[mib2112]

Ive done martial arts twice, once as a teenager and again in my 30's. The primary difference I have noticed is why people do martial arts. It used to be the only reason a person did a martial art was to learn how to fight. If they wanted to make friends they would join a bridge club, if they wanted fitness they joined a gym and if they wanted fun they went to a theme park. These days when I ask a new member why they chose martial arts very rarely do they say they want to learn how to fight, they see fighting/self defence as a great bi-product of their training but not the whole focus. I personally dont have a problem with this. I didnt start MA to learn how to fight, I havent been in a fight for 18 years, I dont hang out where fights occur and I doubt I will ever need to defend myself again in my life, so to invest time and money soley to learn how to 'fight' would not suit my situation. Basically, I think these days MA provides different people with different things other than just learning how to fight.

I can definitely see that, even in myself over the years. From when I started just as a kid who wanted to learn how to defend himself properly, to becoming an adult and realizing that the self-defense and fighting was really secondary to what I was really learning, which was how to live a better and deeper life.

Partly due to reading Living The Martial Way, which helped me realize and explore more of the philosophical side of the martial arts and apply the lessons I learned to my day to day life. A lot of people will simply pay lip service to the various virtues or martial moralities, and not do much with them in class, where as I require my (younger) students to give me examples of how they apply the Virtues / Moralities in their daily lives.

 

[seasoned]

Re: Change Over The Years

Rant time.

Mid 60S karate wasn't for everyone.

2 hour classes

1 class fit all with all belt ranks lining up for warm up, basics, then breaking off to do
your belt requirements.

Respect was at a hight level, with an emphasis on bowing.

Not much sparring gear if any, and no suing.

No unnecessary talking in class.

Cruel and inhuman treatment was the norm.

No one became friends with Sensei, but at the higher BB levels there was finely an acceptance.

No potty breaks during class.

Monthly due were $15.00

During testing if you forgot your kata you failed.

No set time for grading to next belt level.

Don't ask just do as your told.

That was then, this is now.

I just saw this one on another thread.
Weekend classes, where are they?

There was a time when the dojo was open all day Saturday for classes, and part of Sunday for extra help. Somewhere along the way it became a business, and not a way of life.

 

[Balrog]

Major changes and not all for the good.

Teaching techniques have definitely improved in some cases. However, far more is being done in schools that pads the bottom line rather than improving student technique. When a student's promotion at testing is based on whether the check for the testing fee clears the bank rather than the student's being able to perform to a certain standard of quality, that only hurts the student. When more time is spent learning XMA tricks than learning how to do a good sidekick and more importantly, learning how and when to use that side kick, that only hurts the student.

I try to teach traditional martial arts: much emphasis on life skills like courtesy, respect and discipline, as well as basic self-defense. It saddens me greatly to see what's being done to the arts in the name of money.

 

[Supra Vijai]

A few things have changed: Our current instructor loves the traditional component of the art. Not to say he's no less skilled at the street/modern stuff but traditional is his passion so that's come through in how he teaches since he took over the school. We focus a lot more on the basics, getting things right and understanding the how/why/when as well as getting a bit of the history to help with that. All belts bow in together, warm up together and go through techs together. There is no segregation of material based on skill level.

The other big change is that we've shifted to wooden training weapons rather than the foam covered ones. There was a feeling of "they are too safe". That change has been great because it really forces Uke to learn appropriate control and technique and Tori to move out of the way or defend properly.