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The Fork in the Road
By Bobbe - 11-13-2008 08:41 PM
Originally Posted at: FMATalk
====================
Someone posted about my emotional housecleaning, as described on my blog, “Thick as Thieves”. After reading some of the responses, I wanted to clarify what I meant.
First thing, I haven’t “Invented” a new style of Kali, Pencak Silat, or Kuntao. I do believe my teaching style is unique, but I’m not actually doing anything new under the sun. My knowledge comes from my various teachers and my years in training. And I do still consider myself a student as well.
However, I call what I do “Edmonds Martial Arts” as opposed to “Doce Pares” “Mande Muda” “Inosanto” “Petrilli” “Wing Chun” or fifty-eleven other style names, not because I don’t wish to show respect, but because I won’t carry the flag of someone else. In this, I am probably going to catch some heat, but that’s just how it is: My loyalty and gratitude doesn’t extend THAT far. Not anymore it doesn’t.
As I look around this board, I can see where being the poster boy for some teachers or styles does nothing but bring added stress and grief to your life. It’s the same story for decades now, someone says something that your teacher disagrees with, and suddenly there is a blood feud between people who have never met, never trained together, and sometimes don’t even live in the same country. Sometimes new students simply inherit the feud that their teacher or school has had going for years before they decided to join. And a misguided sense of loyalty often throws them directly into a conflict they had no knowledge of or hand in a week earlier.
It’s happened to me more times than I can count. And always because I stood up for my teacher, only to find he wasn’t as squarely behind me as I thought.
The other reason is that I don’t adhere to a strictly Filipino curriculum, nor an Indo-Malay, nor Chinese, etc. There are places where I can see one system is stronger than another, and it’s not my job to go around “fixing” martial styles. I don’t see the need to create a sensible knife curriculum for Wing Chun, I just take the skills Wing Chun has to offer and keep going. I can’t really do that unless I do it alone.
As to the question of “when should you do this?” Only the individual can answer that. Nine years ago I had absolutely no intention of opening my own school, even though I had 17 years of experience. When Chris Petrilli left Seattle, I was willing to follow him to Mars if he moved that far. Now I chuckle to myself when I remember that I ever thought that way. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with Petrilli, he was one of my best teachers…I’m just not that person anymore.
Time is a funny thing, and given enough of it and you will see how mountains move, how the mighty are fallen, and how people change. And if you’re lucky enough, you’ll get to see how far you’ve come over the years.
Read More...
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FMATalk.com Post Bot - FMA Feed
By Bobbe - 11-13-2008 08:41 PM
Originally Posted at: FMATalk
====================
The words of Mercury are harsh after the songs of Apollo.
You, that way; we, this.
You, that way; we, this.
Someone posted about my emotional housecleaning, as described on my blog, “Thick as Thieves”. After reading some of the responses, I wanted to clarify what I meant.
First thing, I haven’t “Invented” a new style of Kali, Pencak Silat, or Kuntao. I do believe my teaching style is unique, but I’m not actually doing anything new under the sun. My knowledge comes from my various teachers and my years in training. And I do still consider myself a student as well.
However, I call what I do “Edmonds Martial Arts” as opposed to “Doce Pares” “Mande Muda” “Inosanto” “Petrilli” “Wing Chun” or fifty-eleven other style names, not because I don’t wish to show respect, but because I won’t carry the flag of someone else. In this, I am probably going to catch some heat, but that’s just how it is: My loyalty and gratitude doesn’t extend THAT far. Not anymore it doesn’t.
As I look around this board, I can see where being the poster boy for some teachers or styles does nothing but bring added stress and grief to your life. It’s the same story for decades now, someone says something that your teacher disagrees with, and suddenly there is a blood feud between people who have never met, never trained together, and sometimes don’t even live in the same country. Sometimes new students simply inherit the feud that their teacher or school has had going for years before they decided to join. And a misguided sense of loyalty often throws them directly into a conflict they had no knowledge of or hand in a week earlier.
It’s happened to me more times than I can count. And always because I stood up for my teacher, only to find he wasn’t as squarely behind me as I thought.
The other reason is that I don’t adhere to a strictly Filipino curriculum, nor an Indo-Malay, nor Chinese, etc. There are places where I can see one system is stronger than another, and it’s not my job to go around “fixing” martial styles. I don’t see the need to create a sensible knife curriculum for Wing Chun, I just take the skills Wing Chun has to offer and keep going. I can’t really do that unless I do it alone.
As to the question of “when should you do this?” Only the individual can answer that. Nine years ago I had absolutely no intention of opening my own school, even though I had 17 years of experience. When Chris Petrilli left Seattle, I was willing to follow him to Mars if he moved that far. Now I chuckle to myself when I remember that I ever thought that way. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with Petrilli, he was one of my best teachers…I’m just not that person anymore.
Time is a funny thing, and given enough of it and you will see how mountains move, how the mighty are fallen, and how people change. And if you’re lucky enough, you’ll get to see how far you’ve come over the years.
Read More...
------------------------------------
FMATalk.com Post Bot - FMA Feed
