Martial Arts Myths

[hkfuie]

What do you think is the biggest thing non-martial artists think about martial artists that is just not true?

 

[7starmarc]

What do you think is the biggest thing non-martial artists think about martial artists that is just not true?

The first one that comes to mind is the whole "registering hands as lethal weapons" deal.

 

[clfsean]

That we

• can fly
• can use our qi to shoot fireballs
• can use dim mak to explode people
• can use dim mak to kill people the way the legends say without exploding people
• are all masters of bodily destruction
• wanna fight in the UFC type events
• wanna be Shaolin monks (or Wudang... or any others)
• don't drink, don't smoke, don't have gratuitous amounts of sex (at times)
• maintain a higher moral vision & code of non MA practicing mortals
• all worship Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris or Steven Segal, etc...
• etc...

 

[morph4me]

That a black belt makes you damn near invulnerable.

 

[geezer]

That we

• can fly
• can use our qi to shoot fireballs
• can use dim mak to explode people
• can use dim mak to kill people the way the legends say without exploding people
• are all masters of bodily destruction
• wanna fight in the UFC type events
• wanna be Shaolin monks (or Wudang... or any others)
• don't drink, don't smoke, and have gratuitous amounts of sex (at times)
• maintain a higher moral vision & code of non MA practicing mortals
• all worship Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris or Steven Segal, etc...
• etc...

Well, except for the crazy part about worshiping Bruce Lee, etc., the rest is all pretty much true for me. Which of those can't you do???

 

[JBrainard]

That a black belt makes you damn near invulnerable.

That's gotta' be #1.

 

[Tez3]

The 'death strike' of hitting the nose and the 'nosebone' going upwards and piercing the brain! yeah right!

 

[JadecloudAlchemist]

All Asians practice martial arts is a huge martial art myth and sterotype.

 

[clfsean]

Well, except for the crazy part about worshiping Bruce Lee, etc., the rest is all pretty much true for me. Which of those can't you do???

Start at the top of the list. I haven't gotten to the flying lessons yet. My sifu told me until I can fly, nothing else comes my way!!!

And definitely skip the hero worship at the end.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Start at the top of the list. I haven't gotten to the flying lessons yet. My sifu told me until I can fly, nothing else comes my way!!!

pfht... you can't fly yet

It seems like the myths are all pretty much covered all I can add are

- Chinese Martial Arts is no good for fighting
- There are no real Chinese Martial Artist left in Mainland China

But those come from both non-martial artists and martial artists

 

[clfsean]

pfht... you can't fly yet

*sigh* I know... I know... I suck...

It seems like the myths are all pretty much covered all I can add are

- Chinese Martial Arts is no good for fighting
- There are no real Chinese Martial Artist left in Mainland China

But those come from both non-martial artists and martial artists

True...

 

[Twin Fist]

myths that bug me:

the registering your hands thing..........

the rest of them dont bother me so much, as only igjits would believe them anyway, but it shocks and amazes me how many people believe the registering your hands thing....

 

[Twin Fist]

The 'death strike' of hitting the nose and the 'nosebone' going upwards and piercing the brain! yeah right!

a strike to the nose, at the right angle and amount of force CAn be lethal.

Just like i CAN win the lottery

the odds of either happening are about the same

 

[bluemtn]

Ok, here's one not mentioned... We all go "WHAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"

Besides that, it drives me up the wall when someone says you MUST register your hands/ feet.

 

[Tez3]

a strike to the nose, at the right angle and amount of force CAn be lethal.

Just like i CAN win the lottery

the odds of either happening are about the same[/quote


It's funny how many people though think we have an actual bone in our noses! Imagine broken noses with bones instead of cartilege, a very big ouch I think! I wonder if so many people would have nose jobs if it were bone?

 

[CoryKS]

That they have a hair-trigger temper and will gleefully kill you for the merest slight. The "oooh, I better be careful" line.

 

[zDom]

That you are a bad *** because you do martial arts.

That you are easy to beat up because "that karate **** don't work."

 

[hkfuie]

These are all great! I forgot about the nose bone thing. I actually had a doctor tell me that one. I was trying to be polite and said, "Er, um, I think that one is a myth." But he insisted it was true...

Okey dokey!

And I LOVE the, "Well, I'd better be careful around you" myth. I generally am not on a hair trigger, but if people wanna be extra polite to me, go ahead!

 

[geezer]

All Asians practice martial arts is a huge martial art myth and sterotype.

And equally annoying is the similar belief that only Asians (and more specifically, Asians of the correct nationality corresponding to their art) can become truly proficient.

Incidentally, the MA classes I've been priviledged enough to take have been ethnically diverse, and among the most prejudice-free environments around. But the public clings to its stereotypes...

 

[tko4u]

that we love to fight