bigfootsquatch
Purple Belt
Martial Arts should be first and foremost, cultivation and development of character and spirit. Too many martial artists get caught up in ego and trophies to the point of losing the actual art. How can one take a martial art and make it suitable for competition? They can't It simply can not be done without losing the original essence of the art. Look at the UFC now, a bunch of bland martial arts being done by muscle headed jocks without any sense of honor or discipline.
Take a look at tae kwon do from Richard Chun's books(taekwondo, advancing in taekwondo) and a book today. You'll find that tae kwon do has lost many of it's more dangerous strikes, rooted stances, and just plain flavor because of it's development into a full fledged sport.
Heck, see what competition did for Tai Chi and have a real good laught!
Also, too many get on a rant of insults to make them look better. For instance, (most)Gracie Jiu Jitsu practioners are very cocky and belittling of other styles. When one goes on a rant about how one style is infinitely inferior, it only shows insecurity and immaturity both in their own style and themselves. Many also get so caught up in the hard vs soft styles, japanese vs chinese, even wtf taekwondo vs itf taekwondo styles that they lose sight of the original meaning of cultivating and developing their character!
What I am trying to say without writing a book is that if you want sport then go play ball or run track. If you want to develop yourself to a higher level, physically, mentally, and spiritually, then take a martial art.
Oh and if you are one of those ego mongrols I described in the 2nd paragraph...just get over yourself.
Remember:
Honor, Discipline, Respect
Forget:
Ego, Competition, Laziness
Thoughts, Add-libs?
Take a look at tae kwon do from Richard Chun's books(taekwondo, advancing in taekwondo) and a book today. You'll find that tae kwon do has lost many of it's more dangerous strikes, rooted stances, and just plain flavor because of it's development into a full fledged sport.
Heck, see what competition did for Tai Chi and have a real good laught!
Also, too many get on a rant of insults to make them look better. For instance, (most)Gracie Jiu Jitsu practioners are very cocky and belittling of other styles. When one goes on a rant about how one style is infinitely inferior, it only shows insecurity and immaturity both in their own style and themselves. Many also get so caught up in the hard vs soft styles, japanese vs chinese, even wtf taekwondo vs itf taekwondo styles that they lose sight of the original meaning of cultivating and developing their character!
What I am trying to say without writing a book is that if you want sport then go play ball or run track. If you want to develop yourself to a higher level, physically, mentally, and spiritually, then take a martial art.
Oh and if you are one of those ego mongrols I described in the 2nd paragraph...just get over yourself.
Remember:
Honor, Discipline, Respect
Forget:
Ego, Competition, Laziness
Thoughts, Add-libs?