we as martial artists

[EmptyneSs]

why are we as martial artists so alone and so misunderstood? i can be more in depth about what im talking about, but i dont think i really need to, for u true martial artists know for sure what im talking about.

my own mother told me she would rather die than see her son become a fighter. alot of us get no support from others, not even our own family members. yet we do what we do cause it means so much to us. yet we are so misunderstood. alot of people think we jsut want to beat up others and be voilent for the sake of being tough and voilent.

i remember when my friend who is a blackbelt in karate told a girl that he was in fact a blackbelt, she replied " oh, so that means u could kill me if u wanted to? "
wtf kinda people do others think we are? why are we so misunderstood?

i guess in the end it doesnt really matter, because we do it for us, we dont do it for them.when people ask me what things im into, i dont even tell them i do martial arts and how much i love martial arts, because they will always get the wrong impression. they will think im trying to look tough, or think i have something to prove. they think i am a person who likes to beat others up when in fact im quite the opposite, i am peaceloving and kind and do not want to hurt anyone.

we are alone in this world, and the only other people who do understand us is our fellow martial artists. much respect to anyone who practices martial arts and undestands what martial arts are really about.

big big sadface

[cakegirl]

Tell me about it!

As you all (probably - hopefully!) know, I am a woman, and I do Shotokan karate (I'm a BB and have been a teacher for a few years) and BJJ (I'm just a student there).

I can't tell you how many times I've met a guy at a party or whatever, and started to chat, found out his hobbies, and then I say mine, and the reaction is "Oooh, I'd better not piss you off!" or something equally clever.

It's so frustrating! I have a few standard reactions to this, including: "Too late - you just did." and "Trust me, it's the people who don't do martial arts you have to be wary of - they don't have an outlet for their tension." or "Don't worry, we're more frightened of you than you are of us." (That last one is done in a crocodile hunter voice)...

That, and I seem to attract freaky guys who want to be dominated - somehow they equate "martial artist" with "bondage dominatrix". Haha!

Cakegirl
(Who is not particularly scary)

[Hwa Rang]

That is an Excellent point you've made EmptyneSs, I can relate to almost everything you've said. The main reason I personally believe such misconceptions occur is the film industry. People see these movies and think that martial arts is about doing flashy moves, beating up people and going around picking fights.

They do not know that unlike a sport, a martial art makes you a better person and for a lot of us becomes our way of life. Yes we protect our lives when someone attacks us and many of us fight in tournaments as well but this is only half of what is considered a martial art.

[EViLRYU]

Well i'm a noobie to martial arts, but body building is the same deal. Most people don't understand the drive and passion we have to be the best we can be. The worst part about it is, when they say steroids will kill you when they know nothing about them. Juice is just part of the game....

[Toudiyama[NL]]

Well, there is one advantage to it, people think twice before trying something
Heck, it happened to me that a Pentjak Silat guy who scared the hell out of some big guys ( the mentioning of his name was enough) being intimidated by me ( and I'm not that intimidating to watch)
He said:"And you too, don't think I'm afraid of you, because against a .45 you won't do much"

Well to me that sez he was intimidated just by the fact that I was a Karateteacher.
Lets face it if he was confident in his skills why say something like this


Well the fact that he was intimidated prevented a fight

[EmptyneSs]

he was pretty much admitting that he would need a gun cause he wouldnt face u without one.


oh and cakegirl, there nothing wrong with a little bondage

[Tom Yum]

we are alone in this world, and the only other people who do understand us is our fellow martial artists. much respect to anyone who practices martial arts and undestands what martial arts are really about.

Not really.

I've found that alot of people have a natural curiosity toward the martial arts, guys especially. Alot of them want to learn martial arts, but don't know anyone else who does them or are too preoccupied to make time.

Alot of athletes dabble in martial arts, guys from the NFL or Major League Baseball take up MAs not only as a hobby but for some cross training/self defense. Actors & Actresses too.

[Uncle Corny]

most people think martial artists are ferries. and after reading this thread, i'm gonna have to concur.

[Tom Yum]

most people think martial artists are ferries. and after reading this thread, i'm gonna have to concur.

lol....NEXT!

[Uncle Corny]

They do not know that unlike a sport, a martial art makes you a better person and for a lot of us becomes our way of life. Yes we protect our lives when someone attacks us and many of us fight in tournaments as well but this is only half of what is considered a martial art.

martial arts are not unlike sports. they are sports. and 98.9% of them can't be used for personal protection. so if that's a goal of yours, pick another hobbie. otherwise you have the other half of "what is considered a martial art."

[Tom Yum]

martial arts are not unlike sports. they are sports. and 98.9% of them can't be used for personal protection. so if that's a goal of yours, pick another hobbie. otherwise you have the other half of "what is considered a martial art."

I would add that those 98.9% take 5 years to learn before you can handle spontaneity from empty hand attacks alone.

Martial arts that you are referring to (I guess karate & kung-fu?) attract alot of people for reasons other than self-defense. Fitness, self-discipline, character development or what have you.

Full contact fight sports are the next step up, but still need modern weapons training (arnis/silat etc) and tactics. The good thing about these is that they give you a realistic base to work from in terms of spontaneity and awareness when you go onto...

Reality based self-defense systems. i aint talking about Krav, allthough it aint too shabby in some aspects.

[Chilly Dog]

martial arts are not unlike sports. they are sports. and 98.9% of them can't be used for personal protection. so if that's a goal of yours, pick another hobbie. otherwise you have the other half of "what is considered a martial art."

98.9%? You must like those Ivory soap commercials, huh? (99.44% pure!)

I think that the way the typical person trains in the martial arts makes that individual ineffective at defending him or herself, not the art itself. Most arts can be effectively used for self defense in most one-on-one situations -- with no weapons -- as long as the practitioner has the right training approach.

[Tom Yum]

To a certain degree.

The point he and others are getting at is that most traditional martial art schools do not train realisitcally for self-defense. This is strictly from my opinion and limited experience in the TMAs. Why?:

- Too many techniques, not enough focus
- Complex pre-arranged sequences.
- Compliant partners; ok as a beginer but not good at higher levels.
- Not enough conditioning.
- Some classes keep it so that the most out of shape person can survive, which keeps the more active participants where they are.

There are a few TMA systems which teach good & effective self-defense (kyokushin, silat, tu-kong, muay thai etc.) but out of all TMA systems out there, these are 1%.

[Hermosa]

Oh boy am I gonna get for writing this one..but this is one my those issues that really is personal for me so I can't help myself. I think emptyness is partially right, we are alone and misunderstood..but we deserve it. The Martial Arts claim to make people into calmer, more peaceful, better human beings..but I don't think they do that, at least not most of them. Most styles talk a good game..but really produce little sociopaths who thrive on violence while putting on a facade of peace and goodwill.

The main lesson most of us learn is to embrace the romantic idea of a encountering a dude who is stupid enough to cross us, and then we play it down like we don't really want fight..all the while salivating, just waiting for the guy to make a move so we can take him apart! I think alot of schools really help to re-inforce the idea of one human being, being superior to another. And of one way being the "right" way and all who oppose that way can and will be struck down in the name of "rightous justice".

This may seem a little harsh, or far fetched, but I've been there. Since I was about 8 yrs old I've been surrounded with this stuff and sat around with friends and stroked our egos while talking about all the peoples a$$es we could kick. Its really a sad state of affairs. Proffessional wrestling comes to mind...

If the martial arts had more integrity, -dare I say it on a JKD based forum--,but if we embraced some more of the TRADITIONAL values and philosophies, If we led by example; showing that we really were better people, more compassionate, more tolerant..then perhaps we wouldn't feel so alienated.

Most martial artists have a LONG way to go!

[Ahoym8e]

ignore... couldn't delete for some reason...