In the past year I have sensed something growing. I read a lot of stuff about philosophy and martial as to systems, etc. so use that as a basis for this thought. I sense great strides in awareness.
Long ago most who I trained and talked with had a particular ideology as to self protection. The missing, I can only say this now due to those same sources I read today, particular is "what do you look for regarding violence, etc." Let me elucidate a bit more. Rory Miller, Marc MacYoung, Mario McKenna, Ian Abernethy, Patrick Parker, Rob Redmond, Steven Pearlman, Lawrence Kane & Kris Wilder, Tristan Sutrisno, Wim Demeere, and the Animal List members to name just a few.
I sense a greater awareness getting a solid foothold in the martial world where it counts. I sense the potential that it may spread in time creating a real life protection model that everyone can benefit from in our community. I hope it spreads to the media and is communicated accurately.
I see more postings from younger martial artists expressing that one must read this or must get that in order to understand violence and the repercussions. This is advancement and like a seed planted and cultivated by a consummate gardner, gardeners as plural in this case, will grow and flower into something beautiful.
My appreciation to these pioneers who willingly provide such gold for us to mine and spend as we see fits our systems is truly a gift that cannot be valued in monetary ways. This resulted in a huge paradigm shift in my thoughts, philosophies, and practice that would not have occurred if not for the spread of the word.
I sense something extraordinary ... lets call it truth. The potential is without bonds, it is earning of wings - welcome to the sky!
Yosh! Very inspiring post, I just need some cool pilot goggles now...
ReplyDeleteBooks, the internet and blogosphere are definitely an enriching environment for martial artists everywhere. It's almost like becoming a part of a collective consciousness...
ReplyDeleteI think traditional martial artists have much to learn from the reality based people when it comes to effective self-defence. However, I think we should be careful not to throw out the baby with the bath water. If your only aim is to be able to defend yourself in the street then, yes, reality MA is the way to go but most of us will never use our skills in real life. So, if we pursue only the reality based way we will miss out on much more that traditional MA have to offer.
Well, that's my opinion anyway - like most things, it's about striking the right balance...
Sue: And you would be correct. I guess the true point here is folks may be realizing that what they "think" is reality based MA is not and if that is their goal then changes are in order.
ReplyDeleteMany years passed where I thought what I was doing would work in a real violent situation - I was regrettably off the mark.
I would like to believe that mark has been removed and a new path with correct knowledge is now where I travel.
Your point is excellent, thanks Sue! Even here there is a balance achievable.
Thanks Zacky Chan, for your nice comments.
ReplyDeleteYou know Charles, I'm already coming to the same conclusion that what I learn in the artificial environment of the dojo may not cut it in the street and that if I want to learn effective street stuff I need to learn from other sources as well.
ReplyDelete