There Art No Masters

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Yeah, I said it, regardless of all the titles and all the highest of grades you see in the MA Community there are actually no masters, none; zilch; nadda; no why no how there ain’t no masters.

What makes a master is interesting depending on who and what org you talk to but in reality the old meme of, “Jack of all trades, Master of none,” applies here because everyone is so hell bent on accumulating systems, styles, grades, ranks, levels, accolades, awards and trophies they have missed the boat leading to mastering a martial art. 

Just think, would Tiger Wood be the master of golf he is if he had practiced and played golf, football, basketball, tennis and a plethora of other sports? I really do doubt that, really. He would have been mediocre at best and just another “Jock” at worst. 

Then there is what one focuses on when deciding what they want, not need but want, to become a master of a martial art. Most focus, as previously stated, on longevity, social connections, and the quantity of things vs. quality of one thing. You cannot master anything by pinging on everything that catches your eye like the glitter of metal that attacks birds. It is distracting rather than focused. It is a way of life now with all the instant gratifications and constant changes toward technology and so on and yadda yadda yadda. 

Someone said to me a while back, “Well, to master karate you really have to master all the styles or systems (he then emphasized the main ones over all but that is still a lot) because karate consists of all these various styles and systems.” Well, no you don’t because every single empty-handed style or system all have one main thing in common across the board without fail, principles. 

Take a look at Rory Millers DVD on Joint Locks, you will see him teaching the principles of joint locks, not separate uniques individual joint locks but the principles that drive every single joint lock you could possible use. It, to me, is advocating how knowing and understanding a hand full of principles gives birth to any number, infinite, of techniques and methodologies, etc. 

In order to master a martial art you have to find that “One wholehearted Thing,” that transcends personality, ego, perceptions, perspectives and belief systems and can be seen, felt, practiced and applied no matter what system or style or anything you would use for self-defense.

Hey, there ain’t no martial arts masters!

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