Blog Article/Post Caveat (Read First Please: Click the Link)
In my base Okinawan style of karate they call it, “Being a First-Generation Student” of a certain Okinawan master who created his own style of karate in the early fifties. Add in those who often provide, name drop is what society calls it, names of such luminaries to establish connections that to humans, especially those of like disciplines, for what ever reasons I could not figure out until today.
Add in several well known karate-ka who have established dojo-groups of a kind of exclusive nature by first associating that dojo-group to the creator of said style. This is true of other styles as well as you can read at the Shinseidokan Dojo blog by Michael Clarke Sensei regarding Goju-ryu. The best way to explain this association is through the sport disciplines - oh my, but aren’t marital discipline sports?
Sports Associations: Sports and competition is anything but game-like, it is serious, intense, and HIGHLY PERSONAL. “All things being equal, you root for your own sex, your own culture, your own locality … and what you want to prove is that YOU are better than the other person. Whomever you root for represents YOU; and when he wins, you win.” We want our affiliated sports teams to win to prove our own superiority. But to whom are we trying to prove it? Ourselves, certainly; but to everyone else, too. If we can surround ourselves with success that we are connected with in even a superficial way, our public prestige will rise. Prestige is tied to status and status in the group for survival of the group is imperative to that groups survival. People feel they have the right to think that without ever throwing a block, catching a ball, scoring a goal, or perhaps even attending a game, they will receive some of the glory from a hometown championship. People purposefully manipulate the visibility of our connections with winners and losers in order to make ourselves look good to anyone who could view these connections. Note: even with words we show the depth and breadth of our associations, i.e., using the pronoun ‘we,’ is to imply the closest possible identity with others. Using the pronoun ‘they,’ distances us from associations and connections to those others as well, called “Othering.”
In short, we look to such associations to drive others toward a likable view of us and by association we infer that our proficiency and superiority, i.e., status and prestige in the group, to others both outside the group and within. That association no matter how tenuous to truth and facts still leaves the group and others with a feeling that the one who is associated by mere association is as good as the associated person or thing. In this way when the individual in the group and the group say “we”, is to imply the closest possible identity with those others and others will then associate themselves to the original intended association and reap the benefits even if they never met, trained with or under or even personally know of the original associated person like the karate creator of the Okinawan karate style.
It provides the person with a highly personalized belief system that by its principle driven influences from inherent human drives and triggers will create a group dynamic that instills, again, a higher prestigious status driven perception within the group and as perceived by outsiders as well.
To really understand how and why this works you really have to study the psychology of influence where certain human behavioral principles that are very effective in driving how we live, work and believe. It is the very core of human nature and survival especially as it works to groups and their dynamics, very interesting and the bibliography provides the book mentioned.
Bibliography:
Cialdini, Robert B. Ph.D. “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.” Harper Collins Publishing. New York. 1984, 19945, 2007, 2016.
“In order for any life to matter, we all have to matter.” - Marcus Luttrell, Navy Seal (ret)
No comments:
Post a Comment