Spartacus Maximus

If recent historical accounts are at least somewhat reliable, having never been in a fight is/was something for which many famed experts were known for in Okinawa. Itosu Anko comes to mind, as does his student Chibana. There will always be people who will only accept a truth when it bites them on the backside. Mr Higaonna is certainly not someone that these types would want to test. Then again, it is not very likely that experts such as him would be inclined to prove his skills in that way.

In general people, even many martial artists, have difficulty distinguishing between fighting and defending oneself. There is a big difference verses these two concepts and knowing it can spare much aggravation and trouble. The aim of fighting is to win or beat the other person. The aim of defense is to get away with the least harm as possible as quickly as possible. Hit and run before the other person recovers. Any lawyer or witness will be hard pressed to claim that someone breaking and fleeing form an altercation is the aggressor.

Even if they are not used for fishing, tying fishing flies is also a lot of fun for the art of it.

Solid post indeed. It is very telling that the one presented is a very one-sided story as there is nobody else with similar experiences. No fellow (ex)-martial arts, no instructors etc, absolutely no one. It looks as though the entire film is a compilation of footage stuck together by the author for his so-called documentary all of which is probably done without anyone's permission or knowledge. Any instructor finding footage of themselves and their school in this manner would probably be rightfully upset.

Following the links from the YouTube video confirms that it originates with a fringe group. It comes as no surprise that there might be more behind this video than just the expression of skewed and distorted views.

There are an infinite number of things that give expert martial artist credibility besides the number of times they have actually had to use their skills. Morio Higaonna's case is not unique and there are quite a few other experts who either have never been in a fight situation. It should also be noted that more often than not, such experts are very aware and humble about what they are capable of and therefore might not readily discuss experiences where they were forced to use what they know. What gives credibility is how they teach, what they teach and how they train.

The movie referred to and several other videos are all on YouTube and very easy to find. Just type in the title "the dragon revealed". After being pestered by close relations about this, seeking help to counter and explain from a martial artist point of view seemed like a sensible thing to do since treating them like strangers with the same "MA is bad for the soul" would not do.

It is probably accurate to say that, as far back as it is realiably documented, most Chinese systems are no more than 500 years old. Going further back is increasingly unreliable and difficult because of several historical and cultural factors.

Maybe this person was unlucky enough to be in an area with a higher than average percentage of martial arts schools run by cultish, unscrupulous manipulative conmen with dishonest business practises. Who really knows, there are more than a few out there in the martial arts world. Then again there are those types of individuals who are just unable to see anything but through their own filter of delusions of conspiracies. These people only see what they want to see. Neither logic, nor reason put immediately before them clear as day will have any effect.

Indeed. Isshinryu and many others are approximately the same age. There is a well known old photo commemorating one of the first official gatherings of all the Okinawan experts taken around mid 1900. Among the two or three rows are nearly all the founders of the styles existing at that time. Goju ryu, Shorin ryu, Uechi ryu and everything in between. The photo is quite easy to find and it is included in countless websites and books.

Every system going back to Matsumura Sokon is around the same age if the age is counted from his era. Anything prior to this was known as Shuri-te, Naha-te or Tomari-te. Looking further back only shows less and less specific or reliable answers. For example, the only thing known about Matsumura's predecessors only mentions their names and that they trained and taught chuan fa, which is a generic term for Chinese martial arts. Considering all of this, the oldest known account of martial arts systems distinct from Chinese ones taught in Okinawa goes back to the mid 17th century(see Takahara); by which time the Ryukyu kingdom had already had several hundred years of Chinese cultural influence and exchange, as well as growing influence from mainland Japan through the Satsuma clan who invaded in 1608.

Nothing less than complete disqualification and banishment from further participation is what this sort of unsportsmanlike, disloyal and utterly despicable act deserves. This is a competition, a sports bout, and not a warfight where the aim is to kill to be killed. Neither is it a fight for life and limb. Sports athletes have the obligation and responsibility to control themselves, especially under stress with adrenalin. They must perform to the best of their ability and avoid this kind of dishonorable behaviours. Although in the video, it could be argued that it is not clear whether it was intentional.

In martial arts culture there are many claims as to how old or how far back a style or system goes. Some have more outrageous claims of several hundred or even thousands of years. However if only the most probable historical sources are considered, it is possible to find a more likely and realistic idea of how old a system really is. Karate in the forms it is known today is most likely no more than 100 years old. Matsumura Sokon and his contemporaries taught various forms known as Shurite, Nahate and Tomarite around 200 years ago.The styles practised today all trace back to Okinawan experts who taught and spread their systems from 1900 and later. A conservative estimate would make karate about 200 years old. What about your martial art? How old can it reasonably be said to be?

This is also a stereotype of sorts, but gardening is also quite satisfying.

If recent memory is correct, within the "kobayashi" or Chibana branch of Shorin-ryu there are at least 5 perhaps as much as 8 "kan" or organizations founded by direct students and disciples of Chibana including Shorinkan. After Nakazoto Sr ceded to his son and retired a few years ago, further splintering occurred due to direct students of Nakazato Shugoro wanting to do their own thing for a variety of reasons known only to them. The kata are the same throughout except for very minor details or interpretations. The training methods and focus may also slightly differ.

Being hard on everything all the time eventually takes its toll on a person's life and health. Having a placid, calm nature and pacifist personal philosophy in no way contradicts being involved in martial arts. Neither does the practise of a specific spiritual or religious conviction. What matters and is of vital importance is to maintain balance. Personally, it involves cultivating the mind by reading and studying different subjects of interest. Usually university textbooks borrowed from the library. Mental exercise is the point. Anything that works the mind as hard as training karate does for the physical part. Drawing and watercolours are great and so is memorizing passages from English classics such as Shakespeare, Latin and other Foreign Classic works. Also music from classical composers.

Agreed. Charlatans, con-artists and frauds exist in any field, and some people simply lack the judgment to see the for what are and recognize or accept that these bad apples in no way represent the entire field.

It makes sense, so there is nothing to deny. One who is truly great, will be recognized as such and called great or expert or master of this or that but will never say "I am great". Keeping one's feet on the ground is good advice, not just from a technical point of view. Being modest and humble about one's skills no matter what one's abilities and talents is but one reason to be called a great martial artist, instructor, friend etc..

On the physical performance level at least, what makes a great martial artist is not just understanding and accepting that one's body does not allow this or that; it is knowing how to work with what one has and make the best of it by finding how to adapt and develop skills further based on that.

The man in speaking(his name is in the YouTube channel) in the video is well known on youtube for similar videos and in each of them he describes his experiences with several martial arts schools. After watching just a view minutes of these videos, it is obvious that this sad man was the victim of a martial arts cult. The saddest part of this story is that he seems to blame martial arts for his own poor life decisions and lack of judgment. Then because of this he and undoubtedly many like him blindly condemn all martial arts due to having been cheated, lied to and taken for fool by a charlatan who used his own twisted interpretation of East Asian martial arts to manipulate the weak, naive and gullible.

Lineage is important to some degree to anyone training, but it becomes even more so when one has the responsibility and honour of passing on knowledge and skills. It is very important for an instructor to be able to say with pride and confidence "my instructor was X, this is what I learned from him and thanks to him I can teach this to others" it also applies to other things, not just martial arts. Those who have taught a valuable lesson and made a difference deserved to be remembered as much as the lessons themselves.

Talking too much or too long about something very few people understand or are interested in is not a good idea. In social situations it is usually avoided unless the person are known to be interested or themselves martial artists. If the people in question were not family, they would certainly not know about involvement in martial arts. Following the old fashioned custom, training is kept very private and as secretive as possible. The less people know, the better it is if it helps spare from annoyances. It gets complicated when the annoyances come from one's own house. It is less a matter of changing their minds than getting them to quit worrying about the supposed salvation of a relative who does not share nor care for what they believe.

This is one reason why it is great to be training in an area where, although people are not more nor less informed about martial arts, these are native to the culture. When it is a stranger, it is easy to say to oneself: "this person is an ignoramous fool and what he believes does not bother me" However it is slightly more delicate and somewhat difficult to do when it is one's own family members who seem to have taken it upon themselves to preach about a subject they know nothing about, except for what their credulous minds have blindly accepted from dubious sources such as this gullible sucker(the cult victim hosting the movie) in the aforementioned movie who obviously cannot tell the difference between a charlatan's martial cult and a dojo. It is easy to tell a zealot stranger to go and eat some hay, not so much when it is a family member who is family despite their misguided attempts at saving those who do not need to be saved and have asked for nothing.

While it isbcertainly true that many diseases and pathogens are spread through saliva, it is highly unlikely that infection could actually result from being spat on or urinated on. The sheer volume of fluid required to infect another person is much more than that contained in a few millilitres. Even a dangerous virus such as AIDS would require prolonged contact with a high volume of saliva to result in infection. One would have to practically ingest(yes drink! Gross) litres of infected saliva to be infected. This is the reason why a serious charge based on that would not make sense. What does make sense and what happens usually is a charge of assault or something more serious if it is done against a person representing the law. Spitting is a universal insult and one of the worst provocations a person can do to another, regardless of culture. Spitting at anyone in any country or culture is probably the best way to start a fight. When someone spits, fists or handcuffs are usually not far behind. That is why it is so seriously considered.

A certain group of zealots, fundamentalist christians have convinced themselves that somehow martial arts are "of the devil", "dangerous for the soul" and otherwise "evil". These people have recently produced a so-called movie titled: "The Dragon Revealed, the true story" Obviously none of these people involved in producing this movie know anything about martial arts, or they had the unfortunate bad experience of a charlatan or cult leader take advantage of their gullibility. This movie was sent to several acquaintances who are martial artists and from family members. Has anyone heard of or watched enough of the movie to possibly have ideas on how to dismiss it? It would be preferable to be a polite and courteous as possible, because the rebuttal is addressed to close family members who insisted on the recipient watching the movie.