Jade Posted May 14, 2004 Posted May 14, 2004 I mean...at least here in Italy the dojos are not so full like 10-15 years ago.......i trained in two different gym since i started practicing Karate and after few years there were lack or persons...why that? May it be they didn't get the true spiritual essence of karate? It happens often when i mention that i practice karate people ask " oh...how many * have you kicked? You're dangerous".......they immediately think you could do unimaginable things....and that's a wrong view...specially for a beginner... Thinking to go to a karate school only to demostrate you can kick other * or tring to imitate Van Damme is the main reason i believe people are getting sick after few months. There's a very low percentage of people that understand that practicing a martial art mean an hard sacrifice even if you are an expert. What do you think about? "With a bit of imagination, kata can be deadly." - Hidy Ochiai
Dijita Posted May 14, 2004 Posted May 14, 2004 I think the media has muddled a lot of people's perceptions. Personally, I love karate. To me it is a life time commitment with a lot of hard work but a lot of personal rewards. I get a lot out of it. When I work hard I improve, I honestly can say it makes me feel a lot more focused and it's helping me be calm because I'm known to be a hyper person. The people in my dojo are like my surrogate family. I agree though, a lot of people have the misconception about Karate, or get into it for the wrong reason. I think a lot of people's main and sometimes only goal is to become a black belt. I think a lot of people do get into it as well thinking they will be this great fighter and expect to aquire that in a short period of time. Anyways, sorry if this post is a bit all over the place, I'm kind of tired today.
aes Posted May 14, 2004 Posted May 14, 2004 In my region I would say MA are more popular than they have ever been. Dojos are all over the place and it is pretty hard to find a family that has not taken some MA. Most who take it seem to consider the fighting aspect secondary to fitness or helping with focus. 43 Years oldBlue Belt (7th Kyu) Shorin-ryuRoberts Karate
shotochem Posted May 14, 2004 Posted May 14, 2004 Personally, I love karate. To me it is a life time commitment with a lot of hard work but a lot of personal rewards. I get a lot out of it. When I work hard I improve, I honestly can say it makes me feel a lot more focused and it's helping me be calm because I'm known to be a hyper person. The people in my dojo are like my surrogate family. I feel pretty much the same. I've met many people and good friends through MA. When you train with a bunch of good people for a long time you become like family. As long as its still fun and I enjoy doing it MA are for me. I'm not sure about the life time committment............... You'll just have to ask me in 20yrs when I could be training my gradchildren. Pain is only temporary, the memory of that pain lasts a lifetime.
EvilTed Posted May 14, 2004 Posted May 14, 2004 Hard to say why people lose interest in karate or anything else for that matter. I think modern society has bred a world of impatient people who expect or rather demand immediate results from their actions. "I want it and I want it now!" The trouble with karate is the results are not immediate and for most of us perfection in unattainable without years of hard work, sweat and overcoming personal hardships. Personally, I did Shotokan and TKD around 20 years ago and lost interest after a year or so. I never thought I'd be doing full contact karate at close to 40 years old and only now do I begin to realise what it's about. It's not about the * kicking potential, the Matrix moves or getting a black belt. It's about climbing the mountain - when I get to the top, I'll be able to say "Wow - what a view" Osu! ET
Jade Posted May 14, 2004 Author Posted May 14, 2004 THanks for the answers guys....yes i agree too with most of your comments...the various madia are confusing people mind with crazy conception of the martial arts and that's really sad. I wish people here were different.....i heard only few persons that said they love karate because it's "karate" in the whole meaning of the word. "With a bit of imagination, kata can be deadly." - Hidy Ochiai
Guest Posted May 14, 2004 Posted May 14, 2004 There are several factors invoved. People are getting lazier generation to generation in the US. It's just a fact. Karate is hard work. A lot of people think we're dorks. I don't think that the "spiritual essense" of karate really has anything to do with it. "If they just understood the spirit of budo .." I don't have any interest in the spirituality of karate or budo, and yet I continue to practice. Some of it has to do with word of mouth. Many people who take martial arts don't stick with it for very long. So now we have hundreds of thousands of people who tried karate and quit. Some of these people are talking potential students out of trying, telling stories about standing in horse stance for 30 minutes straight and nasty bruises they got during conditioning excersizes, and how they didn't learn how to fight. Each and every year we have more and more of these people who quit and are now telling dojo horror stories. Many of them are probably having children and telling them they can't try it because it is dangerous or a waste of money.
aefibird Posted May 14, 2004 Posted May 14, 2004 In my region I would say MA are more popular than they have ever been. Dojos are all over the place and it is pretty hard to find a family that has not taken some MA. Most who take it seem to consider the fighting aspect secondary to fitness or helping with focus. MA clubs are really popular in my region too, but unfortunately it is mostly wall-to-wall McDojo's. Martial arts are popular, but generally the public want results NOW and think that they're gonna be able to be like Bruce Lee within 3 weeks. That's probably why a lot of people try karate and martial arts & drop out after a while - they haven't been given their black belt within a month so they're not gonna stick at it. I believe that's why McDojo's are on the rise - they cater to the "I want it now" culture that is prevalent within Western society. Plus, McDojo's breen McDojo's - someone gets a blackbelt with a McDojo and then believed that they can now competently teach, so they set up their own club. I've been looking around for MA clubs in my area to train with since my Aikido dojo sadly ended. I went to visit a Shukokai dojo a week or so ago and one of the first things the instructor told me was how short a time I could 'earn' my black belt in. Unfortunately, that is a bit of an indication of the state of modern karate and it sadly means that the great clubs are being swamped out by the 'get your grades for simply turning up' type schools. "Was it really worth it? Only time and death may ever tell..." The Beautiful South - The Rose of My CologneSheffield Steelers!
trekmann Posted May 15, 2004 Posted May 15, 2004 I would like to put a different slant on this topic. I feel that Karate has lost some credibility due to the fact that there are Dojo's that are flooded with kiddy Karateka's. I believe nothing brings the reputation of a MA down more than having 8-year-old kids running around with black belts. Offcourse that is not limited to Karate, but also other arts like TKD. At least I can take comfort in knowing that there are no students under 16 in my dojo who hold a black belt, and by god they have had to train for a long hard time to earn it. The strongest principle in human growth lies in human choice (Alexander Chase).
turonaga Posted May 15, 2004 Posted May 15, 2004 karate is not for everybody and everybody is not for karate. those that lose interest don't know what karate is. they are whimps. why did we surrender lord?
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