Martial arts brotherhood?

[Shorinryu Sensei]

[Thanks, SS. But, I have totry and keep things in perspective. I just remember what Mr. Parker said, "Stripes show, don't mean you know!" Think maybe this is what he had in mind?

 

That's kind of funny actually that he said that, since he had more stripes on not one, but both sides of his belt. 1 large (bout 6") stripe, then 4-5 single stripes on each end.

 

I had the opportunity to attend one of his seminars at the invitation of Chris Crews out of Missoula, Mt about 2-3 years before Mr. Parker passed away. I have a picture in a box somewhere taken with Mr. Parker, Crews and myself.

[delta1]

Yes, he did. But he knew!

[gcav]

I saw a guy wearing a MA t-shirt and I asked him if he studied. He said yes and we started talking about MA in gneral. That was 12 years ago and now he is one of by best friends. We would have never met if he hadn't worn that t-shirt.

[Kyle-san]

As it's already been said, it gives people a common ground which can make conversation and socialization that much easier. I know whenever I find out that someone has taken a martial art, or has a tattoo, or one of my other interests I make sure to talk to them about it.

[White Warlock]

I've worn my ol' Lion's Den t-shirt (Ken Shamrock's submission academy, for you n0oblets) in public a few times, and Shorin is absolutely correct. I was always full aware that such things intimidated people, so i only wore it to 'certain' places... like family get-togethers (hehe).

 

On another thought, i cannot recall even one time where anyone reacted to, or queried me about, the t-shirt logo (and that's good too, since i was enrolled for only a handful of months before i took off overseas). So i don't see it as a viable means to 'open' doors to communication with other practitioners. If you want to do that, just visit the various schools. I've met plenty of new friends that way, and had experienced some great conversations at times.

 

Soo... what was this thread about again?

[aefibird]

As it's already been said, it gives people a common ground which can make conversation and socialization that much easier. I know whenever I find out that someone has taken a martial art, or has a tattoo, or one of my other interests I make sure to talk to them about it.

 

I agree.

 

I feel that there is a general "brotherhood" of martial artists - most martial artists are interested when they come across a fellow MA practicioner, even if it is only to exchange smiles, let alone to swop training stories and compare bruises.

 

Although there are some eejits about on the net who delight in bashing other styles, most martial artists tend to 'stick together'. The martial arts can get a lot of bad press and many martial artists feel that they should defend an art that is being attacked by 'outsiders' (i.e. those that don't train in MA), even if they don't practice that art or agree with it.

 

Talking to someone becomes easier if you have common ground - even if the person you're talking to has never practied your art, MA is still a good reference point to get a conversation going and most practicioners are mature enough to be able to have a civilised discussion with someone in person about the pros and cons of their chosen arts.

[kle1n]

mostly people who have done martial arts for a short time tend to bash other people/arts because they overestimate themselves.It is a common MA newbie thing.I bet some of you guys thought you could kick * after 2 months of MA training. come on be honest

[scottnshelly]

i've worn some Martial Arts shirts out before. never gotten any rude remarks about it other than the typical idiot redneck 'hey kung fu master'

 

i don't know about a full out bow in public, but certainly when meeting an Instructor or student in public when we shake there's a slight bendature at the waist. unnoticable to the untrained eye.

[karatekid1975]

Same here Scottnshelly. Thanks everyone for keeping this topic interesting. I enjoyed reading it. Even the opinions of each person were pretty interesting. And thanks for keeping it civil