Martial Arts on Pop Culture

[Kicks]

I just want to be different, like everybody else.

[Mischievousjoe]

You said it kicks - being in highschool during the mid to late nineties , that was basically the image that was being pushed by media etc. The popular thing to be was an individual.... but only to a degree.... and went beyond just cliques in school ( sorta ) i mean , reallly i think it started with the whole Alternative music thing becoming mainstream music, and as anyone in highschool remembers,the music you listen to pretty much defines who you hang with in highschool, ( or in mine at least )

[Logan]

I want to thank the nintendo era for the current view of MA. Most kids that think of MA think of Mortal Kombat. Violent, bloody, attacking of each other. Few realize that there is a whole, different, more important side to MA. I see many parents bring children to class to learn MA. First the kids are into it because they want to kick someones head off. The parents think it will do them some good to have some discipline,(that they are obviously lacking at home). The next thing that happens the kid finds out it isn't just kicking and punching, and darn it ,there's all those push-ups and situps. So the child wants out and back to his controller where he doesn't have to do squat thrusts to kick someones a**. So the parent allows him to quit. (lord knows the kid gets what he wants). So in essence the parent has taught the kid to be a quitter. If things get tough, quit. Welcome to the new genereation.

[Shorin Ryuu]

I must say that even when I was a teenager, I disparated the "MTV generation" types and "instant culture". That included the time period before I starting taking martial arts. I think a lot of this has to do with poor parenting and/or the lifestyle that teenagers are exposed to nowadays. Everything is fast-paced, high-tech, instant-gratification oriented. Kids spend more time playing video games or watching TV than they do talking as a family or even (heaven forbid) going outside to do some chores around the yard. When my dad always said (as all dads should) "It builds character", he was right. There's just something to be said about plain hard work that makes you feel accomplishment and a sense of discipline. "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well" is another saying of his that I took to heart.

 

Now (interestingly enough, I was just reading an article about this in the recent Journal of Asian Martial Arts) this does swing back to the initial proposition/question about whether martial arts builds character or that if people of character are more likely to be attracted to martial arts and that they are the ones more likely to progress through martial arts (and hence stay in them). I think it is actually a little bit of both. I'm always asked how big of an impact martial arts has had on my character. To be totally honest, the classic line of "self-discipline, courage, confidence, calm, etc." is not my answer. I know I already possessed these traits before I even started taking martial arts. Granted, traditional martial arts offers me a venue to further them, but I already had a strong foundation in them before I even started. The only other thing I can call to mind is being "well-balanced", but I actually attribute that more to my extensive introspection on the matter as well as my political science major in college, during which a lot of philosophy was studied.

 

Hmm, I didn't mean this to be a "toot my own horn" post, but what I meant was that I don't necessarily view traditional martial arts as the true nurturing for my [insert positive character trait here], but rather as a medium through which I can live those traits. Now, someone like Aristotle would say that a way to become ethical would be through the proper practice of ethical actions (i.e. martial arts in this case), but now we're (actually, maybe just me) starting to delve into some other matters as well...

[italian_guy]

Good post SR!

 

I also think that MA do teach good character, but people who does not quit have it already to some degree.