Myths and Misconceptions

[liquidkudzu]

There is a pretty good article in this month's Black Belt magazines titled "Myths and Misconceptions."

I won't print the article, but I will list the 10 items that they explain in the article:

1. A black belt must register himself as a deadly weapon

2. Bruce Lee was assassinated by Shaolin killer monks

3. A black belt is a master

4. All martial arts are ancient

5. Traditional systems do not work

6. There is a world champion

7. There are death matches

8. Masters are always calm and serene

9. Women can't do martial arts well

10. A black belt can take on a whole crowd

Also, next month, 6 more myths will be listed and explained.

lk

[gojupralgo]

I remember seeing Jeane Claude VanDamme lie on the Arsenio Hall Show years ago.

He stated that when he moved to California, he had to register his hands as lethal weapons with the Police Department.

What a phoney.

[shogeri]

That's a funny list...

I'll briefly go over some of them:

1. A black belt must register himself as a deadly weapon

Some jurisdictions, and D.A.s will take into consideration any prior training you may or may not have had while bringing up charges, etc.

2. Bruce Lee was assassinated by Shaolin killer monks

Huh? That is like saying that the movie Bruce Lee: A Dragon Story was a total depiction of the truth, especially when he got beat up by a kung fu master. When it fact his back injury was due to poor weight lifting procedures.

3. A black belt is a master

Now this is a myth. I have seen white belts (or people of the streets) beat up black belts.

 

I have also witnessed so called masters flub up something that they are supposed to know.

4. All martial arts are ancient

Most of the good ones are 500 to 1000 years old, and from there broaden into a loose, incohesive structure spanning the feudal times. The Martial Arts are ancient, however, styles or systems are more of a modern concept.

5. Traditional systems do not work

Some are just misinterpreted, or mis-applied. And yes, there are those that are simply not worth the time of day.

6. There is a world champion

 

There are U.S champions, as well as International. But they are not representative of any one style, or method of doing martial arts. They are champions because they have a champion mindset, and the skills to back it up.

7. There are death matches

In some countries there are death matches. But most modern countries outlaw them.

8. Masters are always calm and serene

And some lose their tempers. While other's act like babies.

9. Women can't do martial arts well

Women do not get the spotlight like men do. So this is still an unknown. I do know of women who can hold their own in most situations, as good as any man could.

10. A black belt can take on a whole crowd

Must not be the same black belt who cannot fight their way out of a wet paper sack with a knife, and instructions.

[username6748]

Yeah, those are cool. I plan on getting a subscription for that magazine also.

[elbows_and_knees]

Yeah, those are cool. I plan on getting a subscription for that magazine also.

I wouldn't. On a whole, blackbelt sucks, IMO.

As for the world champion thing, there ARE world champs, but it is more of a limited world champ. If I am a world champ in judo, for example, then I went to the world tournament, fought against competitors from all over the world and won. The thing is that

1. I was only fighting other judo guys, not guys from other styles

2. That was a good day. on any given day, one of the other guys could have won.

3. there may be people better than me who for whatever reason did not enter.

Consequently, to say that you are the best in the world is a little misleading.

- All MA are not ancient - muay thai for example didn't come about until the 1920's. Judo is less than 200 years old. TKD came about in the 1960's. freestyle kickboxing is fairly new...

I may give my opinion on the others later...

[shogeri]

e_and_k reinforces what I was saying.

Save for the blurb about MA being ancient.

-----------

In sum, most people are clueless as to what the Martial Arts are really about, from where they came, what to expect from a lifelong practitioner, and so on.

Later!

Edited November 15, 2005 by shogeri

[Aodhan]

- All MA are not ancient - muay thai for example didn't come about until the 1920's. Judo is less than 200 years old. TKD came about in the 1960's. freestyle kickboxing is fairly new...

Right, but these are modern codifications/refinements. I don't think there is a single MA out there (Although I'm sure someone will pipe up with a different opinion ) that is truly "ancient" in the form it exists today.

Also, every martial art can claim ancient roots. The modern version of TKD is just now 50 years old, but has roots and techniques dating from near 0 AD. Same for most kicking/punching martial arts.

Aodhan

[liquidkudzu]

Yeah, those are cool. I plan on getting a subscription for that magazine also.

I wouldn't. On a whole, blackbelt sucks, IMO.

...

I wouldn't say it sucks. I would say it is halfway between mediocre and good. You can get a year of it off of eBay and eBay stores for about $9.

I'd say it is worth less than a dollar per issue if you get it that way.

lk

[elbows_and_knees]

- All MA are not ancient - muay thai for example didn't come about until the 1920's. Judo is less than 200 years old. TKD came about in the 1960's. freestyle kickboxing is fairly new...

Right, but these are modern codifications/refinements. I don't think there is a single MA out there (Although I'm sure someone will pipe up with a different opinion ) that is truly "ancient" in the form it exists today.

Also, every martial art can claim ancient roots. The modern version of TKD is just now 50 years old, but has roots and techniques dating from near 0 AD. Same for most kicking/punching martial arts.

Aodhan

Granted the root is older, but the root is not the style in question. grappling is the oldest form of MA and is found in all cultures. But judo is still new. The fact that it came from jujutsu is irrelevant to the fact that judo itself is new. It's not a refinement, per se - it's a new system. Now, jujutsu has changed since the old days, definitely, but it is still called jujutsu. judo is it's own system, based on the older style.

[Patrick]

This thread is for the discussion of the myths (and the article) in Black Belt Magazine. Not general myths and misconceptions. Thanks.