Once Upon a Time

[KickChick]

I was blown away by this article I read this morning and wanted to get right back here to post it for all of you!

 

It mirrors quite a few thoughts of all the members here ... you may or may not agree with alot of it ... but this was martial arts "Once Upon a Time"....

 

Once Upon A Time - By C. M. Griffin

 

Taekwondo Times - January 2001

 

ONCE UPON A TIME...

 

ONCE UPON A TIME. ..Martial arts instructors were tough, strong and intelligent. They taught the arts because they wanted to uphold a tradition in the arts. They taught the arts because they loved it and wanted to share with others. They taught the arts because they believed it was their calling. They taught the arts to give something back to the community. They did not pursue it as a business, as a vehicle to make money.

 

ONCE UPON A TIME.-.The measure of success of a martial art instructor was good, strong, smart, tough, respectful students. It was not the size of the school or the flashiness of a car that indicated success.

 

ONCE UPON A TIME.. .The dojang was a place of sweat, pain and sacrifice. It was a place where strong moral character was forged in the fire of extremely hard work. It was not a social club where one gathered to meet friends. It was not a place of music and health drinks where the beautiful people or the "chill crowd" goes to be seen in the place to be.

 

ONCE UPON A TIME... Martial artists considered the training hall a temple dedicated to the excellence of human personal achievement. It was not a cheap daycare center or a convenient baby-sitter.

 

ONCE UPON A TIME...The martial arts were not for everyone—and were never intended for everyone. If someone could not keep up with the class, if they could not "get" the techniques, they were never promoted to the next level. Certainly the martial curriculum was never changed to meet the slowest persons needs!

 

ONCE UPON A TIME.. .Students had to actually know and perform the requirements for each belt promotion. They were never helped at the test or told the answers. They didn't have black belts standing around to help them remember particular techniques. Students were never promoted just because they showed up. They had to be able to do the techniques and with a certain level of excellence.

 

ONCE UPON A TIME.. .Promotion exams were not a major social event. Mothers, fathers, grandparents, wives, boyfriends, and girlfriends were not seated around the testing area watching the students perform. Testing was private; after all, it was possible to fail and have to retake the test.

 

ONCE UPON A TIME. ..Everyone strove for improvement to reach that proverbial high bar. The bar was never lowered so that everyone could rise over it. If you couldn't reach it, you worked harder. We strove for excellence and were not satisfied with mediocrity.

 

ONCE UPON A TIME.. .Everyone was not so concerned with rank and titles. Everyone wasn't a shihan, soke, kwan jang nim, or grandmaster. They were simply sa bum nims or senseis. There certainly were not any thirty year old grandmasters.

 

ONCE UPON A TIME. ..The black belt had meaning. A brown or red belt was someone to be feared and respected. A black belt was something else. A second degree was extremely difficult to get, not even to mention a third or fourth degree. There were no 15 year old second degree black belts. Becoming a black belt was a long hard road to travel and required extremely intensive study.

 

ONCE UPON A TIME.. .Uniforms, gis and doboks were either white or black. You could identify the school of a student by the simple patch on the uniform. The name of the school was not emblazoned across every stitch of the uniform and it did not look like a reject from a Fredericks of Hollywood catalogue or the costume of a cartoon super hero.

 

ONCE UPON A TIME... Techniques and philosophies worked and you knew they worked because they were tested against peers in the dojang or at a tournament. Plain, simple and true; if your philosophy did not work, you got your backside handed to you.

 

ONCE UPON A TIME.. .Martial arts magazines were filled with information about styles, systems, training methods and tournaments. They were not ads or pseudo articles espousing the virtues of a particular school.

 

ONCE UPON A TIME...If you were in martial arts you were part of a unique, small and elite society. It was a society rich with history and traditions. You were proud to be a part of that society. You were not belittled or degraded; people did not walk by the dojang and make fake Bruce Lee noises. You were respected and you earned that respect.

 

ONCE UPON A TIME. ..The air was cleaner, women were much prettier, flowers smelled fresher, men were tougher and stronger, candy was much sweeter... or was it? Was it just the perceptions of the world through the tinted eyes of youth? Maybe, it seemed so long ago, once upon a time...

 

[LeaF]

That was awsome!! Great article KickChick thank you very much for posting it I can't say I agree with everything but thats ok and fortunatly not everything there has changed in all the dojos, we still wear white gis with a simple patch. I am definatly going to write this down none the less, thanks alot

 

(I hope it didn't take you too long to type it all out )

Edited August 9, 2002 by LeaF

[Kensai]

Most interesting, I would say that I had to disagree with 50% of it, and agree whole heartedly with the other 50%.

 

Thanks for that, really interesting.

[metalhead]

Great article KickChick especially the end. Kinda makes you reflect and wonder.

[The_Yak]

Wow that was great and 99% true.

[Martial_Artist]

100%.

[SaiFightsMS]

Good material for thought.

[karatekid1975]

I agree with it 100%. It makes me sad to think how most dojangs (specally the mcdojang versions) turned out I long for the old days of training, eventhough I never was there, but heard about it from my old teacher.

[shaolinprincess]

Good stuff!!!

[KickChick]

Like I said .... I was blown away ... the sentiment is indeed there ... maybe we all don;t agree 100% (and I maybe 99 1/4% ) I wish I had written that one! I am so glad you all (so far) liked that! .... Edited August 10, 2002 by KickChick