Your Opinion, Please.

[Shizentai]

But what saddens me is the false super hero mentality taught by some martial art schools. They instil a fantasy mind set in their students that they can take on anyone. I had one gentleman say to me after he had trained Krav Maga for three months that he was "Street Lethal" and no man or street thug could touch him. I think he needs a serious reality check, the general public are not idiots when it comes to confrontation, some even excel at it.

Agreed. It's fascinating to see, when someone gains fighting skill, but turns down the wrong road and decides to become an aggressor, how they instantly fall to a disadvantage. As important as confidence and commitment are to making ant waza effective, believing you are invulnerable or are simply "better" than other people is and always will be a gravely incorrect assumption... especially if you've only been at a martial art for 3 months. I mean, REALLY!?

When I walk after dark in our town, I keep a low profile, I don't think I'm ten men. I've seen Skinhead boot parties, they are an ugly experience. Sensei, tell your students to avoid such areas, you will never gain the super human prowess that some schools of martial arts seem to promise.

Indeed! Although, as I said before, even if you do everything right, sometimes trouble finds you... especially if you are not a particularly intimidating looking person (my experience: in my work place, at school, riding my bike near my house, walking home from the grocery store, at my friend's birthday party, walking the dog, you get the idea, females get hassled a lot). Even so, not seeking trouble betters your odds of a peaceful life.

As for children and young people, teach them to run away and seek help.

I wholeheartedly agree, not just for small and young people though, for everyone. If a fight can be avoided rather than engaged, this is the best possible outcome. One of my favorite, albeit non-conventional, bunkai practices is to pick apart kata in terms of which movements can be interperated as getting-the-heck-out-of-there so to speak. So often we focus on which throw, which take-down, etc. Where is the safe retreat? This is honestly something I think everyone could train more.

In some cases, it is not possible to run at first, however (like, in my experience, when someone has suddenly picked you up off of the ground from behind; a common small person problem). For those instances, there is martial arts.... so you can get to the running part.

[Harkon72]

I'll give you an all too vivid example. I was a student in the city of Swansea, when I had left school, I was 19 years old. I had studied Karatedo for 5 years and held the rank of 2nd Kyu. We, as students had been invited to a martial arts seminar hosted by a student Ju Jitsu school in the sister University of Cardiff. We travelled there and had a good time with other collage students and a 4th Dan Ju Jitsu and Aiki Jitsu Sensei and two of his Sempai. As we walked out of the Sports Hall in Cardiff, we noticed that we had walked into a crowd. They were Swansea soccer supporters, their team had just played the Cardiff City side and lost. They were in a foul mood, drunk and volatile. They saw our clothing and sports bags and they turned on us. It was chaos, we were young students of martial arts, some with almost no experience, male and female, out numbered more than 2 to 1. I don't remember much, only trying to spare the other students a beating while trying to stay on our feet. We were attacked with blades, bottles and boots. There were some serious injuries, I had a broken nose, sprained fingers and a knife wound to my left ribcage. The police were there relatively quickly, the thugs legged it but the damage was done. In hindsight, we were lucky, lessons were learnt. But the most enlightening was this; if you put them down, learn to really hurt them. I know it sounds callus, but the problem we had that day was whatever pretty throw or fending off technique we used, the attackers kept getting up and attacking again. My life was a risk that afternoon, it was a great lesson and by the grace of god, not my last.

[sensei8]

Seems to me that this girl will not receive many kind words of encouragement and/or support here. Which is fine because I did ask for opinions!

Her intents aren't being considered here, but only the fact that she's a child black belt. Again, I'm no fan of a child black belt, not now, not later!! Nonetheless, she is a legitimate black belt in the JKA.

Imho, she's a martial artist! A martial artist is someone that studies a form of the martial arts, and the last time I checked, JKA/Shotokan fits that mold.

Had the video been of an adult, she would've received a totally different response.

Had this girl been a part of the Kyu rank levels, she would've received a totally different response.

Watching her, my first impressions were:

She's a child!!

She's wearing a black belt!!

She's a child black belt!!

Aaaaarrrrrgggggghhhhhhhh!!

That was my first impression, which was heightened by my opinion of child black belts! I didn't give her any credit, not at first glance! Not at the second glance, either!! It took me many, many, many glances before I started to watch her as a student of the martial arts, and not as a child black belt, therefore, as a martial artist.

I've never read, nor have I ever heard that to be a martial artist you must be a certain age!! Being a martial artist isn't only for those practitioners that are adults. When I was a JBB from the age of 13 years old, I was ALREADY a martial artist because I've ALREADY been a practitioner of a martial art; Shindokan!!

In my opinion, I see her as a practitioner of the martial arts. I look beyond her obi so that I can see her as a martial artist!!

[Harkon72]

Our difference in opinion is quite clear here Bob. I see her as a child performing a highly skilled martial arts themed exercise. Being a martial artist has nothing to do with age, I agree. But performing prescribed movements, however skilled is not what it takes. Play fighting in copious amounts of dipped foam does not make you a martial artist either. The simplest way that I can see a martial artist in my mind is a Warrior trained to do harm and respecting his opponent. This is the greatest paradox of modern martial arts; we train in an apparent art that has nothing to do with the tradition that we think it is. So many styles are not combat arts, they are purely styles of martial looking movements. I'll give you an example. Ten years ago, there was an international Karate event in Paris, France. A fight broke out between two teams of karateka; one from Germany, the other from Spain. The comment afterwards was the no-one got hurt, not a single damaging blow was landed. These karateka had trained in their art for years but had never thrown a real punch or strike, they expertly pulled each one. I think it's remarkable and sadly illustrates my point. I don't condone violence, but many martial artists have a great sense of accomplishment in something that they are quite deluded about.

[sensei8]

It appears our opinion on the subject differs, and I'm okay with that!!

Her embodiment of the martial arts as a martial artist doesn't depend on, nor does it define her through our opinions. If SHE supposes that she's a martial artist, then through her own perception, she is a martial artist; one who practices a form of the martial arts.

Who are we to define her, and therefore deny her? Especially when we're judging her from afar; as though we have that exclusive right to do so.

I can't speak about your analogy in Paris, France, because I wasn't there, but I do believe that, while this wasn't a good thing, it was hopefully an isolated result.

If possible, let us forget the proposed ideology of a martial artist is one who can effectively defend themselves, but, if at all possible, can we all agree that a martial artist is one WHO PRACTICES A FORM OF THE MARTIAL ARTS? Forgetting the effectiveness of the individual, but the intent, which, is about training said martial art to become an effective means.

[Harkon72]

What you say is perfectly true Bob, but as is apparent that the terms "Martial Art" and "Martial Artist" have a vast spectrum of meaning to different people. This meaning has changed and will change as the concept of martial arts evolves. Maybe my background and experience has greatly effected the way I see it, I have fought for my life as my family have for generations. My mother's sister was horrified when my father gave me a wooden tanto to train with at five years old. Does my aunt have a point? Should the craft of combat be withheld from children? Today violence and conflict seems to part of the culture. We had no Ghost Force Recon video games when we were kids. We just made catapults and watched Tom and Jerry.

[wildbourgman]

I've watched this girl's videos for a while now ever since her first probably. I have no problem with giving a child a belt that they earn, period. If they perform within the curriculum or the testing syllabus then I'm good to go.

I also don't have a problem with having a junior blackbelt status that converts into a regular blackbert when the child reaches a certain arbitrairy age limit set by the association or dojo.

I'm not into giving a child any special treatment in the curriculum to recieve a rank whether it's harder or easier.

[Harkon72]

I was in a local cafe with my wife the other day. A young lady said to me, "I'm a 3rd Dan in Karate" I didn't blink, I could believe that, she was about 4'10", 6 stone and about 23 years old. She was probably a child Dan grade who had elevated to an adult grade when she came of age, fair enough. The next comment she made blew me away; "I've just retired from being a MMA instructor." I took a deep breath and finished my coffee. I know that I'm an old fashioned old coot with dreams of feudal Japan and prays to a Celtic Warrior God. I know I'm crazy right? But there is no chance in a Hell made of Lego that this young girl has the skill and toughness of mind to teach real MMA. She may be a child karateka who's parents paid her grading fees every 3 months and bobbed up and down in dipped foam and did her kata nice and pretty to earn her her little belt with three stripes; you just can't add some throws, holds and chokes to it and call yourself a Mixed Martial Artist! MMA is not a martial art in its own right, you need to be proficient in at least 2 or 3 arts so you can mix them. I bet she charged a good £50 a month for her teaching too. By the way, there's no grades in MMA either, unless you want to charge £35 each for those.

[sensei8]

At 23, being a 3rd Dan is quite doable without having to have ever been a child BB.

Her saying that she's retired from being a MMA instructor, might mean that she is no longer teaching MMA. As we know, there are quite a lot of women training in MMA, and some teach MMA. I do agree, there's no belts, to my knowledge, in MMA. And being a 3rd Dan in some form of Karate is usually the time when most 3rd Dan's embark in opening their own dojo.

I'm only speaking out loud because I wasn't there, and I don't know her MA background. I don't know why she would even tell you that she was a 3rd Dan because that's out of line; that's something that karateka's don't speak outwardly willingly.

Imho.

[Harkon72]

Yes you are right Sensei, many people know I train, but few know what in and what grade I hold or even how long I've been doing it. What shocked me was the matter of fact way she mentioned MMA instructorship as if it was what everyone does. MMA fighters, let alone their instructors are special people, usually life long martial artists. To be in your early twenties and refer to being an instructor in it and having retired sounded really strange to me. It's like some of these hyped up Masters who claim to hold black belts in 10 martial arts! Have they listened to what they have just claimed? Some of these guys are not much older than me! I'm not too hot at maths but it doesn't add up. As you say Sensei, the floor is an unforgiving arena.