The Changing Landscape!!

[sensei8]

What will the landscape look like when every single most noted Master of the MA have stood up and walked away from their chairs?

Two things are guaranteed to everyone...To be born and to die!! Death is no respecter of persons!!

Many well noted MA Masters have passed away. Oyama and Nishiyama and Parker and Funakoshi and Itosu and Gibu and Jhoon Rhee and Jo Bang Lee and so on and so forth; the list is quite extensive. Legends of the MA, one and all.

Many created the current landscape that we share in because of what they've done for all of us, no matter the rank. However, there are still a many well noted MA Masters that are still with us and quite active. Kanazawa, to name one, is with us.

Just what will the landscape be when all of the most noted MA Masters have passed away be like?

Will the landscape change? Will the landscape of the MA drastically change or will it change gradually? Will the landscape benefit the MA and/or us without having them to actively guide us?

Change is inevitable, and the MA landscape as we now know it will, in time, change, and those who forged what we enjoy now, will be a hopefully newer and brighter landscape to gaze upon with welcoming heart and eyes.

The landscaping of the MA is changing. Are we prepared for it?!?! Hopefully, the Senior Dan ranks of your style will preserve what the most noted MA Master forged!!

Your thoughts, please!

[cheesefrysamurai]

Good topic!

Many of us put our head in the sand, think about the here and now but don't consider the person who many assume is holding things together and the power struggles that begin when they pass away.

All of the sudden you get 3 organizations all promising that Sensei told them they have the golden key and technique and lineage get diluted

How do you keep something pure as possible?

How do you keep ego and power seekers at bay?

There are organizations out there formed around one guy. How can they prepare for the inevitable?

and even if they try to do it right how does one make succession bulletproof?

[Wastelander]

As time passes, new masters develop as old masters die--we can only hope that the new masters expand on the knowledge of the old, and don't lose too much. I have noticed that some of the modern masters are trying to spread their knowledge a little more widely than they used to, but it's still not a huge number of masters or huge amount of expansion. Shinjo Kiyohide Sensei of Uechi-Ryu and Taira Masaji of Goju-Ryu, in particular, have projects going on for this purpose. I've also seen some expansion in knowledge sharing amongst Shorin-Ryu masters, as well.

As far as lineage and organizations go, I don't know how much can be done to preserve them when they are headed by on person, as cheesefrysamurai mentions.

The Shorinkan, for example, has been headed by Nakazato Shugoro since he founded it. He is still alive but, at 95 years of age, he has passed on the running of the organization to his son, Nakazato Minoru. So far, I don't think anyone has broken away from the Shorinkan because of this, but I suspect there will be a schism when Nakazato Shugoro passes away. The same thing happened when his sensei, Chibana Chosin, passed away--his top students all started their own organizations and claimed to be the true successor of Chibana. I'm hoping that Nakazato Shugoro's approach to succession (appointing his son with the approval of the Board of the Shorinkan) will keep the splintering to a minimum, but we'll see how things turn out.

[DWx]

Good topic!

Many of us put our head in the sand, think about the here and now but don't consider the person who many assume is holding things together and the power struggles that begin when they pass away.

All of the sudden you get 3 organizations all promising that Sensei told them they have the golden key and technique and lineage get diluted

How do you keep something pure as possible?

How do you keep ego and power seekers at bay?

There are organizations out there formed around one guy. How can they prepare for the inevitable?

and even if they try to do it right how does one make succession bulletproof?

That's a good point. This happened within ITF Taekwondo. On Gen. Choi's passing in 2002, three groups emerged each claiming to be the true - ITF. Just over 10 years later they still haven't come to an agreement and there are even more splinter groups popping up every year each claiming to preserve the General's teachings.

[sensei8]

I suppose that, for the practitioner, ones own landscape has more of an immediate presence than the overall landscape that we all share.

Outside of our immediate landscape, we take more of a casual observation in that, and not because we're uninterested, but we're not as impacted by it directly as we would be if it was our immediate landscape.

We take either a noted observation or we not. I become saddened when the landscape outside of the Shindokan circle because one's loss of a MA friend and/or Master does make a profound difference to said individual and/or the masses!! But when the landscape changes inside the Shindokan circle, I'm devastated even more so; this is a natural occurrence.

When Parker or Nishiyama or Oyama or Bruce or any number of noted MA Masters passed away, my landscape changes, but not directly. Their contributions on and off the floor can NOT be taken lightly, and I never have. I rejoice in what they've accomplished, but sadden that the landscape for us all, is ever so changed one way or another.

When Soke Saitou of the Shindokan passed away, the landscape of the entire student body took a direct hit!! However, when Dai-Soke of the Shindokan passed away, the landscape took a dynamic and frightful blast directly to the continued existence of the Shindokan Hombu!! And, as a personal note, Soke's passing hurt to levels we can't express. Yet, for me, Dai-Soke's passing hit me in ways I hadn't even experienced before; my landscape was torn to an asunder that literally took my breath away! A void that will never be filled!!

We look here, there, and everywhere at the landscape of the MA, and we see how it's changed from the times of the Masters of Old, to where it's changing right now, and we foresee how it might change in the future because CHANGE in the MA landscape is inevitable, and it's not about "if", but more like "when", and that day is just over the horizon.

However, the landscape, no matter the history, will remain greener as we approach the future, unexpected, yet prepared!!

I've opened up this topic concentrating on the MA Master; people. However, and I believe that this merits consideration...

Just how devastating would the MA landscape be if a noted STYLE of the MA became extinct?? No more Shotokan...No more TKD...No more Judo...No more BJJ...No more JKD...No more [fill in the blank]!!

[cheesefrysamurai]

And I wonder if the "new masters" are quite the quality of the old ones.

Of course they are proficient but..... This is a new world, new times. The person who dedicates their life to the art is rare now.

Im sort of concerned about the landscape - im not where I want to be and in the end my "destination" will be cheaper in a sense.

I know there is no destination and there is no end, I just mean symbolically that my goal will be diminished by the changing landscape

[JohnASE]

We should all honor our ancestors and their achievements, but in order to survive as a species, we need to be willing to change and adapt as the world around us changes. Species that can't adapt become extinct.

It is harder to teach an old dog new tricks than it is to teach a young dog. The turning of generations can be a good thing. It facilitates our evolution. My generation had a whole new world open up to us through computers. My parents' generation had whole a new world open up to them through television. My grandparents' generation had a whole new world open up to them through moving pictures. My parents might have a shot at getting some use out of an iPad, but I'd be surprised if my 100 year old grandmother could even learn the basics (she's still pretty competent). My grandmother knows how to do plenty of things better than I, but what I know is more useful in the modern world.

Diversity is also important for our survival as a species. If we were all the same biologically, a disease that could kill one of us might become an epidemic that could kill us all. Diversity increases the chance that some of us will be able to fight off the illness. Having diverse skill sets also makes us stronger. I'm a planner. I want to get it right the first time. My wife is more impulsive and would rather try something, and if it doesn't work, try something else. Some situations call for one method, while some call for the other. Together, we're a great team!

It's normal for people to find comfort and security from having everything stay the same and from being around people who are just like us, but there are definite advantages to change and diversity. It's better that we survive in an altered state than for us to be wiped out and replaced by something completely different.

That wasn't too obscure, was it? Martial arts need to change in order to survive. Old senseis need to pass the torch to the new. Old organizations need to split up and try new things to see what works and what doesn't. To stay the same would eventually result in irrelevance and extinction.

[sensei8]

We should all honor our ancestors and their achievements, but in order to survive as a species, we need to be willing to change and adapt as the world around us changes. Species that can't adapt become extinct.

It is harder to teach an old dog new tricks than it is to teach a young dog. The turning of generations can be a good thing. It facilitates our evolution. My generation had a whole new world open up to us through computers. My parents' generation had whole a new world open up to them through television. My grandparents' generation had a whole new world open up to them through moving pictures. My parents might have a shot at getting some use out of an iPad, but I'd be surprised if my 100 year old grandmother could even learn the basics (she's still pretty competent). My grandmother knows how to do plenty of things better than I, but what I know is more useful in the modern world.

Diversity is also important for our survival as a species. If we were all the same biologically, a disease that could kill one of us might become an epidemic that could kill us all. Diversity increases the chance that some of us will be able to fight off the illness. Having diverse skill sets also makes us stronger. I'm a planner. I want to get it right the first time. My wife is more impulsive and would rather try something, and if it doesn't work, try something else. Some situations call for one method, while some call for the other. Together, we're a great team!

It's normal for people to find comfort and security from having everything stay the same and from being around people who are just like us, but there are definite advantages to change and diversity. It's better that we survive in an altered state than for us to be wiped out and replaced by something completely different.

That wasn't too obscure, was it? Martial arts need to change in order to survive. Old senseis need to pass the torch to the new. Old organizations need to split up and try new things to see what works and what doesn't. To stay the same would eventually result in irrelevance and extinction.

Solid post!!

And my sincerest hello to your grandmother; 100 years old, and still going strong. God bless her; you're a very lucky grandson!!

[ShoriKid]

I look a lot of times at the passing of masters in the duality it presents. They are gone, and the knowledge and experience they have accumulated over the years has passed with them, save what was transmitted to their students. That knowledge will only rarely be complete, and will be held by someone with different experiences, attitude and beliefs. Which, in turn, shapes how they transmit that knowledge and in what direction they take not only their own training, but that of their students. At the same time there is a chance for new and fresh ideas, new energy to step up and take the helm. Without infusions of new blood, the system is stagnant. And, while the old masters may mean well, there are things about the younger generations that they are so far removed from they can't understand them. Social media and the internet to spread their art, or at least let their students stay more in touch and build a stronger community. Something as simple as these forums, which I am thankful for (may Patrick be blessed for hosting them), is not something many of the past generations would see a value in or be willing to participate in. It is about shaking hands, talking face to face, which I prefer. However, that leads to a geographically isolated group in many instances or a federation/group so weakly tied together that they splinter when the master passes. But, do you then build relationships across the internet that may, or may not, have any real substance behind them. How many "likes" equal a friendship?

For example, out chief instructor is in his middle to late 60s with sever visual disabilities. So, he does not travel much and lives many hours from my home. With work and family obligations being what they are, as well as finances, it makes it very difficult to travel to train with him. For all of us. He knows about the internet, I think his wife has email, but that's about the extent of his use of it and he's not a great fan for phone calls. He is a very face to face man. My instructor below him is on facebook because his family pressured him into making a page so they could keep up with him. He hasn't posted a status or "liked" anything in I couldn't tell you when. In our training we have myself and my brother, geographically isolated from a small organization with no web presence at all and no one of similar mindset in training close enough to regularly gather with to exchange ideas. When our master is gone, who will carry on for him? Our instructor very likely. He is a very skilled and dedicated martial artist whom I respect greatly. However, outside of our small group, where does that lead?

When the master is gone and new ideas are open, will it lead us to grow or perish? I've thought about it before, and considered and discussed joining some martial organizations to help bring us forward. That begins the troubles of a new group, a new master, a new path. Do we know them, do we trust them, can we respect the new one like we did the old? I think a lot of men in the middle, where I see myself, hopefully without ego, ask these questions. Is the passing of a master evolution, revolution or extinction? It is a frightening thing to ponder when you have little input on what goes on above and are held responsible for what goes on below.

[sensei8]

I look a lot of times at the passing of masters in the duality it presents. They are gone, and the knowledge and experience they have accumulated over the years has passed with them, save what was transmitted to their students. That knowledge will only rarely be complete, and will be held by someone with different experiences, attitude and beliefs. Which, in turn, shapes how they transmit that knowledge and in what direction they take not only their own training, but that of their students. At the same time there is a chance for new and fresh ideas, new energy to step up and take the helm. Without infusions of new blood, the system is stagnant. And, while the old masters may mean well, there are things about the younger generations that they are so far removed from they can't understand them. Social media and the internet to spread their art, or at least let their students stay more in touch and build a stronger community. Something as simple as these forums, which I am thankful for (may Patrick be blessed for hosting them), is not something many of the past generations would see a value in or be willing to participate in. It is about shaking hands, talking face to face, which I prefer. However, that leads to a geographically isolated group in many instances or a federation/group so weakly tied together that they splinter when the master passes. But, do you then build relationships across the internet that may, or may not, have any real substance behind them. How many "likes" equal a friendship?

For example, out chief instructor is in his middle to late 60s with sever visual disabilities. So, he does not travel much and lives many hours from my home. With work and family obligations being what they are, as well as finances, it makes it very difficult to travel to train with him. For all of us. He knows about the internet, I think his wife has email, but that's about the extent of his use of it and he's not a great fan for phone calls. He is a very face to face man. My instructor below him is on facebook because his family pressured him into making a page so they could keep up with him. He hasn't posted a status or "liked" anything in I couldn't tell you when. In our training we have myself and my brother, geographically isolated from a small organization with no web presence at all and no one of similar mindset in training close enough to regularly gather with to exchange ideas. When our master is gone, who will carry on for him? Our instructor very likely. He is a very skilled and dedicated martial artist whom I respect greatly. However, outside of our small group, where does that lead?

When the master is gone and new ideas are open, will it lead us to grow or perish? I've thought about it before, and considered and discussed joining some martial organizations to help bring us forward. That begins the troubles of a new group, a new master, a new path. Do we know them, do we trust them, can we respect the new one like we did the old? I think a lot of men in the middle, where I see myself, hopefully without ego, ask these questions. Is the passing of a master evolution, revolution or extinction? It is a frightening thing to ponder when you have little input on what goes on above and are held responsible for what goes on below.

Solid post!!

Many great points, and with each point, one has to carefully weigh the many possibilities that it presents for the individual's betterment.

When the Master is gone, the entire student body rears up in wonderment towards the style and Hombu and for themselves; is there a future and how will I fit into the new Masters theme?!

If the passing of the torch burns bright, then hope lives in the student body. However, if the passing of the torch burns dimly or seems that it's been snuffed out, then fear envelopes the student body.

When I was nominated to be the new Kaicho, there was no riff at all. Why? Dai-Soke was large and in charge; he had everyone's back. So did I, but many wondered! When I was elected, I was coming to my own, with the mentorship of Dai-Soke, and all riffs were squelched.

When Dai-Soke passed away, ripples of doubt rolled through the student body, but, in short time, I calmed the storm within the student body because I was protecting them and providing them a solid and new landscape to bask in the sun.

The new landscape can be quite vaulting for the student body. This is to be understood with any types of changes, but on the horizon, the new landscape starts to be shaped, but as a family, and not all of the celebrations belong to the new leader.

I humble myself before the entire student body, because without their support, I walk alone!! Those who have challenged me have found a renew faith in my leadership. While I was mentored by Dai-Soke, I've strived to carve out my own landscape, to separate myself from Dai-Soke because after all, I'm not him, nor do I want to be him, as a leader. As a MAist, well, I strive to be him; he was phenomenal...I'm not!!

The new landscape can present itself as a wide and rolling beauty, but it can turn scorched beyond all believe in just a blink of an eye.

I ask the student body...What can I do for you today?? Their landscape is my landscape, and if they're taking care of, then so am I.