Fundies attacking martial arts, help.

[Spartacus Maximus]

Maybe this person was unlucky enough to be in an area with a higher than average percentage of martial arts schools run by cultish, unscrupulous manipulative conmen with dishonest business practises. Who really knows, there are more than a few out there in the martial arts world.

Then again there are those types of individuals who are just unable to see anything but through their own filter of delusions of conspiracies. These people only see what they want to see. Neither logic, nor reason put immediately before them clear as day will have any effect.

[sensei8]

Without not getting into a Christian or religious discussion, I've not seen the movie in question, nor do I ever plan to; uninterested across the board for no other reason that I just don't want to.

A billion years ago, I was once told that I couldn't join their church unless I disavowed the MA. Well, you can see my answer.

The MA is evil and so on and so forth; that's their opinions, and they've that right...so do I...I'll continue my MA journey until my last breath!!

I simple ignore things like this because I've not the time nor the patience for things like this.

[Nevinyrral]

Could you post links to those videos?

[Spartacus Maximus]

The movie referred to and several other videos are all on YouTube and very easy to find. Just type in the title "the dragon revealed".

After being pestered by close relations about this, seeking help to counter and explain from a martial artist point of view seemed like a sensible thing to do since treating them like strangers with the same "MA is bad for the soul" would not do.

[IcemanSK]

The Christian folks who buy into that video you mention are a minority. For every church that buys into this video there are 20 who actually think for themselves & who know better.

I'm watching the video now. He's using footage of school in my organization while he talked about the evil of MA. The school that he's showing in the 1st 5 minutes is a Christian MA program. Something tells me that the school owner didn't know this at the time it was filmed. He does now that I've emailed him.

This guy has either a lot of nerve or an ax to grind against my friend.

[Spartacus Maximus]

Following the links from the YouTube video confirms that it originates with a fringe group. It comes as no surprise that there might be more behind this video than just the expression of skewed and distorted views.

[IcemanSK]

I contacted my friend who runs the school shown in the first 5 1/2 minutes of the video. Ironically, he's out of the country on a Christian mission. He'll connect with me when he gets back.

[JR 137]

I just watched it out of curiosity and boredom. I don't even know where to start...

I guess I'll start with I give most of these religious people the benefit of the doubt. I think they're sincere and are trying to help people see the light. They're not con artists, charlatans, etc. They're generally good willed and intentioned people. But that's where it stops for me.

In the video, I don't see good vs evil, God vs Satan, or anything close to that. I don't even see a cult.

I see a guy who lost his family because of his selfish chasing of some childhood fantasy of being super human.

I see a guy who looked for something else to blame for his chasing of that fantasy.

I see a delusional guy who think there's mystical forces out there that can be channeled through the MA (and yoga, as they're against that too for the same reasons).

I see a guy who was too weak to walk away, despite all of his "alarms going off" several times.

I see a guy that did so much looking within, yet he couldn't see his family was falling apart because he was too fixated on obtaining something that didn't exist.

Talk about delusional...

A piece of wood with some inscriptions and horse hair doesn't have any mystical powers. Neither does 2 pieces of material that intersect at a right angle approximately 1/3 of the way down from the top. So the guy who promoted him to 5th dan held a Shaman stick during it. Big deal. They drank from the same tea pot at a different promotion. Lower ranks served the food to their seniors. Big deal.

While he was teaching a class, people were sweating and moved around him as if they were in a trance. People running around a soccer field chasing each other while sweating can be interpreted the same way too, but we know better.

The circle with a dot in it comes up everywhere in the MA, invoking the power of the Sun God. Circles show up everywhere. So do squares, triangles, etc. I'd love to ask him to look down his ring finger and ask him if his finger and wedding ring (his family reconciled) symbolize the Sun God too. Perhaps that's what's causing day to day marital differences.

I'll accept that there was more at play than he put out there regarding his teachers, but at no point did he mention any consequences for leaving being said, implied, or observed. Having a tea ceremony, some candles and the lower ranks serving food to their seniors doesn't make a cult. Having a closed door promotion ceremony where the guy in charge holds a certain piece of wood doesn't make a cult. Having a guy who's got pictures and statues of Indian/Hindu gods doesn't make a cult. Circles regularly appearing in things doesn't make a cult.

Cults brainwash, manipulate, and have consequences for leaving that makes it seem impossible to get out. The only thing keeping him there was his stupid idea that he could live out his childhood fantasy. Sorry, but evil forces at work are far easier to blame than his actual short comings and feelings of inadequacy.

Hes no different than any other conspiracy theorist. The cult-like stuff is most likely in his head. I bet if you asked the people who have trained with him, they'd have a look of astonishment on their faces. Now that I thought no about it, how come none of his fellow students are involved in his film? Surely someone would have to agree and step forward.

[IcemanSK]

I just watched it out of curiosity and boredom. I don't even know where to start...

I guess I'll start with I give most of these religious people the benefit of the doubt. I think they're sincere and are trying to help people see the light. They're not con artists, charlatans, etc. They're generally good willed and intentioned people. But that's where it stops for me.

In the video, I don't see good vs evil, God vs Satan, or anything close to that. I don't even see a cult.

I see a guy who lost his family because of his selfish chasing of some childhood fantasy of being super human.

I see a guy who looked for something else to blame for his chasing of that fantasy.

I see a delusional guy who think there's mystical forces out there that can be channeled through the MA (and yoga, as they're against that too for the same reasons).

I see a guy who was too weak to walk away, despite all of his "alarms going off" several times.

I see a guy that did so much looking within, yet he couldn't see his family was falling apart because he was too fixated on obtaining something that didn't exist.

Talk about delusional...

A piece of wood with some inscriptions and horse hair doesn't have any mystical powers. Neither does 2 pieces of material that intersect at a right angle approximately 1/3 of the way down from the top. So the guy who promoted him to 5th dan held a Shaman stick during it. Big deal. They drank from the same tea pot at a different promotion. Lower ranks served the food to their seniors. Big deal.

While he was teaching a class, people were sweating and moved around him as if they were in a trance. People running around a soccer field chasing each other while sweating can be interpreted the same way too, but we know better.

The circle with a dot in it comes up everywhere in the MA, invoking the power of the Sun God. Circles show up everywhere. So do squares, triangles, etc. I'd love to ask him to look down his ring finger and ask him if his finger and wedding ring (his family reconciled) symbolize the Sun God too. Perhaps that's what's causing day to day marital differences.

I'll accept that there was more at play than he put out there regarding his teachers, but at no point did he mention any consequences for leaving being said, implied, or observed. Having a tea ceremony, some candles and the lower ranks serving food to their seniors doesn't make a cult. Having a closed door promotion ceremony where the guy in charge holds a certain piece of wood doesn't make a cult. Having a guy who's got pictures and statues of Indian/Hindu gods doesn't make a cult. Circles regularly appearing in things doesn't make a cult.

Cults brainwash, manipulate, and have consequences for leaving that makes it seem impossible to get out. The only thing keeping him there was his stupid idea that he could live out his childhood fantasy. Sorry, but evil forces at work are far easier to blame than his actual short comings and feelings of inadequacy.

Hes no different than any other conspiracy theorist. The cult-like stuff is most likely in his head. I bet if you asked the people who have trained with him, they'd have a look of astonishment on their faces. Now that I thought no about it, how come none of his fellow students are involved in his film? Surely someone would have to agree and step forward.

I find irony in what he says as well. "These MA ideas are bad. But my ideas on faith are good." I've seen emotionally unhealthy MA & emotionally unhealthy church. This guy demonizing something else to make his ideas seem okay is an old trick. It grabs the attention of folks who have few experiences of the world & who don't think critically. It's sad.

[sensei8]

I just watched it out of curiosity and boredom. I don't even know where to start...

I guess I'll start with I give most of these religious people the benefit of the doubt. I think they're sincere and are trying to help people see the light. They're not con artists, charlatans, etc. They're generally good willed and intentioned people. But that's where it stops for me.

In the video, I don't see good vs evil, God vs Satan, or anything close to that. I don't even see a cult.

I see a guy who lost his family because of his selfish chasing of some childhood fantasy of being super human.

I see a guy who looked for something else to blame for his chasing of that fantasy.

I see a delusional guy who think there's mystical forces out there that can be channeled through the MA (and yoga, as they're against that too for the same reasons).

I see a guy who was too weak to walk away, despite all of his "alarms going off" several times.

I see a guy that did so much looking within, yet he couldn't see his family was falling apart because he was too fixated on obtaining something that didn't exist.

Talk about delusional...

A piece of wood with some inscriptions and horse hair doesn't have any mystical powers. Neither does 2 pieces of material that intersect at a right angle approximately 1/3 of the way down from the top. So the guy who promoted him to 5th dan held a Shaman stick during it. Big deal. They drank from the same tea pot at a different promotion. Lower ranks served the food to their seniors. Big deal.

While he was teaching a class, people were sweating and moved around him as if they were in a trance. People running around a soccer field chasing each other while sweating can be interpreted the same way too, but we know better.

The circle with a dot in it comes up everywhere in the MA, invoking the power of the Sun God. Circles show up everywhere. So do squares, triangles, etc. I'd love to ask him to look down his ring finger and ask him if his finger and wedding ring (his family reconciled) symbolize the Sun God too. Perhaps that's what's causing day to day marital differences.

I'll accept that there was more at play than he put out there regarding his teachers, but at no point did he mention any consequences for leaving being said, implied, or observed. Having a tea ceremony, some candles and the lower ranks serving food to their seniors doesn't make a cult. Having a closed door promotion ceremony where the guy in charge holds a certain piece of wood doesn't make a cult. Having a guy who's got pictures and statues of Indian/Hindu gods doesn't make a cult. Circles regularly appearing in things doesn't make a cult.

Cults brainwash, manipulate, and have consequences for leaving that makes it seem impossible to get out. The only thing keeping him there was his stupid idea that he could live out his childhood fantasy. Sorry, but evil forces at work are far easier to blame than his actual short comings and feelings of inadequacy.

Hes no different than any other conspiracy theorist. The cult-like stuff is most likely in his head. I bet if you asked the people who have trained with him, they'd have a look of astonishment on their faces. Now that I thought no about it, how come none of his fellow students are involved in his film? Surely someone would have to agree and step forward.

Solid post!!