The good the bad and the ugly in martial arts

[Chunmonchek]

The Good - If done right, it's egalitarian nature. The floor could care less about your social status, the amount of money you make, the car you drive, who you date, or the failures you experience off the floor.

The Bad - The economic aspects that have crowded out, and often become paramount to, the training aspects.

The Ugly - The EGO and what it wraughts...

[conrad665]

What I can think of for

Good: staying fit and healthy (most of the time), and observing how your own techniques change (and mature) over the years as you grow old.

Bad: having little place for individuality. In my previous club, for example, we always used to perform kata in an aggressive manner, so as to impress the referees in competitions. Therefore, everyone in the club makes the same mistakes, and the grace and meaning are lost. The kata, practiced this way, turns into a demonstration of aggression, speed and power, rather than technical and mental training.

Ugly: repeated many times, but I should repeat once more: EGO! People who underestimate their opponents rather than trying to learn things from each opponent. Fortunately, I haven't met many of this kind.

[JR 137]

The biggest problem is martial arts is the politics and watered down training. Belt factorys, Mcdojos have given martial arts a stained image. I've belonged to a few organizations and political conflict can sometimes be nauseating or just as bad as watching your daily dose of political news. Best thing about martial arts is the holistic benefits of training. Self defense is usually the reason to start but the open minded will dig deeper and apply it as a tool in daily living.

I used to get worked up about watered down arts and McDojos. It doesn’t bother me at all anymore. Why? It’s never once affected what I’m doing. Non-MA people say stupid things every now and then, and I just laugh. It all used to bother me, now it’s just entertaining.

“Real” MA isn’t for everyone. Not everyone wants to go in and work hard. Not everyone wants to be pushed out of their comfort zone. Not everyone wants to nor enjoys getting hit; and getting hit hard.

To each his own. It doesn’t affect anything I’m doing in or out of the dojo.

IMO the ugly in the MA is the politics. Organizations splitting over control, power, and greed. Organizations telling dojo owners what to do outside of the curriculum and MA standards.

The ugly is the egos involved. People thinking everything they’re doing is right, and everything else is wrong. And the bashing of the McDojos and the like tie into this a bit. I mean, so what if people think your art is a bunch of kids in funny clothes and getting black belts as participation awards? Do you know better? Does people’s opinions change what’s really going on in your dojo? If a potential student comes in and observes a class or two, it should be immediately obvious what your standards really are. There’s enough room on this earth for MA of all types - from kids having fun to adults getting not much more than a workout and social club, to the hardest of the hardcore fighters. There’s enough room in the market for the cheapest and worst performing car all the way up to the Bugatti Veyron (if that’s the most expensive and fastest car on the market); the MA isn’t really any different.

Edit: By you, I mean a general you, not anyone specific.

[P.A.L]

Good is when I see people in the dojo work hard without being told.

Bad is when I see people quit before green belt.

Ugly is when I see the politics in martial art inside organizations.