Why is it impossible to have a forum comprised of martial artists who come together under the auspices of respect NOT bicker and question the legitimacy of someones martial art? This is exactly the kind of stuff all the Shaw brother movies were based on. So-and-so felt a need to challenge the best fighter of so-and-sos school to prove his art was better than theirs. And its STILL happening today! Why cant we just agree that (hypothetically speaking) 9 out of 10 people we meet have studied a martial art at some point in their lives? Maybe that 1 out of 10 went to black belt and beyond. Well, with the proliferation of martial arts and the multitude of styles available its probably more like 3 out of 10, but if you are involved in the martial community then youre bound to meet 9 out of 10 martial artists who have advanced belts. It takes all types, and nothing is really out of the realm of possibility. Jackie Chan grew up as pretty much an indentured child of the Beijing Opera which is where he learned Kung Fu. Van Damme has a black belt in Shotokan wand competed in international tournaments before he made it to the big screen. Dolph Lundgren also holds a black belt in Shotokan and still teaches. Steven Segal, Michael Jai White, Jet Li, Tony Jaa, and so on and so forth. They all have something in common - they were martial artists before they were actors, and their backgrounds are as varied as the movies they make. Yet, do we question their legitimacy or their styles or their lineage? Nope. People in these forums are in these forums because they love martial arts. They are all in various stages of training, some beginners, others have had years of experience. How they came about their instruction should not really be important. What should be important is that they are wanting to learn, wanting to interact, wanting to showcase their own skills and schools, and live a martial arts lifestyle. We at least owe them the respect for that alone regardless of what their skill levels may be.
Posted on: Sun, 01 Jun 2014 23:05:57 +0000
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