Re: Marine beats a mentally challenged man. NSFW
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: unrepentant</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I submit that a Japanese instructor would never allow that prolonged machismo to ferment in his dojo--as with 'our' two (USMC) students--they were prohibited from training once it was understood by the time of their green belt ranking that their 'hot shot' and 'macho' attitudes were immalleable. Some may recall that I moved from CA to Mississippi several years ago. I haven't found a dojo to train at because of all the "Hooyah-cowboy" attitudes I've seen down here. Shotokan, Seibukan, Isshinryu, etc., there are (or have been) 4-6 different styles offered here in the last 7 years, but their head instructors suffer from a similar cultural attitude and mental "Hooyah" approach. And so proudly "trace their lineage" back to the aforementioned styles... they're not from those styles, they use those style names to lend a validity to their marquis and billboards. There is no respect for oneself--not enough to quell the urge to demonstrate prowess, solely for vanity's sake-- everyone here is required to wear gloves, pads, mouthguards, etc. Most won't even understand my disgust when I cry, "Foul!!" All the studios here spar with pads. Why? because they have no control; they don't even understand they lack an understanding of the concept. 'Control' is, a physical manifestation of one's sense of respect--respect for one's partner, and respect for everyone else. There's a feeling in a Japanese dojo--paraphrased, it might go like this--"shame yourself, you shame us all; perform with honor, and win or lose, you reflect honor on us all." In all the 'western' dojos I've ever visited, 'victory' was all-important; the pads absorb any "mistakes"--'control' is a faint cousin to victory. Victory brings honor. A new concept; one I understand because of my Western upbringing. Pushed to its' limits, that concept is bastardized into a version of (Blythe's) 'martial arts'. No, pads are an excuse. Contact can still be made with hands and feet. One must embrace the discipline of controlling one's physical movements out of sheer respect for all others present.
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VERY Well written!!!
I work out in a dojo that has Shotokan roots, but the grand master of the system changed and added philipine fighting style (mainly Arnis) -
but, Western or not, the macho attitude my Shihan used to have has been a thing of the past for a great many years - and while we DO wear pads we absolutely teach control.
Case in point, a traditional Okinawan Sensei joined our Dojo, I just made brown belt, and he laid a whooping on me with full power....
Not to have the macho attitude I called him on it, still used full power, so Shihan pulls him out and has a chat with him...
He wasn't used to it, he was a member of one of those Dojo's you speak of. We are still American but a great many of us highly respect the Japanese culture and try to keep something of it alive in our Karate.
My other Dojo is Butokukan and it is a very honor oriented dojo - even more about not "Killing" a real-life opponent, use Karate to end the situ ation and get away - not kill the guy.
They are not all that way, and if you ever make it up this way I'd be honored to have you come train with us!!!
