Recently, I entered into a conversation with Stacia about the commercialism of martial arts versus the fundamental integrity of practicing them. Kanei Uechi once said that no one under the age of seventeen should be taught karate. Perhaps he said this for the following reasons:
1) Physically, the bodies of young children are not mature enough to properly execute and withstand the rigorous training that the martial arts demands.
2) Children do not understand the philosophical concepts that are embedded in these ancient practices.
She mused about the fact that just about every strip mall we had passed had a karate or tae-kwon-do studio inside. What would motivate the discerning patron of martial arts to enroll his or her child in a strip mall dojo? How can you tell whether or not the instruction that would be received was of quality or was based in authentic principles?
What often gets sold by these strip mall senseis is the ideal of YOUR child benfitting from confidence and mind and body awareness. What actually happens, though, could be the polar opposite. Just as you choose your doctor, your dentist, or your mechanic, you must choose your martial arts instructor with the same well-informed criteria that you would apply to other practitioners.
Beware of the snake-oil peddlers. You get what you pay for.
BTW...This photo is of Joe Graziano, Dave Cedrone, and myself at a recent demo where we performed Jifa and Sanchin Kata. You won't find these forms being taught in your average strip mall dojo. Unfortunately, less and less people are being schooled in the ancient rituals.
3 comments:
Joe,
I think you make an excellent point about being aware of what you’re signing up for when you (or your child) enroll in a martial arts school. Regardless of the location, anyone interested in studying the martial arts should look at their prospective school very carefully. Frauds and poor instructors can be found all over (as can good ones); it’s less about location, and more about the instructor.
However, at the risk of being the first man to be trampled in by a riot of people all doing Sanchin, I’m going to disagree with Kanei Uechi: I don’t think there is anything wrong with teaching martial arts to children, provided it’s done properly. Martial arts have been taught to children for centuries: how many systems out there pride themselves on being passed down for thousands of generations? Do we really believe that those masters waited until their children had reached the age of seventeen (a very arbitrary age, as near as I can tell) before teaching them? Given the kind of societal violence that was prevalent in most countries until the turn of the century, I really doubt it.
I think (and here’s where I may attract the wrath of some) that frankly, the reason most martial artists think martial arts shouldn’t be taught to children is because they have no idea how to teach to children. They try to force children to learn the same way that adults do, then become frustrated because the children don’t learn that way, and rather than changing their pedagogy (or accepting that their pedagogy doesn’t work for children), they just give up.
In Thailand, children start learning Muay Thai as young as five years old. Here the US, you have kids doing Muay Thai, Boxing, Wrestling, Judo, Brazilian Juijitsu, MMA, Fencing, and yes, Tae Kwon Do, at varying ages. There are others, of course, but I think those arts are probably most representative of systems that have learned the fact that you cannot teach children the way you teach adults and expect to achieve results. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be done.
Again—I think you make an excellent point about avoiding the snake oil salesmen, but the thing about not teaching kids…there, I’m not convinced.
"Jake, you ignorant slut."
Seriously, thanks for your post. Nothing wrong with stirring things up a bit.
As for my point about children and martial arts, my hope was to be a bit more subtle...but just to clarify...
Wat is troubling is the gratuitous commercialism that is so prevalent in these martial arts "academies" whose clients are primarily children.
I agree that kids can and should embrace the martial arts...as long as it is done with an understanding of the practice as well as with discipline and commitment. I'm thinking of the kid we saw the other day at Sidyodtong....
Talk to you soon...
Joe
Joe,
I do enjoy stirring the pot occasionally :-).
And yes, I agree--the naked commercialism in some martial arts schools is very disturbing. What's equally disturbing is that adults who would spend hours researching the best car, or the best school, will simply pick a random martial arts school because it's nearby and convenient, without ever bothering to check on the credentials of the instructor.
But that's a rant for another time.
I do agree with you that children who are taught martial arts need to be taught in a (relatively) serious manner.
Talk to you soon!
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