Welcome to AikiWeb Aikido Information
AikiWeb: The Source for Aikido Information
AikiWeb's principal purpose is to serve the Internet community as a repository and dissemination point for aikido information.

Sections
home
aikido articles
columns

Discussions
forums
aikiblogs

Databases
dojo search
seminars
image gallery
supplies
links directory

Reviews
book reviews
video reviews
dvd reviews
equip. reviews

News
submit
archive

Miscellaneous
newsletter
rss feeds
polls
about

Follow us on



Home > AikiWeb Aikido
Go Back   AikiWeb Aikido Forums > AikiWeb AikiBlogs > Young Grasshopper

Hello and thank you for visiting AikiWeb, the world's most active online Aikido community! This site is home to over 22,000 aikido practitioners from around the world and covers a wide range of aikido topics including techniques, philosophy, history, humor, beginner issues, the marketplace, and more.

If you wish to join in the discussions or use the other advanced features available, you will need to register first. Registration is absolutely free and takes only a few minutes to complete so sign up today!

Young Grasshopper Blog Tools Rating: Rate This Blog
Creation Date: 01-28-2011 01:49 PM
OwlMatt
Offline
rss2
A blog written from the point of view of a martial arts beginner, which I am. You can find the full blog at http://yghmartialarts.blogspot.com. Here on AikiWeb, I'll post only those entries which are relevant to aikido.
Blog Info
Status: Public
Entries: 28
Comments: 78
Views: 131,931

In General Martial Arts: Serious Business Entry Tools Rate This Entry
  #19 New 06-13-2011 03:38 PM
Last Thursday night, plagued by a nagging wrist injury and still not sure I was getting everything I wanted out of my aikido training, I payed a visit to a nonprofit Shotokan karate club on the north side of Milwaukee. If nothing else, it was certainly an educational experience.

First of all, I learned karate is not all that much easier on an injured wrist than carefully practiced aikido. This seemed strange to me, since I haven't found the same to be true of taekwondo, which is similar to karate in many ways.

There were other lessons, though, that were much more profound.

To this point, I've mostly had experience with the more lighthearted side of martial arts training. I don't mean to suggest that the people I train with don't take their arts seriously enough or try to do their best, but there has never a question of why we're all there: we enjoy martial arts training. Training in the dojo or dojang is not primarily a matter of honor, devotion, or even necessity for us. We train to get a workout and to do something we enjoy.

What I found at this karate club, though, was very different.

We ran to line up at the beginning of class. We bowed as we were curtly ordered by the senior student, first to the shomen (we were in a gymnasium--where was the shomen?), then to the instructor. We stood silently as the instructor introduced me to the class, then lectured on the history of Japanese karate and how serious an undertaking karate is. He told me that some people cry when undergoing the training he starts to deal out at purple belt level.

No one else spoke. No one smiled.

Kihon (basic techniques) were done as military-style drills with the instructor barking orders every step. Kata were done in a similar fashion, though the instructor softened a little while teaching me the first kata. We never got to any kumite (sparring); I suspect this was a basics-heavy class for my benefit.

At no point did anyone other than the instructor speak, except rarely for clarification of instructions, and I'm not sure I ever saw anyone smile.

Before and after class, the other students were friendly enough, and the instructor was a genuinely nice guy--even if he had a hard time keeping his low opinion of taekwondo to himself. He was very complimentary about the aikido club and showed real interest in my difficulties with the wrist injury.

What I couldn't wrap my head around was why all the friendliness had to be put away before stepping out on the dojo floor. I have read the Dojo Kun and the Niju Kun; there's nothing in there that says karateka aren't allowed to smile. Why do these students keep coming every week if they're not going to try to enjoy themselves? Are they preparing for duels? Do they think that a smile or (heaven forbid) an occasional laugh will weaken their punches?

I must confess, my understanding is limited here. My martial arts training to this point has been in aikido, an art whose founder believed in training joyfully, and taekwondo, an art that is not afraid to be honest about its identity as a sport. I don't understand why anyone would pay to undertake training and then not try to enjoy it (I suppose it's possible that there are a few people who genuinely enjoy maintaining a perpetual grimace while a little man sternly barks orders at them in Japanese, but there can't be very many).

The only guess I can make is that some people think martial arts training is too big a deal to be treated like a mere sport. All that ritual and silence and furrowing of brows must convince some people that they are becoming genuine warriors rather than just hobbyists.

To me, there are two things wrong with this attitude. First, the martial arts, as fun, interesting, and valuable as they are, don't deserve to be elevated to the level of a religion. Second, most of us, no matter how hard we try to be something more, really are just hobbyists. We have (at least) families and jobs that will always be more important to us than martial arts training, and rightly so.

Needless to say, I won't be returning to that karate club. If I ever do leave the aikido club (it seems less likely every time I go looking), it will be for someplace where the instructor has a sense of humor and I'm allowed to behave like the hobbyist that I am.
Views: 2837 | Comments: 6


RSS Feed 6 Responses to "Martial Arts: Serious Business"
#6 06-22-2011 01:05 PM
Daisy Luu Says:
[cont'd from below] I think I must smile the most when I am training, and that reflects the joyful spirit and bouyancy I feel on the inside. I'd definitely not stay at a dojo where I'm forbidden from outwardly reflecting this.
#5 06-22-2011 01:05 PM
Daisy Luu Says:
Um, wow. Not to stereotype, but it seems like you walked straight onto the set of The Karate Kid's Cobra Kai scene. I agree with the importance of keeping zanshin on the mat--I don't think it's appropriate to hold excessive conversations or giggle along while training, but I completely agree with you that a dojo should welcome having fun on the mat.
#4 06-15-2011 08:10 PM
OwlMatt Says:
Ibb, I don't necessarily disagree with what you are saying, but I think there is a difference between not wasting time in the dojo and being overly serious. What I saw at this particular karate club is what I would call overly serious. BTW, I did not in any way intend this post as a commentary on Shotokan as a whole; I am not qualified to make any such judgement.
#3 06-15-2011 03:53 PM
Imo Says:
It is strange that no one ever smiled, not even at those little things that sometimes go wrong. However, I do think that martial arts are not to be taken lightly, at all. An austere attitude from the beginning to the end of the lesson is also part of zanshin. Of course this attitude doesn't prevent you from smiling and enjoying your time in the dojo. I guess one needs to find the middle ground, because zanshin and martial attitude is not about strictness, but about calm rectitude.
#2 06-15-2011 03:53 PM
Imo Says:
This is the first time I post here on aikiweb, and actually the first blog i read when I found this site was yours. So thank you for the interesting read
#1 06-14-2011 12:59 PM
lbb Says:
As someone who came to aikido with a background in Shotokan karate, I would say: don't confuse having fun while training with smiling and laughing and talking, and don't mistake shutting up and training with being miserable. Above all, don't confuse an outward behavior with an "attitude". This is the same as labeling a restaurant as "stuffy" because they frown on loud cellphone conversations and wiping your hands on the tablecloth.
 




All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:22 AM.



vBulletin Copyright © 2000-2024 Jelsoft Enterprises Limited
----------
Copyright 1997-2024 AikiWeb and its Authors, All Rights Reserved.
----------
For questions and comments about this website:
Send E-mail
plainlaid-picaresque outchasing-protistan explicantia-altarage seaford-stellionate