Amateur Martial Arts
Folks,
I had a conversation recently with some colleagues. Yep, I have like ummmmm 4 colleagues. Anyhoo, I was discussing how in the martial arts, how unpolished some martial artists still are even when at an advanced rank. For example, we hear a lot of comments like, " He or She has good hands for a karate guy." Now, some people see it as a compliment. I have always thought of it as s back-handed compliment. Kind of like" She's tough for a girl." Not cool at all right? But back to what I was saying, I think that martial arts are in need of a real over-haul.
When you look at a professional boxer, or an Olympic level wrestler, they have literally had hundreds of matches in which to hone their skills, and learn to conquer their fears. These days in the martial arts, no such thing exists. I rememeber in the 70's and 80's martial artists were ranked, and the top fighters had a chance to really hone their craft. I remember my father had literally hundreds of matches. He never wanted to go pro or anything, but he was certainly experienced.
Unfortunately that is no longer the case. There are not as many regional tournies with which to perfect your skills. Dont get me wrong. There are a tourneys, but not in the same number as before. And the fighters are not followed as carefully as before. Now, every winner of a tournament that their school hosts thinks that they are a regional champ.
I think that long before a martial artist turns professional, they should have a number of obstacles to hurdle. I think that there should be a local,regional, and state ranking like there are in boxing and wrestling. Something like a Golden Gloves tournament. I think that tournies like that would go a long way to improve the quality of martial arts as well as legitimize it to the public. Anyhow, Im gonna go. I am going to go watch Iron Man on DVD. Yep, I keep it real like that :)
I had a conversation recently with some colleagues. Yep, I have like ummmmm 4 colleagues. Anyhoo, I was discussing how in the martial arts, how unpolished some martial artists still are even when at an advanced rank. For example, we hear a lot of comments like, " He or She has good hands for a karate guy." Now, some people see it as a compliment. I have always thought of it as s back-handed compliment. Kind of like" She's tough for a girl." Not cool at all right? But back to what I was saying, I think that martial arts are in need of a real over-haul.
When you look at a professional boxer, or an Olympic level wrestler, they have literally had hundreds of matches in which to hone their skills, and learn to conquer their fears. These days in the martial arts, no such thing exists. I rememeber in the 70's and 80's martial artists were ranked, and the top fighters had a chance to really hone their craft. I remember my father had literally hundreds of matches. He never wanted to go pro or anything, but he was certainly experienced.
Unfortunately that is no longer the case. There are not as many regional tournies with which to perfect your skills. Dont get me wrong. There are a tourneys, but not in the same number as before. And the fighters are not followed as carefully as before. Now, every winner of a tournament that their school hosts thinks that they are a regional champ.
I think that long before a martial artist turns professional, they should have a number of obstacles to hurdle. I think that there should be a local,regional, and state ranking like there are in boxing and wrestling. Something like a Golden Gloves tournament. I think that tournies like that would go a long way to improve the quality of martial arts as well as legitimize it to the public. Anyhow, Im gonna go. I am going to go watch Iron Man on DVD. Yep, I keep it real like that :)
posted by Anthony, freestyle kenpo teacher | 2:21 PM
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