Rei
“Martial art training begins and ends with respect.”
Gichin Funikoshi was a great martial artist and the pioneer for modern day karate. He created the colored belt ranking system that we are all familiar with and he brought karate into schools as a form of exercise for the students. Meanwhile, in his modernization of karate, he made sure that the focus was not just on the physical aspects of the art. Gichin Funikoshi said that the focus of karate is not to make great fighters. Instead, the focus is to make great citizens and students. Many of ancient arts were just translated into modern terms. So that, when the students were at school or at work they would always be distinguishable by the code of conduct which they lived by.
Post world war two, many of the hard core traditionalists chose a different path. Instead of making their arts accessible for all, they became secluded. Many believed that the martial arts were going down hill as some had become sports. That traditionalist thought that too much of the art was being compromised and they did not want a part of it. They believed that by separating themselves that they could preserve the arts and continue to pass them on to the next generation.
Today, it appears as though the same thing is happening. A few martial arts are in the Olympics and MMA has grown to be the sport that has replaced boxing in less than 20 years. Now, people are flooding to martial arts schools so that they can become an Olympic competitor or MMA super star. However, they do not want the martial arts uniform. They do not want to bow. They do not want to practice forms.
Are we losing our arts to sports? Are the values no longer being passed on as dojos become gyms? Or are arts gaining people who start out on a path of fitness or sport? Is respect a part of an ancient way of training whose presence still echoes in the training halls of athletes, martial artists, and fitness enthusiasts? Or is it an echo that is disappearing?
Rei
