Martial isolationism - Are styles out of style in this context?

Summoning a karate-esque Rodney King here: can’t we all just get along?

I mean, really – system X and Style y shall never meet. Sport karate folk oft decry the traditional people; the traditional people bash the sport folk. Masters and sensei badmouth other masters and sensei. Rumours swirl, bad blood gets created. And for what, really? As I look around, it hurts my heart to see this happen. But, at the root of it, it seems, is a stylistic defense. And from that comes an ego-fed problem that taints us all. Styles, in my view, have taken us down a road to hell in some ways. Sure, they are great at providing us with a specific bent or line of study. But, does there need to be so much unnecessary, spiteful (and sometimes hateful) political and personal baggage along the way? Methinks not. Yet, the talk seems to be style-inherent and due to a martial-based silo mentality.

I am not immune to this sickness, believe me. I have a list of folk whom I despise, dislike or am disappointed in – some of them from within my own association. If you feel you are on one of those lists, ask me and I will tell you. If you are not sure, here’s a quick list of the type of people who generally raise my ire: bullshit artists, ‘world champions,’ political mavens, power-mad types, evangelical sport karateka, suck-ups and sycophants, regressive/closed-box types, people with no understanding of karate or lack of interest in research, those that try to be all things to all people, etc etc. I have also been the focus of talk as well – I have heard a lot of the claims against and I will say categorically: there are always two sides to every story. And unless you are willing to weigh both, don’t judge. To those who shit-talk me behind my back or to my face? I don’t forget easily. And I most certainly do not shake hands and forgive. My world experience is more of the ‘flock you and the cheval you rode in on.’ I’m brash, opinionated, with a low bullshit factor and a general dislike for stupidity in any and all forms. I am a fairly harsh instructor, but I am far from brutal, violent or vindictive with my students. I am certainly not quick to anger, prone to violence or loose on my physical control.

Now that I have named my sins, allow me to vent/ explain my point. Trash-talking or bad-mouthing other karateka, other instructors or other styles is not new. In fact, there is evidence out there to the contrary. There was a somewhat famous feud between Motobu Choki and Funakoshi Gichin back in the day. There exists, unfortunately, to this day some bad blood around the death of Miyagi Chojun and who was his rightful heir. That issue has polarized the goju world to pit Jundokan vs Meibukan, so much so that people adamantly take sides as if it matters now. No one is teaching an exactly pure version of Miyagi’s karate anymore in any camp. It is a moot point. But there is still the bullshit trash talk on a certain website that clings to a long-dead feud. And for what purpose? To promote unity and solidarity?

Uh, no.

If anything, it feeds a sick and sorry human trait that crosses all stripes and ethnicities on the planet. It is a base response oft caused by jealously: think the karate equivalent of the Smothers Brothers ‘mom always liked you best.’ Maybe someone was more successful at tournaments, maybe they have more students, a natural physical gift, better grasp of the material, etc. But, that creates fissures at a very tertiary or basic level. And surely where there is one crack, there will be more. There is now more than one offshoot of Jundokan that was caused by bad blood and some trash talking. And within the Meibukan, there are four different versions of the same karate in North America alone! And no one seems willing to work with anyone else. Again, not my idea of a big, happy family. I use these only as examples. I could cite literally hundreds more – from Ed Parker’s kenpo group, to Oyama’s Kyokushin, Shotokan, Wado-ryu, and even Matsubayashi and the upstart Shogen-do of the late Taba Kensei.

And the apparent root problem of this? Style, which equates to ego, it seems, for many.

Okinawan ryu-ha writ large seem focused on empire building, yet some are more protectionist than others. So fearful of losing people that they place edicts on dojos as to what can and cannot happen. Part of the issue has to do with the fact that it has become a business rather than a way of life for some of these men. And in today’s economic times, you have to hold on to your revenue streams however you can.

Personally, I’d rather not be seen as a revenue stream. But, whatever.

A certain level of trash talk needs to exist for certain reasons – ladies and gentlemen, I give you Bullshido. Separating the martial wheat from the chaff needs to occur somehow and the Count Dantes and the Dillmans and their ilk need to be exposed for who and what they are. Until such time as there is a viable regulating body, the market for martial charlatans, hucksters, fraudsters, abusers and the endless parade of McDojo will continue.

But the crap that goes on to pit one instructor versus another, one ryu-ha versus another or one set of styles versus another – sorry that does not wash. It boils down to the fact people began, at one point in the last 100 years or so, doing their own thing, setting up their own schools and whatnot and forgetting that many of them went through more than one teacher to get their martial grounding. In the olden days, it seemed quite common that masters would work with each other to teach students, introducing them to one another when they felt that person had something different (not better) to teach them. When was the last time you saw an instructor do that? I remember one of my sensei telling me about his sensei sitting around at an izakaya in Okinawa with a number of the other eminent post WW2 masters sharing drinks, cigs and song. Can honestly say, I have seen little of that from Okinawa when I have been there – with the odd exception of course being James Pankiewicz’s most excellent Dojo Bar.

So, how do return to the old days and get rid of the crap between masters, styles and students? There is no hard and fast answer to this. Pandora’s box has been blown wide off and the hinges are off the lid. There is no way in hell you will get everyone to be friends in the karate world, let alone talk to each other. Surely no way in hell all sub-styles within a main style (Goju, Shorin, Isshin, Uechi) will ever get together, drink awamori and sing the Ryukyuan version of Kumbaya. That is a pipe dream. And while there are kenkyukai and groups that work together across different styles, there still seems to be some animosity among them as well.

Don’t get me started on the commercial venture of a certain traditional martial arts magazine that uses only ‘certain’ karate instructors on the island for their international seminars. Nothing wrong with the model, but the exclusionist, silo-like mindset of the venture is baffling. They welcome all styles in, but only introduce certain styles out. That makes no sense at all. Again, talking about sowing the seeds of discontent and bitterness.

So, what can we as individual karate-ka do? Well, we should practice what we preach. Wanna be a better human being? Stay away from clinging to the petty shit that divides us. And yes, sorry, who owns clothing and who has a bust in the dojo is a petty point to draw on. It sure as hell seems contrary to the Buddhist thought of not being attached to material possessions. And the spirit through which some of the shenanigans seem to be played out would lead me to think that the next incarnation for such adepts would not be nirvana. Be proud of your heritage and your lineage, be faithful to that and let all the other shit fall by the wayside. If it ain’t useful to you in becoming a better human being, it should not be part of the curriculum or even the discussion. Let groups like MMA and TKD continue their politics of derision and division. If you are gonna talk $hit, have the courtesy to wipe yourself after you’re done. I fear it means a slow death to the world of karate as we wish to see it.

My thought or hope for a brighter Okinawan karate future? More cooperation, less divisive talk. More willingness to learn from others, less insistence on being the sage at the top. More willingness to listen, less willingness to ‘talk.’ More focus on making a good karateka, less on making a ‘black belt.’ Less foot in the past, eye on the future, more eye on the past, foot in the future.

I know I will do my best to talk less shit and study/ teach more karate, But if I do ‘have a word with you,’ know that it is because I see that there is something I find ‘odd’ about what you are doing. And at least I have the balls to tell it straight to your face, with examples if necessary, to clear the air. If we remain friendly or cordial after that, it is up to you. If not, well, at least I know where your problem with me lies, and I can sleep good at night knowing that I tried. I don’t want to see enemies in my karate and I don’t want to make enemies in my karate. I would prefer to focus on where the real enemies lie – within me and beyond my gates.

My “enemies” should never be within my own ‘house’ of Okinawan karate (on the wide scale). And, truthfully, neither should yours.