A kick in the "shin"
I've seen a lot of changes to karate in my lifetime. I've watched an art grow into a sport and a sport grow into an exhibit of physical skill that has little attachment to the art that once spawned it.
I am not sure who is to blame, but since the horse is out of the martial barn, pointing fingers and making accusations seems somewhat pointless now.
"Back in the day," karateka were fierce creatures of seemingly endless resolve. They took a licking and could dish one out. It was training - and people understood that sometimes, in the effort to make a karate soufflé, you had to break a few eggs. And maybe a finger or two. Perhaps a toe. Or maybe even get a black eye.
But I digress.
Now? Less of a risk of injury because lawsuit - or the possibility that a partner may flip out and take an accidental strike (or receipt of a blow due to a poor block) as a personal affront and, as the kids say today, lose their sh!t. Today, there's a lot of lip service about the value of martial arts training: how it helps kids with all sorts of ailments, how it can provide discipline and structure to young lives, how it can make people impervious to bullying, etc.
Sure. Right. Whatever you say.
Is karate good for youth with no structure, with low self-esteem? Sure. No doubt at all. It is a cure for bad behaviour? Nope. Nor is it the magic bullet for shyness or anything else.
I am not sure who is to blame, but since the horse is out of the martial barn, pointing fingers and making accusations seems somewhat pointless now.
"Back in the day," karateka were fierce creatures of seemingly endless resolve. They took a licking and could dish one out. It was training - and people understood that sometimes, in the effort to make a karate soufflé, you had to break a few eggs. And maybe a finger or two. Perhaps a toe. Or maybe even get a black eye.
But I digress.
Now? Less of a risk of injury because lawsuit - or the possibility that a partner may flip out and take an accidental strike (or receipt of a blow due to a poor block) as a personal affront and, as the kids say today, lose their sh!t. Today, there's a lot of lip service about the value of martial arts training: how it helps kids with all sorts of ailments, how it can provide discipline and structure to young lives, how it can make people impervious to bullying, etc.
Sure. Right. Whatever you say.
Is karate good for youth with no structure, with low self-esteem? Sure. No doubt at all. It is a cure for bad behaviour? Nope. Nor is it the magic bullet for shyness or anything else.
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