Ego

Some people just have to be in the spotlight. It's not enough to train with the most knowledgeable martial artist in the world. It's not enough to be highly respected by your peers. So you leave and strike out on your own, starting your very own martial arts system.

I guess I can sort of understand it. There's good money to be made teaching martial arts on the seminar circuit. Money is a powerful motivating force in some people's lives.

And why be content with being a student, just one of many, when you can be "the man." You can be Hanshi So-and-so. Or better yet, make up your own title. Just stick a word on the front of "bushi" and you sound like a real master. I can sort of understand that. Who doesn't want to be esteemed?

Yet I can't help but think of the biblical proverb, which says: "Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else, and not your own lips." Seems like a hollow accomplishment if you have to call yourself Hanshi to get the word out. When you have to list your own credentials and trumpet your own mastery. Better when others do it for you.

An old saying goes: If you are in Okinawa and you meet a man on the street and ask him if he knows karate, if he says, "Only a little," then be very careful. That man may just hand you your rear end if you get cross-ways with him. But the man who says "I am a master" probably actually knows very little.

Some of these self-styled masters may have worthwhile things to teach. I won't deny that. But some make up their own katas, their own techniques, etc., out of nothing but their own imagination. If some of the stuff they teach is junk, who's to say that the other stuff is not junk as well?

My instructor is always careful to point out that he didn't "make-up" anything that he teaches. He learned it from his instructors, who learned it from their instructors. In other words, it's authentic life protection arts that have been tried and tested over time.

I understand why people do the things they do. Those same desires are present in all of us. We want to be praised, honored for our accomplishments. Recognized as outstanding individuals. We are all human, after all.

But what I don't understand is this. What you learn from your instructor is given in trust. It's not yours to just do with as you please. My instructor has dedicated his life to martial arts. What he teaches me is not trivial, since it was not trivial for him to learn it in the first place

Shouldn't my instructor have the right to say how he wants this knowledge passed on to future generations? And if he reserves the right alone to give yudansha ranks, why would I think it would be alright for me to award black belt rank to someone?

Everything I know came from my instructor. It seems only proper that I honor his trust in me with my loyalty. I'm not in martial arts to be somebody. I don't care about rank. Either you understand what you're taught, or you don't. A "black belt" doesn't mean squat if you can't defend your life when the need arises.

So, yeah, I don't understand betraying your instructor's trust. I can't see lying to cover up that betrayal. Lying, deceit, betrayal: those are not characteristics in keeping with the spirit of martial arts. In fact, they're not in keeping with being an honorable human being.

It all boils down to ego. There is no place for ego in martial arts. When we start to think we are somebody, we stop being teachable. We stop learning and become more interested in being the source of knowledge. Humility will keep us on the right path. Ego leads us to set up our own shop. And as bad as that is, these self-styled masters have students of there own, students who are often infected by their teacher's egos.

I know one such student, who's gone from shodan to sandan in just a couple of years under the guidance of so-called masters. He may feel a real sense of accomplishment. But in the end, he's been done a disservice. He's gotten it in his head that attaining rank is the measure of a martial artist. And there is no one to tell him any different. Unless someday that someone happens to be a six foot one body builder with a bad attitude. In which case, if he learns the lesson, it just may be in the very hardest way.

Training Taika's Way

Taika Oyata has a saying: "One drop of sweat, one knowledge. Two drops of sweat, two knowledge."

Training, even intense training, if of little value if you don't train the right way. Just working out is not going to give you the tools to defend yourself. How much you sweat is not a good indication of how well you trained.

For training to be useful, it has to be purposeful. Deliberate. Thoughtful. Training should engage your mind as much as your body.

So, instead of just running through your katas, try focusing on some "small" motion in particular. Work on it slowly at first. Get it right. Build up to what you think is full speed. Then analyze your motion to see if you are slowing it down anywhere. Find a way to make it smooth. Do a few hundred repetitions. Do a few thousand.

This is not glamorous training. It's hard and potentially boring if your mind is not actively engaged. And in the end, you may only sweat a little, but with those few drops of sweat will come real knowledge.

How To Be A Karate Master

Practice all your katas

It's a good idea to run though all your katas on a regular basis. Heck, run through them two or three times. Don't worry about problem spots. You'll work out the kinks as you keep going over and over the kata. The important thing is that you're practicing.

Work on what you're good at

If a move is awkward, you might want to skip it. Concentrate on what you do best. Who knows, you might be the next Bill "Superfoot" Wallace!

Practice slowly

Go slowly so you get all the moves right. If it feels awkward, go even slower (or just skip the awkward stuff, as I've already said).

Practice hard and tight

Go ahead, clench those fists. Tighten every muscle in your body. Make those GoJu Ryu Sanchin weenies jealous of your ki development. Develop your body to the point that punches just bounce off your Schwarzenegger like pectorals. Don't worry about your groin. Your opponent will never get past your superfoot.

Study many different systems

Study all the different martial arts systems you can. Don't worry about contradictory and incompatible theories. You'll sort through what works and what doesn't to arrive at your own "super" system of martial arts. And, you better patent and trademark it. There are guys out there already doing that and they're making good money on the seminar circuit.

No-touch knockout

Do not practice the no-touch knockout on yourself. This is pretty self-explanatory.

Link it all back to ninjutstu

I don't know why, but this just works. If your training incorporates even a little "ninja" in it, people will be impressed. It doesn't hurt to wear the ninja hi-top tabi shoes everywhere you go, either.

Don't be a showoff

If you have blackbelts in five or six different systems, do not wear all those black belts at one time. Choose the one blackbelt you like the best, and make that your primary blackbelt. You could, however, design a patch that incorporates all those different blackbelts in the design.

Name your system carefully

If you do become a master, or even a grandmaster, and want to start your own system, then name your system carefully. Ryukyu Kempo Tomari-te is an excellent example of a well chosen name (it doesn't have to a real name). You might try Extreme Shaolin Ninjutsu, for example, except that I already came up with that name. Be creative.