New Technology Destroys Kung Fu!

[I:http://www.aikido-judo-karate.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/AlCase9.jpg]I saw the beginning of this over forty years ago while studying Kenpo Karate/Kung Fu, and it is still going on. In fact, it is worse than ever, and corrupts the majority of arts to a great degree. I will give you a couple of examples, and hopefully you can see to repairing the martial art that you study.

I was studying Ed Parker Kenpo Karate, and we began using pads. At first, the pads were only used to help fellows with knee problems, or that sort of thing, but the assortment of pads quickly grew. Soon pads were used on the shins for bruises, on the feet, on the shins, on the elbows and wrists, and so on.

Suddenly, people figured out that there was money in this padding thing. School owners realized that selling pads upped the revenue, and began pushing them to every student for every class. The selling of protective devices became a million dollar business that infected every school.

Now, you might be wondering why this is so bad. We’re just protecting little Johnny, right? But this is part of the school owner propaganda, and part of the selling gimmick.

When you wear pads you think your punches aren’t going to cause enough damage, and so you begin punching harder. Thus, the protective gear actually encourages less control and more violence. When you think about it, if you have to be aware and responsible so that you don’t get hurt, you start to control yourself and learn the true art.

The true martial art has to do with learning how to control yourself, you see. If you learn how to control your actions, then you start learning about yourself, and this makes you a better individual, on and off the matt. If you think you have to punch somebody harder and harder to make it work, then the people you fight are going to be more in danger.

Now, I saw this type of thought process infect the martial arts world back in the sixties. I also saw the introduction of fake weapons, so that people wouldn’t hurt themselves, which also decreases the need for learning control, and for the true appreciation of one’s own art. And, now people must wear mouthpieces, chest protectors, cups, and whatever else they can be scared or forced into buying.

The people who invented the martial arts, who passed them down through the generations, did not use such things, and I suspect they would have laughed at them. Bear in mind that I am not asking people to put themselves at risk, I am asking that people practice martial arts with no accoutrements, so that they can take responsibility for what they do, and not be cushioned against learning about themselves. Whether you study Tae Kwon Do, Kung Fu, traditional Karate, or whatever, you should follow Ed Parker’s advice…’I come to you with empty hands.

You can find out about all sorts of things that corrupt the martial arts, you can even learn how to fix your own art at Monster Martial Arts. Pick up a free ebook about matrixing while you’re there. 7