So what of the grey?
Over the years the martial arts environment has maintained a strong focus on children’s programs. They were fairly rudimentary initially since the martial arts were geared toward adults. But they have blossomed and flourished into strong character building programs that teach not only martial arts, but life skills. It is by far one of the most rewarding opportunities that any martial arts instructor will ever have. The chance to tap into an ever growing customer base, to mold and guide young impressionable minds, to develop connections with parents that can direct you to additional prospects as well as getting the parents themselves involved (on and off the mat). I have had a great experience teaching my own children and several of my student’s children.
Additionally, with the popularity of mixed martial arts there has been an increased interest in Brazilian Jujitsu and Muay Thai. This has done a great deal to bring in thousands of young, strapping testosterone driven males looking to submit or tapout some worthy opponent. Women’s self-defense programs still wane and lack the amount of attendance that they probably should have. At the same time they also lack some of the fundamental life saving components that have very little to do with actual physical application (but that’s for another time).
The question that might be asked is; are there any underserved groups in this mix? The answer is yes.
The first are teens and really they aren’t underserved. They are just too busy, uninterested or too cool to participate. You can feel free to disagree with me, but I have a teen and he has multiple sport and social activities. He likes something today and doesn’t tomorrow. Not to mention mounds and mounds of homework practically every day. I, myself started as a teen, but that was my focus. I didn’t do a lot of the other sports to follow my passion. Social events were replaced with working part time to earn money for class and to have a little bit in my pocket.
The second group is the grey. That group who’s hair has begun to grey over time. They normally find themselves with empty nests, adult children, ex-wives or wives that have figured out that they are who they are and they are going to follow their own paths. They are established, often entrepreneurs, or have that mindset. They might be career martial artists who have trained in a little bit of this and that over the years. They might be closet martial artists who started as kids but never got to continue for whatever reason. They like their toys and activities, which are normally, guns, knives, cars, bikes, family trips, hunting, electronics. They are good people that want to protect themselves and their loved ones. So what of the grey? Well they find themselves in a gi rolling on the floor with a twenty something year old in bjj class (something they'd never do in real life) or kicking thai pads for an hour and subscribing to the latest addition of Advil Daily magazine or worst yet are lined up in a class with some highly motivated young kids showing them some nonsensical “self-defense” that some grand master somewhere created 1000 years ago.
Ok, so what is the alternative for the grey? An alternative are practical training systems that focus on effective application without the focus on a tweny something body, calisthenics or sport. That isn’t to say that everyone isn’t responsible for their own health. In the arts your body represents the tools of your trade, but why waste half the class doing pushups and sit ups in a self defense class when that can be done on your own. You can crossfit on your own time. The arts I have gravitated to, meet those requirements for me because I fall into that greying catagory. Particularly the Filipino martial arts like Pekiti Tirsia that are based off of a blade culture, but have strong stick and empty hand components. Sayoc Kali which stresses all blade all the time, but has delved into more stick and empty hand work. Silat is also a good direction to look in, but it is more difficult to find and there are several flavors. Some may be less appealing than others depending on their level of esoteric back story and how that is incorporated into their training. Use common sense, if it doesn’t make sense to you it probably doesn’t make sense. Another good option are some of the combative systems based on the Filipino Arts like Martial Blade Concepts. This is another system that focuses on defending against the bladed weapon, but has a strong empty hand application that doesn’t go the way of the generic combatives and dumb it down for everyone approach (which basically turns into exercise again). So we see the grey has some good alternatives we just have to be willing to go out and find it. jb
The fine line...
While training we focus on the basics. We require of ourselves and our students a strong understanding and foundation in both knowledge and application of technique. We tweak angles of execution and discuss our presentation of the art at nausea. This foundation is important, it sets the base for everything else that we have the ability to become. It however doesn’t show us how to become everything we can become. To paraphrase (and probably butcher) a saying, “you can’t solve a problem with the same level of thinking that got you into the problem in the first place”. You have to level up if you want to move beyond the presentation component of the art.
So how do you level up? From the perspective of one who doesn't live in the same city as most of his instructors the answer is easy and difficult at the same time. Easy because you just need to think outside of the box. Contact your friends and training associates. Ask fellow members of organizations you belong to, look on Youtube, discussion forums and facebook to get ideas. Dig back into your mental archives and think about drills or methods of execution you learned at camps and seminars that you never took the time to implement. Don’t just look at your art, look at other systems and disciplines. A great example of this is where Mr. Bob White, of Bob White’s Kenpo Karate incorporates reaction drills picked up from his experience with tennis trainers. They are fun drills; they build applicable skills and they break the monotony that can come with not “switching it up”. Ok, so this sounds fine. Where is the difficult part you might ask? The challenge is going outside of your comfort zone. I think I’ve seen another saying that basically said, “Growth comes when you move outside of your comfort zone.” Commitment to that effort can be challenging when you are on your journey and others don't understand it. Don't expect support in your efforts if they fall outside of other's expectations. Their journey different from yours.
Finally, remind yourself why you are here. To perpetuate the art, to keep Mr. Parker’s flame burning, to provide good hard working people with the tools to defend themselves in an ever growing cruel world. No, you are here to protect yourself, your family and your loved ones with a level of death and destruction that leaves the bodies of your attackers strewn about in the wake of your deadly skills warning others to come and get some if they must.
That is the thin line. We strive to be scholar warriors, to learn the art with the expectation that our awesomeness will repel any would be attacker and those that would dare will burst into flames due to our previously mentioned awesomeness . But let’s look at the universal symbol of this scholar/warrior relationship. The left cupped hand over right fist. Scholar and warrior acting in concert to provide a well rounded martial artist. The scholar embraces the warrior, concealing the treasure (the art) from prying eyes until it is time to come out. But what happens if you remove the scholar? You still have Chuan fa, Kuntao, Kenpo, the law of the fist. So what happens if you remove the warrior? You have a shell with no substance underneath. It still looks like the warrior might be there, but upon closer observation you see there is no mat time, no application, no skin on skin, just a bunch of patches, big talk and physical non-participation. In this regard I’m not speaking of those that have been there done that, and laid the path for others to follow. Our seniors and those that have succumb to the eventual wearing out of body parts from years of abuse (whatever type it may be) had travelled the path and have earned their rest, but I have doubt that most could be as good once as they ever were if the situation called for it and they had maintained a martial presence about themselves and some training so their tools would completely rust over.
So as Mr. White said in a recent AKF Kenpo Spirit Camp, “be honest with yourself”. I also heard this echoed by Guro Danny Terrell during our Pekiti training session, “be honest with yourself”. Where are your deficiencies? Are you light on the "martial" and heavy on the "art"? Are you still searching for that which will make you have "it"? Or is there some other demon that haunts you?
jb
So how do you level up? From the perspective of one who doesn't live in the same city as most of his instructors the answer is easy and difficult at the same time. Easy because you just need to think outside of the box. Contact your friends and training associates. Ask fellow members of organizations you belong to, look on Youtube, discussion forums and facebook to get ideas. Dig back into your mental archives and think about drills or methods of execution you learned at camps and seminars that you never took the time to implement. Don’t just look at your art, look at other systems and disciplines. A great example of this is where Mr. Bob White, of Bob White’s Kenpo Karate incorporates reaction drills picked up from his experience with tennis trainers. They are fun drills; they build applicable skills and they break the monotony that can come with not “switching it up”. Ok, so this sounds fine. Where is the difficult part you might ask? The challenge is going outside of your comfort zone. I think I’ve seen another saying that basically said, “Growth comes when you move outside of your comfort zone.” Commitment to that effort can be challenging when you are on your journey and others don't understand it. Don't expect support in your efforts if they fall outside of other's expectations. Their journey different from yours.
Finally, remind yourself why you are here. To perpetuate the art, to keep Mr. Parker’s flame burning, to provide good hard working people with the tools to defend themselves in an ever growing cruel world. No, you are here to protect yourself, your family and your loved ones with a level of death and destruction that leaves the bodies of your attackers strewn about in the wake of your deadly skills warning others to come and get some if they must.
That is the thin line. We strive to be scholar warriors, to learn the art with the expectation that our awesomeness will repel any would be attacker and those that would dare will burst into flames due to our previously mentioned awesomeness . But let’s look at the universal symbol of this scholar/warrior relationship. The left cupped hand over right fist. Scholar and warrior acting in concert to provide a well rounded martial artist. The scholar embraces the warrior, concealing the treasure (the art) from prying eyes until it is time to come out. But what happens if you remove the scholar? You still have Chuan fa, Kuntao, Kenpo, the law of the fist. So what happens if you remove the warrior? You have a shell with no substance underneath. It still looks like the warrior might be there, but upon closer observation you see there is no mat time, no application, no skin on skin, just a bunch of patches, big talk and physical non-participation. In this regard I’m not speaking of those that have been there done that, and laid the path for others to follow. Our seniors and those that have succumb to the eventual wearing out of body parts from years of abuse (whatever type it may be) had travelled the path and have earned their rest, but I have doubt that most could be as good once as they ever were if the situation called for it and they had maintained a martial presence about themselves and some training so their tools would completely rust over.
So as Mr. White said in a recent AKF Kenpo Spirit Camp, “be honest with yourself”. I also heard this echoed by Guro Danny Terrell during our Pekiti training session, “be honest with yourself”. Where are your deficiencies? Are you light on the "martial" and heavy on the "art"? Are you still searching for that which will make you have "it"? Or is there some other demon that haunts you?
jb
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