09/20/2026
The Feel-Good Art
Allow me to share Some of the things that have bothered me over the last decade or so in regards to the martial arts and what I feel are the definite differences or the decline we are seeing over the years and what I feel are tragic and detrimental to us all. This list if you will of my concerns is not limited to or just specific to the arts, I see a lot of this in our world in general.
The race for rank, martial arts schools are filled with black belts now that have as little as two to three years of time in and sadly, I have talked with people who have achieved this rank in a year. What is this great concern for this cloth to tie around your waist? This is a symbol of knowledge and prowess but as with any symbol there must be real accreditation with it otherwise the value of it is worthless. In the end the passing of rank falls upon the teacher and if you as the teacher are passing students whose skill set is below what it truly should be then shame on you for giving them this false sense of achievement. if you are the student with only the goal of chasing this rank, might I suggest you get out of your bubble and look into something more challenging like perhaps actually earning a rank.
Limited physicality, no matter the art or your age you should be striving each class to make each movement stronger, faster and more precise. Always there should be a wish and drive to be better and this should be our goal in everything in life. Am I the only one who has witnessed classes where the basic drills and Kata look so lethargic, I cringe? Where are the sharp crisp movements of a martial arts practitioner? Again, this falls on the teacher in charge to correct this in a manner that the student understands what is required to improve. Another statement I have heard is that “we do not make contact in class” really? How do you test your techniques? I as any teacher understands the safety of our students which is why we train in a controlled environment to lessen the chance of injuries however if you never push the boundaries, you are only living with a false sense of being a martial artist.
Everyone wins mentality, martial arts is about self-development, becoming the best that you can be not having the concern of who is better or ahead of me .in class there will almost always be someone better either overall of you or in a specific area of training if so use this as a catalyst to drive you to be better if this person is you I highly suggest going and spending some time in another school to not only humble you but to understand you can become even better. in competition someone is going to win and that day someone will lose, this does not make you a loser it however does mean you need to push harder. Exactly what is it we are teaching our kids if they think everyone wins all the time or that we never fail am sure this prepares them for reality?
I have devoted my life to the arts as I know some of you have, we have strived, achieved, failed and bled for the art we have pushed the boundaries of mental and physical limits and sometimes done the impossible. The art is an individual journey for us all but it has to be an honest one not only for us but for the art itself. We all need to understand our limitations so that we can break out of them. never be satisfied never be defeated but most of all never be fooled.
Chase…
Send a message to learn more
