Years ago, I heard part of a sermon that I thought was one of the smartest things I'd ever heard come out of a minister's mouth. He made the comment that many people, finding religion, thought that all of their problems would mysteriously disappear, all of their character faults would suddenly vanish, and they'd be these angelic people that everyone loved who did no wrong. They were stunned and disappointed to discover that they were still substantially whatever they had been before. If they were happy and generous before, they were still happy and generous. If they were suspicious, jealous, greedy, or prone to lying before, they were still suspicious, jealous, greedy, and prone to lying. The only difference was that they'd been given a new way to think about those things, and a new way to deal with them.
Don't worry, this isn't a post about religion. However, those comments struck me because it was the first time I could remember hearing a minister say openly that his church members could be rotten people despite his best efforts. I know a few church members whose behavior appals me, and to be honest they're pretty sorry advertisements for the power of religion. This minister's point was that people are people, and you can have life-changing experiences but still be the same person. Holding those people to higher standards is not necessarily unreasonable, but is also doomed to disappointment at times.
I think the same thing applies to the martial arts. Martial arts requires discipline to execute, discipline to stick with, discipline inside the dojo. Hopefully, one would think, this teaches us discipline. Right? Well, ideally, yes. But it's not going to turn you into someone you're not.
For example, I know someone with a hair-trigger temper. He's got a really low flash point. Martial arts has taught him to be aware of this fact, and has taught him to try to control it -- but it hasn't changed the fact that he has a quick temper, and sometimes it goes off when it shouldn't. He ought to have better control, but he doesn't always, despite his best efforts.
Someone else I know has very little self-confidence. They've always been overweight, and never thought of themselves as "athletic". Years of failure at various school sports left them with pretty low self-esteem where their physical abilities were concerned. This person has worked hard in the dojo and come far, and is now a brown belt. We encourage them as much as possible, and finally, they are starting to believe that they are not completely hopeless physically. But they will never have the physical confidence of a natural athlete, no matter what rank they achieve.
The point is that I think sometimes people ask too much of the martial arts. Martial arts, like many other endeavors, can help facilitate growth, but that growth comes from inside. Even as you grow, you are still the same person with the same weaknesses and the same strengths.
This doesn't mean I don't think that you can become a better person, or that I don't think martial arts can help. It means that I think you have to really want to try to overcome your weaknesses before it will happen. I also think that too many people expect too much of a black belt level martial artist, just as many people (including myself) probably hold proclaimed Christians to standards that are too high.
People are still human, at the end of it all.
I agree completely. Moreover, I don't think that it's a bad thing for people to be well aware of this, either. If a black belt isn't a stereotypical "mystic sensei" then that means the person may be able to tell jokes, laugh, go out after class for a drink, give life advice, and do all the other things that friends can do but icons can't.
Speaking as a newer karate student, it has been a great relief to me to discover that the seniors in my dojo are actual human beings instead of paragons of virtue that I could never hope to equal.
My last venture into martial arts was in the art of aikido, and my sensei was very traditional. He expected students to perform services for him (drive him to and from the dojo for class, do shopping for him, clean the dojo before and after class, etc.) Some of his requests were very reasonable, but others were simply designed to create a student/master relationship. By portraying himself as an unapproachable "honourable sensei" instead of a human being, he came across as cold and distant, almost an object of fear instead of respect. Most of his seniors/disciples took up the same mantle of distance. As a result, I left his dojo; I simply didn't enjoy an environment where there was no place for friendship or laughter. I am not a samurai, and I don't need to steep myself in bushido! I'd rather train with people then charicatures.
Posted by: Derek | December 10, 2004 at 01:22 PM
I think that people come to expect so much more from martial arts (than other sports) because of a few reasons. When you think of the people who do it, you tend to think of Samurai. To say "I sure wanna be able to play tennis like Becker" doesn't have the same level of umph as saying "I want to train likie a samurai". The level of wisdom that you expect to take away from training goes far beyond what you'd expect to come away with after playing volleyball for a few seasons.
I agree that people can expect too much from it....but I also find that it one of the few "things" from which you can TAKE so much from. The physical training, the mental awareness, the spirtituality, and lots more. It's easy for it to be mistaken for a "wonder drug".
As for expecting too much from the black belt level....I have to answer on a personl level ....some of the biggest, boastful, braggard jack*sses I've ever met were 1 st degree blackbelt. The Style never mattered. Really isn't until 2nd or 3rd degreee that a decent amount of humility starts to settle in.
Shannon
ps. Hope I dont offend any humble 1st degrees.
Posted by: Shannon | December 12, 2004 at 10:33 PM
I've know some arrogant SOB's that were far beyond Shodan as well :-)
I agree with all of the comments. Martial arts can, and does, offer much that goes beyond a physical endeavor, and I prize that "extra something". But not everyone taps into it, and not everyone wants to. And that's fine too.
And again, even if you do, you're still yourself. You're still going to have weak days, you're still going to have flaws.
In fairness, I guess I would have to say that I have a sort of sliding scale for how much I demand from a person. If someone is a color belt who's only been doing karate for a few months, I don't expect them to have made much progress on the fuzzier side of the martial arts. On the other hand, anyone who has achieved a dan rank has put in their time in the dojo and survived a trial by fire. Those people I hold to higher standards.
The longer you've trained, the higher you get, the more challenges you have met, the more I expect to see as a result. I don't think that's entirely unreasonable; I think it's fair to ask that someone learn something from their experiences, and the more experiences you have, the more chances you have to learn.
So maybe I'm guilty of it too, and I get disappointed when people fall short.
Posted by: LirianFae | December 13, 2004 at 10:43 AM