Martial arts journey through time

Martial arts journey through time

Martial arts has changed over the years as man has changed, a long time ago it was for the preservation of life, where if you did not know how to protect yourself and your family you could be killed, therefore the martial arts of older times were much more effective and dangerous than the arts of today, this is because it was battle tested for real and not done as recreation or a past time.

In today’s society martial arts are a little different now and the focus is more on sport and winning trophies, today an individual or club bases its worth on how many trophies, black belts they have or how many world champions they produce. This is a shame but understandable as we have lost so many of the old masters’ teachings and methods we now try to replace them with superficial training and awards.

For me although martial arts as a sport can be a good thing it should not be the ultimate goal as it would be more beneficial to concentrate on the self development of the mind, body and spirit and helping others this way you will build a strong and stable character.

Martial artists of today focus too much on the sport side and getting black belts or Dans, these will happen automatically as you progress through your martial arts training and not because you have won a tournament, so many instructors now give black belts out to 6 year old kids or younger, what kind of message are you giving them soon they will give them out with a MacDonald’s happy meal!

The biggest thing I find in martial arts today is everyone wants to be a master but no one wants to take the time to learn and put the work in, we live in a quick society where you can chat to anyone in the world online in an instant, learn about anything from you tube, but this is the difference when people watch something online they think they know it, understand it and have absorbed it but it takes many years of dedicated study and practice which in these modern times people are not so prepared to do and or don’t have the time to devote to it.

In my 46 years of training in martial arts I still do not know enough and will always continue to be a student. Hopefully the martial arts DVDS online I have produced with the help of some fantastic students (thank you I am always grateful) will help people with their training and as reference source. You would not believe some people email me and say ‘’I have watched the DVDs and can you send me a black belt?’’ This is crazy but it is true there are people like this and they do breed!

When people ask how much it is for training I say you have already asked me the wrong question. Are you prepared to put the hard work in and see it through? You cannot just buy the skills you need it’s not Wal-Mart as some people think.

Competitions can be a good thing as it can test you in the right environment and with the right attitude but people who just focus on winning at all costs and being disrespectful to the referee and their opponents think they are martial artists and it’s acceptable behaviour because they have won a trophy or tournament.

We have a saying. ‘’There is no such thing as a young master’’

Take your time and study diligently and the energy will always be correct.

GM Angelo