tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29640480.post7399898307061889210..comments2024-03-21T18:54:06.548-07:00Comments on Old Enough to Know Better: Rites and Rituals and Mores, Oh, My ...Steve Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12079658447270792228noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29640480.post-16596540749923855242010-02-03T09:44:27.995-08:002010-02-03T09:44:27.995-08:00>"In one version of silat taught by people...>"In one version of silat taught by people who were born in Indonesia, you still see teachers who say you must wear one to teach classes, as a gesture of respect for the art. "<<br /><br />You're getting VERY good at this, Steve. I can only hope to learn...<br /><br />Like Michael, I used to be Mr. Ultra-Traditionalist - and it paid off with me looking like a fool when confronted about some of my teacher's more esoteric ways and gross mispronunciations of a foreign language that he passed off as "tradition".<br /><br />Tradition, to me, is simply another way of saying "habit", and that makes it easier to examine. Am I doing this thing because it's necessary, or because it's part of a ritual? What are the consequences of NOT doing it any longer? Will it adversely affect my training, or simply alter my wardrobe to something a touch less silly?<br /><br />This kind of thinking isn't for everybody, and I would hazard an assumption that, by and large, the population of the world's hoo-ha'ers don't want to hear it. The trappings of tradition are as often as not what sells the art. But it's kind of like the Matrix: Once you've seen it, you can never accept things simply "as they were".Bobbe Edmondshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05939499760417692512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29640480.post-68019284960042851092010-02-03T06:05:10.139-08:002010-02-03T06:05:10.139-08:00I started out my martial arts career being VERY tr...I started out my martial arts career being VERY traditional. I thought it was the most important thing. I have grown to view this much differently over the years.<br /><br />My empty hand system is Wing Chun, it was not my first system, but it is the one I stopped at. I have studied it under several teachers, of different 'families' and have ended up with a certain perspective on 'tradition'. <br /><br />Tradition is a good thing in that it ties us to the past and gives us an anchor for what and who we are. Tradition makes us feel part of something larger than we are, and that is a good thing. It gives roots and meaning.<br /><br />Tradition is a bad thing when it threatens to make a thing stale or obsolete. <br /><br />Yip Man is known to have changed the forms and teaching of Wing Chun, often times because students ran into fights that the 'classic' or 'traditional' way lacked a clear response for.<br /><br />Martial Arts must adapt. I do not think that means they must all become some hodge-podge MMA thing, but they MUST adapt to the methodologies that will be used against them or they become obsolete.<br /><br />When I was teaching I would explain where each derivation came from, and why I felt it was good or bad. I would then tell the students to not take my opinion for gospel and decide for themselves which way was best. <br /><br />SO I guess my thinking is that you should teach both and explain that version "A" is the traditional method and version "B" is a more modern approach and why B is different than A. That way you have preserved both the traditional and the living art.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06744849149883129036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29640480.post-56591118472141609072010-02-03T01:13:19.862-08:002010-02-03T01:13:19.862-08:00This leads nicely into 'tradition'....
We...This leads nicely into 'tradition'....<br /><br />Went to a seminar, and we had a wee chat about 'tradition'.<br /><br />The story goes that a young married couple were having roast lamb for tea. The husband noticed the wife cut of the shank end off and threw it away, when asked why, she replied 'tradition, my mum did it'.<br /><br />So the phoned the mother-in-law.<br /><br />Turns out she did it because of 'tradition', as her mother did it...<br /><br />Grandma is still alive, so they phone her at the 'home for the bewildered'. Turns out back in the old days, the ovens were smaller, and a full roast wouldn't fit....<br /><br />What did this teach me?<br /><br />Taught me that instructors who say we are doing moves or actions because of 'tradition', have NO idea why they are doing what they are doing, and maybe they aren't as qualified as you would hope.Ian SADLERnoreply@blogger.com