I actually presented my instructor with an idea verbally first. I was waivering between doing something statistically based i.e. writing a paper after gather written responses from Kenpo Schools across the country, and doing something more personal. Due to my profession at the time, I decided to do something regarding psychological preparation for violence, physiological reactions in violent situations, and how this links with physical preparedness. Although I had not yet done the work, I knew it was of interest to me. After discussing it with my teacher, he approved the more experiencial paper.
Then a few weeks later I turned in a very brief outline to him of the actual paper. He approved this, then he did not see it again until right before my test.
Somewhere in the middle of writing the thesis, I came up with the title. It seemed to tie things together within the paper. I called it "Positive Aggression".
I ended up including "Spiritual Preparedness" as a separate section of the paper, thinking about the "Body, Mind, and Spirit" triangle in the salute. Camps with Mr. LaBounty focusing on a strong spirit helped. You know the Orange Belt Saying - "Condition and guts take over where knowledge and skill end." I would add "that through conditioning and guts, the spirit gains strength."
If you are interested in a paper which draws from a statistical sample, the internet in general, and this forum in particular, gives you an excellent statistical base from which you can collect data. People reply to the surveys on this forum and the same question could be placed in several different Arts strings or forums, not just Kenpo on MartialTalk. This could be interesting, although the respondants would be self-selecting, i.e. Martial Artists who use the internet. It leaves out a big statistical chunk, probably the majority of actual Martial Artist in training in the United States.
Just a thought, someone else has probably already been there & done that for some topics, but there are so many you can choose from.
-Good Luck and Good Writing,
-Michael B.
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