R
rmcrobertson
Guest
Here's what I know, and what I think anybody can verify--though they don't have to agree with my take on it, obviously.
1. The IKKA has been in decline for some time, in terms of membership, influence, etc.
2. The last two tournaments I went to in Long Beach (1999 & 2000) were dreadful. No attendance, lackluster performances, etc. And a lot of praying over the audience at the last one.
3. There's been a lot of--how shall I describe it--schnockering around on the various forums, that has had to do with politics and salesmanship. Some of it has been open and aboveboard; some has not.
4. There appears to have been something going on involving Mr. Trejo's two tournaments, Dian Tanaka, Mrs. Parker, and the IKKA. It does not seem to have been pretty.
5. It has long been difficult to get copies of the "Infinite Insights," books.
6. American kenpo has a long history of being a bit grabby with the bucks, though I don't know enough to comment on whether or not there's more of this in kenpo than in other martial arts.
7. The means by which the IKKA is being rebuilt, from what's been reported on the forums, look sketchy to me. Of course, perhaps they have to.
8. The couple of folks who have been asking questions--Billy Lear and Kirk come to mind--are getting some fairly patronizing responses.
9. I don't care at all for the calls for silence, when forums are there so that everyone (including me, to be sure) can freely express their ignorance and ask questions.
10. Some of the dialogue suggests power and money organized around the same old father-and-son Oedipal model that is half the problem with Mr. Parker's legacy in the first place. For example, translating questions about money into rhetorical questions about our own instructors and hypothetical disrespect for them.
11. There is a general trend towards centralization in the martial arts, and towards turning their study into a new source of corporate revenue enhancement, that I don't care for at all. In part, this is because American martial arts have retained very little of the historical, cultural, and social structures that kept some kind of checks on crappy behavior in old world arts. (Though those old world arts also often excluded women and other undesirables on the grounds of those same protecting structures.) To be sure, holding back the tide of capitalism is a losing battle, and this trend is going to get a hell of a lot worse before it gets better.
12. I personally am damn glad that I've learned enough that I can keep learning on my own if I have to, for the rest of my life.
13. Since H.L Mencken and Spiro Agnew at least, we nattering nabobs of negativism have been getting accused of being--well--aware of reality and critical about it. Good for us.
14. I would be thrilled to see Mr. Trejo do well with the revamped organization. Great guy, great martial artist.
Oh well.
Robert
1. The IKKA has been in decline for some time, in terms of membership, influence, etc.
2. The last two tournaments I went to in Long Beach (1999 & 2000) were dreadful. No attendance, lackluster performances, etc. And a lot of praying over the audience at the last one.
3. There's been a lot of--how shall I describe it--schnockering around on the various forums, that has had to do with politics and salesmanship. Some of it has been open and aboveboard; some has not.
4. There appears to have been something going on involving Mr. Trejo's two tournaments, Dian Tanaka, Mrs. Parker, and the IKKA. It does not seem to have been pretty.
5. It has long been difficult to get copies of the "Infinite Insights," books.
6. American kenpo has a long history of being a bit grabby with the bucks, though I don't know enough to comment on whether or not there's more of this in kenpo than in other martial arts.
7. The means by which the IKKA is being rebuilt, from what's been reported on the forums, look sketchy to me. Of course, perhaps they have to.
8. The couple of folks who have been asking questions--Billy Lear and Kirk come to mind--are getting some fairly patronizing responses.
9. I don't care at all for the calls for silence, when forums are there so that everyone (including me, to be sure) can freely express their ignorance and ask questions.
10. Some of the dialogue suggests power and money organized around the same old father-and-son Oedipal model that is half the problem with Mr. Parker's legacy in the first place. For example, translating questions about money into rhetorical questions about our own instructors and hypothetical disrespect for them.
11. There is a general trend towards centralization in the martial arts, and towards turning their study into a new source of corporate revenue enhancement, that I don't care for at all. In part, this is because American martial arts have retained very little of the historical, cultural, and social structures that kept some kind of checks on crappy behavior in old world arts. (Though those old world arts also often excluded women and other undesirables on the grounds of those same protecting structures.) To be sure, holding back the tide of capitalism is a losing battle, and this trend is going to get a hell of a lot worse before it gets better.
12. I personally am damn glad that I've learned enough that I can keep learning on my own if I have to, for the rest of my life.
13. Since H.L Mencken and Spiro Agnew at least, we nattering nabobs of negativism have been getting accused of being--well--aware of reality and critical about it. Good for us.
14. I would be thrilled to see Mr. Trejo do well with the revamped organization. Great guy, great martial artist.
Oh well.
Robert
