lonecoyote said:
Martial arts forums are a very educational resource, and I wonder if you also know they can be disillusioning.
They are likely the greatest boon and largest hindrance to the proliferation of quality martial arts to date.
One goes to a school, their first martial arts experience, and its great. They like their art, their instructor, and the history behind what they do.
Nothing wrong with liking what you are doing...
They then go online, to talk to other martial artists and pretty soon they realize that what they are learning, not just about their art, but its origins and history doesn't match up with what some very respectable, learned people are saying.
Then what is it that makes these people "respectable" and "learned?" If what they teach, what they've learned, is incorrect, then I suppose they aren't quite as "learned" as was previously assumed...
There is a guy here locally that allegedly teaches some Shaolin style, but was completely stumped when the term "chuan fa" was brought up... I guess he isn't as educated as he makes himself out to be, no matter what others may think.
A little research, a few books, some private messages and soon one realizes that their instructor has either had the wool pulled over his eyes or is full of it, because while there is lots of disagreement on origins and history, nobody has this guys point of view and he's considered kind of a wacko.
Happens all the time.
So what do you do then? Confront your instructor?
Certainly. Perhaps "confront" is too harsh a word, but making it known in some fashion that you have found contradictory information may be a good thing. Maybe your teacher told you XYZ, and you didn't really catch Y all that well, so you go around thinking that he told you XZ. Maybe your info is just insufficient. Maybe your teacher was told XYZ and you find out subsequent to your internet searches that in fact the information should be WXY. Telling your teacher this might actually help HIM to grow (maybe he didn't know). Maybe your teacher is just making things up and you finally found him out by doing a little research. People often don't research MA at all until they are hip deep in it, and by then it is too late to a greater or lesser degree... I mean, you research buying a dog, buying a car, buying a house, but not in "buying" self-defense training? It just fails the common sense test. Trusting your physical safety to any old schmuck just isn't sound advice, is it?
What if you get the runaround?
What runaround? That the teacher continues to blur the definitions between reality and fantasy, or that the teacher has an answer for every question? Are your questions being answered truthfully with logical, reasonable answers, or do you feel like Rod Serling should pop out at any moment?
Does it depend on how much time/ money you have invested?
Does WHAT depend on how much time/money you have invested? Whether you depart in a rapid fashion or whether you remain? What a sorry reason to stick with a MA you know to be garbage... Just because you have spent $X and have X belt you remain rather than go elsewhere to start over again... Sad, really.
Does any of it matter as long as you're enjoying yourself?
Only if you are trusting what you know and what you have learned to keep you alive. Then it matters quite a bit, I'd think. If you are in MA just to have fun, jump about and socialize, then I suppose it matters little unless you are concerned with the people you keep company with.
or is it very important, because it speaks to character, if you lie, you are a liar?
What else will that person lie about, and persist in lying to you about?
Lots of questions, only one answer - Lineage means crap, skill is far more important, though a skilled practitioner can still be a complete fraud no matter how well they fight.
