Public Reactions to your art

[Lynne]

LOL! I always heard that too. Some jerk would always challenge us and say "I am a boxer and I eat Karate guys for breakfast!"

Lol!

Maybe if they were a boxer and a practitioner of Judo and they got in really close. But then a martial artist wouldn't be bragging about it.

 

[Hand Sword]

Maybe if they were a boxer and a practitioner of Judo and they got in really close. But then a martial artist wouldn't be bragging about it.

Sadly though, as is apparent by some in these forums, high ranking too, there is plenty of bragging. It would be nice if it were true.

 

[Lynne]

Sadly though, as is apparent by some in these forums, high ranking too, there is plenty of bragging. It would be nice if it were true.

Ohhh.....

 

[Drac]

Sadly though, as is apparent by some in these forums, high ranking too, there is plenty of bragging. It would be nice if it were true.

Ohhh.....

That is way so many LEO's are hesitant about recieving training from a martial artists..They have encountered the braggarts of the MA world who broadcast in a loud voice that they were black belts and would kick all their butts..These jerks usually went down with out so much as a punch or kick being launched on their part...

 

[Hawke]

I have received both positive and negative reactions.

Positive reaction was helping others find a good dojo.

Negative reaction was people attacking me from behind to see what I would do.

 

[Shaderon]

I've had mostly positive reactions, usually the person I'm talking to has, by total coincidence, either a friend who studies an art or has been a 1st Dan or such themselves at one time. I was even talking to a salesman at work once who used to study Shotokai and my enthusiasm triggered him into going and signing up again.

We did have negative reactions from the class before us in the studio though when we first started, a couple of them were my friends so the Subum left it to me to talk to them, as we were walking in the room one day they started making knife hand movements and Bruce Lee noises and giggling, I just said "do us all a favour guys and stand in the middle and hold these kick shields so we can all practice at once?" needless to say there was a flurry of backs leaving the room and they didn't take the micky again. In fact they leave the room quicker now for us as now out of courtesy they know we are paying to use it whilst they are part of the gym.

 

[SKB]

I tend to just tell people I study To-Shin Do and most of them leave it at that. They assume it is just a run of the mill m.a. If the ask more questions but stay kind of vague. If the really seem interested then I tell them what the common name of the art is and give them information. I get teased once in awhile about it but nothing realy upsetting.

 

[Lynne]

This month, our school is going out to Wal-Mart on a Saturday to raise money for a trip to Wales.

I believe (not sure) that we are to wear our Doboks. That could be interesting. I think it would be great for women my age to get involved in martial arts. I might get some interesting questions! (I look younger than 49 but I'll have to tell 'em my age!)

 

[Skip Cooper]

LOL! I always heard that too. Some jerk would always challenge us and say "I am a boxer and I eat Karate guys for breakfast!"

Lol!

Does this quote belong to Mike Tyson, by any chance?

 

[kidswarrior]

This is a great thread! Have really enjoyed it, reading all your experiences.

I don't really hide my practice, nor do I advertise it. Family just ignores any reference, so don't make any anymore. Friends seem to admire the fact I teach the arts, and often want to know how they can get their kid in one of my classes (really impossible, since my classes grow out of my day job and the kids I work with)--especially their hyperactive four year old . Honestly, my heart goes out to them, but we've all got to know our limitations, and that's beyond mine.

Did have one negative experience that stands out, though. A few years ago, injured my cervical spine in Kung Fu San Soo (overzealous training partner), and ended up wearing a neck brace. This was humiliating enough, but once when I went to pick up takeout at our favorite Chinese restaurant, made the mistake of having on a school T Shirt, with Chinese characters (and the brace). The young woman asked about my neck, and when I mentioned kung fu, she began to giggle. I tried to explain, No not the pretty wushu that the young acrobats do, but Ugly Fu for combat. Didn't make any difference. She just assumed I had been foolish enough to attempt to contort my 240 pound body in the manner of modern sport wushu. Oh, well. Didn't someone famous say, The only way to humility is through humiliation?

 

[stoneheart]

Reactions are generally positive. I've been asked by my workplace to teach an occasional self-defense course in the past, and it's always a fun event. I try my best to be an ambassador for traditional karate, explaining its training methods and how it is still effective and relevant today.

I do find it annoying when someone finds out I study karate, and they say something like 'Cool, my 8 year old daughter is a black belt. Maybe you could practice together sometime.' Not to be an elitist, but the public's idea of the martial arts is very much shaped by the commercial studios that teach material suitable for children.