Sure, I point out a glaring flaw in someone’s hero, so my comments seem “mean” and “not nice”, I understand. See, I know that you admire him, greatly. You call him “my hero” and even stated “you love his hair” on another post, but let’s get past that and consider his actions as a martial artist and consider why his actions in that horrible highlight clip that you first posted -- and that you have been posting all over other boards -- should not impress you or others.
I have been around and spent considerable time with the world’s most elite Taekwondo champions (including Steven), their instructors, trainers and coaches, form all different decades of Taekwondo’s existence, and I can tell you from firsthand experience that the majority, if not all temper their fight when faced with a drastically under skilled opponent. It’s morally the right thing to do. However, when face with a worthy opponent; they will perform at their maximum ability, killer instinct and all. As for boxing, elite boxers rarely run into this situation, they are usually paired up against other elite boxers, not novices that have never been in the ring before.
UPHOLDING THE SPIRIT AND TRADITIONS OF MARTIAL ARTS?
It’s appalling to see practitioners, especially those who like to think they are teachers, who support the show boating abuse of unskilled novice practitioners by an egotistical and arrogant skilled fighter, and his coach. Especially from those here who profess they, or their instructor/organization are the torch bearers of so-called traditional or some early form of Taekwondo and its philosophies, expounding that they are defenders of the weak with their non-sport self-defense teachings and are honoring the pioneers who came before them.
Of greater concern to me is the statements of ETinCYQX, who claims to be an actual fighter (winning the last match 7-2?), and feels that it does not matter if your opponent is way out of their league and unskilled, you use the killer instinct and go for the knockout. But I am more disappointed in ETinCYQX's coach. This negative attitude, fueled by a dysfunctional relationship between a coach/trainer/instructor/manager of the fighter is at the root of the problem that turns novice practitioners against intense martial arts competition. The bottom line is that at some point they felt bullied, or saw others of low skills face this bully attitude in the ring. So they run and hide behind the faux self-defense only/non-sport moniker. As for the fighter, we can see what happens if they do make it big on the international Taekwondo scene. They damage the sport, like Matos of Cuba, kicking the referee.
THE BULLIED BECOMES THE BULLY
These persons who were fixated on self-defense did so because of earlier bullying in their life or some other form of bulling or abuse they saw or experience that made it a major concern in their life. I know, for a large part of my early martial arts training, I was this type of person so I can see it now, clearly in others. The crux of these phenomena is that many times, these concerned practitioners never fully confront their fear, frustration, hate, anger, jealousy and indecision: that crippling failure that prevents them from turning choice into action quickly - seamlessly (called by some as OODA Loop). These scared emotions can build inside these individuals, and their like-minded associations, like a cancer and destroy them from the inside out. In an attempt to continue the now defunct like-minded group, they form a new one, with a new name and a new story of hate. This cycle of suffering destroys their original motive and the cycle continues, leaving a trail of dead-defunct groups, xyz, abc, efg, etc organizations. They can no longer clearly see the way to their own personal salvation from this seed of abuse that was planted long ago. They end up cheering on the bully, if not being the bully themselves because deep down inside they want to be something greater, or at least, a part of it, even if it’s destructive. We can see this in those who thanked ETinCYQX for his "go for the knockout/killer instinct" comment. This suffering manifest in other areas of peoples lives as well. Failure at forming healthy relationships with family, failing to find a wife, feeling unworthy to teach your students, living at home with mom, etc.
Learning about the self and overcoming these destructive internal emotional obstacles, the very thing that martial arts was supposed to do, never happened. What happened here is that the martial arts, taught and presented the wrong way, from a series of wrong teachers, pulled the practitioner deeper into an abyss of suffering. The very suffering that Buddha, Confucius, and Lao Tzu taught against.
Does all this apply to any of you? Maybe not. But if you feel it might, you should work to resolve it and not spread the disease to others.
So you think I am mean and not nice? Good. At least I got your attention and gave you something real to think about for the next 40 years other than that horrible example of a video that shows us what not to be.
