Doc
Senior Master
Yes sir it does. While the normal wear-and-tear on the human body takes its toll from day-to-day living, (the act of simply walking causes wear after 50/60 years on knees, ankles, and hip joints), oddly enough old school practitioners could still move very well and rarely had joint injuries, and maintained speed and power.
Today's modern artists skills diminish quickly just like the sport model counterpart their training is philosophically based on. There is a reason there are no old gymnasts, or acrobats. Time erodes those skills quickly that are inappropriate proper anatomical movement, and rewards those who work with the body instead of against with longevity.
Parker was often derided for his "lack of kicking skill." He refused to do the round off flip flop, spinning high-jinks, pratfall super-split kick. But he was a legend for the kicks he did perform with speed and power. He predicted while watching others do what he called "unnecessary fancy kicks," "Those guys are going to have joint replacement surgeries without fail if they don't stop doing that." I watched all of my friends and teachers have significant joint surgeries from the Korean and Japanese Arts, while Ark Wong and Ed Parker motored along. Few would argue Sifu's Wong or Parker had lost any upper body speed before they passed. Sifu Wong at 88, and Professor Parker at 59.
The Takahashi Brothers, Gene and George from Shotokan, Sea Oh Choi from Hapkido, Chuck Norris from Tang soo do, Bill Wallace, a plethora of prominent kenpo Stylists, and the list goes on.
And lets not make the mistake of thinking its only the non-traditional and sport arts. The same thing happened to the Korean and Japanese Stylists, as well as others, while the original Chinese just kept moving along doing those inefficient movements well into their eighties, with no joint problems.
Unfortunately commercialism has caught up with the martial arts all over the world. It is a prominent in all countries as it is here in America. The Chinese now have "performance art" Wushu and their Shaolin Monks staged show at the monastery daily, while all the "masters' seem to be in their thirties. More recently they have a form of competitive kick boxing that is getting popular. Indonesian Arts have sprung up with belts and competition, and so have the Filipino Arts been likewise corrupted. Anywhere you go you can find a "version" of the art "for sale" and/or where you can "compete" and be awarded rank.
I've watched with fascination shows like "Fight Fest," and "Human Weapon," where to ordinary athletes train with martial arts masters all over the world in different styles for a week, than have a "match" at the end of their training. The funny thing is these guys do pretty well with their weeks worth of training, and not because the training works but because they're athletes engaging in athletic contests.
Recently they went to Japan to study Kyokushinkai. The first day they had one of them set up a stack of about 10 roof tiles to break. The guy broke all but three with one strike. Than he did a traditional demo where he broke boards in a circle with a punch, elbow, front kick, and a spinning back kick. The only one that gave him a problem was the spinning back kick. That took three tries. Not because he didn't have the power in his newly learned kick, but he had to find the range to be accurate. Same thing in China doing "Chinese Kickboxing." They held their own and even knocked guys down and got in good shot with the "champions." I think the worse was in France where they fought a Savate Champion at a secret training facility. They kicked that guys but.
No, the real arts don't have massive numbers or followers because it doesn't appeal to the masses either physically, or more importantly intellectually. They're more "quiet" and harder to find. Since when is it when you find the best of anything, is it a lot of people? There may be a lot of people doing something, but the best is always a couple of guys over in the corner quietly doing their thing. You know, like Ed Parker while everyone else is trying to duplicate what he did, with what he sold them. You can't have both. Massive sales and participation leads to mediocrity, at the best. Mostly just a lot of people with belts, whistles, sparkles, and titles. Let's not forget the titles.
McDojo is a worldwide phenomenon, not just down the street at the strip mall. We just do it bigger, better, and for more money. It's the American Way.
