There may not be quite as much, mmm, intra/inter-organizational politics in BJJ? Though I'm not even totally sure that's really the case. But there are definitely plenty of BJJ folks who are very vocally political. I.e., there's a local BJJ gym owner where I am who's constantly posting on Facebook about Q-Anon type political stuff and how he thinks there's a civil war coming and you need to join his gym so you can get ready to kill your fellow countrymen and so forth. There's a surprising amount of that kind of stuff in the BJJ world.
Went to the dark side. bjj
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TSDTexan
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Yeah... No.
Not referring to political politics. More to be precise... Its about the in-house or in-art drama of this - - verses that master's views on x y z, or a myriad of a thousand other BS non technical to the art itself...
Why so and so got passed over for 6th Dan, when so and so bought his 7th, because.... We all know everyone hates him.
But yeah, its all about brands, public image, or moral failures and face saving efforts. Or who's kwan is older in the tkd pedigree. Ad infinitum.
KMA is about the worst when it comes to blowing smoke up your rear for why it is that things are a certain way.
Very rarely have I ever heard "well. I just don't know, let me look into it"
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Something I learned a long time ago. There is politics in any organization. But when you're new (and it doesn't matter if we're talking about a new job or a new dojo) you are just not aware of them.
You have to audition school before you join, not just go be how famous the teacher is or how popular the school is. My main training is TKD supposedly KMA, I went and look before I join, I was looking for a school that was more practical, hitting bags, sparring and more kick boxing. That's how my school was. We seldom did forms, only just before belt test. We did not do traditional stance and punches, we did more kick boxing like( it was mid 80s at the time and strongly influenced by Bruce Lee and PKA). The teacher even invited JJ teacher occasionally to teach us JJ.
There was absolutely no "politics" involve. The teacher NEVER comment on other style of MA, he just concentrated on teaching.
My grand daughter was into ballet, she can kick high and kick good only after a day of me teaching her side kick and round kick. I was going to tell her to go to my former school, too bad he retired already. I am SURE he would add BJJ into part of the training today if he were still teaching classes.
It is up to one to audition the school. This is 21st century, teacher is NOT the king, their ways are NOT necessary the right way. In this world full of videos on youtube, it is very easy to judge what is BS. Stay away from those old farts, find schools that is modernized. Time has changed.
Ultimately, what is the meaning of 5th degree or 6th degree? It's only a tittle. MA is a fighting art, it's an art of kicking butt. Does the tittle of 5th degree guaranty you not be butt kicked by any lower level? Or even guaranty you anything? Are you learning to get the color of the belt or are you learning how to fight?
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Honestly, I think, most of that drama is basically optional. You can just ignore it. People will be people in any hobby or organization, but you don't have to get involved in it.
isshinryuronin
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Astute observation. Stay centered on yourself and what you want to get out of the situation. Don't get lured into political BS and the drama, playing into someone's ego game. This strategy may work for a short while or even decades.
But despite your own efforts, eventually the drama and politics will often find you. Water and BS flows downhill. I think this leaves you with two choices. One, get to or, if you have enough influence, confront the top and cut it off at the source, at least as far as you're concerned. Two, part ways as peacefully as possible and leave for fresh air elsewhere.
Best case is to find a school with little direct organizational control with an instructor with little ego that just concerns himself with teaching. Simple, pure, enjoyable MA. A dojo should be a refuge free of distraction.
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I didn't have drama until my I started helping with the school responsibilities. Becoming an instructor was my entry point to drama. Doing better than the lead instructor was my fall. Not saying I should have held back my process. It just made things difficult then unbearable.
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This is how it was for me. I went through both options. Organizational head caught wind of what was going on, he approached me, some changes were made, but all of that was done after I had been kicked out. A lot of Martial Artists pride themselves about being humble and having control of their Ego, which is ironic because some of the biggest displays of ego that I've seen have come from Martial Arts schools.
isshinryuronin
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Some people see MA as a means to make themselves powerful. Now, confidence is good, but just having powerful skills does not make them superior people. They become enamored with their own skill. It feels good, but MA physical skills alone make a hollow shell. Sort of the difference between "lust" and "love." Their MA may be strong on the surface but there's no depth. Lust is easy, love requires more investment.
Almost by definition, a big ego is inconsistent with learning, especially those things that don't "sparkle" and can't easily be shown off. And they concentrate on their strengths more than their weaknesses. I've seen schools where the atmosphere encourages ego and others which are more ego free. The head instructor has a big say in this.
Steve
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A ton of this kind of stuff.
That's a good point - if you're working at a school and your boss/teacher is a source of drama, then it's hard to avoid the drama unless you leave. I was coming from the perspective of running your own school. In that situation, you can mostly ignore organizational drama and focus on running your school well. My other half and I own & operate a TKD school, and while we sometimes side-eye this or that thing coming out of KKW or USAT, it's from the sidelines. We go to some tournaments and events in our region, but otherwise mostly keep to ourselves.
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