Martial Arts and Society

Discuss shaolin longfist, white crane or other styles. Theory, practice and applications. Please stay on topic.

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Martial Arts and Society

Postby Sorcerer » Sat Jul 28, 2012 5:29 pm

I wanted to ask what people on here think the role of martial arts should be in society. Obviously traditionally Masters were very much concerned with the development of their disciples. This does have social implications. Its probably marginal though because very few people can reach these levels in modern times.
"There is more wisdom in your body than in your deepest philosophy" FW Nietzsche
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Re: Martial Arts and Society

Postby wpgtaiji » Sun Jul 29, 2012 1:04 am

Simply, to stop lying to people and be real. The martial arts are at the lowest point in 40 years because of the charlatans that have been allowed to prosper. People are sick and tired of being lied to. They know that martial arts are not effective any more (with respect to fighting). They believe that discipline is all there is.

The instructors responsibility is to be real. Very few are. Even your question is flawed! You believe there is a High Level! There isnt mate. Its all a joke today.

People no longer care about the martial arts. Book stores, which once time held shelves of ma books, barely hold 20 books and they are all MMA! Its a joke. We got the "for health" crowd! We got instructors being told to teach like the follow me yoga groups! Its a joke.

Thre are a few people (those of us here) who believe that there is more, but really, martial arts were an outsider practice (look at the history!). Its like asking Jesse James to fit in!

Dont get caught up with these sorts of things mate. Just train and teach who wants to learn. Be honest with them and teach them as completely as you are capable. The rest is BS anyway.
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Re: Martial Arts and Society

Postby Josh Young » Sun Jul 29, 2012 2:38 pm

Sorcerer wrote:I wanted to ask what people on here think the role of martial arts should be in society. Obviously traditionally Masters were very much concerned with the development of their disciples. This does have social implications. Its probably marginal though because very few people can reach these levels in modern times.

I think that the role of martial arts in society is a great topic.

I like to consider that some cultures had a caste system with a warrior caste and also with martial arts specific to several of the castes, in these cases the social role of the warrior caste and of martial arts relating to that was clearly defined. However this is now obscure, in terms of modernity.

Today the role of martial arts most pertinent is individualistic, as opposed to societal. As society is a collective manifestation of individuals the role of martial arts to individuals informs the social manifestation of their role.

It is my belief that we are in a great era for martial arts, there is a tremendous amount of skill and knowledge out there being preserved and practiced in a historically accurate manner. YMAA is a fine example of this, as is also the WTBA and many other organizations. I have been deeply impressed with many individuals and what they bring to the table, so to speak. There is controversy, but this is not new and was also common place hundreds of years ago, naysayers who denounce everyone have always been around and always will be and are an important part of the social manifestation.

We see martial arts being used for personal development in numerous ways, one of my favorite is in terms of character. Individuals who have achieved a higher level are evidenced by their demeanor, tact, respect and WuDe, in addition to their skill. In social terms this manifests beautifully as conscientious action and consideration, which sadly is not well represented online in forums.

In a broad sense martial arts today are employed for many things, from health, to entertainment, personal development, and of course martial skill. Their role is thus multifaceted and complex.

Society benefits from WuDe, it creates a sense of community and family where people from diverse backgrounds, and different martial arts as well, can come together and share thief knowledge and skills.

I have seen the global community doing amazing things relating to martial arts, there are literally thousands of talented skilled people working, striving and sharing together.

The social role is to "stop the spear from being used"
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Re: Martial Arts and Society

Postby pete5770 » Wed Aug 01, 2012 8:11 am

Sorcerer wrote:I wanted to ask what people on here think the role of martial arts should be in society. Obviously traditionally Masters were very much concerned with the development of their disciples. This does have social implications. Its probably marginal though because very few people can reach these levels in modern times.


Sort of off topic but I'm in disagreement with your statement "....few people reach... levels in modern times..".Today there are many, many more people doing martial arts , on one form or another, than way back when. I'll grant you that more than a few are not all that serious but think about the number of Karate classes that kids who have only recently learned to walk are attending. There are lots of people who compete in all kinds of arenas, in all sorts of martial arts disiplines. Olympic medals are given in Judo, Wrestling, Boxing. To say that these people have not reached a "high" level is simply not true. FWIW I'm sure that there were some very good old masters. Of which many stories were / are being told but I'm also sure that many of these stories are or have been embellished, pumped up, told so often that even the masters they were about wouldn't recognize them. Were they good? Sure, they were the best of the day. Are today's people good? Oh yeah, they are the best today. I'm pretty sure that neither you nor I would want to take on the gold medal winners in Judo or Boxing. Definately get our heads handed to us. :wink:
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