WHAT ARE WE TEACHNG?

Henry’s Corner November 2011 (1)

WHAT ARE WE TEACHNG?

Dear Friends

I recently encountered three people who were interested in the martial arts and wished to either commence or resume training. Naturally, I encouraged them to have a look at our web site and consider the merits of Il Shim Taekwon-Do.

The comments made by two of these people served to me as both a stark reminder of the woeful state of affairs in the martial arts world and the difficulties facing those who are searching for a suitable school.

One young lady commented that “It would be difficult to find an instructor who would teach the higher noble values of martial arts because these days they just seem to focus on the physical aspects.”

Another young lady I spoke to had, in fact, trained in Taekwon-Do for eight years in another school, the name of which I will not mention here for the sake of integrity. I have witnessed demonstrations by this school on a couple of occasions and walked away less than impressed. She said she regularly attended classes twice a week and attained her black belt but quit because she felt that it is meant to be an art but the classes didn’t satisfy this need.

Both ladies are making the same point. Their desire is to participate in a martial art not only for the physical benefit but ultimately to enrich the spiritual dimension of their lives but the schools that they have come into contact with did not fulfil this need.

Why does this not surprise us? It is because in martial arts we are in a field right now where mediocrity is spawning more mediocrity. How sad is this!

I have absolutely no qualms about engaging in general criticisms about the state of our field. One of the main impediments to the development of any organization, industry or discipline is the lack of introspection and the ability to engage in honest self-examination. The most tragic part of this is that there are instructors out there who are not even aware of the delusion in which they are participating in. Hence they do not know what their potential students want and how to deliver what they need.

The moral enrichment of students is an area which too many instructors treat in a cursory or perfunctory manner. The physical training becomes routine, students are never truly introduced to the substance behind the facade and their training either lacks purpose or they are training for the wrong purpose. Students can be impressed by the power, agility and acrobatics they witness in a dojang but it is meant to be a way of life and, in order to ensure that the students adopt the art as a lifelong pursuit, the art behind the mechanics have to be inculcated.

I was told that somebody once reacted to my advocacy of properly synthesizing the moral and physical sides of Taekwon-Do by saying, “But we are not a religion.” Excuse me!?!?!? Where did that come from? I have absolutely never thought of Taekwon-Do or for that matter any martial art as a religion. This person’s reaction clearly demonstrates that there are many people engaged in martial arts who believe that the talk of tenets, principles and higher values is just a bit of mumbo jumbo which we use as window dressing. No wonder the world of martial arts is in the state that it is in at the moment; disorganized and unable to attract proper interest from the public.

True instructors of Taekwon-Do are not simply teaching an effective form of self defence but they are leading people to experience and live a more meaningful life by instilling the higher values we abide by in our discipline. It is too easy to be so caught up in the logistics of running a school that we forget the soul of the art.

How many schools are there which induct their new students with a structured program that lays the foundation for their progress? Are the students made aware of the spirit of the art? Instructors will make sure that new students learn all their basic physical movements and positions correctly because this provides the foundation to build upon more sophisticated and complex techniques but what about laying the proper moral foundation? What about ensuring that students are fully aware and appreciate the values that underpin the art?

The identity of a martial arts organization is two dimensional. It is both a school which teaches its students and a commercial entity that serves its clients. So imagine how multi-skilled an instructor has to be to become successful!

No one ever said it is easy but there is a multitude of eager students out there. We just need to provide the correct moral and physical armour that they are looking for to deal with this chaotic world.

Let’s go get them!