Im pretty sure a black belt in karate is about as cool as a black belt in cheerleading. Just saying
This was a quote by a good friend of mine a few weeks ago on his facebook page. While I felt like I wanted to knock him upside the head I cannot and will not fault him for making such a statement. Why I say this? Why do I agree with something that is just a blatant denigration of the sport I hold dear? Well, because I have seen it myself.
Growing up when someone told me they were a black belt in some form of martials arts, I always believed that in some way form or fashion, they can probably kick my ass. You regarded that person with respect and never ever really wanted to pick a fight with them. Unless of course your the type that likes to prove your baddest in your own little world.
But these days a person with a black belt is as common as a McDonalds at the corner. They are everywhere now. Now this is not a knock on the Arts because within the core they are still deadly but too many have become mainstreamed and family oriented for money making purposes.
Gone are the fundamental principles of what makes Martial Arts so unique as an Art form and fitness. It’s not about kicking and punching it’s about finding out who you are, steeling the mind through challenges and coming out a more humble, stronger person then when you went in.
When I started this post I planned to go the route of attacking the practitioners of martial arts because of the fast progression of some schools with their students. It bothers me to see so many black belts who are not over 40 that cannot perform a proper kick or hold a fist properly. But I forgot something that took me a view of Yip Man to remember. Martial arts is not the style, or the teacher or the school. It is the practitioner. With that said although it bothers me, it really should not because I need to hold myself to a higher standard and lead by example.
