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USAMA BLOG

Raising the standards of the martial arts

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It Takes A Lifetime... Or Does It?

9/23/2018

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Author: Bret Gordon
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One of the most deeply held convictions in the martial arts today is that it takes a lifetime to master a single art. Those who claim high rank in more than one art are often met with a scoff, and a condescending "That would never happen in Japan." Except that it did...

In this article, I want to explore the numerous cases of both young achievers of high positions (yes, plural) as well as those who were fortunate enough to attain mastery of more than one art. Now, before I do so let's get two counter-arguments out of the way. The two most common I hear are that times were different back then, they were able to train for 12 hours each day and so progressed much faster. That sounds great, except that even then they had jobs and families to tend to just like today. The second myth is that the life expectancy was so short, 20 was middle-aged. The global average life expectancy in the latter half of the 19th century was around 70, also much like today. When you think about it, the conditions were not different and so what we really have is a self-inflicted inferiority complex of the Western martial artist to their Asian counterpart. 

So who were these superhuman martial artists that were able to do the impossible? Well, for the sake of time let's just include all members of the Samurai class pre-Tokugawa Shogunate who had to learn not just one, but demonstrate proficiency in 18 different martial arts (collectively called the Bugei Juhappan). In this article, I want to focus on the modern era (post-1868). The short list is as follows:



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You're Not A Soke!

3/11/2018

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Author: Bret Gordon
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I probably shouldn't write this, because the more information you put out, the better people can lie. However, if just one person can avoid making the mistakes that so many of us have made when we were first starting on our own, then it's worth it. Let's be clear right from the start. If you are the founder of your own system, you are not a soke! But before I can clarify why, we must explore the most misunderstood title in the martial arts today. Keep in mind that everything I am about to write is done so from a Japanese perspective, based on tradition and historical precedent. 

There are two types of titles in the martial arts, administrative titles and teaching titles (shogo). Administrative titles are technically positions, rather than titles to be addressed by, and establish your authority of overseeing the system and your level of responsibility. Teaching titles exist as an extension of the Menkyo (license) system. The various shogo titles indicate hierarchy between the instructors of a system, as they follow a preset order of progression, and establish your authority of transmitting the system. The most common shogo titles are Renshi, Kyoshi and Hanshi. Shihan sometimes get thrown in there as a teaching title, while other organizations/styles use it administratively, so that will specifically depend on the style we're discussing. 

Soke 
宗家 is an administrative title. It designates the holder as the inheriting headmaster of the art they represent, much as the CEO is the head of a corporation. It is never meant to be used to address the person, just as you would never say, "Good morning CEO Smith," and it's most certainly never to be used by the holder in referring to themselves. Rather, it is most appropriately used in writing of official documents or when talking about someone. Then, like all other Japanese titles, it is to follow the person's name (i.e. John Smith, soke). So now that we've clarified the proper use of the title, what exactly does it mean to be Soke?


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The Only Rank I Care Less About Than Mine Is Yours

11/12/2017

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Author: Bret Gordon
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One of the reasons I write is to get people talking, because I've found that some of my greatest lessons have been through conversations with various other budoka and many times, a 10-minute conversation with the right instructor can be worth more than years spent training under the wrong one. In an age where conversation skills and public interaction are at diminished capacity, I take great pride in being the catalyst that sparks a meaningful discussion.

Well, my last article certainly got people talking but not in the way I intended. Many praised the article (which you can read by clicking here) and many respectfully disagreed with it, and that's fine. Yet still, others used it as an excuse to attack me on a personal level. In an inescapable amount of irony, how dare I offer my opinion to those who have been training 30, 40 or 50 years, many in the homeland of the arts we all love and teach? After all, my entire article was based upon knowing where you sit at the table and clearly, I got the seating arrangement confused. 

Before I continue, I must say that I truly do have the utmost respect for anyone who has dedicated such a significant portion of their lives to anything, but especially such an honorable endeavor as the study of martial arts. Regardless of one's personal progression, the sheer amount of time that one has put in at that stage shows a level of discipline I can only hope I will attain. That said, time alone is not a measure of knowledge or progression. Time measured by the calendar is very misleading. As an example, let's take two practitioners who each study for a year. One casually attends class twice a week for 45 minutes as a hobby, while the other is a "dojo rat" who comes early and stays late at the school five nights a week, and takes private lessons from their instructor on the weekend. Both technically only have a year of martial arts experience, but I think it's clear who will progress farther. Therefore, I adamantly stress that it is the quality of one's time spent over the years rather than the number of years themselves that will determine one's level of understanding, knowledge and proficiency. 

Now that we've settled that, let's get into why I feel this article is necessary. Keep in mind that everything I say is my own opinion, based upon my personal experiences and instruction from my various teachers. If you have had different experiences, please share them in the comments. I would love to hear from you and am always open to new information.


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Jack Of All Trades

7/30/2017

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Author: Bret Gordon
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There is an overwhelmingly prominent feeling in the martial arts world that it takes a lifetime to master a martial art. I guess that all comes down to how you define mastery, a long debate which I won't attempt to dissect in this article. Following this line of thinking, those who claim high ranks in multiple arts are ridiculed as frauds and/or having bought their ranks from a diploma mill rather than earning them.

Instead, I'd like to present the historical precedent for studying, and achieving high proficiency in, multiple arts, and how this mindset is actually a modern phenomenon (and most likely a reflection on the capabilities of modern practitioners vs. their historical counterparts).

Because I primarily study Japanese martial arts, let's start with the famed Samurai...


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The Ramblings Of A Sensei

4/27/2017

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Author: Michael McGann
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As a practitioner of martial arts for over fifty years, I have learned that there is no end to training. You can always improve and be better than you were the day before. As a Sensei, if I did something today that made my student better than he was yesterday, then have accomplished my responsibility of a teacher. And being a teacher is both a responsibility as well as a privilege.

The responsibility of the Sensei is that he shares his/her nuggets of knowledge with the hope that the students applies these nuggets of knowledge. When they are applied they become gems of wisdom. When that wisdom becomes internalized, it becomes understanding and when you understand something you know it.

The discipline, perseverance and hard work ethic necessary to excel in ones art should challenge each student to the threshold of their limits. It is the desire of every authentic teacher to want the best from each student. My Sensei, Dr. Karl W Marx Sr. founder of Keicho-Do, once told me, “A student is a reflection of his Sensei.” So each teacher is also challenged to impart knowledge that years of study and applying that knowledge, to each student that walks into ones school. Funakoshi Sensei, Founder of Shotokan, said that the purpose of karate is to develop the character of the individual practitioner.


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Quality Vs. Quantity: The Myth Of Time

2/19/2017

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Author: Bret Gordon
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One of the first questions that a martial artist asks another practitioner, in addition to what system they study and what rank they hold, is how long they've been training. While time can be a good indication of where one stands in terms of skill, progress and understanding, we must be careful not to look at time alone. Time (as measured by the calendar) can be misleading, especially in today's society.

We all have this misconception about experience, that somehow time is a defining factor in determining one's expertise. However, the truth is that it's not how many years you spend in any endeavor but how you spend those years which determines your progress. Let's think about this for a minute.

The average practitioner trains 2-3 nights per week for an hour or so each night. That amounts to roughly 150 hours of training each year. But what about someone who trains as if it's a full-time job? Of course, this situation is rare now but there was a time when 40 hours per week training was considered the norm. You were committed to the art, and possibly even lived in the dojo. At 40 hours/week, you'd accumulate 160 hours of training in a single month. So then, in the course of a year you had nearly 12 times the amount of training as someone who only trains a few nights each week. Your experience level would far outweigh the number of years you've been training, and you would be greatly underrated. So how can we accurately gauge what someone truly knows?


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What Does It Mean To Be Legitimate?

9/16/2016

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Author: Bret Gordon
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After only being published for a few hours, my previous article on Taekwondo (read it here) caused a great discussion on my Facebook page and has brought up an interesting question. What does it mean to be legitimate?

Let me start off by saying that everything in this article is my personal opinion. If you have a different opinion, I'd love to hear about it in the comments below. The whole purpose of this blog is create discussion and share information.

When discussing legitimacy, there are several factors to take into account. Immediately, if your system is governed by a specific organization then they are the sole providers of legitimacy. For example, my art is governed my the International San Budo Federation. Anyone claiming to hold rank in or teach San Budo Sogo Bugei and is not affiliated with the ISBF is illegitimate and fraudulent. So if your art has a similar organization, then the answer is simple. But what if that's not the case. What if there are multiple governing bodies for your art, or even none? 



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Title Supersedes Rank

8/24/2016

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Author: Bret Gordon
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Due to the great response of my last article, and numerous people messaging me on Facebook about it, I decided to do a follow-up to discuss another misunderstood concept in the martial arts ranking debate. In addition to your kyu/dan rank, there are certain titles which if you are awarded them supersede whatever rank you hold. This is because they come with certain responsibilities or authority you need to carry out regardless of what your rank is. Keep in mind, this article will solely focus on the Japanese martial arts and titles. I am not as familiar with Korean or Chinese titles and arts, so rather than try to pull something out of thin air I'll just leave it alone.

There are two types of titles in Japanese arts, teaching titles and organizational titles. Teaching titles are specifically awarded to instructors and bring with them various levels of authority within the system. It's as if they have they've replaced the old menkyo system (which some systems still award in addition to title and kyu/dan rank). So the question is, which titles mean what and how do you earn them?


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Your Argument Is Invalid: The True Origins Of Rank

8/23/2016

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Author: Bret Gordon
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Every single martial art student has heard the urban myth that the colored belts came around generations ago, that when martial artists would practice they would wear a white belt and over time through blood, sweat and dirt it would gradually change colors until it was completely black. Just stop it! Every time I hear this, I have to fight back the deepest eye roll and urge to chime in with an extremely arrogant, "Uh... Not so much!"

In this article, I hope to explore the true origins of rank, as well as settle once and for all the debate on age and rank. So many martial artists fight over who is eligible for what rank, what life skills must they possess or what experiences they have to go through before becoming eligible for a colorful piece of cotton, and it's enough. The purpose of rank has become bastardized as everything from a way to make money off your students to a lofty, unattainable goal that we are obligated to venerate. But what's the truth?


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The Untouchable Martial Art

8/11/2016

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Author: Bret Gordon
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No, I'm not referring to a superior martial art in terms of fighting ability. I'm talking about an art that no one seems to address or even bat an eye when dozens of 10th dans and "professors" pop out of the woodwork. For whatever reason, Kempo/Kenpo practitioners have the freedom to branch out on their own and claim the rank of 10th Dan (or 12th Dan in Fred Villari's case) without any real criticism. It's as if it's taboo to call them out on it. But why?

To understand this dynamic, we have to look at the origins of Kempo/Kenpo. Before I do that though, let's settle the debate once and for all on how it's spelled. From a linguistic standpoint, when pronouncing the characters 拳法, it should sound like Kempo. However, they should be transliterated as Kenpo when writing it in English according to the Hepburn system of romanization. That being said, James Mitose, the man credited with introducing this art to the Western world and to whom most people trace their lineage, specifically called his art Kempo and stated that Kenpo was a misspelling that he finally accepted rather than trying to continuously correct (he finally began calling it "Kempo/Kenpo" in his writings). So for the purpose of this article, unless I am specifically referring to an art tracing its lineage to Ed Parker, I will use the spelling Kempo as all encompassing. Now that we've cleared that up, let's explore how Kempo became this untouchable art.


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