It Just Keeps Getting Better!!!

What I am about to tell you DID actually happen.  There is no way I could make up something this ridiculous.  

One of my students was asked by members of a"dojo" here in St.Catharines to come to their gym and help prepare some of their students for some upcoming competition by sparring with them.

He said no problem, he would like to help them, so he made the trip to their "dojo".

After some sparring sessions where maybe they did not make out as well as they thought they would, these "martial artists" informed my student his skills were ok, but if they wanted to they could kill him with one punch...by transferring their "internal energy" into him.  

Maybe it's just me, maybe I missed the training sessions when they handed out all the deadly skillls of the "one punch kill". 

I really feel for these guys that go around making these claims. Not so much for them, but for the students, especially the children and teens, that may take these guys at their word and think that they can actually do this.

But it must be hard going through life having to control yourself so much, just so you won't "kill anyone with that one punch".  But like Peter Parker's Uncle said "With great power comes great responsibility".

Who Says We Have To Bow?

I find it funny when I hear traditional martial artists ripping us Mixed Martial Artists saying we are not "respectful" because we do not "bow".  Where is it written that just because I am training in martial arts that I HAVE to bow to show respect?

Traditional martial artists say they bow to show respect.  In Japan,  yes, I agree.  Here in North America, I really don't think so.  Last time I looked, we are not in feudal Japan, and in North America we show respect in a variety of different ways.

When we enter our gym, we show respect to the room by working as hard as we can that day, we show respect to our training partner by working them enough that they get a great workout in and feel like they have "tested" themselves that day, and we show respect to the "coach" simply by looking them in the eyes and saying hi!  

My students do not have to "bow down" to me to show that they are respectful.  I don't subscribe to the master/servant mentality that a lot of martial arts do.

Boxers have a coach and wrestlers have a coach.  If you asked them if they "bow" to show respect they would probably look at you like you were crazy, laugh it off and walk away.  No bowing, but I firmly believe that there is mutual respect there between coach and athlete.

Why is it that people think because it is "martial arts" that we need to be different and follow a tradition from many, many years ago that really has no place in the gym.

If you feel the need to "bow down" to start your workout or show respect, by all means go ahead.  We'll stick to just saying hi and getting on with our workout.