Judo was the first thing I found that gave me a chance to learn how to learn something. I was a gifted kid growing up who aced high school and uni with barely any study, so I never learned how to deal with being bad at something, but judo was something I wanted to learn so badly that I didn‘t care about not immediately having any idea what I was doing. I love it enough that I kept attending the weekend sessions even during a prolonged burnout where doing anything after work was just unthinkable, and it’s made me a better person; I’m no longer unbearably ashamed when I’m not the smartest person in the room. I can try new things and not give up at the first sign of failure, and that’s one of the most valuable lessons I’ve ever learned. That being said, arts don’t have innate moral values; the values you learn from it are the values you project onto it. There are definitely cases where martial arts training enhanced people’s worst qualities and made them worse members of society. If the values you project onto martial arts are the ability to dominate, to hurt, if you’re training out of a desperate and insecure need to be a “traditionally masculine” “alpha,” if you’re training because you’re bullied and you think the only way to escape that is to climb the hierarchy and become the bully yourself and no one disabuses you of these notions, then that is what you will learn from martial arts. I know of a guy who turned down a spot in the New Zealand Martial Arts Hall of Fame because he didn’t want to be associated with all of the neo-nazis already on there, and I can think of no worse member of society than a neo-nazi
Your analogy to art was very appropriate. I don't think I've ever heard anyone who was serious about art name a motivator that wasn't just creating. I have known dudes who got into music to meet women, however.
Ah thats a fair point lol. I have met people who have done the same, but I think eventually those people fall off or start to shift their opinion on the craft. Personally, I don't think its a problem to get into things for superficial reasons. To keep with the dating theme, the reality is that everyone kind of begins their interest in potential partners based on surface level traits. Good looks, generic kindness, etc. Some people would call that vain, but I believe its a necessary phase of attraction. The problem is when those superficial traits are used to stabilize a relationship long term. Its pretty difficult to have a healthy, decades long marriage just on the basis of sex appeal, for example. I think martial arts is essentially the same. A lot of people come because they think its cool or they want to feel more secure or whatever else. That's fine and to be expected. But in my experience if folks are still using that as their core motivator around the intermediate-advanced level, they just burn out or find other interests. Which is fine, of course, it isn't for everybody. Its just that at some point you gotta go from flirting with it at bars and transition into settling down, so to speak.
I have a love hate relationship with your channel sir 😂. Ask provocative question and intellectualize every little detail it’s almost annoying. Yet when you get into every little detail my brain lights up and enjoy the intelligent discourse. Keep up the good work!
I do Karate and kickboxing because I love beautiful kicks and I train Jujitsu to fill the gaps of Karate . I'll teach my 3 children martial arts 🥋 when they are old enough.
I just finished my first bjj comp and got utterly smashed. I came dead last and it made me question why I even trained. This video couldn't have shown up at a better time for me. This video helped put a bit of perspective on it. Thank you. P.s. I highly recommend using a pop filter
I grew up as a very rough and tumble kind of guy. Football, rugby, wrestling, fighting, hunting, fishing, camping. I got bullied badly in my preteens and early teens by a bunch of guys who at 17-19 had no problems making my life miserable. My parents were dead set against any martial art. So as soon as I left home I got into any MA achool I could find, this period lasted for 15 years as I never found anything that appeared practical. Karate, hapkido, juijitsu, and some made up stuff were all impractical and had very steep learning curves for a gut in his 20s and 30s. Then I found judo after years of searching for it, I have been in judo for35 years and still havent made black or even brown belt. I have used my martial skils only a handful of times and have to agree with you completly. It makes no sense to practice for thousands of hours to prepare for an encounter that lasts seconds and is unlikely to be life threatening. I love judo it is fairly non violent and if used offers the exponent a range of responses and a confidence that they can be applied. Besides this I also pracice range of motion and falling techniqes which are useful for health and everyday life. The physical literacy and falling techniques of judo are very practical and have saved me from severe injuries such as nasty falls several times. I strongly believe that every person could benefit from its practice if only for a couple of years.
Amazing commentary, i used to be the “practical” martial artist - only self defense focused. I learned to enjoy the process of growth, enjoy challenging myself, enjoy losing and growing from it and of course, I learned to love martial arts for martial arts sake. There is no end goal for me - only endless growth and overcoming myself, and I love that. Plus, the added benefit of protecting yourself or others if ever needed.
I think this is the healthiest way to approach it by far. I'm pretty practically minded, too, but not to the detriment of experimenting with stuff just for fun. Like... sure, doing jump-spinning board breaks or whatever isn't exactly going to be a go-to in a fight situation. But its fine to just... enjoy things for what they are. Likewise, though, I don't have any particular end game in mind. I just want to get better and learn more; eventually help pass my passion onto the next group. I don't really care too awful much about competitive fame or things like that. For me martial arts has really developed my worldview and given me so many options in life. I want to keep exploring those and working to help other people have similar opportunities through our shared craft.
@@TenguMartialArts Amen, I'm glad there is someone in the UA-cam/social-media landscape spreading a positive mindset like you are. Thanks for your work.
Very interesting. I'd say that i was interested in martial arts since the 80s action movies. Why i practice now? If i don't, i get sick. 😅 Truly though, there are withdrawal symptoms. The fleeting reasons include fascination, self-defense (insecurity), physical attribute development, health, and academic study. The deeper reasons include friendships, mentorships, and curiosity. And then there are those moments when the dots connect and one feels the technique or body movement correctly one time after trying for hours, days, months, or even years..... I might be addicted to that experience. Mostly i see the the study of the martial arts to be part of my path in life. If I'm off the path, I'm at least a little lost.
You can always cram for a test, but you can never cram for a fight. In martial arts and in any physical endeavor you partake in, your effort will always be shown through your body.
There are many types of people in society. The Merchant. The Doctor. The Farmer. The Warrior. The Politician. The Fool. The Artist. ETC..... many have crossover traits. When I don't train ,my world falls apart. Tengu has suggested what the best reasons to train are and I suggest that those reasons are the traits of a Warrior.
It is a performance and reading and predicting opponents and situations always involves a lot of making decisions with limited information. The cultivation and application of martial prowess is an artistic process.
Great points. In many ways the motivation factors you describe have a direct corrollary with Sankhya philosophy of Yoga. For anyone with a yoga background this is describing the sattva, rajas, and tamas guna concepts in yogic philosophy. Its the same thing with the spiritual path. If one gets into yoga/spirituality to heal some disease (tamasic reason, just trying to avoid suffering) then they will get out of it once their disease is healed. When one gets into it because they think they will become better people, or win some competition, or get some clout, thats the rajasic guna (ego game level). Thats a bit better but still not ideal and one will likely not stick with it forever either. The best is when one gets into spirituality/yoga because one just loves God and just feels inspired to meditate, etc. Not because they think they will get anything in particular from it. This is the sattvic guna, (real inspiration and love for something) and people that get into martial arts or yoga from this more inspired and joyful place will stay with it for all their lives no matter what, because its what they love. Even if they cant do it they will help others to do it.
This is your best video yet :-) really resonated with me, excited to continue to do martial arts for the rest of my life, or at least as long as im physically able
I really appreciate this video. It made me analyze why I've been training. I started wrestling in middle school simply because I didn't have the hand-eye coördination for any of the sports that involved a ball, after that I'm really not sure why I kept with it all the way through college despite the fact I lost pretty much every match I was ever in. It was just something I did. I recently started BJJ after a multi year break from grappling, and it made me realize that a lot of the negative emotions I had had for those years were mainly because I just wasn't training. There is just something about grappling, in general, that just does something for me I can't explain.
Well this video came right about in that time for me. I have been training since I'm 10 years old, various styles. Finally found and sticked with kung fu at age 24. Now after 5 years or so of training what I consider my chosen art and two sanda fighs, I feel like I have been losing steam and I'm suddenly faced with the question of why I do what I do. Haven't been able to train consistently since september because of an injury I got from delving into bjj, but I don't really feel in any rush to get back to training. Idk if it's burnout or what, but I feel just like you described, right in the middle of pondering WHY I should want to keep going. Thank you very much for the video, also your channel is super very cool, I don't think I have found a martial arts channel that delves that deep into "the philosphy", the why and how of martial arts, and I binge watched a lot of your videos already lol.
Hey, bud, real thankful for your support and I totally empathize with where you're at. I've been on the mats since I was 5 or so and around 16 to 19 or so went through the same thing. Its a tough spot that sometimes requires a bit of time to think through. I can't do it for you, but if you could humor a bit of humble advice... I'd suggest asking yourself if the joy you get out of training is greater than the drawbacks (injury, cost, whatever else). Ultimately, I think joy is what sustains training in the long term, but its also totally natural to withdraw on occassion. Whatever you choose, I hope you come to the best conclusion for you. Sanda, by the way, is awesome and I wish it were better represented. Its up there on the list of martial arts I wish I had access too lol. Wish you the best and a speedy recovery!
Sorry to hear that. It happens, though. At some point I want to make a video about it explicitly, but the hard truth is that damage to our bodies is kind of the inevitable price we pay in martial arts. I know some martial arts market themselves as super safe, but the reality is that some day, somehow, you're going to get hurt. It might not be a single instant like with your foot, but just waking up one day and realizing all your joints hurt. I'm 30 and sore literally *all* the time. So much so that sometimes I have to force myself not to train so I can actually recover. It sucks, but its just a trade off I consciously make. I wish you a quick recovery, though! Leg injuries in general suck, I've been there myself.
@@TenguMartialArts Mmm I know what you mean. I'm 33, sore at 18 is kinda just what life is at 25, sore at 25 is just life at 35, and so on from there. fwiw, it's almost fully healed now! I can hit the weight racks again, at the very least.
Interesting take. I will say that a lot of our "recreational activities" tend to be within the confines of non martial application. So drawing a parallel between things like playing an instrument or practicing an art like Judo or BJJ seems appropriate. However, this brings up a personal "pet peeve" concerining martial arts, and that is the white belt that has been practicing for a week, 2 weeks, a month, and they say they "love (insert martial art here) and i cannot imagine my life without it" ..my guy, you have practiced for so little time you have no idea. And odds are you'll quit long before you get to blue belt, and i bet you'd quit shortly after you get to blue belt if you manage to stick around that long. They have not demonstrated that they "love the art". True love of an art is practicing beyond a practical reason. Those competitors you mentioned did not love thier art, they only did what was necessary to accomplish thier goal. Thats why they do not coach. With that being said, i find the idea of practicing an art "for the art" is something beginners and many intermediary practitioners will seldom grasp when it comes to martial arts and long term practice of the art. The idea of self defense is too closely attached to martial arts. Without that "function" of being able to defend yourself, what is the honest difference between Judo and swing dancing? The answer: swing dancing is a lot less painful. Most people do not like meaningless pain and suffering. You have to attach a greater purpose than just accruing knowledge or simply enjoying being punched and kicked over and over again. The functional utility behind practicing an art like Judo is falls, and depending on what your mats are constructed of, you get a much better parallel to the expectation of getting landing on the floor, either because you fell or because someone is violently putting you there. I can't tell you how many times just taking my falls like i do in Judo has saved me when i slip on the ice, or other non violent occurrences of my falling. All because of a functional aspect of the art. Now i get most arts do not feature falls, and partially thats where some of my arguement falls apart. Though i will say that anything you have put a lawful/constitutional reason behind, and are willing to put in time and energy to accomplishing is by all means a good reason.
I don't disagree with the notion that beginners tend to overstate their attachment. Nor do I disagree that training for the sake of training is something that is probably out of the view of the average beginner. But, I guess on the flip side, what is life if not meaningless pain waiting for us to apply meaning to it? I think these questions ought to be more at the forefront of martial practice.
What is the name of the system you are using for your video? Very cool, I'm not familiar with wresting systems (grew up in Aus, mainly Asian systems here). Is it American or Greco roman?
This is an old Soviet Greco Roman wrestling film. Admittedly, I'm no expert in this system, but I'm a fan of Greco itself. I'm pretty sure if you type in "Soviet Greco-Roman" or something into UA-cam it should pop up. Its like a 30+ minute video.
I mainly treat martial arts (I practice BJJ) as a sport, and like any sport, it offers competition and a great community. To be honest, any sport would be good enough for me, but I think martial arts are cool. I like the other benefits that come with the sport, but there are some delusional people believing they can fend off multiple armed home invaders with martial arts...
I'm sometimes sorry I give BJJ such a hard time on this channel lol. I swear I don't hate the art, its just so popular that its hard not to talk about. I think seeing it as a sport is a healthy mindset, though. A lot of martial artists in general have some odd takes about the self defense side of things. Its probably something I'll spend some time on in future content. I'm kind of in the same headspace, though. A major criticism Judo gets, for example, is that "its reliant on the gi," but once you start just doing the art for itself, that doesn't really matter. The gi is part of Judo, whether its "reliant" or not is kind of moot to me--its there and its legal to use it, so I'm going to use it. I kind of believe the infinite treadmill of justifying every little thing in your practice is just a sprint to burnout. At least mentally. I get why people do it--hell, I used to do it. But its tough to sustain. Its very liberating and, again, healthy to just accept that every art has strengths and weaknesses, but you're enjoying it so it really doesn't matter so long as you're aware of those things. Its martial arts, so I get people's preoccupation with violence to a certain degree, but I also think its sort of the least interesting part of martial practice. The endless justifying of stuff and comparisons and weird tribalism is exhausting.
@@TenguMartialArts a lot of people in the martial arts community give BJJ a hard time because its well deserved. There are too many delusional people in BJJ community and they often resort to the “all fights go to the ground” argument, ya when they get punched in the mouth they’ll be the only ones on ground… to get their head stomped repeatedly. Most of those people haven’t fought anyone on the streets their entire lives. If the ultimate goal is self defense, get a concealed carry license, and sign up for a CQB course, keep brushing up on skills once every year, that’ll be the most effective way to spend time and money. Most modern martial arts are designed with sport in mind, they’re designed to fight another athlete practicing the same sport. So there’s really no point going down the “what if they don’t wear gi how do you do a judo throw” rabbit hole. A healthier way to look at martial arts is, in my opinion, to treat it as a sport: it’s fun, it’s exciting, it’s challenging, and I get to make friends along the way. As a bonus, I get to learn the value in hard work, endurance, resilience, respect, and camaraderie. There is no need to justify it, any other sport or hobby will have the same positive impact, I just happen to practice martial arts and I love it. Edit: grammar. Sorry, English is not my first language.
Judo was the first thing I found that gave me a chance to learn how to learn something. I was a gifted kid growing up who aced high school and uni with barely any study, so I never learned how to deal with being bad at something, but judo was something I wanted to learn so badly that I didn‘t care about not immediately having any idea what I was doing. I love it enough that I kept attending the weekend sessions even during a prolonged burnout where doing anything after work was just unthinkable, and it’s made me a better person; I’m no longer unbearably ashamed when I’m not the smartest person in the room. I can try new things and not give up at the first sign of failure, and that’s one of the most valuable lessons I’ve ever learned. That being said, arts don’t have innate moral values; the values you learn from it are the values you project onto it. There are definitely cases where martial arts training enhanced people’s worst qualities and made them worse members of society. If the values you project onto martial arts are the ability to dominate, to hurt, if you’re training out of a desperate and insecure need to be a “traditionally masculine” “alpha,” if you’re training because you’re bullied and you think the only way to escape that is to climb the hierarchy and become the bully yourself and no one disabuses you of these notions, then that is what you will learn from martial arts. I know of a guy who turned down a spot in the New Zealand Martial Arts Hall of Fame because he didn’t want to be associated with all of the neo-nazis already on there, and I can think of no worse member of society than a neo-nazi
Your analogy to art was very appropriate. I don't think I've ever heard anyone who was serious about art name a motivator that wasn't just creating. I have known dudes who got into music to meet women, however.
Ah thats a fair point lol. I have met people who have done the same, but I think eventually those people fall off or start to shift their opinion on the craft. Personally, I don't think its a problem to get into things for superficial reasons. To keep with the dating theme, the reality is that everyone kind of begins their interest in potential partners based on surface level traits. Good looks, generic kindness, etc. Some people would call that vain, but I believe its a necessary phase of attraction. The problem is when those superficial traits are used to stabilize a relationship long term. Its pretty difficult to have a healthy, decades long marriage just on the basis of sex appeal, for example.
I think martial arts is essentially the same. A lot of people come because they think its cool or they want to feel more secure or whatever else. That's fine and to be expected. But in my experience if folks are still using that as their core motivator around the intermediate-advanced level, they just burn out or find other interests. Which is fine, of course, it isn't for everybody. Its just that at some point you gotta go from flirting with it at bars and transition into settling down, so to speak.
Well, art is in the name after all :D
I have a love hate relationship with your channel sir 😂. Ask provocative question and intellectualize every little detail it’s almost annoying. Yet when you get into every little detail my brain lights up and enjoy the intelligent discourse. Keep up the good work!
I do Karate and kickboxing because I love beautiful kicks and I train Jujitsu to fill the gaps of Karate .
I'll teach my 3 children martial arts 🥋 when they are old enough.
I just finished my first bjj comp and got utterly smashed. I came dead last and it made me question why I even trained. This video couldn't have shown up at a better time for me. This video helped put a bit of perspective on it. Thank you.
P.s. I highly recommend using a pop filter
Just keep going--it gets better.
And thanks, I've got a pop filter on the way. Had one at one point, I think it got lost in a move.
I grew up as a very rough and tumble kind of guy. Football, rugby, wrestling, fighting, hunting, fishing, camping. I got bullied badly in my preteens and early teens by a bunch of guys who at 17-19 had no problems making my life miserable. My parents were dead set against any martial art. So as soon as I left home I got into any MA achool I could find, this period lasted for 15 years as I never found anything that appeared practical. Karate, hapkido, juijitsu, and some made up stuff were all impractical and had very steep learning curves for a gut in his 20s and 30s. Then I found judo after years of searching for it, I have been in judo for35 years and still havent made black or even brown belt. I have used my martial skils only a handful of times and have to agree with you completly. It makes no sense to practice for thousands of hours to prepare for an encounter that lasts seconds and is unlikely to be life threatening. I love judo it is fairly non violent and if used offers the exponent a range of responses and a confidence that they can be applied. Besides this I also pracice range of motion and falling techniqes which are useful for health and everyday life. The physical literacy and falling techniques of judo are very practical and have saved me from severe injuries such as nasty falls several times. I strongly believe that every person could benefit from its practice if only for a couple of years.
I love your channel man. It is a breath of fresh air and stands out among all the other martial arts videos on here.
Amazing commentary, i used to be the “practical” martial artist - only self defense focused. I learned to enjoy the process of growth, enjoy challenging myself, enjoy losing and growing from it and of course, I learned to love martial arts for martial arts sake. There is no end goal for me - only endless growth and overcoming myself, and I love that.
Plus, the added benefit of protecting yourself or others if ever needed.
I think this is the healthiest way to approach it by far. I'm pretty practically minded, too, but not to the detriment of experimenting with stuff just for fun. Like... sure, doing jump-spinning board breaks or whatever isn't exactly going to be a go-to in a fight situation. But its fine to just... enjoy things for what they are.
Likewise, though, I don't have any particular end game in mind. I just want to get better and learn more; eventually help pass my passion onto the next group. I don't really care too awful much about competitive fame or things like that. For me martial arts has really developed my worldview and given me so many options in life. I want to keep exploring those and working to help other people have similar opportunities through our shared craft.
@@TenguMartialArts Amen, I'm glad there is someone in the UA-cam/social-media landscape spreading a positive mindset like you are. Thanks for your work.
Very interesting. I'd say that i was interested in martial arts since the 80s action movies. Why i practice now? If i don't, i get sick. 😅 Truly though, there are withdrawal symptoms. The fleeting reasons include fascination, self-defense (insecurity), physical attribute development, health, and academic study. The deeper reasons include friendships, mentorships, and curiosity. And then there are those moments when the dots connect and one feels the technique or body movement correctly one time after trying for hours, days, months, or even years..... I might be addicted to that experience. Mostly i see the the study of the martial arts to be part of my path in life. If I'm off the path, I'm at least a little lost.
You can always cram for a test, but you can never cram for a fight. In martial arts and in any physical endeavor you partake in, your effort will always be shown through your body.
There are many types of people in society. The Merchant. The Doctor. The Farmer. The Warrior. The Politician. The Fool. The Artist. ETC..... many have crossover traits. When I don't train ,my world falls apart.
Tengu has suggested what the best reasons to train are and I suggest that those reasons are the traits of a Warrior.
Great video 👏🏽
Just kept getting the reminder that "everything is gung fu" , and nice to hear that I'm not the only person who trains for fun
To crush me enemies, see them driven before me and hear the lamentations of their women?
It is a performance and reading and predicting opponents and situations always involves a lot of making decisions with limited information. The cultivation and application of martial prowess is an artistic process.
Great points. In many ways the motivation factors you describe have a direct corrollary with Sankhya philosophy of Yoga. For anyone with a yoga background this is describing the sattva, rajas, and tamas guna concepts in yogic philosophy. Its the same thing with the spiritual path. If one gets into yoga/spirituality to heal some disease (tamasic reason, just trying to avoid suffering) then they will get out of it once their disease is healed. When one gets into it because they think they will become better people, or win some competition, or get some clout, thats the rajasic guna (ego game level). Thats a bit better but still not ideal and one will likely not stick with it forever either. The best is when one gets into spirituality/yoga because one just loves God and just feels inspired to meditate, etc. Not because they think they will get anything in particular from it. This is the sattvic guna, (real inspiration and love for something) and people that get into martial arts or yoga from this more inspired and joyful place will stay with it for all their lives no matter what, because its what they love. Even if they cant do it they will help others to do it.
This is your best video yet :-) really resonated with me, excited to continue to do martial arts for the rest of my life, or at least as long as im physically able
Hey , been in kempo since the 80s dabbled in a few others . I practice for fun 🤩 I love doing kata . Also for fun keeps me flexible & in good shape
I really appreciate this video. It made me analyze why I've been training. I started wrestling in middle school simply because I didn't have the hand-eye coördination for any of the sports that involved a ball, after that I'm really not sure why I kept with it all the way through college despite the fact I lost pretty much every match I was ever in. It was just something I did. I recently started BJJ after a multi year break from grappling, and it made me realize that a lot of the negative emotions I had had for those years were mainly because I just wasn't training. There is just something about grappling, in general, that just does something for me I can't explain.
Interesting perspective as per usual dude. Oh, and cool films this time too. ✌️☮️🥋
As a child it was fun to play fight with friends and brothers. Now as an adult I play fight it's even better. That's why I train.
Well this video came right about in that time for me. I have been training since I'm 10 years old, various styles. Finally found and sticked with kung fu at age 24. Now after 5 years or so of training what I consider my chosen art and two sanda fighs, I feel like I have been losing steam and I'm suddenly faced with the question of why I do what I do. Haven't been able to train consistently since september because of an injury I got from delving into bjj, but I don't really feel in any rush to get back to training. Idk if it's burnout or what, but I feel just like you described, right in the middle of pondering WHY I should want to keep going.
Thank you very much for the video, also your channel is super very cool, I don't think I have found a martial arts channel that delves that deep into "the philosphy", the why and how of martial arts, and I binge watched a lot of your videos already lol.
Hey, bud, real thankful for your support and I totally empathize with where you're at. I've been on the mats since I was 5 or so and around 16 to 19 or so went through the same thing. Its a tough spot that sometimes requires a bit of time to think through. I can't do it for you, but if you could humor a bit of humble advice... I'd suggest asking yourself if the joy you get out of training is greater than the drawbacks (injury, cost, whatever else). Ultimately, I think joy is what sustains training in the long term, but its also totally natural to withdraw on occassion.
Whatever you choose, I hope you come to the best conclusion for you. Sanda, by the way, is awesome and I wish it were better represented. Its up there on the list of martial arts I wish I had access too lol. Wish you the best and a speedy recovery!
I really like aikido and when i watch ur videos i understand what is aiki mean thank you 🙏
I want to have a martial arts conversation with you in day perhaps on a live stream
I do judo for judo, granted I started very recently and broke my foot in the process, but that's neither here nor there.
haha, don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to break other stuff later. It's all part of the fun :P
Sorry to hear that. It happens, though. At some point I want to make a video about it explicitly, but the hard truth is that damage to our bodies is kind of the inevitable price we pay in martial arts. I know some martial arts market themselves as super safe, but the reality is that some day, somehow, you're going to get hurt. It might not be a single instant like with your foot, but just waking up one day and realizing all your joints hurt. I'm 30 and sore literally *all* the time. So much so that sometimes I have to force myself not to train so I can actually recover. It sucks, but its just a trade off I consciously make.
I wish you a quick recovery, though! Leg injuries in general suck, I've been there myself.
@@TenguMartialArts Mmm I know what you mean. I'm 33, sore at 18 is kinda just what life is at 25, sore at 25 is just life at 35, and so on from there. fwiw, it's almost fully healed now! I can hit the weight racks again, at the very least.
This is elite level UA-cam content. Let me know where I can purchase a signed copy of your book, Tengu. 😉
One day, when I get around to writing it!
Interesting take.
I will say that a lot of our "recreational activities" tend to be within the confines of non martial application.
So drawing a parallel between things like playing an instrument or practicing an art like Judo or BJJ seems appropriate.
However, this brings up a personal "pet peeve" concerining martial arts, and that is the white belt that has been practicing for a week, 2 weeks, a month, and they say they "love (insert martial art here) and i cannot imagine my life without it"
..my guy, you have practiced for so little time you have no idea.
And odds are you'll quit long before you get to blue belt, and i bet you'd quit shortly after you get to blue belt if you manage to stick around that long.
They have not demonstrated that they "love the art".
True love of an art is practicing beyond a practical reason.
Those competitors you mentioned did not love thier art, they only did what was necessary to accomplish thier goal.
Thats why they do not coach.
With that being said, i find the idea of practicing an art "for the art" is something beginners and many intermediary practitioners will seldom grasp when it comes to martial arts and long term practice of the art.
The idea of self defense is too closely attached to martial arts.
Without that "function" of being able to defend yourself, what is the honest difference between Judo and swing dancing?
The answer: swing dancing is a lot less painful.
Most people do not like meaningless pain and suffering.
You have to attach a greater purpose than just accruing knowledge or simply enjoying being punched and kicked over and over again.
The functional utility behind practicing an art like Judo is falls, and depending on what your mats are constructed of, you get a much better parallel to the expectation of getting landing on the floor, either because you fell or because someone is violently putting you there.
I can't tell you how many times just taking my falls like i do in Judo has saved me when i slip on the ice, or other non violent occurrences of my falling.
All because of a functional aspect of the art.
Now i get most arts do not feature falls, and partially thats where some of my arguement falls apart.
Though i will say that anything you have put a lawful/constitutional reason behind, and are willing to put in time and energy to accomplishing is by all means a good reason.
I don't disagree with the notion that beginners tend to overstate their attachment. Nor do I disagree that training for the sake of training is something that is probably out of the view of the average beginner. But, I guess on the flip side, what is life if not meaningless pain waiting for us to apply meaning to it? I think these questions ought to be more at the forefront of martial practice.
Because I can
What is the name of the system you are using for your video? Very cool, I'm not familiar with wresting systems (grew up in Aus, mainly Asian systems here). Is it American or Greco roman?
This is an old Soviet Greco Roman wrestling film. Admittedly, I'm no expert in this system, but I'm a fan of Greco itself. I'm pretty sure if you type in "Soviet Greco-Roman" or something into UA-cam it should pop up. Its like a 30+ minute video.
I mainly treat martial arts (I practice BJJ) as a sport, and like any sport, it offers competition and a great community. To be honest, any sport would be good enough for me, but I think martial arts are cool. I like the other benefits that come with the sport, but there are some delusional people believing they can fend off multiple armed home invaders with martial arts...
I'm sometimes sorry I give BJJ such a hard time on this channel lol. I swear I don't hate the art, its just so popular that its hard not to talk about.
I think seeing it as a sport is a healthy mindset, though. A lot of martial artists in general have some odd takes about the self defense side of things. Its probably something I'll spend some time on in future content. I'm kind of in the same headspace, though. A major criticism Judo gets, for example, is that "its reliant on the gi," but once you start just doing the art for itself, that doesn't really matter. The gi is part of Judo, whether its "reliant" or not is kind of moot to me--its there and its legal to use it, so I'm going to use it.
I kind of believe the infinite treadmill of justifying every little thing in your practice is just a sprint to burnout. At least mentally. I get why people do it--hell, I used to do it. But its tough to sustain. Its very liberating and, again, healthy to just accept that every art has strengths and weaknesses, but you're enjoying it so it really doesn't matter so long as you're aware of those things.
Its martial arts, so I get people's preoccupation with violence to a certain degree, but I also think its sort of the least interesting part of martial practice. The endless justifying of stuff and comparisons and weird tribalism is exhausting.
@@TenguMartialArts a lot of people in the martial arts community give BJJ a hard time because its well deserved.
There are too many delusional people in BJJ community and they often resort to the “all fights go to the ground” argument, ya when they get punched in the mouth they’ll be the only ones on ground… to get their head stomped repeatedly. Most of those people haven’t fought anyone on the streets their entire lives.
If the ultimate goal is self defense, get a concealed carry license, and sign up for a CQB course, keep brushing up on skills once every year, that’ll be the most effective way to spend time and money.
Most modern martial arts are designed with sport in mind, they’re designed to fight another athlete practicing the same sport. So there’s really no point going down the “what if they don’t wear gi how do you do a judo throw” rabbit hole.
A healthier way to look at martial arts is, in my opinion, to treat it as a sport: it’s fun, it’s exciting, it’s challenging, and I get to make friends along the way. As a bonus, I get to learn the value in hard work, endurance, resilience, respect, and camaraderie. There is no need to justify it, any other sport or hobby will have the same positive impact, I just happen to practice martial arts and I love it.
Edit: grammar. Sorry, English is not my first language.
I can't recall ever taking a dump with my phone...but hey...I'm a boomer. (lol)
You’re a champ, then. I’m addicted to screens. Never change, man, stay healthy ha