It's worthy of repeating...

[MightyB]

I wrote this for another thread. It sums up our arguments...

It's Attitude...

It's all Attitude. Attitude determines success.


Look at a lot of MAists. A lot of them get in to learn how to defend themselves because inwardly they are afraid. They are fearful people. They are afraid of people, they are afraid to be hit, they are afraid of just about anything... they are fearful people. They think that taking a martial arts will compensate for that. It won't... it can't...

They think that martial arts are the cure all for their inadequacies. They think that they are becomming super men... they're wrong...

Inside, they are still that small, wimpy, pimply, pencil-necked geek that plays too many video games and watches way too much TV.

Then, they somehow get convinced by an unscrupulous fearful teacher that martial arts aren't for fighting. They believe this. They think that they are getting strong, spiritual, that they are superior to the thugs that they were trying to protect themselves from. This superiority is a fallacy... it's a thought... a persona... a self image that's built on bull $hit without experience. It's always "Our Great Great Great Grandmaster used this once in a deathmatch 300 years ago, and he killed some guy!" Whatever...

If you're a martial artist, you can break this cycle. You can ask yourself if you are afraid to be hit. You can answer this honestly, then you can compete in a full contact fight. You will learn, painfully, who you are... who you really are... then, and only then, can you grow. You then are free to become a skilled martial artist who can fight.

[carly]

I look at the people in my local hippy health food store, and they look very unhealthy and tense, despite their yoga and granola and herbal teas - it reminds me that they were drawn to such therapies as a remedy BECAUSE they were originally suffering from bad health or jangled nerves.

[eulerfan]

I've had my @ss kicked before. I learned that pain really hurts. That's about it.

[Royal Dragon]

Lol @ the health food hippies!!!
I know exactly what you mean. The owner of my local health food store has all sorts of health problems that he's always going to his store products to self treat. He's gone total vegatarian, and is now pale, and looks like he'd blow away in the wind. I told him to eat some good old fashioned meat, and hit the gym, but he does not seem to think this is the right thing to do. Instead, he relies on herbs and these funky looking "Health" bars he sells at his counter + a bunch of vitamin supplements.:confused:

[red5angel]

MightyB, I beg to differ actually. I don't think all martial artist get into MA for self defense or because they are afraid.
Someone accused me of being paranoid a few weeks ago on this forum because I was talking about how far I would go to defend myself, but I don't buy that. I think accusations of fear are often assigned by people who themselves have something to fear.
Don't get me wrong, I am not saying people aren't afraid to get hit, or people aren't afraid to get attacked, I walk through some pretty shady parts of town frequently, one of them to get to my school, and the thought of being attacked crosses my mind, but I have never been accused of being a fearful person by anyone who knows me.

also, I got into the martial arts to learn to fight, period.

[shaolin kungfu]

That has to be the most subtle attack on tma i've ever seen.

[Ajax]

Who says I'm not becoming Superman? :D

[red5angel]

shaolin kungfu, whilke it may or may not be a subtle attack on TMA, I myself was practicing TMA and still have a lot of respect for it, plan to return to it later. however, I have met more hard working and driven people in the MMA world then in the TMA world. It seems many in the TMA world are looking for some things MMA people aren't, spiritual guidance, enlightenment, health, whatever it may be and in my own personal experience it seems to me that that aggressive spirit lies currently more in the domain of MMA then TMA. I am not saying it doesn't exist in TMA, it just seems to be more prevelant in MMA. Of course this could be just my own experience might be skewed, but it's an observation I have made before, and on this forum.

In my experience I have seen less "hobbyist" in the world of MMA.

[azwingchun]

I see where you are coming from, but I have to disagree to an extent. As a teacher I see many different types come through my doors. I see the ones that you are talking about, but I also see the people who just saw the latest martial arts movie and think that they can be cool like that too. I also see the people who do it just for a hobby as well as those who do it for plain health reasons. I think there are many types of people who do it for many different reasons.

I my self was put into it as a young child for health reasons, actually when I was about 4 years old. I never turned back from that point on. I fell in love with what the arts had to offer. At least the older I got.;)

[shaolin kungfu]

I was talking about mightyb's original post. I agree with you that people in mma are quite a bit more 'hardcore'. That doesn't mean that tma practitioners are all lazy and not interested in the fighting aspect, but i have noticed that many people do it as a hobby instead of devoting themselves completely to the art; Which is sad because the traditional styles have a lot to offer.

It doesn't matter what style you take, as long as you train hard.

[Arhat of Fury]

Mighty b get it all out, were all here to support you. Recognizing your problem is the first step to recovery. Congratulations and thanks for sharing.


AOF

[yenhoi]

Attitude is just one attribute among many, like strength, endurance, sensitivity...... etc.

That post should go in some little calander motivation book or something.

:eek:

[Former castleva]

I think that to assume,consider and expect everyone to be in (insert your favourite ma here) for learning to "fight" is a fantasy too.
To not learn ma for such reasons is probably the case for many and there is nothing necessarily wrong with that.

"Look at a lot of MAists. A lot of them get in to learn how to defend themselves because inwardly they are afraid. They are fearful people. They are afraid of people, they are afraid to be hit, they are afraid of just about anything... they are fearful people. They think that taking a martial arts will compensate for that. It won't... it can't..."

Cannot say for sure of course but seems to me this is kind of a bloated definition.
Sure,if someone actually believes a certain activity like ma to do the work for you,then there´s something missing but if they still are just plain,slightly fearful ppl wishing to gain some confidence and stability trough ma practice then may they go straight ahead.

[Repulsive Monkey]

Tell us what you really think Mighty B....why don't you! Obviously somethings troubling your mind with that diatribe.

[shaolin kungfu]

Why did that bear repeating? It wasn't all that intelligent.

[Repulsive Monkey]

I know it was nothing more than a childish rant.

[Can-O-Bud]

People are afraid to be hit? eh.. yeah of course.. it f**king hurts.

People learn MA to compensate to a weakness? Why the hell not? Sounds like a good idea to me.

The guy that teaches me talks of the peace of mind that it gives you. You dont fear confrontations any more because your more able to handle it.

Is people are using MA as a way of self improvement then I say "Great". Nothing wrong with that.

[MightyB]

... that this was a response to.

The ol' "Why do MAists lose in street fights?" (I'm paraphrasing)

That's where my rant comes from.

Actually, I was pretty much over being afraid of being hit by about the age of 6. Big family, lot's of bullies. Then school-- wrestling, football, hockey, a touch of Rugby in college-- I'm in Red5's camp, the one where people actually got into the martial arts to learn how to fight.:eek:

[generalization] A lot of schools are structured for that MAist who's afraid to be hit, and it really sucks for those of us who aren't.

The school I attend has a balanced approach where it's up to the student, but, I'm hard pressed to find students that want as much intensity as I do. There are some, but the majority are health clubbers.

[red5angel]

you can see part of the MA dichotomy in my family. My wife just recently starting attending classes as well, and although we attend the same classes in general, she refuses to spar me because I want to go much harder then she does. I am in it to learn to fight and win, she is in it for health, excersise and self defense.

[yenhoi]

yeah but, you dont really want to smash your own wifes face in for real?

[red5angel]

nope and that is partially the point. I go pretty hard when I spar and we both know that. She enjoys sparring but more for fun then anything else so we don't bother sparring each other. It's not that I would go hard on her but that I wouldn't be getting out of it what I wanted and neither would she. We still drill a lot together and do bagwork together at home.

[FatherDog]

Originally posted by yenhoi
yeah but, you dont really want to smash your own wifes face in for real?

GDA, you wanna field this one?

:D

[MightyB]

He's too busy with that squirrel.