I recently began to wonder as to the future of traditional Martial arts. Frankly speaking, it appears dismal.
One only need look to our popular culture and the many MA magazines which now are filled with RBSD.
Vewry few promote the TMA from a practical and or even cultural basis. Many Traditional schools are unable or unwilling to change with the times. The situation in China is that Modern Wushu is all the go and it seems the same in Japan and Okinawa where baseball seems more popular!
I would argue that three factors representing a great threat to the preservation of traditional fightings arts (yes that's what they truly are). The first is modern trends away from the cultural and philosophical aspects of the TMA and their inherent practical applications as witnessed in our media. The second is ignorance. Most people could not tell Kung-Fu from Chinese folk dancing. Martial artists worldwide perpetuate this myth by promoting images that have nothing to do with the real arts. The last is even more insidious, the con-men and fakes that trouble all arts.
More to come ......