Question by Wiseguy: Does the mysticism surrounding traditional Martial Arts actually put people off trying them?
I think people have this idea that traditional martial artists have some super human abilities (like tia chi masters) and since this is simply unattainable, they are better off sticking to boxing/ kickboxing.
Best answer:
Answer by Blasian
Most likely people don’t think they can try tai chi or traditional arts related to that because they think its too complicated or what you have stated etc. etc.
But really its not difficult all you need is practice and confidence, there is nothing that mysterious about it
Give your answer to this question below!
I think the “mystical” elements of martial arts attract more people than they put off, especially kids and teenagers. Lots of people want to be “ninjas” and be able to do the ridiculous things they see in cartoons, comics, and movies.
Thanks to hollywood, yes. I can never tell if it’s suppose to be a complement or an insult. Tai Chi has been known to help chronic pain and fatigue as well as several muscle, bone and blood disorders. I think this is met by the general public with not only disbelief, but also a little fear.
When Okinawan Karate was first being discovered by the world, everyone was amazed at the feats some of these people could perform. Their resilience was phenomenal. This was do to with Karate’s supplementary training, Hojo Undo. A concept now lost to most of the world but the results alive in the hearts of film makers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep2rovVDZYI
The Chinese arts are always viewed by most people as strange and pointless. But once practiced you can feel just how hard it really is. Between flexibility and strength, most people don’t have the patience to try and better their weaknesses, instead they want to nurse their strengths and feel good about it.
Martial arts was a way of life. It was what you ate, slept and breathed. Nothing else mattered. You had a job for income, but once you clocked out, you hit the dojo. Many martial artists even incorporated their system into their job. It was said Higaonna Kanryu could tear strips of raw meat with his bear fingers. This was done in training the Karate grip and results of the Nigiri Game, gripping jars.
Once you make the life choice of practicing traditional martial arts, it no longer matters what’s unobtainable, what matters is just obtaining. Just as there’s no get-rich-quick schemes, there’s nothing like that for fighting, either. What you see in videos and demonstrations aren’t impossible or unobtainable, they’re the results of someone who’se worked hard and never quite.
Tai Chi does not turn you into a super human, it turns you into an Optimally Able-Bodied Human.
As all properly taught martial arts do.
IMO, yes and no.
Some martial arts – notably several schools of pencak silat – actually promote their style as some sort of mystic art, and also introduce shortcuts (through a process of “transferring energy”, animistic rituals, etc.) to help you obtain superhuman powers. And believe it or not, they’re never short of potential customers. On the other hand, the mystical and spiritual aspects of martial arts like these also deter people who are worried that these will conflict with their own beliefs and religion.
But when it comes to people being put off because of unobtainable skills and powers, IMO it stems more from the way martial arts have been misrepresented in popular culture. The emphasis – whether in movies, video games, or even in public demonstrations – is almost always on how visually impressive the style is, and how close to superhuman the ability of a seasoned practitioner is.
Like J pointed out, taking up a martial art is a lifelong endeavor, where the goal is to continuously learn instead of trying to attain specific abilities.
No I don’t think so. Most of the mysticism is caused my the movies. In fact it is the mystery or mysticism that has caused many to desire to try martial arts. Then the other things that many would call mysticism is just the general public not having an correct understanding.
When I was younger and as soon as someone found out that I was training in martial arts one of the first things they wanted to do is hit me in the stomach. They would ask if they could hit me. Sometimes I would let them. lol For some reason they believed that martial artist are some super human type people. They think that all karateka have washboard stomachs. They think we all can do several black flip and jump 10 feet in the air and a flying side kick to kill our opponent. They watch too much tv. There are those that still believe those things. Then you have the others that now realize this was just movie magic. Then they doubt other things concerning martial arts feeling as if they have been lied to. Actually no martial artist has lied to them.
Most people have not seen real traditional martial arts. They have only seen some movies that misrepresent martial arts. They see boxing and kickboxing. They assume that kickboxing is a martial arts.
I have seen posted here by some people that are ignorant of tma say things about the mysticism of kata and its hidden techniques. There is no mysticism involved with kata or hidden techniques. The techniques are hidden in order to disguise them. They didn’t want rivals to be able to study to find a way to defeat them. In order to beat your enemy in times of war you must know your enemy. You need to know strengths and weakness. If I know how you are gong to attack I can easily come up with a counter attack. It is the same reasons why the Africans and Brazilians that began to teach capoeira that they used to teach it to resemble a dance. If the slave master believed they were dancing it was okay. The slave master would never allow them to learn how to fight for their freedom. By deceiving the enemy the enemy can’t plan how to counter. This gives you an advantage in the fight.
You also have those that will not train in tma because of some fears they have within themselves. Some fear they can’t do it. Some are afraid to try. Others are afraid to succeed.
Then of course you have those that a marketing their fighting system such as mma or krav maga that will put down tma in order to make themselves look better. But what they should do is tell the truth. You can learn that style or you can learn this style. It is a personal decision that you should make just as long as you get trained and that you are dedicated.
MMA is the big thing these days thanks to the UFC. Most people just want to beat someone up and be seen doing it. REAL martial arts are for self defense only. I train in traditional Songshan Shaolin Gongfu (Kung Fu) However, it is a rarity, and clouded by modern Wushu. There are a few options here in ths US. But Shi De Yang in China is by FAR the best option to learn REAL martial arts.
Shi De Yang’s school in China.
http://shideyang.com/ – learn more about him here.
here’s his actual school
http://www.shaolindeyang.com/about.asp?d…
some Shaolin videos, some of Shi De Yang, other from his school, and some of my favorites, to inspire you.
Shaolin Documentary done by national geographic. anything you want to know about it, is in these videos. here’s part 1, you’ll find the other parts right next to it on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbkVJEVtx…
documentary done by discovery channel. 2 americans go on a fight quest to shaolin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lygKOJhNK…
they teach you drunken fist as well.. by far the coolest form in martial arts. (no you don’t drink before you do it, it’s meant to confuse your opponent.) and yes, those sticks are real, and solid, and they don’t even feel it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFnHRs308…
here’s some old school videos showing Shi De Yang and his fellow students. this is shaolin back in the day. yes, Jet li, the movie star is in some of these videos, part 2 and 3 i think. he’s young, but you can tell it’s him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThpQLx-pS…
another video of shi de yang, you can see how he runs his school, also what a peaceful person he is. this man is deadly with kung fu skills, and the nicest person you’ll ever meet, he is also very smart, he’s an intellectual scholar, who knows a TON about philosophy, and a master in every form of Shaolin Kung Fu.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnIyCa_YX…
The empty mind.. short clip on shaolin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Llqup1Uir…
anything else man just search shaolin kung fu, gongfu, qigong, shaolin chan city, anything in youtube, there’s tons of videos.
like i said before, i’ve done TONS of research, and there are hundreds of fakes and frauds out there, and only a handful of real ones. so here’s the deal.
Shi De Yang in China. By far the best option
Le Fujun in St. Louis Missouri. Trained by Shi De Yang
Shi Yan Ming in NYC, very expensive, but legit.
(he trains the wu tang clan, wesley snipes, and tons of other celebs, he’s so popular in new york city, he’s real, but he’s so expensive.) cool video to check him out if you want though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaQ2QITnK…
here’s RZA from wu tang, with Shi Yan Ming
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtRoenZw4…
Shi Xing Mi in Italy, also trained by Shi De Yang.
(he is walter in the documentary i sent you first, thats his chinese name, walter is his english name)
Shi Yan Lei in England. also expensive, only shaolin monk in London, very popular. similar situation to Shi Yan Ming in NYC.
Shi De Ru in Louisiana. Also trained by Shi De Yang.
Shi De Cheng in China. Grew up with Shi De Yang, very good, but not as good as Shi De Yang.
so, just about everyone who’s real, and a master.. is trained by shi de yang. so you can either go to them for weekly classes here in the US.. or you can go LIVE and train and be apart of the LIFESTYLE in China. It’s up to you. there’s a small few here in the US.. you’ll have to pay to live in your own apartment, work a job, and have a life outside of kung fu. Or, you can devote yourself to it, and make it your LIFE, in China at Shi De Yang’s school. Anything else you come across on the internet is fake, and a fraud, so stay away.
I currently train with Le Fujun in St. Louis and will be making annual trips to Dengfeng in the Henan Province of China (where the Shaolin temple is located) to train at Shi De Yang’s school. He is by far the best option.
I wish you great success! Don’t be fooled by tough guys in Jiu Jitsu or Muay Thai. Shaolin teaches Sanda kickboxing, which is Muay Thai’s older brother. ANY martial art you see in the world today, comes from Shaolin. It is the original, it is effective, and it is very spiritual. The best martial art in the world today. Don’t let these UFC wannabe’s drag you down with them, pick a REAL martial art. Shaolin Gongfu! All the best! Amituofo!
Mysticism will attract kids to MAs but it sets them up for a big disapointment when they realise cartoons are just fantasy.
Tai Chi is legendary in China for being a very effective MA and for its health benefits. The mysticism surrounding it does turn alot of people away from learning it. Many of the people that do learn it because of the mysticism or just the health benefits are missing out on what the art truely has to offer. Much of the mysticism surrounding it was intentional because it was a well kept family secret that used to be forbidden to be taught outside of the Chen Family. Once it was taught to Yang, he developed his own style and capitolized on the mysticism and taught his style in Beijing for orofit. The poems that have the “secrets” of Tai Chi that have been written in the past were written to confuse people who dont understand the art but teaches the strategies to effectively use it.
Ive known Tai Chi is a very effective MA but obviously there are people who use the mysticism to take advantage of gullable to make money. I used to think that there was some mysticism surrounding it till i met my Sifu and he opened my eyes to what the art truely is and its capabilities.
I was in Hong Kong walking through a park near my dads house and watching people practice their Tai Chi and honestly it was making me yawn. I walked further to a more secluded part of the park where i actually heard punches that they use sound effects for in the movies and loud stomping. Then i looked over and saw this small man practicing a MA that ive never seen before. He was moving gracefully from slow to fast throwing punches and kicks with so much undeniable power u could hear them. I wathed him practice and teach for a couple of days. Then i decided to speak to him and learn more about it. He explained to me that he was practicing Chen Style Taijiquan, the parent style that all others are descended from.
It depends on the person. Some people see the mysticism as hard labor and work and want to give up easily. Some other people see it and say they want to better themselves and be more intune with their bodies. They also want to feel more aligned with themselves and other people spiritually. They see it and see that there is lots to labor and work hard for and say, “Wow, there really is a lot of hard work I have to put into it. But it looks like fun, so why not…”
It’s all about how the person wants to look at martial arts. Some people see it as a way to keep themselves in shape others for the self defense and others for the philosphies of the martial arts.