Yes, you read that right. We're switching gears somewhat for 2009 and featuring that which is awesome, instead of that which is awesomely bad. Most Martial Arts have some redeeming qualities and/or participants. We're going to be highlighting these.
Don't worry though, we haven't lost our edge. In the course of pointing out the athletes and fighters who do not suck, we're going to be making it painfully obvious (where necessary) both that these guys are generally the exception to the suckage, and doing our best to remind the twits who would attach themselves to their accomplishments that awesomeness isn't something you acquire by association.
So Karate. Karate, as a style, has been one of the most unfortunate victims of the McDojo phenomenon. In the 60's it was a huge cash cow and there was an explosion of half-qualified instructors starting up schools around the country. It waned a bit in the 70's, in part due to Saturday morning Kung Fu theater. However, the 1980's saw a resurgence of the Okinawan art because of a movie about a scrawny kid, a stupid bike, and the burger joint manager from Happy Days.
But in spite of all the cornyness associated with bad movies and worse, real Karate was still around, practiced in a handful of places where bruises were more important than belts, and the end goal of training profecient fighters was never traded for the prospect of a dojo full of doughy, escapist students.
Let's spend this month paying tribue to men like Mas Oyama, whose reputation may exceed reality somewhat, but not so much as to outshine the man's actual legacy. Let's honor those who, like Lyoto Machida, use Karate in the spirit it was intended: to hurt other people with deadly precision and effectiveness as opposed to flailing around in the air fighting invisible opponents.
And as always, let's remind everyone that unless you're properly training to be a Fighter, you're certainly not a Warrior, nor should you claim any of the honor and respect due to someone who actually puts his body on the line to prove him or herself worthy of it.
Don't worry though, we haven't lost our edge. In the course of pointing out the athletes and fighters who do not suck, we're going to be making it painfully obvious (where necessary) both that these guys are generally the exception to the suckage, and doing our best to remind the twits who would attach themselves to their accomplishments that awesomeness isn't something you acquire by association.
So Karate. Karate, as a style, has been one of the most unfortunate victims of the McDojo phenomenon. In the 60's it was a huge cash cow and there was an explosion of half-qualified instructors starting up schools around the country. It waned a bit in the 70's, in part due to Saturday morning Kung Fu theater. However, the 1980's saw a resurgence of the Okinawan art because of a movie about a scrawny kid, a stupid bike, and the burger joint manager from Happy Days.
But in spite of all the cornyness associated with bad movies and worse, real Karate was still around, practiced in a handful of places where bruises were more important than belts, and the end goal of training profecient fighters was never traded for the prospect of a dojo full of doughy, escapist students.
Let's spend this month paying tribue to men like Mas Oyama, whose reputation may exceed reality somewhat, but not so much as to outshine the man's actual legacy. Let's honor those who, like Lyoto Machida, use Karate in the spirit it was intended: to hurt other people with deadly precision and effectiveness as opposed to flailing around in the air fighting invisible opponents.
And as always, let's remind everyone that unless you're properly training to be a Fighter, you're certainly not a Warrior, nor should you claim any of the honor and respect due to someone who actually puts his body on the line to prove him or herself worthy of it.
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