Do martial artists hate common folk?

[Dr.Rob]

In short..yes. We hate everything that's why we spend hours training in strange forgotten esotric arts. That nolonger exist in any context other then our own minds; and in hopes that some dweeb will pull a smackdown at the 7/11 at 3 am when we are there buying condoms or diapers or something even more human.

True, we could all go buy guns and that would give us that sense of "bravado" that we try so hard to develop... but still we choose the highroad. The less travelled path of HATE. Why would we hate our prey?. We need butts to our jokes, fodder for our cannons.



Oh, my reply is sarcastic encase you can't see through the seething. I only hate splinters and graffitti.

[David Boxen]

So why the disparity? Are the people in the top three pics above somehow right and the people in the bottom pic somehow wrong?

Dave C.

No right or wrong, they just all make is so that people here in China tell me that Chinese gongfu is useless for self defence.

[Ian]

hi

The original question. I can;t speak for anyone else but myself, I don;t hate common folks.

but..

But it does irritate me when people talk about trivial nonsense as if it is the most important thing, life or death. Oo i can't believe taht Sahron got her hair dyed blue, oh isn;t the end of the world.


I get confused as to why most people ignore the potential for development that lies within all of us, physical, spiritual etc etc. People who bluster about being fighters, throw a punch, and then complain when you fight back get my goat. New agers talkign about energy make me wish I was back in some frontier country wher i could chop them up and use the dried vegetarian corpse for fuel. I hate it that people ahve completely lost spatial awareness, and the concept of personal space. I don't want to fukkin hear your fukkin music you bastards.


Many other things too. But no, i am not angry and i do not hate...

yusuf

chamomile tea

[iwalkthecircle]

I prefer not to talk to people that does not love martial art or do any kind of sports.


At my old office everyone is sport buff, but they just like to watch TV not doing actual sports.
"DO you like sports?"
"Yes, I love all sorts of sports: snowBoarding, rockClimbing, full contact football, mtnBiking...."
"NO I meant do like to watch them on TV?"
"I only watch UFC...."
"...."

I was not consider a team player at the old work place because I did not watch football, baseball, basketball games on TV.

[DeusTrismegistus]

I prefer not to talk to people that does not love martial art or do any kind of sports.


At my old office everyone is sport buff, but they just like to watch TV not doing actual sports.
"DO you like sports?"
"Yes, I love all sorts of sports: snowBoarding, rockClimbing, full contact football, mtnBiking...."
"NO I meant do like to watch them on TV?"
"I only watch UFC...."
"...."

I was not consider a team player at the old work place because I did not watch football, baseball, basketball games on TV.

I don't watch sorts either except for UFC. I do get a lot of odd looks from guys because I don't follow football. Oh well.

[Darth Rock&Roll]

it also would serve us all to remind ourselves that we are each and all quite common.
So, do you hate yourself?

p.s those taichi pics showed nothing but dorks through and through.
All of them, the white folks and the yellow folks is all dorks. lol

[Bär]

I think that MAs can attract a certain type and sometimes the practice of MAs seems to breed a 'superior' attitude in those people. Those types don't even have a concept of humility, even when they get their asses handed to them, or they apply their humility only to those who can kick their ass.

[Chris McKinley]

For me, it's a little like the movie The Princess Bride, where Wesley is climbing up the cliff face to fight Inigo Montoya. Inigo gives Wesley his word as a Spaniard, to which Wesley replies, "No good. I've known too many Spaniards." I'm the same way with martial artists. I don't even like martial arts movies anymore. Watching them feels too much like going outside with the neighborhood kids as an adult and playing army. It just feels goofy, immature and silly....like a little kid's impression of what martial arts are supposed to be.

Personally, being a martial artist isn't really part of my equation anymore. It's something I do, not someone I am anymore. I'm too busy trying to be a well-rounded decent person to spend silly amounts of time on something I no longer need professionally and about which most of the rest of the world cannot have a meaningful interesting conversation. To me, that's sort of the geeky phase where you spend every waking moment obsessing over martial arts. It's for kids, or for young men who haven't yet acquired the skills and who will need them professionally. Emotionally mature, socially well-adjusted people tend to have more varied interests, commitments and relationships than that. IME, guys who get past 30 who are still in that mode tend to be fairly immature, selfish, emotionally-driven and somewhat irresponsible in their lives. They also tend to have a difficult time forming healthy relationships, whether romantically or with friends.

After a long enough time, these people also become victims of their own cognitive dissonance, meaning they've spent so much of their lives doing this particular activity that they then have to unconsciously defend it. That's when these guys start becoming obnoxious about it on top of their already-compromised social skills. They adopt the "elite" role as a defense mechanism against their own guilt and shame about not having spent time investing in healthy relationships and other activities which would have made them more well-rounded and interesting as people.

[neijia_boxer]

For me, it's a little like the movie The Princess Bride, where Wesley is climbing up the cliff face to fight Inigo Montoya. Inigo gives Wesley his word as a Spaniard, to which Wesley replies, "No good. I've known too many Spaniards." I'm the same way with martial artists. I don't even like martial arts movies anymore. Watching them feels too much like going outside with the neighborhood kids as an adult and playing army. It just feels goofy, immature and silly....like a little kid's impression of what martial arts are supposed to be.

Personally, being a martial artist isn't really part of my equation anymore. It's something I do, not someone I am anymore. I'm too busy trying to be a well-rounded decent person to spend silly amounts of time on something I no longer need professionally and about which most of the rest of the world cannot have a meaningful interesting conversation. To me, that's sort of the geeky phase where you spend every waking moment obsessing over martial arts. It's for kids, or for young men who haven't yet acquired the skills and who will need them professionally. Emotionally mature, socially well-adjusted people tend to have more varied interests, commitments and relationships than that. IME, guys who get past 30 who are still in that mode tend to be fairly immature, selfish, emotionally-driven and somewhat irresponsible in their lives. They also tend to have a difficult time forming healthy relationships, whether romantically or with friends.

After a long enough time, these people also become victims of their own cognitive dissonance, meaning they've spent so much of their lives doing this particular activity that they then have to unconsciously defend it. That's when these guys start becoming obnoxious about it on top of their already-compromised social skills. They adopt the "elite" role as a defense mechanism against their own guilt and shame about not having spent time investing in healthy relationships and other activities which would have made them more well-rounded and interesting as people.

Dang Chris.... that was deep ...you need a talk show because i cant stand Dr. Phil

[Darthwing Teorist]

I agree with Chris. While martial arts remain a way to better myself (stay in shape, work on my fears and ego, have fun), I no longer equal my identity with martial arts. Yes, I am a martial artist because it is something I do but above all I am a human being. I am also a friend, husband, father, son and brother among other things just as I am a martial artist.

Like I said, martial arts remain a way for me to better myself. It is not the only way, but it the one that I choose because I like it. It helps me work on my insecurities and fears. It does provide a bond with other like minded people and it is also a social thing (this board being an example of that). It helps me stay in shape and get to know my body better while learning to apply physics in a complex manner to my fellow partners (meaning that I learn how to hit them, take them down, dominate them, lock them: having fun in short). MAs also allow me to become a better potential defender of those around me.

IMO, it is very important to better yourself in any way you like: MAs, family, hobbies, arts etc. So while I am no longer A Martial Artist but a martial artist, I find MAs to be a excellent way to improve myself.

About people doing it for health, I don't mind. The problem IMO is when the arts become watered down: something is lost and they are less effective as both fighting arts AND as health exercises.



PS:

I wanted to make a point: Denis Shink, a martial arts teacher from Quebec, once told us during a Wing Chun seminar: "if you find something that works in Kung Fu, apply it in life. If there is something that works for you in life, apply it to your Kung Fu." I noticed that improving something in martial arts showed me ways to improve myself in other aspects of my life. I think the viceversa applies too, but it is usually a less noticeable process: as we mature it reflects on our martial arts.