edededed wrote:Bhassler wrote:I've read a couple of pretty good articles on the cultural significance of martial arts in JAMA-- one of the things often cited about martial arts in JAMA and elsewhere (although I expect it applies most directly to Japanese MA with their traditionally more rigid class structure) is the benefit of recasting the social structure during the time spent in the kwoon/dojo. A person who may be a high powered executive in their daily life may find themselves as a rank beginner in the school, expected to emulate and take direction from someone who may have no college education and earn $8 an hour shlupping dirt for a living.
This can have a subtle though profound impact on a person's sense of self, and it is this same sort of reorganization of the self image that is central to all sorts of different physical/philisophical disciplines as well as numerous forms of psychotherapy. It's really fascinating stuff if the viewer has a broad enough perspective to appreciate it.
Also, it's cool to meet righteous dudes, and whatnot.
This does make more sense in terms of Japan, where hierarchy is paramount (i.e. upper levels tend to be assholes, even if they seemed nice when they were lower). Obviously, one place's hierarchy is not necessarily valid elsewhere; but, as a result, most people who are "high" in one place do not normally try to join a new environment where they will have to lose that precious high standing. Thus, assholes remain assholes.
yeah, but Japanese social structure is fucked up by most people's contextual experience anyway.
