everything wrote:it's good to all beat up on the same strawman for a change. instead of everyone beating up everyone else's supposed misconstrued strawman.
Everyone united against a single silly premise, it's a beautiful thing.
One comment about how the techniques look the same so they are the same is interesting - Is the wright brothers plane and an F-16 equivalent because they both have propulsion, a fuselage and wings? At what point do we accept an advancement is significant enough to differentiate an "era" of development like they did to separate gliders from propellers from jet-power?
The comment about traditional martial arts getting worse over time where combat sports are getting better over time is one I've thought about a lot. As a blacksmith I have to accept that my abilities as a smith in the traditional sense will be lower than those of a traditional smith from the feudal ages of europe/middle east/asia because it is not my vocation to make everyday implements. That said, because of my ability to access information on modern understandings of metallurgy and historical methods and over a decade of work - my edged tools are at least equivalent or superior cutting tools compared to those of old. If those smiths had access to information as I have, had access to the equipment I do - their smithing would change dramatically as well.
That said - Blacksmithing is a craft with a low mortality rate and high repetition, the same cannot be said for MORTAL KOMBAT so it becomes a more difficult equation.
Legendary practitioners given access to modern knowledge of kinesiology, anatomy and combatives competition would likely also adapt to those new opportunities.
Thinking otherwise is kind of weird given the successes of the modern day. I struggle to think of any traditional knowledge or ancestor worship that was instrumental in the technical advancement of civilizations. I would be happy to discuss it though.