By Bob Davis, September 2001
Before I start on my ramblings, I'll give you a brief intro on who and what I am, as no one out there will have ever heard of me. My name is Bob Davis, I am 43 years of age, English and an engineer by training, (which qualifies me as an authority on cynicism if nothing else!). I also spent some time in sales and marketing, which will also account for a certain amount of bull, although this has always come naturally to me.
I had my first brief foray into the Karate world some 22 years ago but an early injury put paid to my training at that time, this was swiftly followed by marriage, family and career, (which put paid to my return to training!). The intervening years were filled with book karate only. I finally returned to training seriously some two and a half years ago, and, at the time of writing, have reached the dizzy heights of 2nd Kyu. At this point many may ask how I am qualified to have opinions on the state of Karate at large, my answer would be that nowhere in the rules does it say that all opinions have to be informed, and these are mine, read them if you wish, disagree with them by all means, they no doubt will change over time anyway.
I'll apologise in advance for all my references to karate as a product to be bought and sold, I know that most of us see it as much more than that but it allows me to make certain comparisons which would be difficult, (for me at least), to make otherwise.
I initially started this article as a short note to Mark in response to his "Deconstructing Karate" article, however, once given the chance to get on a soap box I was unlikely to turn it down, and it gives me the opportunity to digress from the subject somewhat. It is really aimed at students of kyu rank but hopefully others will also find it worth at least a cursory read.
To question or not, (at a personal level).
I have to say that it is in my nature to question everything and to prove things to my own satisfaction, this is true of my Karate training as much as anything else. I'd be the first to admit that my knowledge of Karate is severely limited at this stage but, like engineering, I'd break Karate into two distinct areas, knowledge based on fundamental physical principals, tried, tested and proven, (there are some things you have to assume are true), and knowledge based on accepted wisdom or the "we've always done it this way" principal.
I am not saying that there is anything wrong with accepted wisdom, it is there for a reason, and life is not long enough to learn everything from first principals every time, and what would be the point of teachers otherwise? That doesn't mean that it is always correct however, there are times in my life I've done things that "couldn't be done" because everyone knew they couldn't be done and so didn't bother trying, (I may have just been lucky). I've also fallen flat on my face doing this, so sometimes they are right.
The point I'm trying to make here is that we should take the time to think about what we've been told, (not during training, if you have the time and energy for surplus thought then you're not training hard enough). If what you've been told makes sense then hang onto it, if not then question it further, it may be just a problem with your understanding, (it may not!).
There should be nothing wrong with testing ideas if something doesn't feel right to you, a good teacher will, at least, explain to you why they are right and you are wrong. Do, however, have a good reason to ask your question.
As in all things, the final responsibility remains with us to develop the ability to think for ourselves, we are all born with it but there is a human tendency to try and make others responsible for ourselves, so if it all goes wrong it's "not our fault". The Karate dojo environment does not help with this situation, (yes, I know this is very much a generalisation). As a student, when we turn up for training we put ourselves in a situation where every move we make, or thought we have, is directed by someone else for the next hour or two. This is fine as long as we switch back on at the end of the session and take the time to think over what we've done.
I know there are instructors out there who actively encourage their students to think for themselves, but I'd like to bet that they have as much, if not more, difficulty and frustration getting them to do this as to just stand in a proper stance. It's just not as easy to see a student who is not thinking, (that takes a lot of time and is far harder to correct!). It would appear, from discussions elsewhere, that there are also instructors who actively discourage individual thinking, which is a shame.
That's the end of the sermon, now onto the broader issues.
With the above in mind I think I can understand to a certain extent where the deconstructionalists are coming from, they are, in theory at least, just taking the above concept to the next level.
Some of the articles I've read breaking down and debunking some of the myths of karate, and the personalities behind them, seemed, at first look, to make a certain amount of sense. I definitely would have a problem with being told that anything wasn't open to question because it's "your place to do as we tell you" and "that our wisdom is the only wisdom". I have been fortunate not to come across this personally, if I had I would have moved on fairly quickly.
But whilst these articles make interesting reading and may contain a version of history differing from the one you've learned, it's easy to get carried away with the ideas they contain, and it's important to step back and ask how they are relevant to you and your training. Are they just an interesting diversion or do they tell a story that affects you directly, if they leave you with questions then, like all things, make your own decisions on the answers.
I don't have any direct experience in dealing with large karate organisations or any of the big personalities behind them, and so have no axe to grind on this issue. However, I've been in the world long enough to have some grasp on the workings of any large organisation, and the political situations that invariably develop.
Although it seems to be looked on as a "dirty word" by some, "marketing" is what any successful organisation is about, (irrespective of it's motivations). Our product happens to be karate, and in order to "sell" it to the world at large you have to generate an image and a story, and justify why your product is better than the competition. This is a tried and tested method, and it works.
Much as many of us may find it distasteful, take the time to ask "where would our product be now without the past activities of these large organisations?" It would be like expecting the PC revolution to have taken off without the activities of Microsoft. (There's another can of worms for debate elsewhere!).
The real problems start when these organisations start to believe their own marketing hype, however, and expect their customer base to serve them rather than giving their customers what they want, or at least trying to convince them that this is what they want. As time goes by your customers become more educated and have different expectations, if you don't move with them, they'll stop buying what you're selling, (some sooner than others). This is the stage we've been going through in recent years.
On to the topic of the deconstructionalist cause.
So at some point some brave soul breaks ranks and attempts to speak out publicly, taking the stance, initially, of trying to get people to think for themselves, (sound familiar?).
You pick a subject that your audience is familiar with and say some deliberately contentious things in order to elicit a response and get some healthy debate going, in the hope that people will re-examine what they are buying.
This ought to be the first step in changing things for the better, but, you find your audience rapidly splits into three groups.
There are, (probably the smallest group), those who were already free thinkers, which is good, you can debate and test your ideas and be exposed to the thoughts of others, you may not always agree, but that was part of the point, (wasn't it?).
Then there are those who are so entrenched in the "company line" that, no matter what you say, will only ever fall back to their "official" position and totally refuse to consider any opposing view as valid. You have to constantly defend your position against these non-thinkers and become more convinced that your cause is just. There is a danger that this will lead you to attack their beliefs and debunk their ideas just because you can, without the hope of changing their minds. This is now just "negative marketing", explaining why such and such an organisation is evil and why you should abandon them, without offering a viable alternative. At this point the line has been crossed, I feel.
The third group are probably the most dangerous, they are the ones who, having not really listened to what you have to say, are persuaded by your arguments away from whatever path they were following and become effectively "disciples" of your cause, they have completely missed the point of what you were trying to achieve, but go on to spread the word about the evils of the establishment and how desperate the situation has become.
Conclusion,
Thank goodness for that, we all sigh! , (At least those who bothered to get this far).
My personal belief, (and this will sound a real "cop-out"), is that, like most things, the middle ground is probably where we need to be.
Those in the "large organisation" camp have NOT bought the wrong product, they may not be getting best value for money, and like many people who stick to big name brands may be missing out on some things. But it's a tried and tested product with back up and support, and they're happy.
There are also places to go for those who don't want to buy into the "big brand" label, they may get better value for money and access to the "latest thing", they exchange this for the lack of back up and support that a large established organisation offers and don't feel the need of the credibility offered by the "brand name". They are also happy.
Harmony and accord in all things are an excellent ideal, but karate people are no different, (in my experience), to anybody else and human nature doesn't work that way. The best we can hope is that we are allowed to follow our own path unmolested, and allow others to do likewise.
Karate is an excellent way to spend your time on both a physical and mental level, it has so much depth and so many possibilities that I don't believe that any one person has all the answers or that one lifetime is enough to acquire them, (even if it was, as soon as you get all the answers, all the questions will change anyway!).
But remember that karate is also there to get what you want out of it, if you want to train just as a hobby That's fine, if you consider it a vocation that's fine as well. We all train for our own reasons, not all of them deep and meaningful.
A point, I think, for many of the more senior karate-ka to consider when
politics comes to the fore, but one which no one seems to make, (probably
because most junior students have more sense than to stick their head
above the parapet!), is not everybody wants to debate the rights and wrongs
of the karate world, or is even aware of, or interested in, what goes on
outside their own dojo. I don't believe there is anything wrong with that
either.
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