A military instructor who was concerned that his students' lack of precision and lack of attention to detail would jeopardize their safety in battle, asked his platoon to follow him across a field, and to do only what he did. Half way across he told them that they were in the middle of a mine field and that they had only two ways to get out: They could follow exactly their footprints back out or follow exactly in his footprints to get across. Needless to say, the platoon was very motivated to pay attention to the exact detail of where he placed his feet.
This is not a new lesson of course; we have heard it in our training halls since the martial arts came to this country: "If you have to cross a minefield, shouldn't you follow exactly in the footsteps of those who have been there and survived?"
This is what I call "flying a kite." A kite lifts and soars on the wind only until the string breaks or is let go, then it crashes sooner or later. It may cover many miles on its way down, but down it is coming. The string in our case is tradition, the use of past successes to survive and overcome new difficulties.
Tradition really does have the value of keeping us centered and safe in many situations and frees us from having to repeat the mistakes of the past. If you break the connection with tradition, you are at the mercy of the wind and with no internal ability of your own, soon crash. It is the pressure of the wind, new fads and ideas, held back by tradition, that allows the kite to soar.
Nevertheless, our scenario begs for a question to be asked, "But what if your enemy has come in the night and moved the mines in the minefield so as to create a trap for your platoon?" The answer to this question I call "flying like a bird." New situations demand creative answers. Everyone wants to be a bird, not a kite, because birds seem to be free to choose, and we worship freedom today over heaven, as naturally as sparks fly upward. In fact, the freedom a bird has by not being held back by the string of tradition is not just the freedom to explore but the freedom to make mistakes.
If the mines have been moved, then the person who is the best at a new method of mine detection is to be followed, not the old leader. But no one should follow too closely until he proves himself, since they may just go up with him. Without traditions we are doomed to endlessly repeat the mistakes of the past, dying foolishly in the name of freedom.
We all know a wild adolescent, impetuous, fun, lively, crazy and willing to try anything. We also worry that he just may not survive the next wild thing they try. We try to guide him with our traditions but his world is a new place so we also try to allow him the freedom to create the best answer to his life's new problems.
The martial arts can be seen to be in an adolescent stage in North America. Our penchant for freedom has created problems for the old masters who know the value of 'kite flying,' but it has also brought a creative atmosphere to many systems. Growth means change, life means change.
The Japanese samurai are the epitome of the traditionalist spirit but in their last great effort to regain control of Japan called the Satsuma rebellion, their swords were defeated by a smaller number of peasants armed with guns. Did the guns win the war? Not at all. The win was attributed to the unthought of fact that the peasants displayed the fighting, spirit and tenacity of the best Samurai tradition! Tradition and flexibility; kite and bird.
No person acts only like a kite or a bird, sometimes we trust tradition and a conservative approach to see us through, and sometimes we are creative and break free of tradition because the rules don't apply any more. So let us not scorn others of different traditions or new ideas. Let us also not rush into mine fields with no thought or study of the problems.
Some of the mines before us in the field are the current fads and changes happening in the martial arts scene as a whole: commercialism run rampant over honest value, Hollywood becoming the definition of the spirit of the martial arts, the proliferation of tough guy (little or no training needed) matches labeled as martial arts contests, the advertising of aerobic martial arts as a 'fighting skill,' and concerns about the proliferation of so-called masters without proper credentials.
Traditionally, false masters were
hurt too badly to continue. But creative thinking may have to be applied
because this old traditional string has been broken and the field is open
to charlatans of all nationalities.
Click here to return to
artlcle's list
-- -- -- -- --
Ted Truscott
The Fighting Old Man
pub6.ezboard.com/btheseniorscommunity.html
http://www.pacificcoast.net/~ttruscott/
Back to articles page