If there is one aspect or specific area that I am trying to improve upon and impart to our members and students then it would be the philosophical side of our White Crane Boxing or Gongfu.
I personally feel that there are a plethora of systems “out there” that are only concerned with the concept of winning or worse yet, ‘kill, kill, kill” at all cost type of martial arts. Such approaches fail to take into consideration the moral, ethical and yes legal circumstances of defending oneself from possible attack.
They teach to strike first and to go for the throat, no mercy, keep on going until the opponent can no longer stand, continue or live, Kick “em” while their down and don’t stop until they are severely injured or dead!
What message do these arts give to their members or to society at large? Is this the right message to be imparting? Many in society and yes our communities see violence as something glamorous and empowering.
Its in our media and on our streets everyday. But should it be this way. Glorifying violence is not the way forward and winning over another often for the sake of the self-ego means that there is something fundamentally wrong within such a individual as a person.
A real fight is a terrifying thing, based on behavior. As humans, we all interact and react sadly most on a violent level. Real fights are behaviorally driven and behavior is learned and therefore can be changed.
Pre-emption strikes can be used when a threat arises but are not always the best path to go down. De-escalation of the situation through verbal and body actions should be encouraged before going down a path which is often hard to return from.
Ethically, morally and legally Its more advantageous to de-escalate a confrontation and avoid fighting if at all possible. Applying no attempt to defuse the possibility of a violent situation will raise the person’s guard, make him/her prepare themselves for a fight on a physiological level that may lead to and act of violence. And even if you win such a confrontation what have you really won? What about retribution against you or worse, your family?
It just may be that the person has had a bad day and who out of us hasn’t had one? There is enough darkness and despair in this world without us within the martial arts contributing to it.
The basic rules of Self Defence are avoidance, escape, de-escalation, and only if that does not work, then finally fight to escape. Its more often than not ego that calls out to defend honour that probably doesn’t need defending.
What worries me is the trend towards fighting for glory, ego and trophies. What I am seeing is a ever increasing group of angry people (young and old) walking around, some with weapons just waiting to get into a fight to satisfy their own short-comings as people, ready to lash out at anyone who approaches them or who in their minds has done something towards their egos. This is a very, very unhealthy and dangerous attitude to instill in people.
This is what the true martial arts are against. Such a bad attitude and loss of personal self-belief flies in the face of what the martial arts are truly all about. The arts should instill confidence and provide the person with the tools to avoid violence at all costs. They should plant the seed of personal self-growth within the individual that they can then take with them through life. This then is what our White Crane Martial Arts hopes to do for those who choose to study it. Making good people, better is our aim.
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