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I
was probably hit hard with the danger
myth for the very first time through the
eager eyes of a 7-year-old child.
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After
a kids introductory class some 20 odd years
ago (boy, how time flies when you're having
fun!), we were doing our mandatory session
of questions and answers. By then I
thought I'd heard it all, but was I ever
wrong...
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This
bright young lad - surely coming from a
home with furniture, hot meals, two caring
parents, pets and pictures on the walls -
held his tiny, waiving hand in the air.
Then, with a firm (and may I add LOUD) voice
he asked me: "When will we learn how
to kill"?
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Thinking
back I can't for the life of me remember
exactly what I answered the little "future
hit man", but I'm quite confident that
I needed a few moments to reflect on that
... and trying hard not to laugh :-)
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So,
I probably brushed it away, and said something
like: "Oh, that takes many, many years.
You see, not even all the black belts knows
that. It's a secret." At least, I did
not have the heart to crush the danger myth
for him.
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And
before the "killer-bee" or any
of his buddies could throw in the obvious
follow-up questions: "Do you know how
to kill?", or "What's the deadliest
style of martial arts?", I did
the only sensible thing ... run for the
hills. Or, it was probably the more mundane
Mother of All Distractions, a counter-question
about something totally different all together
- something the kids love to do or talk
about. Works like a charm 9 times out of
10 :-)
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Since
that day I have had the misfortune of having
to deal with the danger myth issue
many times over. The mystery cards have
been played me as a teacher and a
student, as well as a private person off
the mat.
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Most
of the times it comes down to people getting
this funny expression when the learn you
have "the ultimate deadly weapon"
- a black belt. And when they learn that
you have (in their eyes) several lethal
martial arts levels attached to that belt, you
wonder if some invisible ninja snuck
up an hit them with a death touch technique.
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How
does it feel to be a lethal weapon?:
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Even
today, there's this almost religious belief
that anyone sporting a black belt can kill
you in (pick a number) *47* different ways.
And if you been doing this stuff for many
years, then boy, oh boy - you have
GOT to be a mean killing machine!
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Around
our parts of the vast budo playground we
have this martial arts dude who, seriously,
claims he can not look you in the eyes.
Why? Wait for it ... Because he's afraid
that his skilled and lethal stare will
kill you :-) Talk about having "killer
looks"!
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Or
how about this young teenager that flat
out refused to train with a teacher friend
of mine. And what was the reason, you say?
Bad breath or funny body odour? No, it
turns out his father had told him that in
our style you had a specific number of deadly
ways to hit someone - dim mak anyone?
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When
the 'blackbeltness' fades:
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Anyone
who's sporting a black belt will tell you
the same thing - the belt means almost nothing
really. It's just a grade for crying out
loud! Yes, it's a great achievement; and
yes, it's cool; and sure, mum and dad are
very proud; and definitely, it took a while
to get there.
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But
this massive, almost god-like voice
coming from somewhere up above: "Congratulations
my son, you are now officially a registered
lethal weapon. You are hereby free go
out and be a mean looking SOB!"
- did you ever hear that? No? Me neither.
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To
the contrary, and without exception, we
soon get a reality check. That is, if we
continue to progress and work out. Unfortunately,
a lot of folks "retire" when
they achieve a black belt level ("I
did it, now I can resign!"). And some
of those may perhaps be lured to suck in
to their lethal skills in their own "street-approved",
combat tested, larger than life, deadliest
style of martial arts.
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The
rest of us? Well we soon find that there
are people - heck, someone even WITHOUT
a black belt - that effortlessly and repeatedly
kicks our furry behinds like there is no
tomorrow. Most of the time it is enough
to encounter someone from a different style,
or spar under different rules, or having
to confront a real fighter. Not to mention,
guess what happens when you try to sport
your 'blackbeltness' in a self-defense situation...
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Trying
to use the "don't touch me, I'm a black
belt in karate (feel free to pick any style
here)!", will probably lead to a giant
portion of pain and suffering - at best.
Dude (or lady), the "right" people
don't care one inch if you have multiple
black belts in lethal martial arts.
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You
are probably - in their eyes there
and then - an opponent, a nobody, someone
to walk over. And if your teachers haven't
taught you to function properly
under those conditions - then you'd better
be prepared to be run over!
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Is
it all a danger myth then?:
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Of
course there are techniques and methods
within most of the martial arts that can
be potentially dangerous. They are by design
meant to inflict pain and injury.
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But
what we tend to forget is that to be able
to apply this "mortal knowledge",
then we have to do just that - not kill,
of course, but apply. Not only that,
but apply against resisting/non-compliant
opponents. We need to apply our skills under
a vast number of changing conditions,
time and time again! Just doing your katas
or your sparring means very little, if nothing.
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What
I'm trying to say is that any martial art,
any combat style, any fighting method can
be "effective", "lethal"
or "dangerous" in the hands of
someone who knows how to apply it properly.
And properly does not only mean in a mechanical,
technical sense.
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You
will need the ability to combat a number
of psychological, cognitive, emotional and
physiological reactions and processes ("stress"),
fear, doubt, the unknown, the unpredicted, a
motivated and maybe also skilled opponent,
possible weapons, retaliation, unknown
territory, slippery grounds, hard surface,
being alone, different lighting conditions,
anger, real aggression, tight fitting clothes,
heavy shoes, law, moral and ethical implications
and so much more. The list goes on and on.
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Searching
for the easy solutions:
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I
suppose it all somehow boils down to people
desperately wanting to believe there is
an easy answer to it all - something that
involves no sweat, pain and suffering. So,
we go online and search for "death
touch", dim mak, "secret ninja
skills" and what have you not. We probably
need to believe in this danger myth.
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There's
something else also. I guess a lot of people really
want to have this image of the super-natural
individual. Someone almost divine, a warrior,
a person with the ability to inflict grievous
bodily harm with one finger -
while sipping green tea, chatting on the
phone or taking out the garbage.
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Deep
down there's something really sad and depressing
with the fact that so many people want to
find a short-cut that simply does not exist.
Just as there are no "get rich quick"
schemes, there are no deadliest style of
martial arts. The danger myth is just that
- a myth.
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The
biggest danger is the fact that so many
buys into this danger myth, searching for
a way to avoid many years of sweat and pain
to achieve something.
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And
you know what, the biggest let-down of them
all is that you will probably learn that
this "something" you achieve is
peace of mind, a more relaxed attitude,
friendliness, openness and respect for all
living life. How's that for a danger myth
being busted?
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Want
more? Why not drop by at squidoo.com/deadliest-style-of-martial-arts?
I would love to hear your opinion on the
danger myth there!
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