The times they are a changing

 

 Times have changed incredibly fast over the years.

 

I can remember when there were very, very few books on the martial arts. At that time the karate magazines and their letters pages were more like the internet.

 

At that time karate was what your instructor told you karate was. Then I began to additionally train with very, very skilled others and a different vision emerged.

 

Then video tape became available, and selling karate video tapes began. I remember when Goju folks talked mysteriously about Superimpe but never showed it. Then a video version was sold by Panther and I got one, which led to a small disillusionment for me. It was not what my imagination assumed it might me. Not it wasn’t a fine form, but I had imagined something else (I guess after learning a ton of Northern Chinese forms I thought it would be something different than it was.)

 

Then PCs and email, where you actually wrote to each other, just like letters.

 

Then the internet, and YahooGroups, I began on the getting between Pat McCarthy and Jim Keenan of the original Isshinryu list, they were shouting about a translation/mis-translation on the Bubishi (then new) McCarthy the author, Jim a Translator Isshinryuy/Tai Chi/Baqua/Krav Maga stylist, I got involved shouting it was wrong for seniors to behave so in public. Of course I had no idea what discussion on the internet was like.

 

Later I joined the Cyberdojo on YahooGroups, Again in 2000 Patrick McCarthy was having a heated discussion with George Donahue, and George handed him his head as he didn’t realize George was raised in Japan/Okinawa, and was trained by the Kashiba brothers among others.

 

I just found that lengthy discussion (I kept the hard copy) and so different the discussion in degree from what Facebook is today.

Things kept changing from YahooGroup discussions, to dvd’s, to YahooGroups, to Facebook. Some things are better, There is far less discussion in depth, more discussion light. Less chance where people have a chance to grow what they understand.

 

With all the bells and whistles today, it is also extremely less.

Martial publications have certain characteristics (in no particular order)

1. Most of them are one time vanity productions, Designed to fill a need, and make an immediate profit for the producer. Not to be sold on a continuing basis.

2. Anything once in print becomes ‘truth’ liable to be repeated over and over in future authors works, And having been in print becomes a useful footnote.

3. There is little verifiable martial history that is published in most books.

That does not mean the oral history is wrong, just unverifiable.

4. And reality is that there are multiple histories based on differing viewpoints which have become realities for those students.

Working out which details are’ truth’ becomes a very complicated endeavor.

Take one real event in time, the Battle of Gettysburg from the American Civil War.

Literally thousands of books have been published to explain what occurred on those 3 days, and many more books are to be published in the future, for sure.

If one 3 day period generates so much publication, why would you believe any martial system would be less complicated to understand.

Not suggesting it should not be done, just there will be other points of view no matter what effort is made.