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IMO age is a factor and although not a sole indicator of suitability it is useful to have been through a section of life and understand how the body ages, how attitudes and priorities change. It also gives time to mellow and be focussed on the bigger picture and less on the self. If along the way you have a family and experience the joy of raising children, these skills also come in useful when teaching. The skill set developed is not just technical skills in the martial art of choice, it is much broader.
With Bruce Lee and other high performing physical martial artists, they are respected for what they are and will attract similar minded people. Many will be young too.
However, we have a full life to live and the true 'teacher' for me, is one who understands how to motivate the most out of me and understands what I need and what is realistic to expect. It will be these teachers who enable me to continue to develop my martial arts into my late years and not a physical performer, necessarily.
It is not my intention to discredit young athletes and thinkers like Bruce Lee, I have a lot of time for what he achieved, but to open the picture up to life as a whole and not a short-term athletic phase that we all go through. It would indeed be interesting to talk to Bruce Lee if he were still alive today and see how his attitudes have changed.. he added a lot to the generic martial arts and I often think of his catch phrases like 'act like water', 'the best style is no style' and 'don't think feel'.. :)
These are but opinions and when you reach 50, I will be dead but would also be interesting to open this discussion up again.. :0
Stay well and enjoy life.
-----Original Message-----I have to disagree with certain points of this argument. I think it is
From: KOJF@yahoogroups.com [mailto:KOJF@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of mindkiller05
Sent: 06 December 2005 22:13
To: KOJF@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [KOJF] Re: Titles and age?
impossible to set a certain age limit on comprehension. Take driving for
instance. Law dictates that at sixteen you can get your drivers liscense
but you might not be ready to drive. If you say that fifty is a good age
when a student begins to truly understand martial art then you set
another subjective limit. Yes, perhaps it takes the majority of people fifty
years to reach a certain level of understanding but this sets limitations
on those that do not require such time. Look at Bruce Lee, if you have
read many of his works then you can see that it did not take him fifty
years to understand. He said himself, "when I began martial art a kick
was just a kick and a punch was just a punch, when I learned martial
art a kick was no longer a kick and a punch was no longer a punch,
when I mastered martial art a kick was just a kick and a punch was just
a punch." He understood more than just the technique, but also
application and the philosophy behind technique. To say that one has to
reach fifty years of age or a certain amount of training is a
generalization, it may be true for many but not for all.
I may see this differently. I am only eighteen years old (don't think I am
calling myself a master please, I would never presume to do so and will
not do so for many years to come.) and have been studying since I was
about seven in different styles. But that is merely my opinion on the
subject.
Sincerely,
Patrie Davis
--- In KOJF@yahoogroups.com, "Malcolm" <malcolm.bates@m...>
wrote:
>
> Holley Sensei
> Well put... if only more people took the line of 'its only my view' there
> would be less aggression and violence in our world.
>
> I too feel that 50 is a good time to start really understanding. It is not
> just years of training or association with the arts, its more than that
IMO.
> Maybe one of the few benefits of age.
>
> Regards
>
> Malcolm Bates
> UK
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: KOJF@yahoogroups.com [mailto:KOJF@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of Dwight
> Holley
> Sent: 05 December 2005 21:05
> To: KOJF@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [KOJF] Titles and age?
>
>
> To answer DaCosta sensei's question I would say from experience
and
> personally having met and trained under several "Hanshi" They are
> all ranked from Japan directly either by the Dai Nippon Butokukai or
> from the direct family decendants of the Ryuha they taught, i.e.
> John Sells Hanshi who was promoted to 8th dan and given the title of
> Hanshi by K. Mabuni of Seito Shito Ryu Karate-do who is the late son
> of the founder of Shito Ryu. These men as I have learned or come to
> understand are all above the age of 50 with well over 40 yrs of
> practice(practice) and study. They study and practice a legitimate
> Ryuha and teach it in that manner. They also understand that it is
> only a "teaching grade" or "honorific title" and do not look at it
> as a "Master's master" as our population might typically tend to
> do. I would say that in 99.999% of the time anyone under the age of
> 50 claiming such a title and or claiming the founding of their own
> style does not truly understand the art of Karate-do and shouldn't
> claim to. After training and meeting men like Ritsuke Otake of Japan
> (classified as a National Cultural Treasure of Japan by the Imperial
> Family)I find it hard to support such people. In my own city there
> is a man who claims 10th Dan in 5 systems of martial arts and having
> created his own version of Tai Chi Chaun. Laughable. But then as my
> friend in Japan says to me..Kazuya Mitani sensei..."it is only my
> view."
>
>
>
>
>
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