« Why does it suddenly seem like everyone cares about the homosexual issue? | Main | Who Says There's No Good News? »
June 7, 2014
Kung Fu’s Identity Crisis
Across China, the number of martial artists like Li—people in their late 30s and 40s who hold the flame of an ancient tradition—is shrinking fast. A lucky few operate martial arts schools full of students, but the majority have day jobs as security guards, physical education teachers, truck drivers, and bodyguards.Roads & Kingdoms
Posted by gerardvanderleun at June 7, 2014 1:39 PM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.
Your Say
The most successful martial arts move I have seen is the hard punch in the face.
Posted by: chasmatic at June 7, 2014 6:02 PM
Anything that barks here and bites there is superior to wrecking your hands.
Posted by: Vermont Woodchuck at June 8, 2014 5:49 AM
True enough, but a malfunction that you can't clear results in you holding a .40 caliber paperweight. I've seen it happen, on ranges, under ideal conditions. Best to have something for backup that doesn't jam and can't be taken from you. Martial arts training can also help develop a clear-thinking mindset in dangerous situations. Like most other things in life, you get out of it what you put into it.
Posted by: waltj at June 8, 2014 8:30 AM
Martial arts is fine for discipline and acquiring some blows and throws; kind of like having pepper spray, better than nothing.
Having a combat mindset and an S & W revolver has kept me alive so far and with my age and physical limitations I am not so eager to hop around kung fu'ing anymore.
Posted by: chasmatic at June 8, 2014 9:08 AM
Exactly. A little extra insurance doesn't hurt. "Better than nothing" could be enough to keep you alive.
Posted by: waltj at June 8, 2014 11:55 AM
My character - the core values that contain morals, self-esteem, regard for others, any social or fraternal interaction - I call the "Inside Job". As such the disciplines of the martial arts address much more than the moves. A heightened awareness will keep me from getting into a situation where I have to "shoot my way out" and it will serve me if levels of force are necessary.
I have been involved in lethal force encounters and I believe it was my mindset and the Grace of God that saw me through. As I get older and now with the onset of cancer, the thrill is gone; killing and death do not appeal to me as they did when I was young (and more foolish). The incidents have left me with, um, not a bitter taste, but no desire to add more to my memory. Visions or dreams visit me from time to time; they never really go away.
Having said all that, I would not hesitate to do whatever is necessary to stop a threat.
Posted by: chasmatic at June 8, 2014 12:36 PM
I had my mind made up about Kung Fu when a team of kung fu champs were obliterated in the ring by a team of Thai kickboxers. back in the late '70s, early '80s.
Posted by: Don Rodrigo at June 9, 2014 9:28 AM