Martial arts is a dying art?

Montana · Red Belt

I'm retired now due to medical reasons, but I was a student of Shorin Ryu Matsumura Kenpo under that late Kuda Yuichi. Although I only competed once in a tournament, I enjoyed judging and refereeing them for over 25 years. I judged empty hand kata, weapons, just about everything except breaking (buncha crap IMO).

Last month I had an opportunity to judge again at an open tournament locally, and boy, was I DISAPPOINTED in what I was seeing! There were a few really good (IMO) martial artists with great technique, but I'd say that 90% of what I was seeing, whether student or sensei, SUCKED!

No power, bad stances, sloppy, SLOPPY technique, and just plain incompetence!

Are the arts dead???
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Zaine · Black Belt

Certainly not. Not every practitioner and sensei can be good, the numbers just don't account for it. This is normal. There has always been, and always will be, schools that don't uphold a certain standard of excellence that others might. Is it unfortunate? Absolutely. In a perfect world, this wouldn't be the case. I would love to see every school doing its absolute best to make sure that the students got a quality, practical education.

I wouldn't take your experience as the norm. There will always be schools and students who don't give their all. This just makes those that do give their all shine all the brighter.
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Montana · Red Belt

I understand that, it just seemed, after a 15 year absense, that what I was seeing was really, really bad, including from the sensei's. Total lack of power and good technique. There were a lot of people doing "sword" kata. Horrible was the first thing that came to mind.
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If you don't want to stand behind our troops, please..feel free to stand in front of them.

Student since January 1975---4th Dan, retired due to non-martial arts related injuries.

Wastelander · KF Sensei

I don't think that traditional martial arts are dead, or even dying, but they are absolutely undergoing a divergence, and I think that we have reached a point where some approaches to the arts simply don't qualify as traditional/classical martial arts, anymore.

Some are emphasizing aesthetic over all else. They may have fine looking kata, but no purpose or intent behind their movements.

Some are emphasizing victory in competition over all else, and losing all of the curriculum that doesn't directly support that. Depending on the competition they train for, some aspects may be incredibly sloppy, or simply not present, at all.

Some are emphasizing the discipline and personal development aspects of the arts, and remove the practical aspects, which often removes the functional intent and allows for form to suffer.

Some are still trying to pass on the arts with practical functionality as the goal. In some cases, this will result in somewhat ugly performances, but the fundamental structures and mechanics should be sound, otherwise the movements and postures would not be able to work.
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sensei8 · KF Sensei

The martial arts aren't dead. What's dead is said practitioners executing of said techniques effectively. The martial arts shouldn't be blamed whatsoever, nonetheless, the practitioner most definitely should be.

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**Proof is on the floor!!!

DarthPenguin · Purple Belt

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