Inspirational for me

Michael O Leary

Hi Folks,

Having just looked at the thread on Judo where respect was paid to some of the old"er" guys who still train hard at more of an advanced age I was reminded of one of the most inspirational documentries on martial arts for me. It was on discovery channel about a year or two and was about the Japanese martial art of Kendo and its practitioners.

What really impressed me was that their martial art was deeply ingrained into their culture in the way that maybe GAA is ingrained into Irish culture even if you are not into it yourself. I think that maybe all of us when we mention to other people that we do martial arts that we get a bit of a funny reaction. Even if people are being nice they seem to have a preconcieved idea of what martial arts is all about whereas in Japan it is just seen as something that you do especially Kendo which is standardised and taught as part of the school system.

The other thing that impressed me was the sheer dedication of the practioners. There was one guy, a policeman who used to train every morning in the police (Kendo) gym and who was either taking part in a competition or was going for his next grading. His child was terminally ill and the childs wish was that before he died that his father would be successful in the competition/grading. How is that for pressure? Needless to say his father was successful.

The documentary also showed another guy who was about 80 years old and who was going for his 11th dan and who was really nervous about it. There was no such thing as an honourary grade. Either he was good enough or he wasn't. So even though he was a 10th dan master he still went to other schools to learn and to seek help in achieving his goal. I thought that this was great and the fact that he constantly tried to improve himself by getting down and sweating with the kids.

For me the constant attempt to improve as a martial artist and ultimately as a person was very motivating and I would love to think that when I am 80 I would still have the same attitude, passion and dedication. (Only 45 years to go )

Did anyone else see it or does anyone have any thoughts?

Regards all,

Michael O'Leary
www.wingtsun-escrima.ie

pma-ire

Michael O Leary wrote:

Hi Folks,

Having just looked at the thread on Judo where respect was paid to some of the old"er" guys who still train hard at more of an advanced age I was reminded of one of the most inspirational documentries on martial arts for me. It was on discovery channel about a year or two and was about the Japanese martial art of Kendo and its practitioners.

What really impressed me was that their martial art was deeply ingrained into their culture in the way that maybe GAA is ingrained into Irish culture even if you are not into it yourself. I think that maybe all of us when we mention to other people that we do martial arts that we get a bit of a funny reaction. Even if people are being nice they seem to have a preconcieved idea of what martial arts is all about whereas in Japan it is just seen as something that you do especially Kendo which is standardised and taught as part of the school system.

The other thing that impressed me was the sheer dedication of the practioners. There was one guy, a policeman who used to train every morning in the police (Kendo) gym and who was either taking part in a competition or was going for his next grading. His child was terminally ill and the childs wish was that before he died that his father would be successful in the competition/grading. How is that for pressure? Needless to say his father was successful.

The documentary also showed another guy who was about 80 years old and who was going for his 11th dan and who was really nervous about it. There was no such thing as an honourary grade. Either he was good enough or he wasn't. So even though he was a 10th dan master he still went to other schools to learn and to seek help in achieving his goal. I thought that this was great and the fact that he constantly tried to improve himself by getting down and sweating with the kids.

For me the constant attempt to improve as a martial artist and ultimately as a person was very motivating and I would love to think that when I am 80 I would still have the same attitude, passion and dedication. (Only 45 years to go )

Did anyone else see it or does anyone have any thoughts?

Regards all,

Michael O'Leary
www.wingtsun-escrima.ie

I think I've seen it before??

It was on a longtime ago??

Your comment about MA's in asia and the GAA here is very true!

It is even more apt when looking at the role Taekwondo has in South Korea as a national sport and part of the Korean identity. Like the GAA it was mashed into it's current form using historical stories of the history of the country while turning it's back on it's real Japanese Karate roots.

The Gaelic League wrote to the then Bishop of dublin for suggestions of sports that could be used to identify the Irish people.

He suggested some kind of ball game using the hands and feet that would look different to the British game of football and tiddily winks!! As he thought that the stories of hurling in the Irish fable hero stories were far to violent for a country to adopt as a national sport!!

pearsquasher

Yep I saw that doc too and found it facinating on many levels but not particularly inspirational. I thought it rather sad that the guy felt he'd let his dying son down if he didn't win or pass his kendo exam. In fact I really thought it was quite warped and felt he was better off being with his son than on the mats. I was more inspired by the older gentleman who took up kendo after he retired from his job at an old age as he clearly enjoyed himself and was a hell of a lot more happier and free-spirited than the younger guy.

Pro. F

Ye i saw that documentary. 'twas well good. a great guide to kendo for me. i love the total concentration and commitment to the action when they're fighting.

i'd agree with pearsquasher - the cop didn't seem to have a good balance between family and training (as far as i remember). but who am i to judge.

i'd forgotten what dan the 80 year old guy was going for. i just remember that he was working on improving, asking advice all around. he acted as if he had it all to learn - talk about humble :eek: