Plowing a Deep Furrow
By Master Doug Cook
Over the
course of the past two and a half decades, the martial arts community has
experienced inroads by several martial-oriented disciplines, some genuinely
rooted in traditional arts, others less so. In the early 1990’s Gracie
Jiu-Jitsu, a form of the ancient Japanese art refined by Brazil’s Gracie
family, dominated the burgeoning UFC competitions and became the defacto
self-defense standard of many police forces and military units. Shortly after,
the Tae Bo craze swept the nation with creator Billy Blanks motivating
thousands of weight-conscious men and women through a series of instructional
videos. Then, Mixed Martial Arts or MMA made its debut. With the exception of
the Gracie family’s contribution, many of these trends in non-traditional
martial arts and martial arts-related programs, have, or are likely to, reach
their apex and begin to fade into the background along with the general
public’s waning interest and a lack of appreciation for in-depth training. This
leads us to a point of self-examination concerning the unconditional commitment
required for excellence in the classical martial arts.
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Grandmaster Richard Chun and Master Doug Cook |
On
average, the Western mind is a questioning mind. It is also at times an
impatient mind. We as a culture are not content with unexplained actions but
frequently require detailed, verbal clarification for almost everything we do.
Moreover, we place great emphasis on variety with a plethora of choices at our
fingertips including the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and our wealth of
leisure time activities. And then there is the matter of respect for
contrasting worldviews coupled with a reverence for the traditions of the past.
Being insulated between two vast oceans and surrounded by friendly nations
sharing similar customs, many in America are frequently unaware regarding the
life styles of others. Compound this with the fact that we as a people presently
live in the midst of a technological revolution, the scope of which has never
been seen before,
and a picture begins to emerge portraying a society that is ambitious,
inquisitive and sophisticated, while at the same time often cynical, anxious
and mistrustful. Taken in sum, these attributes define our social character and
on a less overt level, have a direct bearing on the martial arts we tend to
popularize.
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Drilling deep into taekwondo poomsae |
Looking
back, most martial arts, including karate and taekwondo, were taught very
differently in the past than they are today. Venerable masters, both here and
abroad, would demonstrate techniques of varying complexity with a minimum of
explanation while worthy disciples quietly observed. The students would then
practice, mimicking their teacher without comment, until deemed proficient
enough to advance to the next level. Sometimes this took days, other times
weeks or months. Moreover, instruction in hyung or kata would be
limited to four or five forms over the course of the martial artist’s life
rather than the multitude required of a black belt today. Students were also
expected to display a commitment to the overarching philosophy and cultural
traditions that sanctioned or limited the use of hard-earned combat practices.
Furthermore, mastering these skills necessitated seemingly endless repetition
leaving no room for impatient protest. In short, martial artists of years gone
by were expected to cultivate a profound understanding of the mechanics,
purpose and consequences of the techniques they were gifted with by going deep
into their art rather than simply wide,thus leaving no room for
involvement with, or dilution by, potentially conflicting styles. This concept
was poetically articulated in Ryukyu Kempo Karate, a rare book written
in 1922 by Funakoshi Sensei (1868 – 1957), where he states:
"The old masters used to keep a narrow field
but plow a deep furrow. Present day students have a broad field but only plow a
shallow furrow."
This
viewpoint is further amplified when one takes into account Funakoshi’s
description of his nocturnal training sessions under Azato Sensei (1827-1906)
in his autobiography Karate-Do: My Way of Life. In it, he claims that
countless repetitions of a single kata were required by Azato nightly, for
months on end, almost to the point of humiliation.
Grandmaster
Richard Chun, too, in his fifth book Taekwondo Spirit and Practice: Beyond
Self-Defense, supports this notion as he depicts the early years of his
training under Grandmaster Chong Soo Hong at the famed Moo Duk Kwan (Institute
of Martial Virtue) in Seoul, South Korea:
“Our routine was very demanding and followed the
age-old traditions of taekwondo masters. Every few days, our master
demonstrated a specific technique to the students without taking any questions
or giving any explanation. We simply observed. Our usual practice session,
then, consisted of executing that technique two or three hundred times a day.”
How then
does this principle apply today given the general public’s expectations
concerning modern martial arts like MMA that tend to sample many styles and
cultures?
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Karate practice at Shuri Castle |
Without a doubt, a sincere
practice of the traditional martial arts demands unyielding discipline,
perseverance, patience, and the acceptance of philosophical doctrines often
foreign to the Western mind. Subsequently, given our modern approach to living
overshadowed by a desire for diversity, we can see how these conditions might
be compromised.
Remaining steadfast to a single discipline such as taekwondo or karate, rather
than becoming involved in the amalgam of styles evident in MMA, requires an
uncommon commitment and focus. Clearly, the attraction of switching from a
takedown found in Japanese judo to a kick featured in Thai kickboxing, may hold
a fascination for many. But, at least in my estimation, we may be short
changing ourselves by not interrogating a single, traditional art to its core,
finding that there is much more to discover beneath the surface than initially
meets the eye.
One of my students once
said, following a particularly demanding training session, that:
“There is no elevator to the top floor of
traditional taekwondo; instead it is a walk-up with many flights of stairs.”
In short,
in order to gain pronounced proficiency in their chosen art, the student must
immerse themselves in deep training to the point where they realize that
everything they do is part of practice rather than accepting the erroneous
perception that practice is a limited part of their life.
Choosing
to study MMA or any other martial-related form of exercise in and of itself is
not necessarily off the mark. Rather, an attraction to these styles dovetails
nicely with the general public’s expectations of the martial arts as seen on
television and the cinema and given the hectic schedules entertained by most
people today, they offer a convenient method of becoming involved with the
martial arts in the first place. Yet, to the practitioner seeking a holistic
understanding of a single martial art that includes embracing the culture from
which it is drawn, plowing a deep furrow rather than one that is wide,
should be the obvious course to take.
Thank you, Master
Cook for this excellent article! Readers are encouraged to check out Master
Cook’s first article for us
Master
Doug Cook, 6th dan black
belt, is head instructor of the Chosun Taekwondo Academy located in Warwick,
New York, a senior student of Grandmaster Richard Chun, and author of four
best-selling books entitled: Taekwondo…Ancient Wisdom for the Modern Warrior,
Traditional Taekwondo - Core Techniques, History and Philosophy, Taekwondo–A
Path to Excellence, and Taekwondo Black Belt Poomsae: Original Koryo and
Koryo, co-authored with Grandmaster Chun along with its companion DVD.
Master Cook can be reached for Korea tours, seminars, workshops or questions at
www.chosuntkd.com or info@chosuntkd.com.
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