 We had an interesting newbie walk into our club the other week which made me think about how people outside of the world of martial arts perceive us. By the way he spoke to our instructor, I knew he wasn’t going to last more than a couple of lessons. It wasn’t that he was rude but the question he asked that set the alarm bells ringing. When he addressed our very reasonable and down to earth instructor (who is obviously a black belt) he asked, “What would you do if you met a black belt in kickboxing?” To which my instructor sharply replied, “How would I know and why would I care?” Which was absolutely right as, how would you know if he/she was indeed a black belt in anything unless they were actually wearing the belt, and even if they were, why would anyone assume that another fellow martial artist would automatically start fighting with them? As my instructor put it, “We are hardly going to break out in a fully choreographed scrap in the fruit and veg section of Tescos.” This led me to think further about how people outside of the martial arts community perceive us in what we do, why we do it and what we are capable of.
Media Portrayal
The first place that people will most likely encounter the martial arts is through films or television. De Marco in an article entitled. ‘The Importance of Martial Arts Research and Practice’ writes of a, “common perception of the martial arts largely obtained through the mass media – an entertainment industry strongly based more on creative fantasy than concrete fact.” Nowadays, we are bombarded with visions of acrobatic high kicking heroes and heroines who defeat armies of foes with highly stylised set pieces. Of course, most rational people can tell that these are not real and usually not humanly possible but what is interesting are the ideas they give people of which techniques are effective and when you can use them.
The other night I found myself watching Jason Statham’s martial antics in his film ‘The Transporter’ armed only with his manly chest and a cardigan. Whilst doing battle in a narrow corridor I was taken aback by him finishing off two bad guys with a jumping split kick. I’ve seen this technique done in films a few times now and as I am sure Mr Statham has not practised Taekwondo for the ten years or so that it takes to master such a kick, one can assume this kick was performed using a wire.
The Split Kick
One of the reasons I’ve highlighted this technique is that I’ve seen this kick performed for real by two of the most senior members of my club. One was at a demonstration where the instructor who had been training for about 15 years performed a jumping split kick and managed to break a wooden board with one of his feet. The other was in class when our chief instructor, in a fit of madness and a desire to see me on my backside yet again, decided to spend a lesson doing this kick. Again, it was another instructor who also happens to be on the British team who managed it (I did a very good imitation of Morecome and Wise, were they to take up Taekwondo) but as impressive as it is that some of the real martial artists I know can perform this impossible kick for real, without the aid of a wire, when I asked them about its application they admitted that by and large the split kick is actually fairly useless.
Its original application was most likely to knock someone off a horse but in a modern self defence scenario, you would be much better off kicking someone in the shins and poking them in the eye. However, this wouldn’t look very impressive or heroic on screen so by and large, what you see in these choreographed martial set pieces are complete fantasy and unlikely to be used in a modern training hall, for either self defence or competition. Fun to watch though!
Famous Martial Artists
When I asked people I knew who were not martial artists what they thought about martial arts, the name they uttered without exception was Bruce Lee. It is his image, and also to a certain extent Jet Li’s name, that non martial artists associate when asked to conjure images of martial arts. This is quite some feat for Mr Lee considering he has been dead for the past thirty three years but it does show his profound influence on people’s perceptions of martial arts and what can and cannot be achieved by the human body. What it also brought to light were some of the urban myths attributed with being an expert or master in martial arts and the qualities that are associated with being a black belt.
Jonathan Maberry in his article ‘Myths and Misconceptions’ captures the idea of challenging the misconceptions of the superhuman martial artist when he describes Lee as, “an ordinary man subject to the same weaknesses and medical frailties as anyone.” Although Bruce Lee was an expert in his art, he wasn’t surrounded by a protective shield and was subject to the same stresses and illnesses as any other. He was human and therefore not indestructible, as is anyone else. By practising a martial art and even gaining your black belt you can be assaulted, scared and even sued; there is nothing superhuman or impervious to us. By our very existence we are as human and suffer the same human frailties as the rest of the population.
Black Belts
One of the most universal awards associated with martial arts is that of the black belt. The vast majority of martial arts have this award as the benchmark level of attainment and it is also the most recognisable but the mistake most non martial artists have of the black belt, or 1st Dan grade, is that you are a master in your art. My dictionary describes a black belt as, “worn by an instructor or expert.” In actual fact, within my Taekwondo association, you cannot gain the status of master until you are a 7th Dan, which takes at least thirty years to reach. Even When you have gained that all important 1st Dan, you are still considered an advanced beginner, after all, you will have only been practising Taekwondo for a minimum of three and a half years. My instructor put this well when he described gaining your black belt as completing your apprenticeship but with a whole world of Taekwondo to learn and experience.
Personally, I’ve always found it quite entertaining when I read the attribute of the colour black within ITF Taekwondo as being ‘impervious to darkness.’ So I guess that when I (touch wood) gain my black belt next April, I will automatically cease to have a phobia of snakes as currently the prospect of seeing the film, ‘Snakes on a Plane’ is not a fun one! However, as Bob Orlando points out in his article, ’Black Belt, what is it and what does it represent?’ he describes the black belt as, “only as good as the training that went into it, the standards that were met to earn it and the instructor who awarded it.” This is absolutely true as one cannot gauge the actual level of competence of someone wearing a black belt as within the various martial arts associations there are no mutual standard levels of what constitutes a 1st Dan. It also relies on the honesty and endeavour of the individual as illustrated by one of my more irritating colleagues who said, “I don’t know why you bother, I’d just go out and buy one [black belt] myself.” Unfortunately, this is correct as there is absolutely nothing stopping anyone from doing this and therefore we have to rely on the integrity of the black belt holder that this is their actual grade and that this was awarded to them by a reputable martial arts association.
Personal Reactions
On a more personal level, what I’ve always found quite interesting are the reactions people have when they find out that I practise a martial art. One of the most common and boring lines I hear is, “well, I won’t mess with you then” to which the usual sharp reply is, “why would you want to?” Yet the majority of people I know have the ‘good for you’ attitude, particularly as I am female and petite in stature. However, what I do often encounter, especially in the über-politically correct world of education that I work in, is the automatic assumption and distain for violence. Well, yes, martial arts do ultimately have their basic roots in combative activity but unfortunately, war and aggression is part of human nature; you only have to switch on the news to see that. People (even school teachers!) who practise a martial art don’t necessarily have an overly aggressive nature, in fact most martial arts schools would be horrified to receive a violent student and preach the absolute opposite, but perhaps acknowledge that violence is part of the human experience and therefore are taking steps to defend themselves from that. Oh yes, and that their local martial arts club is a good place to make friends and get fit as well. I often have to point out to colleagues at work that although I may have suffered the odd bruise and one small black eye, what I am doing is actually much safer than playing rugby or hockey, where I have been witness to many nasty injuries in the first aid room at school.
On the other hand as much as I am not a violent nutter, neither am I as passive and ultimately calm as people assume Mr Miyagi from ‘The Karate Kid’ or David Carradine in ‘Kung Fu’ is either. Just as I think of myself as a temperate person, I am also subject to the odd bad mood as well with one friend describing me as “about as Zen as Basil Fawlty”. In other words, I’m normal and although I practise a martial art, I’m also a human being as is every other person who trains in their art, be they a white belt starting their first lesson to icons such as Bruce Lee and Jet Li.
Bibliography
DeMarco, M, taken from ‘Journal of Asian Martial Arts’ (2000 Volume 9 No. 2) “The Importance of Martial Arts Research and Practice”
Maberry, J, taken from ‘Black Belt Magazine’ (2006 Volume 44 No. 1) “Myths and Misconceptions”
Orlando, B, taken from ‘Black Belt Magazine’ (July 2001), “Black Belt: What Is It and What Does It Represent?”
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