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In
Defence of Mediocrity
Editorial
by John N. Edwards from Dragon
Times #14
We
at Dragon Times enjoy such a special relationship
with our readers that it seems that within a minute
or two of starting a phone conversation, we have
known them for years. This may result from a positive
impression they form of us from reading Dragon Times,
or it may be that the material we publish just attracts
nice people. Suffice it to say that working in this
office is a lot of fun, and extremely satisfying.
Readers often bring up the topic of the "other"
martial arts publications when they speak to us.
It is clear from what they say that they dislike
their lack of serious content, inaccuracies, wild
exaggerations, and overly commercial approach to
the subject. Some customers are so upset that they
become quite vocal and color their conversations
with words and phrases we can't print here. From
this we have concluded that they are not happy with
most of what they find on the newsstands, despite
the fact that many of the worst titles have long
since disappeared and many more become marginal
as time marches on.
Perhaps
the expectations of better educated readers are
higher than the industry can or wants to achieve;
perhaps consumers are looking for information so
obscure as to be unsuitable for a commercial magazine;
perhaps not enough high quality information on the
martial arts is available to permit the production
of even one good monthly publication on a regular
basis. If we examine these questions we will learn
that while many publishers are at fault, as with
everything else in life there are shades of gray
between the outright commercial rag, and the weird
but well-intentioned newsletter. I do not actually
intent to support or defend the industry of which
we are part, rather I will attempt to play the role
of Devil's advocate as we explore these tiny tributaries
and back waters of the publishing world, the glossy
martial arts magazines.
The Business
It will not be a surprise to our readers to learn
that the vast majority of magazines are published
for the purpose of generating advertising revenue
and from it, a profit for the owner. To succeed
in this endeavor, publishers need to make the title
as attractive as possible to the broadest segment
of the population, while at the same time spending
the absolute minimum on its production and content.
To achieve this goal they have almost always resorted
to the tried and trusted methods of the supermarket
tabloids
The Rewards
There are many benefits to this commercial approach to publishing. By appealing
to the lower levels of the social pyramid you target the largest and least
critical readership. A readership that is by definition entry level, and therefore
a good market for the wares of magazine advertisers. Thus a cycle is created
that repeats constantly to the benefit of all concerned except, possibly,
the consumer. The young student develops a passing interest in karate, buys
a magazine, and from it enough in the way of equipment, books, or videos to
satisfy his immediate needs. After a while he moves on to be replaced by the
next generation of would-be martial artist. As this audience is transitory
and therefore unlikely or unable to discriminate between good, bad, and indifferent,
it is not necessary or even desirable in the minds of some magazine owners
to have editors and writers who know anything about the subject upon which
they write. Therefore, almost anything that is sent to popular magazines is
published, providing it is free, arrives on or just before their deadline
in an easy to use format, and is accompanied by photographs. Little is checked,
verified, or substantiated. As I was told years ago by the editor of one of
the largest U.S. martial arts magazines; "we donıt have time, and it
doesnıt matter anyway!" Articles that enjoy a certain amount of popularity
or, indeed, notoriety on first publication, tend to reappear with monotonous
regularity.
To meet print dates, myths and legends are made
into historical data and under pressure to increase
sales, folklore is made into fact. Some editors
have claimed in the past that "factionalizing"
material is acceptable if it is done in a speculative
way. I personally do not understand at what point
it is acceptable for fiction to be turned into factChoki Motobu A Real Fighter.(1)
This famous karate master first surfaced in English
language literature with the publication of Peter
Urbanıs Karate Dojo in which he was described
as a giant of 7'4" "with hands and feet like
monstrous hams." Several years later Robert
Trias claimed that Motobu's height had been exaggerated
and he was actually only 6'8" tall. Richard Kim,
regarded by some as an authority, claimed he was
in fact 6'0" tall and weighed around 200 lbs. However,
according to a 1921 eye-witness account published
in Kingu magazine of his fight with, and defeat
of, a young European boxer, he is described as being
around 5'3" in height. Obviously an accurate way
of ascertaining his height would have been to consult
official records, or in their absence, to compare
him with someone of known height such as Yasuhiro
Konishi with whom he was photographed frequently.
By doing this it was easy to deduce that he was
around 5'2" tall and weighed approximately 150
lbs., information later confirmed by Takehiro Konishi
the son of Yasuhiro. Thus, according to "popular"
literature, in the thirty years following his death
Choki Motobu had gained as much as 150 lbs. in weight
and more than two feet in height!
It is easy to criticize this sort of approach from
the high moral ground but from a commercial standpoint
it was very successful. It worked for a long time,
made a lot of money and, as in the minds of many
magazine publishers distortion of historical fact
is a victimless crime, they felt that no real harm
had been done. In fairness to them it has to be
pointed out that publishing companies with as many
as nine monthly martial arts titles simply did not
have the expertise, time, or resources to do anything
other than fill up the pages with anything and everything
they could out their hands on, even if it meant
recycling the same article constantly with a few
changes here and there, and a different byline.
The Effects
The pursuit of the almighty dollar by magazine publishers damaged the image
of the martial arts and led, inevitably, to their decline. Poorly produced
magazines featuring members of the "clueless" school of martial
arts, and paid for by unsavory and often deceptive advertising created in
the minds of the public an image of the martial arts that was less than favorable.
This combined with the antics of B movie stars from Hong Kong in movies that
were described by Gung Fu authority Robert W. Smith as "vehicles for
violence with no redeeming value," (2) that "lowered considerably
the already low level of Chinese film," (3) and "stimulate violence
and hatred," (4) presented martial arts as the exclusive province of
the thug, bully, and psychopath, an image that Hollywood was as anxious as
ever to embellish. Thus activities that were considered so valuable in a cultural
and historic sense they were supported by wealthy and powerful Japanese industrialists
like Ryoichi Sasagawa; that were widespread in the Japanese university system,
obligatory for Japanese police officers and commonly practiced in temples
in concord with religious rites dating back to time immemorial; these activities
were dragged down to the level of the street in this country of ours, and
then, finally, into the gutter.
At
this point, like the pyromaniac who accidentally
burns his own house down, those most responsible
for the tragedy began to wring their hands as sales
slumped and profits dwindled. Stirred from complacence
to panic at their loss of earnings, they furiously
set about creating more "stars," more
magazines, more corny martial arts books and videos,
the premise being that it worked once, it will work
again! It didn't. Figuratively speaking, once the
patient is brain dead there is not much you can
do, although it must be said that the actor who
enjoyed the greatest notoriety did make more money
for his handlers after his death than he did in
life, a fact that prompted martial artist and historian
Donn Dreager to refer to him as "the richest
guy in the graveyard." According to Robert
Smith; "Kung Fu movies are to action cinema
what professional wrestling is to athletics."
(5) And the prime offender? "many believe this
crud-art form was really stimulated by the boyish
attractiveness of Bruce Lee, who made $9 million
in three years." (6)
Legitimate
Chinese martial artists agreed wholeheartedly and
deplored this infantile depiction of their martial
culture. Sifu Liu Gin Zan (7) in his book Hakaku
Mon Shokaku Ken stated: "I understand that
Bruce Lee who created the Chinese Kempo boomSpractised
Spring Poem Fist (Wing Chun/Yongchun Quan). Jackie
Chan, who played comical roles practiced Ko Family
fist. To our regret Southern Fist has been acceptedSonly
in this way." (translator's note "as silly
movies.") teaching a variety of martial arts
The commercial martial arts industry never did recover.
It was consumed by its own excesses and is today
a shadow of its former self. A dozen or more magazines
have gone to a better place, and with them the publishers
and writers who fanned the flames of imaginary controversies
monthly to heat the boiler and turn the wheels of
the great engine of the phoney martial arts (PMA)
industry. Their days of glory are gone and like
the herds of bison that once wandered the plains
in great numbers they will never return. And like
the bison those that survive serve as a useful reminder
to us all of the dangers of greed and excess. The
interest of today's more sophisticated consumer
is in genuine martial arts. Sales of the PMA comic
books that survive are dwindling, while those of
more serious martial arts publications grow strongly.
Dragon Times, for example, is now available in hundreds
of branches of Barnes & Noble, Borders Books & Music,
and Hastings Entertainment, as well as independent
bookstores and newsstands across North America.
As quality reading material is made available to
enthusiasts they become better informed and more
discerning. Images of pajama clad figures striking
bizarre poses on magazine covers no longer sell
magazines and as the advertisers drift away, the
lights go out all over PMA land. Conclusion The
benefit of the magazine and cinema generated boom
to legitimate martial arts schools was short-lived
and marginal. It was far easier for students to
take a short course in a commercial school and emerge
with a coveted black belt believing themselves to
be qualified, than sweat it out with a genuine instructor.
You could even pay a little extra and get a title
as well a Ph.D. in self-deception if you like Shihan
is my all time favorite. Leaner and meaner from
having lived through the PMA boom the best genuine
teachers emerged to spread the word and carry on
the tradition. Today the level of training in legitimate
U.S. karate clubs is higher than before, interest
in traditional and ancient forms of karate is increasing
strongly, and I am pleased to say with the publication
of this and other titles dealing with genuine martial
arts, readers now have a choice between PMA and
journalism.
The Future
Of Karate
The Salt Lake City affair confirmed my suspicions
that anything involved with the Olympic movement
was available for the right price, a fact now attested
to by the Australians who promoted Sydney as a venue
for the next Olympics. Clearly, if it's possible
to favor one city over another, it must also be
possible to favor one activity over another when
the time comes for entry into the Olympic movement.
The lesson is clear, participation in the games
is a more question of cash than the principles laid
down by the founders of the modern Olympic Movement.
Given this knowledge and it has been an open secret
for decades it's difficult to imagine why the Olympic
karate movement has been sitting around for so long
waiting for the acceptance call to come from Switzerland.
If inclusion was uppermost on their minds perhaps
they should have done as the Salt Lake Olympic organizers
did and provided the necessary incentives.
Perhaps
it's better that they didn't. If we look at martial
type activities in the context of the Olympic movement
we can see that they have not fared well. The Russians
cheated at fencing and were caught, and marksmanship
was dominated by "amateur" army officers
from Communist bloc countries. On the field, weapon
events like the javelin, discus, and hammer were
always won by Russian "ladies" bigger
than the average brick outhouse, with a penchant
for vetinary medicines and no discernible female
characteristics something that had not been envisaged
in the early days of the Olympic movement. Judo,
too, suffered fatal damage from exposure in the
Olympic context. Judo was chosen by Japan as a new
Olympic sport for the 1964 Tokyo games, the prerogative
of any nation willing and able to spend the sort
of money involved in hosting the games. Japan in
the early sixties was standing on the threshold
of its forthcoming economic miracle while still
looking back at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, millions
of war dead in unmarked graves throughout Asia,
and military humiliation at the hands of the Allies.
The
inclusion of a remnant of its martial past as an
Olympic sport, and one at which it could easily
prevail, was viewed as a way of restoring national
pride and saving the nationıs face, a concept more
important to the Japanese than any foreigner can
comprehend. Before Japan could begin its economic
miracle the people had to be able to raise their
heads in pride. Jigoro Kano, the father of Judo,
had been a giant of the pre-war Olympic movement
so it all seemed so appropriate. Japan would be
returned to the family of nations, make its mark
on the Olympic movement, and, if all went as planned,
win a great patriotic victory. Ironically Kano,
who embraced Baron Pierre de Coubertin's vision
of an Olympic games for the modern world, just as
fervently declared his opposition to judo becoming
a part of it. According to his assistant Minoro
Mochizuki, when the founder of the modern Olympics
suggested that Judo be included, Kano told him that,
"it was impossible as judo was not a sport."
Judo in the fifties was at its pinnacle. Since its
introduction into Europe and America at the turn
of the 20th century it had been adopted by police
forces and military organizations as an effective
but safe form of self defence/restraint. Japanese
experts such as S. Uenishi and Yukio Tani had travelled
Europe giving demonstration and challenging, successfully,
some of the best known boxers and wrestlers of the
day, despite the latterıs huge weight and height
advantages. They built a reputation for judo that
was well-nigh unassailable. Kano's judo and a number
of the jujutsu schools upon which it was based,
became part of the fabric of European and American
society, institutions in fact, activities that were
considered wholesome, useful, and probably more
importantly at that time, respectable. Indeed, one
dojo in London's exclusive West End boasted an instructor
for ladies, a Miss Robinson, who from her photo
we can see taught in a stylish but very modest combination
of judo jacket and bloomers.
The thing that most appealed to early observers
was that using jujutsu/judo it was possible for
a small man to overcome an opponent superior in
weight and stature. Like Colt's single action pistol
in 19th century America, jujutsu was, for unarmed
Europeans, the great equalizer and it is clear from
contemporary accounts that this is what appealed
to the Edwardians. Diminutive experts like Yukio
Tani would "take on" (9)anyone for a wager
and beat them convincingly and fairly. To their
credit, many of the professional fighters who were
beaten by Japanese jujutsu instructors praised their
skill and admitted that against them, the lethal
uppercuts and devastating body punches that had
served them so well in the ring (and outside), were
of limited use However, when Kano was formulating
Judo he realized that as an educator the most effective
techniques of the old jujutsu schools would have
to be abandoned as they were too dangerous. Clearly
it was unwise to teach high school students techniques
that previously were considered so effective in
combat that they were taught only to family members,
and then only under circumstances of the utmost
secrecy. Wrist locks, strikes to vulnerable areas,
gouges and throws designed to cause, by themselves,
serious injury to the person being thrown were all
removed and, as the result, the need for special
clothing established. Whereas the traditional jujutsu
practitioner found it effective to kick, punch,
gouge, grab a wrist, leg, ear, nose or fingers,
the Judoka had to have something designed for him
to take hold of, such as the reinforced collar of
a special judo uniform, before he could perform
effectively. To counter criticism of the emasculation
of Jujutsu in order to create Judo, contests were
held between Kano's students and the representatives
of other, older schools of jujutsu to demonstrate
the merits of both, and decide which was the most
effective.
The
public relations exercise was successful for Judo
but not without the help of one of the most prominent
jujutsu exponents of the time from the Daito Ryu
Aiki Jujutsu movement. Using old, and lethal jujutsu
techniques like yama arashi rather than the modern
judo techniques, this stalwart disposed of the opponents
of Kodokan judo with ease. His story was romanticized
in the excellent prewar black and white movie epic,
Sugata Sanshiro, (10) copies of which can still
occasionally be found on video. According to several
contemporary chroniclers he was so ashamed of the
subterfuge that he moved to Kyushu, became a reporter,
and took up the study of kyudo.(11) This systemization
and regulation of Judo continued as the art moved
towards its metamorphosis into a sport. Weight limits
were imposed and the practice of kata all but eliminated
in favor of pure competition. Many techniques were
rejected as being too difficult to perform in a
competitive environment, and the Japanese heavyweight
performers became the stars of Judo, as they were
the only ones who could deal with the challenge
from the big Europeans and Americans. The word "player"
began to replace the more traditional "judoka"
or martial artist. In practice Olympic Judo turned
out to be very boring for the all important spectators
Unlike
Sumo where bouts take a few seconds and the contest
clearly goes one way or the other, Judo did not
have the necessary attributes to satisfy the common
man who watched it on television; simple rules and
an easy to discern, rapid, and conclusive winner.
Before its inclusion in the Olympic games, judo
was so common in Europe that almost every high school
gym hosted a club in the evening. Japanese experts
like Kenshiro Abe were in great demand and travelled
constantly giving seminars. In England two large
factories worked around the clock producing thousands
of uniforms
All
the elements are in place for a restaging of this
farce. The scene is set and the players have taken
up their positions. The organizers of the Olympic
karate movement dream of the influence, power, and
money that they believe membership will bring them.
Commercial sponsors, in their mind's eye, see their
logos displayed discretely of course on millions
of television sets around the world. Young men,
yet to master the basics of karate, dream of mounting
the Olympic podium with the strains of their national
anthem in their ears. Forget it! Karate does not
make or attract enough money to be an Olympic sport.
As the strongest sponsors of Olympic taekwondo soon
discovered, their investments turned sour. Invest
money in nothing and you get nothing back, a simple
concept that these multi-national commercial giants
should have been able to grasp. The dreams of karate
officials will remain dreams. If they had really
wanted to get into the Olympics they should have
taken advantage of the generosity of Sasagawa Ryoichi
(and his bottomless check book for that all important
Olympic donation) who gave untold millions to the
karate movement when he was alive, while the karate
organizations bickered amongst themselves constantly,
frustrating his efforts.
Beach
volleyball, rather than karate, is my model for
the perfect Olympic sport and, based on its painless
and very rapid acceptance by the IOC, it seems they
agree with me. A little known activity from Southern
California that requires a beach, constant sunshine,
and blue skies, it was not an obvious candidate
for Olympic sport status given the fact that so
few people are involved in it. In fact, the basic
requirements for the sport rule out around 80% of
the world's population unless, like the bobsled
team from Jamaica who competed in the winter Olympics,
they are incredibly dedicated. However, from the
standpoint of promoters, and therefore the IOC,
it is an ideal Olympic sport. It has strong commercial
backing, a dog could understand the rules, and it
involves nearly naked young women glistening with
suntan lotion
Competition
karate, on the other hand, is exceedingly boring
to watch. The common man cannot easily determine
who has won, and finds it therefore, unsatisfying.
The rampant nationalism that kept Judo on Japanese
TV screens is absent, there are no underdogs to
cheer for as there was once with jujutsu no 150
pound weakling humiliating a big bully by means
of skill and audacity. As far as commercial sponsors
are concerned the average karate man pays less for
his equipment and tuition in a year than a beach
volley ball player lays out for suntan lotion in
a month and even the best uniforms cost considerably
less than a pair of those famous French sunglasses.
To make matters worse for potential sponsors of
Olympic karate, it's impossible to ascertain from
the various governing bodies exactly how many people
are involved in karate, whereas those interested
in beautiful, scantily clad females, and beer, are
legion.
Yet
those bent on Olympic status for competition karate,
from Berlin to Bombay, ignore these facts and continue
to dream of grey flannel trousers with blue blazers,
of expense accounts without limit, first class airline
tickets, five star hotels and restaurants, and a
life of circling the globe repeatedly on Olympic
business. Dream on. The Olympics is in business
to make money for the Olympics and its sponsors
and there isn't enough money in karate for them
to be interested, particularly in the wake of the
taekwondo debacle. If you need proof consider this.
When in 1975, with 6 million members in more than
72 countries, WUKO launched its own range of karate
equipment, it failed in less than a year despite
the fact that it was extremely well financed, beautifully
made, and heavily promoted. (13)
Personally
I am not concerned if karate does receive Olympic
status. Unlike Judo which was damaged because it
was a single discipline artificially distilled from
ancient schools of jujutsu, alternatives to sport
karate exist in great numbers. These will continue,
and I believe, become stronger if sport karate declines.
Most of the growth that has taken place in the karate
world over the past five years has been in the area
of real karate. This seems to have undermined the
confidence of the politicians who control sport
karate to an extent that they have sought the support
of well respected teachers of real karate in an
effort to give themselves a semblance of legitimacy.
Last summer, for example, an emissary was sent from
Tokyo to Naha City in Okinawa in an attempt to win
the support of Morio Higaonna for the Olympic karate
movement. At the seminar Higaonna sensei was giving
the representative insisted on honoring him with
an award which would in Japanese eyes
Real
karate is far too dangerous to practise as a sport,
Miyagi, Mabuni, and Uechi knew itParadoxes
of Defence published in 1599, and by many real
fighters since that time from every martial discipline.
They were made by the founders of the karate movement,
all of whom were opposed to competition. However
the promoters of sport karate will not, or worse,
cannot see that promoting karate as a safe sport
is to admit that it is not effective for personal
defense. Russian roulette is safe only if you remove
the bullets from the gun.
When
I think of Olympic karate I am reminded of a scene
from that cinematic masterpiece of Akira Kurosawa's,
Nana Nin No Samurai (Seven Samurai). A highly regarded
swordsman is goaded into a contest with a noisy,
aggressive, and clearly ignorant samurai who has
a very high opinion of his fencing ability. Knowing
the reputation of the swordmaster, he wants to fight
him in order to make a name for himself. The master
agrees but insists that, to avoid serious injury,
they fight with bamboo swords. The combatants face
each other in a moment of high drama, then attack
simultaneously. The samurai, exultant, claims victory.
The master quietly rebukes him saying that in a
real contest he would have died. This is all too
much for the braggart who insists they fight again,
this time with real swords. The sword master finally
agrees and as he strikes his opponent for a second
time we witness in stunning slow motion the difference
between a martial art and a sport. The millisecond
in timing, the millimeter in distance, the lethal
minutiae that are the difference between life and
death, victory and defeat. What the sword master
understood from the first contest, his opponent
did not live long enough to learn from the second.
After
more than twenty-five years experience at the cutting
edge, if you will forgive the pun, of the martial
arts; membership of the committees of a wide variety
of associations; positions as a technical advisor
on the martial arts to heads of state, national
governments, police forces, schools, and institutions
around the world, I feel that I am an informed observer.
Yet I am told constantly by karate politicians that
sport karate is what the karate movement wants,
and is the future of karate. I suppose that depends
on what your definition of "is" is!
Footnotes
1. Dragon Times Volume #7. 2. John F. Gilbey, The
Way of A Warrior (North Atlantic Book, Berkeley,
CA, 1982) 33. 3. Ibid. 4. Ibid. 5. Ibid. 6. Ibid.
7. Father of Liu Chang I, author of the video Feeding
Crane Gung Fu from Tsunami Productions. 8. Based
on industry statistics, Dragon Times on a "sell
through" basis (ratio of number printed to
number sold), is leading all PMA publications by
a wide margin. 9. Please see Early Jujutsu Challenges
by Graham Noble in issues 5 & 6 of Dragon Times.
10. Unfortunately the negatives were "censored"
during the war by the Kempei Tai and the pieces
removed, never subsequently found. 11. Another source
claims he got involved in a fight with some sumo
wrestlers whom he beat up using Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu
and threw into a nearby river, thus bringing disgrace
upon the Judo movement, and making life in Tokyo
impossible for him. 12. In a recent CNN TV news
report an official of the beach volleyball governing
body defended his organizationıs decision not to
allow female players to wear shorts as they had
requested, only the "thong" type bikini
bottoms. 13. The WUKO "GI" was a beautifully
produced uniform of revolutionary design. Our parent
company was designated European distributor but
it never went into production.
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