Noel's angel Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Agreed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted June 24, 2008 Author Share Posted June 24, 2008 [quote name='Noel's angel' post='1581997' date='Jun 24 2008, 06:19 PM']Obviously, karate does prepare people (if necessary) to defend themselves in certain situations, but if you have it in your head that it is simply about preparing for combat, you have been mislead somewhere.[/quote] Oh no, of course not. I've been at it for ten years, so I like to think that I know what it's all about. I wouldn't want to say that 'preparing to defend yourself' is a secondary focus... but it would be entirely wrong to say that it's the primary concept. The way I like to look at it is that it gives you the tools necessary to first of all avoid a fight, but at the end of it all, if a fight happens anyway, you're prepared to be able to defend your own dignity. (talking dignity of course being human dignity, rather than pride) I mean, it really isn't karate with all the focus on one of the two aspects. Focus entirely on peace and inner harmony, and it's meditation. Focus entirely on combat and you're a street fighter. I think the focus is on both, with neither being 'more important', to look at it in a limited way, but with both defining the other. Just to relate this back to PM, it might be like Jesus' divinity as well as humanity. He was both, and in the same idea, karate has both aspects (peace and combat, not divinity and humanity) with both complimenting and completing the other rather than subtracting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted June 24, 2008 Author Share Posted June 24, 2008 [quote name='havok579257' post='1582014' date='Jun 24 2008, 06:26 PM']Just because I own a SUV that could crush a small; compact does not make me evil for owning a SUV as long as my intent is not to injure people. Its all about intent.[/quote] You mean that's not what they're for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noel's angel Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 btw, when I said 'you', I didn't mean you personally. I agree. Even take the name 'martial arts' and you get the two elements. The point I was trying to make is that if dojos are producing people who are using their skills for harmful purposes (which more and more are), then that would be contrary to Christ's teaching, but as havok said, if the intention is not to harm, but to grow in discipline etc. then it can't be contrary to the teaching of the Church. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted June 24, 2008 Author Share Posted June 24, 2008 [quote name='Noel's angel' post='1582036' date='Jun 24 2008, 06:34 PM']btw, when I said 'you', I didn't mean you personally. I agree. Even take the name 'martial arts' and you get the two elements. The point I was trying to make is that if dojos are producing people who are using their skills for harmful purposes (which more and more are), then that would be contrary to Christ's teaching, but as havok said, if the intention is not to harm, but to grow in discipline etc. then it can't be contrary to the teaching of the Church.[/quote] We're all in agreement then. Let's start a Phatmass school of karate. You know what is in a lot of ways worse than the schools training specifically to fight? The ones that just exist for the money, that promote kids to black belts when they're twelve, and a person gets their black belt in about 4 years. Those make me so mad... Ha[i][/i]te em. They call them McDojos, belt factories, and Bullshido. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noel's angel Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 I got my black belt when I was 13...lol But I had trained at least 2 nights a week for 7 years before I could get it. I did the same grading as all the over 18s. You could say I was a special case....lol. I was teaching over 18s by the time I was 12. My sensei told us that his sensei failed everyone 3 times before he would even consider allowing them to wear a black belt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted June 24, 2008 Author Share Posted June 24, 2008 [quote name='Noel's angel' post='1582084' date='Jun 24 2008, 06:48 PM']I got my black belt when I was 13...lol But I had trained at least 2 nights a week for 7 years before I could get it. I did the same grading as all the over 18s. You could say I was a special case....lol. I was teaching over 18s by the time I was 12. My sensei told us that his sensei failed everyone 3 times before he would even consider allowing them to wear a black belt.[/quote] Lol, all right. I don't know the circumstances, but if you say it was a special case, I'll trust you. I've been going two days a week for about five or six years, had been once a week before that (when I was little;)). In my club you're not considered eligible to be tested until at least sixteen, and even after sixteen, it's still up to your sensei if you test or not. I only tested a week and a half ago... and passed. I was proud. It was a pretty tough test though. We tend to look down on those fast track clubs more than a little bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winchester Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 [quote name='havok579257' post='1582014' date='Jun 24 2008, 07:26 PM']Because of my training, my arms are like 19 inches and my chest is like 53 inches.[/quote] You have short arms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winchester Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 [img]http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q258/jos1990/kipcagefighter.jpg[/img] Bow to your sensei! [img]http://plutoniumblond.files.wordpress.com/2006/09/rkd2.jpg[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noel's angel Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 (edited) [quote name='Nihil Obstat' post='1582094' date='Jun 25 2008, 01:51 AM']Lol, all right. I don't know the circumstances, but if you say it was a special case, I'll trust you. I've been going two days a week for about five or six years, had been once a week before that (when I was little;)). In my club you're not considered eligible to be tested until at least sixteen, and even after sixteen, it's still up to your sensei if you test or not. I only tested a week and a half ago... and passed. I was proud. It was a pretty tough test though. We tend to look down on those fast track clubs more than a little bit. [/quote] No other person under 18 has done a senior black belt grading in our association. Congrats! There's a Shotokan club in my town and people there get their black belt in 2 years. I laugh at them. I remember my black belt grading. 3 and 1/2 hours long, in front of a European Champion, a World Master, one of the leading martial artists in Ireland and Iain Abernethy...then we had to spar and do fitness testing, and finally a test on our Japanese language skills and an essay. 'Twas fun Edited June 24, 2008 by Noel's angel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted June 25, 2008 Author Share Posted June 25, 2008 [quote name='Noel's angel' post='1582110' date='Jun 24 2008, 06:56 PM']No other person under 18 has done a senior black belt grading in our association. Congrats! There's a Shotokan club in my town and people there get their black belt in 2 years. I laugh at them. I remember my black belt grading. 3 and 1/2 hours long, in front of a European Champion, a World Master, one of the leading martial artists in Ireland and Iain Abernethy...then we had to spar and do fitness testing, and finally a test on our Japanese language skills and an essay. 'Twas fun [/quote] Sounds like it. I'll definitely accept that this was a special case. I actually have a video on YouTube from... Earlier November this year. Before my test. It was a tournament I was at. Just a little one. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trM8PvcOOXA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trM8PvcOOXA[/url] I was wondering if I should post it or not, but there's no identifying info that isn't already sitting out there on the internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted June 25, 2008 Author Share Posted June 25, 2008 [quote name='Winchester' post='1582098' date='Jun 24 2008, 06:52 PM']You have short arms.[/quote] Rofl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeresaBenedicta Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 One of the priests at my school is a black belt in some form of martial arts, and at one point, had founded a school with his brother. I did Kyokushin Karate during the Fall semester last year and I really enjoyed myself. I could not train during my Spring semester due to softball, but I plan on training again starting this Fall. And ditto to everyone else who's replied here: I see nothing necessarily contradicting the Church. In and of itself, it's a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted June 25, 2008 Author Share Posted June 25, 2008 [quote name='TeresaBenedicta' post='1582136' date='Jun 24 2008, 07:13 PM']I did Kyokushin Karate during the Fall semester last year and I really enjoyed myself. I could not train during my Spring semester due to softball, but I plan on training again starting this Fall.[/quote] Ooh, wow, isn't that one the school that does a lot of hard free sparring? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Socrates Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 (edited) I thought this would be about the whole Eastern philosophies/religion thing (much like those yoga debates). But bottom line - as established elsewhere, Christianity does not equal pacifism. There is nothing wrong with using physical force when necessary (whether by martial arts, or firearms, etc.) to defend oneself or others against an attacker. People have a right to self-defense. Btw - I've been taking Brazilian Jiu-jitsu over the past year, and loving it! Edited June 25, 2008 by Socrates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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