One feature of the martial arts community is the style war. For those who don’t know, the style war is how practitioners of one style put down and degrade those who do a different martial art.
You can see this in martial arts films, especially with a nationalist bent. You can see this in internet forums or the comments sections in many sites. Even though it is isn’t the main theme, the style war is the foundation of many fighting games such as Street Fighter and Tekken.
I’ve experienced this on my own. First as a university student, with a wushu club. I even had people pick a fight with me in a coffee shop. Also, when I was working in China as an English teacher, I had a coworker who hated me for doing Taekwondo. There are many more incidents that I have yet to write about in that regard.
The first issue that has to be addressed is the most hackneyed and cliched phrase that everyone says: It’s not the art but the artist.
On that end, I can say that is a fact. My Taekwondo skills are quite mediocre, but I know some Taekwondo practitioners whose skills are very lethal. They were/are in good shape, have a killer instinct, and they really did a number on me when I fought them in a sparring/tournament context. I can never forget the face of the man who almost broke my sternum in this one tournament. Thanks to him, I couldn’t breathe properly for almost 3 months. Thanks to my chest protector, I am still alive.
For that matter, Brazilian Jiu-Jutsu has the reputation of being a very effective martial art, if not almost invincible. Yet, Japanese pro-wrestler Kazushi Sakuraba has defeated many members of the Gracie family, the creators of the Jiu-Jutsu style. That is why Sakuraba has earned the nickname “The Gracie Hunter”.
Nevertheless, the style war is an enduring and toxic area of the community and that’s why I want to discuss this.
One of the main problems with martial arts is that they are seen as religions.
Martial arts have no priestly class, prayers, or holy books. Nonetheless, due to history and traditions, each style has its own canon of techniques as well as dances/kata. A lot of styles, especially before the rise of Mixed Martial Arts, would even forbid the mixing of techniques from other ones.
As a result, each art has become heavily codified.
The history of Europe, the Middle East, and even parts of Asia are littered with holy conflicts of one religion trying to destroy another. Nowadays, there are many people who rather just stick to their own faith and not care about the religion or lack thereof of their friends and neighbors. Yet, due to that history of holy wars, there is still that vocal populace who still feel that their religion above all else must prevail.
The same can be said for martial artists. There are those who like doing what they are doing and have no problems with those who practice a different style. However, there is still that vocal group that express the superiority of their way and that others who practice differently should be ashamed of themselves. If you tell those type of people you practice a different art, they will interpret your statement as saying that their style is inferior.
I have had many encounters in which I told someone, in a friendly tone, that I love Taekwondo and other person took on a hostile attitude.
People who watch or play baseball never get into fights with those who watch or play football. So why is this a phenomena in martial arts?
One obvious answer is insecurity, which is also the answer to why people act the bully. They feel afraid of other people so that they need to project an image of intimidation. Funny enough, many who practice martial arts were once victims of school bullying, so it is possible they might have picked up on that behavior as a coping mechanism.
Another possible factor is nationalism. One aspect of Asian culture I have noticed living in both South Korea and China is the dim view many have of other Asian nationalities. I’ve heard Koreans say rude remarks about the Japanese and Chinese as well as the Chinese about Koreans and Japanese. Therefore, it is possible for a Chinese Kung-Fu master to disparage Taekwondo mainly because Taekwondo came from Korea and vice versa. Many British Asians, Asian-Americans, Asian-Canadians, and so on thankfully do not think this way as they all were raised in melting pot nations. However, there are those who still carry their cultural prejudices.
On the same vein, nationalist martial arts movies are also a factor. Not only do they use the style war as a plot device, they also use it as a way to prop up one’s cultural superiority over the other. One example of this is “The Way of the Dragon” starring Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris in which the Chinese heroes renounce their practice of Japanese Karate and even used Kung-fu to defeat an evil Japanese man and his American counterpart. The problem here is that the general populace see martial art movies as documentaries. I have known many non-practitioners pick up a lot of misconceptions because of watching those kinds of films.
(Of course, Mixed Martial Art competitions such as the UFC also brought about the proliferation of arm-chair martial artists)
Finally, and going back to the religion metaphor, some martial arts schools and organizations operate as cults. There is this all-knowing Soke or Shifu that everyone must worship, not just respect. There is an us-vs-them mentality and an elitist culture. There is also an enemy martial art/artist/organization that everyone must hate. Some also have no room for a personal life or autonomy. You might even get denigrated or kicked out for studying a different martial art. While incorporation of Asian culture seem cultish to the general public, it is not a sign of a cult.
I can go on, but if you are interested to know the signs of a cult, this article is a good start. I should know since I was part of a Buddhist cult.
While we’re at it, Bruce Lee is Jesus.
While Jesus is the central figure of Christianity, Jesus is also beloved by practitioners of different faiths. In Islam and Baha’i, Jesus is considered a prophet. Jesus is also beloved by segments of the Jewish, Hindu, and Buddhist population. Yet, despite how almost-universally Jesus is loved by many people no one can agree on Christ’s teachings.
While Bruce Lee is very popular and beloved in the Greater Chinese world of martial artists, martial artists from other parts of the world also highly regard him. Yet, despite how almost-universally Bruce Lee is loved by many martial artists, no one can agree on Lee’s teachings. This is despite the fact that we can easily access Bruce Lee’s writings and talks!
What I find really strange is that Lee was never into style wars and was willing to learn from other fighters when developing his martial art of Jeet Kune Do. While he mainly practiced Wing Chun Kung-Fu, he learned from boxers to develop his punches. He studied a little fencing for footwork. He also used body weight exercises from Indian wrestling. There is a rumor that he learned some Taekwondo kicks from Jhoon Rhee and I would not be surprised since Wing Chun doesn’t use the kicks Lee is famous for. Right before Lee passed away, he was heavily involved in Filipino martial arts.
Then again, just like how everyone does not follow Christ’s teachings, not everyone follows Lee’s. I will sound like a hypocrite, but I disagree with Bruce Lee’s view on the kata/martial dance. So there is that.
Unfortunately, due to martial arts’ “religious” nature, these people not only take it personally if someone does a different martial he or she also makes moral judgments. The other person might be judged as weak, childish, or even immoral for choosing the “wrong” martial art.
One of the links I put on the beginning of the post is about a coworker I met in China. He hated me for doing Taekwondo and talked me into learning Ninjutsu* from him. Despite my willingness to give up Taekwondo and learn his art, he still used my Taekwondo past as an excuse to continue his abusive behavior.
What my erstwhile coworker did not recognize is that the reason why he could choose Ninjutsu over Taekwondo was because he lived in Sydney and could get to his school by the metro. I lived in a small town in New England and only Tang Soo Do, Taekwondo, and Hapkido were available in my area. Funny enough, despite the copious amount of Korean martial arts in my area, there were no Korean restaurants or grocery stores, haha.
What my erstwhile coworker also did not recognize as to why I also stuck to Taekwondo was because when I tried to take another martial art in college, I got vilified for it. For that matter, his vilification also made me wary of getting back into Ninjutsu training.
One time an old college friend was pushing me into learning his style of Kung-Fu even going so far to tell me Taekwondo is bullshit. What he did not understand nor recognized is that Taekwondo saved me from committing suicide. Part of the reason I wanted to kill myself was because that coworker messed with my brain parts to a point that I felt both worthless and hopeless.
Then again, that’s how judgmental people are. They prefer to condemn rather than to listen to what the other person has to say. They prefer to assume negative intent from other people than do the brave thing and ask: Why do you do what you do?
I used to write a lot about that coworker in China, though in the end he has taught me a valuable lesson in developing thick skin. I even remember the nights I would train by myself only to look around me and realized that he (as well as other haters) were not around anymore. I gave up Taekwondo to please them and are not friends with them anymore. Had I stuck to my style and kept practicing despite their insults, would things be any different?
That is probably the only solution to this whole issue. The best thing to do is to not care what others say when in training. It is best to understand that people have their opinions and that some take their opinions more seriously than others; that if they want to start drama over a martial art they will. Also, if they hate a martial art very much, it is almost difficult to change their minds.
In that sense, it is one lesson I learned from the whole style war mess. It took a long time for me to learn this lesson, but I am glad I did.
If there is one regret I have, it’s that I never challenged those people to a sparring match. No, I don’t mean to spar against them and win. I would spar against them, lose, and then go back to training the way I want to train while those jerks walk around with their satisfied egos.
There is one last thing I want to say about the style war before I end this very long post.
Martial arts are competitive by nature. The whole idea of training in one, especially when all of them were founded from time immemorial, is to be sure one can defend him or herself or win in a fight. Since that is the case, why would a fighter want another fighter to learn his or her art if that gives the opponent the chance of winning?
Let’s say Brazilian Jiu-Jutsu is truly invincible and Taekwondo is actually ineffective. Wouldn’t the Brazilian Jiu-Jutsu fighter want the other guy to stick to Taekwondo so that said fighter could always ensure victory?
On a strategic standpoint, style wars are stupid.
*Yeah, I learned some Ninjutsu but not enough to even qualify as a white belt. So keep your pants on.
Diary of a Heterodox Buddhist 