I currently work in a school, and my wife teaches at the same school. This past Friday I had the opportunity to share the martial arts with her students. For the last several years, I’ve done a presentation for the 7th grade Humanities classes. How does that fit in? They study the geography, culture and literature of the various countries in Asia, and when they reach the end, I take them on a ‘field trip’ of sorts through the development of martial arts in the region, touching on the apocryphal ‘Boddhidarma’ stories and some more research grounded historical facts and observe how different arts reflected the local culture and time, and how when cultures intersected, new martial traditions were born. Of course it ends with a demo, and the ‘Q&A’ section always includes volunteers from the audience. I find it a challenge, because instead of my usual Kempo, the demonstration includes Chinese forms (this year it was Tai Chi, but other years have included Choy Li Fut and Elementary Long Fist), comparing the Heians done Japanese style with the Pinans done Okinawan style, Shaolin Broadsword and Japanese Iaijutsu, wushu staff and Okinawan bo. It takes a lot of preparation, and I always feel like I’m a little rusty since it’s not my ‘top priority’ stuff. The kids are always appreciative, though, and it’s really rewarding.
My favorite question from this year?
“Could you show us the darker side of Tai Chi?”
Now that’s certainly a fun place to go.
As outreach – it hasn’t necessarily benefitted me personally as far as students, but the kids apparently find it memorable. I’ve had many mention it years later, and was even recognized by a waitress at a restaurant, years after. I’d like to think that it at least piques the interest of a few of them, and maybe makes them see martial arts as a valuable part of culture.
I conduct workshops in elementary and middle schools throughout CT in creative writing and am always surprised at the number of students who study martial arts and yet do not know about the style they are studying. The neither know the name of the system or many time even the country of origion. I had to explain today the difference between karate and kempo to students who have junior black belts in both systems. Many attend the martial arts factories so there are reasons for their lack of history. As martial artists and educators we need to show our students the history and the evolution of our arts. We can introduce them Joesph Campbell’s “Hero of a Thousand Faces” so that they know we are all connected in a larger circle and are more alike than different.
As for the dark side of martial arts, I always explain the fighting is not a video game and that people get hurt in real life.
As martial arts evolve in our country and around the world we must know our roots first. As Mark Twain said about writing “Know all the rules first, then break them when you need to.”
Donato D’Albis
Cheshire, CT