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Goju-Ryu
15th August 2002, 03:03
It's really a pity, but quite a few people out there actually believe this kind of nonsensical fantasy. Many are themselves involved with the martial arts and should most certainly know better. The amount of myths and misconceptions that infest the truths of the martial arts is as staggering as it is embarassing. In a bussiness where much of the focus is on an understanding of the body and simple physical principles, there should be very little room for physical misconceptions. Nonetheless, misunderstanding and a general lack of information run rampant.

The most glaring myth is the one, dealing with driving the nose bone up into the brain. of all the myths involving the martial arts, this is one of the most common. Even extremely literate members of our society believe that this works. The major fallacy of this technique is that there is no "nose bone" as such. the assembly of the nose consists, for the most part, of cartilage, and this is much too weak to penetrate the thick frontal bone of the skull. As far as penetrating trough the nasal passages - as is suggested in many accounts of this technique in application - this is impossible due to the fact that these passages are acutely minute. There is absolutely no way in which shards of cartilage, or even splinters from the tiny lip of bone known as the nasal bone, could enter into the brain case. Understand, however, that any hard strike to the skull can theoretically result in death. Concussions, shock-induced internal hemorrhages, and injuries of this nature can result from a powerful head strike. But a strike to the base of the nose is certainly not a lethal technique.

A second popular falsehood is the old saw about "breaking the hand and foot bones to make them stronger". This one, though equally as ludicrous (in a practical sense) as the previous one, is harder to attack becauseit is partially based in fact. that is why this one has hung around for so long.
It is true that when a bone breaks it will heal in such a way that the fractured place will be stronger. This is partially due to the amount of raw calcium the body channels into the bone as it heals. Calcium is extremely strong, and when used as an internalcement, it forms a powerful bond. that's the fact. Strengthening the "entire" bone in this way, however, would require systematic breaking of the bone at intervals about every eighth of an inch. When referring to even the small, two-inch hand bone (the blade of the hand), this still involves about sixteen precise breaks. Despite today's almost consummate medical science, this would be a difficult and tricky procedure.
Unfortunately, some individuals do break their bones in a vain effort to augment their strength and raw power. Perhaps they may acquire less vulnerability in some spots, but this certainly doesn't make them invincible. It does, however, expose them to an 80% higher risk of arthritis and other equally crippling joint and bone diseases. What a waste of time! ;)

Another popular misconception concerns street self-defense: that martial artists are forbidden by law to use their knowledge and abilities on the street. Of the several hundred people surveyed in conjunction with the research for this article, 85% thought that this was so. Eighty five percent! :D Another 10% thought that martial artists were only allowed to use their hands to defend themselves. that makes a total of 95% who have a totally erroneous concept of what martial artists are and are not allowed to do. This may be the reason more people do not seek out karate/kung-fu schools to join. They are afraid that the knowledge and usage of their skills might get them in trouble with the law.

There were more things I could write about here, but this post is already long enough! ;) I hope you thought it was interesting...

This article was partially reproduced from the book: "Ultimate Martial Arts Encyclopedia" from the article that John Maberry wrote with the title "Exploring the Myths and Misconceptions of the Martial Arts"

larsen_huw
15th August 2002, 09:37
Very common one is that you have to be Bruce Lee standard to even think of starting a martial art!

Have been trying to get my girlfriend involved for a few months now. She always said that she wasn't good enough, not enough co-ordination, no balance, too weak, etc.

She thought she'd look stupid with all us "martial arts experts" :rolleyes: in the room. In the end i took her to a class, and told her to only watch the white belts down at one end of the dojo. After the class she said "my god! some of them were crap!" and i told her that of course they weren't very good, they'd only been doing it a few weeks! She seemed to think that everyone magically becomes black belt standard when they enter a dojo.

However, she still won't join in, but at least she can't use that excuse anymore! :)

Michael Clarke
15th August 2002, 13:02
Yes but, in some cases it's in the interest of someone to spread a myth (lie) for business reasons.

One of the most common 'stories' put about by people is the;
"I'm the true successor to the founder." myth.
This one is used by many around the world.
A variation on this is the ;
"The master only taught this technique to me." myth.
Again, a story that is used in various forms by many people.

The thing that such people have in common is that they are all depending on their martial arts for their livelyhood, and so have to use whatever they can to keep one step a head of their competitors.

Then we have the;
"No, no. This is not me changing the kata,It's just progress!"
OR;
"Endless hours of research have lead me to make some 'adjustments'."

Again, excuses used for the most part by people trying to keep their customers happy.

When Funakoshi sensei of Shotokan said "Part the clouds and seek the way." He was talking about the clouds of bull s#*t that some people throw up in order to mask their lies.
It's always been difficult to 'seek the way', and yet the martial arts world is awash with silly people and those who take advantage of them. Part of studying any martial art, is developing the ability to see through those who's greatest skill seems to be their ability to separate people from their money.

Anyway, just a thought.
Peace and good will to all,
Mike Clarke.

MarkF
15th August 2002, 14:27
Originally posted by Huw Larsen
She seemed to think that everyone magically becomes black belt standard when they enter a dojo.


If I were starting in MA today, I'd probably have come to the same conclusion.


Mark

kenshorin
16th August 2002, 05:23
How 'bout the old "belt changing color?"

Starts as a white belt and gets grass on it, and turns green.
Then it gets mud on it (after all that grass has been trampled, apparently) and turns brown
...THEN it gets so nasty and gross it turns black!

What a stupid myth! :D

21st August 2002, 12:42
Originally posted by Goju-Ryu

Another popular misconception concerns street self-defense: that martial artists are forbidden by law to use their knowledge and abilities on the street. Of the several hundred people surveyed in conjunction with the research for this article, 85% thought that this was so. Eighty five percent! :D Another 10% thought that martial artists were only allowed to use their hands to defend themselves. that makes a total of 95% who have a totally erroneous concept of what martial artists are and are not allowed to do.

In some countries this is true.
In Japan there is no "self-defense" plea....................you get in a fight here your guilty period.
Years ago I read about someone that was a karateka and was involved in a "self-defense" situation and got in big trouble because he was "trained".

Mitch Saret
21st August 2002, 20:22
The pushing the nose back into the brain is a favorite. When I teach a palm heel strike and the nose as one of the vulnerable spots, I always tell them not to worry about killing them, it does'nt work that way! It's just for the movies...Bruce Willis in The Last Boy Scout was a good play on that. Two of the parents here are doctors, on an ear, nose, & throat specialist. Both have confirmed that for the classes. But to keep the mystigue of the arts alive, lol, I do mention there is a way to kill someone similar to that, but I don't teach that, or they are not yet ready, you know what I mean.

Another great myth is the registering of hands of lethal weapons. An old roommate of mine claimed an understanding of martial arts as he was trained in the military. He was a few years than I and claimed to have served in Viet Nam. With no more combat troops being sent over by 1972, he would have had to have been 16. He also claimed that he got in trouble because he was pulled over and ended up kicking the a** of 3 or 4 cops. The judge gave him the choice of military or jail. Would a judge actually break a federal law? Then, to top it all off, he was naval intelligence attached to the airborne rangers, and would wear army dress greens, and, now get this, was a Medal of Honor winner. He was not listed because it was a classified mission!

The point of this is, he actually told me whenever he moved to a new town, this was in the Chicago suburbs, he had to go to the local police station and inform him he was in their jurisdiction.

This guy was a piece of work....fortunately, I haven't seen him since around 1986 or so...he owes me money!

Shitoryu Dude
21st August 2002, 20:51
I have read that to some extent the "registered as deadly weapon" line is correct in Japan. In a book I recently read about a man taking Aikido in Japan mentioned that when he made Shodan he was required to submit passport photos and personal information to the Japanese version of the FBI as they track and register that sort of thing. Basically, if you pound the crap out of someone in a bar fight, they can check up on your training before the judge hands you your butt.

Also, when I tested for black belt I had to do the same thing as the organization is based in Osaka - anyone know the lowdown on this?

:beer:

MarkF
22nd August 2002, 11:11
This also goes back to early judo. While I am not sure what the legal implications were, one of the first people to study "Kodokwan jiu jitsu," Yoshitsugu Yamashita, later a 10-dan, and a friend were attacked on the street. Yamashita seemed to enjoy himself a little too much and added a little more than was necessary. He was suspended from the Kodokan for overdoing it.

Legal matters are not new to martial arts and neither is the BS meter.


Mark

Kevin73
24th August 2002, 05:02
While martial artists are not "forbidden" to use their knowledge on the streets is not completly accurate it will count against you if the other guy has a good attorney. When you are a blackbelt, most courts regard you as an "expert" as such, you are held to a higher standard when you do use force.

Just one example, we had a deputy for our dept. who got fired and then one night got into a domestic dispute with his wife. Well, for an average citizen in that situation it is usually a $300-$500 bond. For him, because of his "training" his bond was $50,000.00!

Just as a side note, as instructors I would strongly suggest getting with someone in the local leo field and have them work with you on their "use of force" continuum and teach that to your adult classes. Basically, as an everyday citizen you can only equal the force used on you to defend yourself. This means if he punches you (and the other elements of self defense were met) you can punch him back, but you can't deflect the punch and put on a wrist lock and break it.

Goju-Ryu
24th August 2002, 14:55
kevin73: Your idea about working with a lawyer to give some explanation is interesting...

But I don't think that in a real fight situation you'll be capable of thinking: "Well... He gave me a punch, I can just give him a punch too!!:D " NNaaaa! I don't think so... He gave me a punch because he wanted! why do I have to return him in "the same coin"? Just because he punched me, can't I kick him real hard in the a$$? And here in Portugal most people haven't got the mean$ to call the services of a lawyer, and most people don't even have the idea of sue you because of that...
+ punch - punch everything is allright :D

Kevin73
25th August 2002, 04:59
I agree with you that in a real right you aren't going to be thinking that way about "he gave me a punch, I can give him a punch. I was using an example of equal levels of force mainly to illustrate that your response has to be equal to the threat. Meaning, if he pushes you, you can't sidekick his knee and break it.

The main reason to know a force continuum is so if you ever do talk to the police you can tell them how the other person escalated their use of force and what you did to protect yourself and no more. It's mainly a legal CYA, but when it goes down I'm going to use whatever I need to to get away.