COMFY? NOT!

 By Phillip Starr

For what it's worth, it's my opinion that much of the reason for the overall decline in the martial arts nowadays is due to...discomfort. New students dislike it (and often drop out), instructors are afraid that students will find certain routines too uncomfortable and they don't use them, or both. Actually, this has gone on for so long that we now have instructors who have never had to endure the rigors and frequent accompanying “discomforts” that were once part and parcel of traditional training.

In the East, it's generally understood and accepted that engaging in a martial art is going to hurt a bit but not so in the West where we've been made to be politically correct (except for a few such as yours truly) and strive to prevent offending anyone or making them physically uncomfortable. The West has managed to raise a generation of wimps; many public schools have reduced or eliminated physical education and children (as well as adults) are not made to engage in any activity that makes them uncomfortable.

If little Billy's legs are sore from running around the track yesterday, he'll be excused from doing any physical exercises today. And this attitude has been carried into many martial arts schools...a great many of them no longer make students practice static postures (such as the dreaded horse-riding stance) or any training routines that are usually painful. But it is this very aspect of training that develops character, spirit, and an indomitable will; things that are not only essential for the development of martial skill but necessary for daily life as well!

Authentic martial skill simply cannot be developed without enduring a considerable amount of discomfort. But nowadays, many instructors are overly concerned that everyone is “having fun.” They fear that discomfort may result in lower enrollment and subsequent loss of income. And so it might. Martial arts aren't for everyone.