SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING BORROWED...

 by Phillip Starr

Recently, an American martial arts teacher asked why martial arts styles developed by foreigners (read “Westerners”) are not considered “traditional” and are frowned upon by their Asian counterparts. Good question. I'd like to expound on that a bit.

Firstly, we need to define “traditional” in so far as martial arts are concerned. The dictionary defines tradition as:

1. The handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation, especially by word of mouth or by practice.

2. A long-established or inherited way of thinking or acting.

Of course, the question begs, just what is meant by “long-established?” How long is “long?” It must not be too awfully long because Tatsuo Shimabuku founded his Isshin-ryu style of karate in 1956 and Masutatsu Oyama formed his Kyokushin style in the same decade. Even Shotokan, which is now accepted as a form of traditional karate, is a relative newcomer to the martial arts world. Its founder, the revered “Father of Japanese karate” (Gichin Funakoshi), blended the Okinawan styles of Shorin and Shorei (“Shuri”) in the 1930's to create a new synthetic system. They'd all trained in an “accepted and traditional” art/style for a couple of decades or more and most of them retained a number of the forms (kata) that they'd learned, but they also introduced forms of their own making. These styles are now accepted as being “traditional.” So I would ask, “Where is the cut-off line for a method to be recognized as traditional?” Clearly, it wasn't too long ago... is it still ongoing?

It's clear that past martial arts zealots in Japan and China understood the importance of “tradition” and those who created new styles often attributed their “new methods” to mysterious hermits (in China, they were often Taoist or Buddhist hermits...) or even ghosts or goblins who taught them for some obscure reason. If they'd simply stated the truth – that they'd come up with some new ideas themselves – they'd have been outcasts as far as the martial arts community and their own social circles were concerned.

Presently, a large number of Westerners have several decades of training under their belts and some of them have done the same thing; they have created their own hybrid styles. However, the teacher to whom I referred in the beginning of this article was absolutely correct; a style or form of karate or kung-fu that has been created by a Westerner is NOT accepted as “traditional” by Asian or even most Western instructors. And quite frankly, I believe it is simply due to the fact that the style in question has been created by a Westerner.

This brings to mind a story regarding Master Peter Urban (10^th dan and founder of American Goju) and his teacher, the legendary Gogen “The Cat” Yamaguchi (a 10^th dan in Goju-ryu who studied under Master Chojun Miyagi). Mr. Urban had been promoted to 5^th dan and was sitting in his teacher's house with Yamaguchi's son, having tea and talking about karate. Urban was brash enough to ask about Westerners being promoted past the grade of 5^th dan. Yamaguchi said he'd never allow it because Westerners could never truly understand the fighting spirit of karate.

Urban mentioned something about Japan's defeat at the hands of the American military forces in WWII...and then realized he had REALLY shoved his foot in his mouth – clear to the knee! Yamaguchi was furious and Urban grabbed a small knife, preparing to cut off his left little finger at the first knuckle (as a way of apologizing for such a serious error). However, Yamaguchi's son grabbed Urban's hand and told him that such action would be pointless and he shouldn't do it. I believe that it was this incident that ended the relationship that Urban had had with his teacher. Later, Urban returned to the U.S. where he became one of the best-known karate teachers of the day.

However, it is Yamaguchi's answer to Urban's question that largely seals the meaning of just WHY Westerner who create their own methods are not readily accepted. Not only many Asians, but Westerners as well, either consciously or unconsciously refuse to believe that a Westerner can really grasp the technique, the essence, and the spirit of the (Asian) martial ways. And I will go on record saying that such biases are often (but not always) unfounded and untrue.

My own teacher, Master W.C. Chen, confided to me that he'd been told by other senior kung-fu practitioners and teachers that he shouldn't even try to teach Americans because they simply couldn't really understand the art. That's like Americans telling foreigners that only Americans can really play baseball.. I guess we forgot to tell the Japanese, who's best Little League team beat the bejeezus out've the top American team some years back.

Now, don't get me wrong; I'm certainly not advocating that we should all go out and create our own styles. Far from it! Before one is truly qualified to do such a thing, one should have trained assiduously in an accepted and traditional method for many years in order to acquire a genuine and complete understanding of one's chosen martial discipline. Only after perhaps 20 years of disciplined training can one begin to grasp the essence of a given style or art. There is simply no other way and there are NO short cuts! But there ARE Westerners who are every bit as qualified as their Asian counterparts to do so.