Times Are Changing

Thursday night’s Tri-Municipal Information Night gave me the opportunity to meet with some fellow traditional martial artists who have been teaching in the Stony Plain/Spruce Grove area as long as I have. It was great to reconnect with old friends and discuss the present state of the martial arts.

Our discussion was not a very positive one. The three of us agreed that the future of traditional martial arts is very much in jeopardy. For two thousand years, martial arts taught people how not to fight. Today, the new martial arts are all about fighting. We are all seeing the same thing - important, integral aspects of the martial arts are no longer being taught in favour of focusing on the external, transparent, and obvious.

“Showing off is the fool’s idea of glory.” - Bruce Lee (1940 - 1973)