Here is a post from Master Bill Pottle from @Korean Academy of Taekwondo.
I once saw a Taekwondo school that bragged on their website (of all places.) "We are a very traditional school. We only teach Front Kick, Side Kick, and Roundhouse kick." Now, of course each person is allowed to interpret their own traditions within the framework of their own school and style. But personally I don't think tradition was supposed to be interpreted this way. That's why our school motto is "With a mind in the future and a heart in the past." Tradition has a TON of value to martial arts students. It provides a link to both the past and the future. However, the danger of tradition is being stuck. Why did people do things a certain way? And, would they really have been so against doing things a better way.
Honestly, when I read the above statement I thought, really? Are you also still riding around on bicycles with a huge front wheel, 'debugging' your computer by wiping the vacuum tubes down with a cloth, and refusing penicillin? When a better thing comes around, take advantage of it! Humanity has a tremendous capacity for innovation and little things are constantly being improved.
When I was a color belt, I remember black belts who were 'so amazingly good.' However, when I go back and watch video footage of their matches now, there is no comparison to the current top black belts. You don't see gymnastics schools saying "We're very traditional. We believe in never doing more than one back flip at a time." Of course, they evolve.
We have tried to straddle the balance of having a traditional mindset, but still taking advantage of improvements. It's not always easy, but we have always tried to have the best of both worlds.
I once saw a Taekwondo school that bragged on their website (of all places.) "We are a very traditional school. We only teach Front Kick, Side Kick, and Roundhouse kick." Now, of course each person is allowed to interpret their own traditions within the framework of their own school and style. But personally I don't think tradition was supposed to be interpreted this way. That's why our school motto is "With a mind in the future and a heart in the past." Tradition has a TON of value to martial arts students. It provides a link to both the past and the future. However, the danger of tradition is being stuck. Why did people do things a certain way? And, would they really have been so against doing things a better way.
Honestly, when I read the above statement I thought, really? Are you also still riding around on bicycles with a huge front wheel, 'debugging' your computer by wiping the vacuum tubes down with a cloth, and refusing penicillin? When a better thing comes around, take advantage of it! Humanity has a tremendous capacity for innovation and little things are constantly being improved.
When I was a color belt, I remember black belts who were 'so amazingly good.' However, when I go back and watch video footage of their matches now, there is no comparison to the current top black belts. You don't see gymnastics schools saying "We're very traditional. We believe in never doing more than one back flip at a time." Of course, they evolve.
We have tried to straddle the balance of having a traditional mindset, but still taking advantage of improvements. It's not always easy, but we have always tried to have the best of both worlds.
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