Who are you to say....?

I was having an interesting discussion on the issue of disabled people taking part in MMA and boxing the other day. As you may be aware there are plans to have wheelchair bound fighters compete in both disciplines.

The Wheeled Warriors organisation wants to bring the concept to both the cage and ring next year. But it has met with opposition in some areas. Some people are more than a little uncomfortable that two guys in wheelchairs will be slugging it out in front of cheering crowds.

Yes, I can see that it might make some feel uncomfortable, some squeamish and some think it’s immoral...

BULLYING IN MARTIAL ARTS

AS martial artists we all like to think that somehow the arts have made us better people.

We hear all of the time through magazines and publications such as Martial News how martial arts have changed this person or that one and led them to have more compassion, understanding and be more ethical as a human being.

And in the case of many people this may be true.

Yet there is a dark side that we rarely acknowledge in the cold light of day, a festering sore that has to be covered up and ignored.

And this is bullying...

Martial Arts are full of myths.

Take the legends that swirl around old masters. This one could kill a bird with his kiai, that one could defeat whole armies and that one could actually fly.

Of course those are exaggerations...a bit like the stories of masters.

Yes I’m sure they were excellent martial artists and had profound knowledge of their subject.  But as I’ve yet to see a master of today actually fly or be employed as a country’s secret weapon (although maybe he exists as I wouldn’t know it being secret!). Nor have I ever read of one that could defeat armies in any other periodical other than Captain America.

Although they might have more knowledge I think the past master would often struggle against modern fighters simply because of modern training methods. They were, after all, only humans...