Post by bryceifleming on Mar 25, 2012 20:49:45 GMT
youtu.be/Fr6YM281wbk
The above link is to a very well produced promotional piece for Sensei Kanazawa the Younger. Obviously the man is really quite superb at what he does, and if he is anything like his father, he will become known for his unique karate and excellent teaching. I have no bones to pick here; I selected the tape merely for it's title "The Legend Continues....".
Doesn't anyone else in karate take issue with the excessive lionization (or deification) of what are essentially professional athletes? I mean of course these guys are really excellent at what they do; they bloody well should be since this is their chosen profession. We talk about how fantastic any well known instructor is and how dedicated he is and how much he trained and still trains, but we fail to admit that that sort of dedication is the hallmark of ANY professional in any profession. Dedicated study of any subject practically defines the very essence of the term "professional".
I believe the above tape is actually a professionally done promotional tape and as such, my criticism is patently unfair. Of course the makers of the film are going to lionize Mr. Kanazawa; they are promoting him and his school. On the other hand, one merely needs to spend a wee bit of time out on the Internet and you will find any number of tapes done by fawning students in honor of whatever Sensei they feel is "legendary". It gets a bit embarrassing to realize how many "legends" are out there.
Especially when one realizes that true "legends" are often expanded stories with a small grain of truth that has been magnified with large doses of dramatic license. Legends, by definition, are exaggerations or expansions of the truth.
I remember, not too many years ago on Karate Underground, one of the better known instructors commented that he thought sometimes that his students tended to follow his instructions too literally. He mentioned that he was scared he would forget himself one day while teaching Kata and end up having Jion or Empi include a blatant crotch scratch for all the future generations of his students.
If you are an instructor, just how high a pedestal do you want to be put upon? I guess the question should be how far do you want to fall?
The above link is to a very well produced promotional piece for Sensei Kanazawa the Younger. Obviously the man is really quite superb at what he does, and if he is anything like his father, he will become known for his unique karate and excellent teaching. I have no bones to pick here; I selected the tape merely for it's title "The Legend Continues....".
Doesn't anyone else in karate take issue with the excessive lionization (or deification) of what are essentially professional athletes? I mean of course these guys are really excellent at what they do; they bloody well should be since this is their chosen profession. We talk about how fantastic any well known instructor is and how dedicated he is and how much he trained and still trains, but we fail to admit that that sort of dedication is the hallmark of ANY professional in any profession. Dedicated study of any subject practically defines the very essence of the term "professional".
I believe the above tape is actually a professionally done promotional tape and as such, my criticism is patently unfair. Of course the makers of the film are going to lionize Mr. Kanazawa; they are promoting him and his school. On the other hand, one merely needs to spend a wee bit of time out on the Internet and you will find any number of tapes done by fawning students in honor of whatever Sensei they feel is "legendary". It gets a bit embarrassing to realize how many "legends" are out there.
Especially when one realizes that true "legends" are often expanded stories with a small grain of truth that has been magnified with large doses of dramatic license. Legends, by definition, are exaggerations or expansions of the truth.
I remember, not too many years ago on Karate Underground, one of the better known instructors commented that he thought sometimes that his students tended to follow his instructions too literally. He mentioned that he was scared he would forget himself one day while teaching Kata and end up having Jion or Empi include a blatant crotch scratch for all the future generations of his students.
If you are an instructor, just how high a pedestal do you want to be put upon? I guess the question should be how far do you want to fall?