Traditional Martial Arts developed from a
family oriented system. Martial Arts masters originally taught only family
members, then 'adopted' members. Cousins, nephews, and the marriage related fit
into this second category. As time went on, others asked to be taught by the
masters. Only after years of servitude to show their respect might these people
be taken on as students.
Martial arts education has several
different teaching aspects. Under some "styles" the master is regarded
as a father figure; under others the master is revered, almost from a religious
standpoint, and under others, the master is treated as an instructor and
counselor.
Surdang is an example of a school where
both martial arts and general education are taught. Under this system, martial
arts are taught more as a sport than as a way of life. Martial arts develop both
the spiritual/mental and physical aspects of the individual. Sports oriented
martial arts develop only the physical. A "sport" attitude is not a
self defense attitude, but rather a "game" attitude. There are several
martial arts that have been modified to become "sports" oriented
versus martial arts oriented. The first of these is Judo. Judo originated in
Mongolia and was adopted by the Japanese. This martial art was very popular
until it was modified into a "sport." It became so popular that it has
become an Olympic sport. Now, Judo is only taught in a "sport"
setting. The second martial art to become "sport" oriented is Tae Kwon
Do. It is still easy to find a martial art school for Tae Kwon Do. However, that
time will soon come to an end. The martial art way of learning martial arts is
hard in comparison to the easier way of "sport" learning. The
consensus is that the easiest, is not always the best.
