[Capoeira] Forgive me

[Asianpride]

I am sorry for helping shut down a very importent thred for all martial artists, yet i feel the need to continue it. Except under a diffrent, hopfuly less hostial idea. Yes, i am a capoeirista at heart but dont feel capoeria to be the "ultimate" martial art, nore do i feel any art to be"ultimate". Each art has its own style and feel, for some, asian arts are their style, personaly i feel asian arts( at leats americanised ones) have gone too much tword violence. Forgeting that their roots are embeded in humility and peace.

This is probably one of the biggest reasons that i have abandended my ancestory for a more up beat, fun art. Now dont get me wrong i understand your feelings, saying that your art is the best or the art you want to learn is the best. This is another reason that i passed up asian arts. I belive it was my first teacher, a Tae Kwan Doe so called "master", would never directly teach us he was always off in his own little world training by him self. Now, if i remember corectly it has always bine the master who teaches the student, not the other students teach us. As i went back to the dojo, for almost a year, he began to get more and more arrogent, punishing us for not getting enough hieght into a kick that we acctually looked better doing than he did. Or not punching as fast as the black belts in the class, I mean i understand that disipline is a big part of the arts but how can u punish a kid for doing something not up to par when in almost a year you taught the class once!

I know that a few of u will come down on me, hard, for bringing up these points and i may be expeled from these foroms for an action so importent to the arts. But i am willing to risk my pride for something so invaluable, so neccecery, especialy since a lot of teachers today say that they are right and every one else is wrong. We need a discusion such as this to open our minds and bodies to new arts and feelings, and , and...maybe... through ones sacrifice the mass will benefit, change, evolve for the better

Thank you, all of you for participating in such a great act. All of you are heros...


Ax'e
Enson,
Park

[Kof_Andy]

I'm sorry your last Taekwondo instructor didnt work out for you, but how exactly does that makes you want to pass on asian arts. You have a bad teacher that teaches taekwondo big deal, there are bad teachers in capoeria as well as any other arts. Just because some asian guy teaches taekwondo badly, it say nothing about the asian martial art itself. I been teaching 5 years now, when I try to correct something I never ever use the word wrong. There are different ways to do things, and some might be more efficent than other, but never wrong. As a teacher our job is to help student improve, and slowly guild them to what might works for them. Sounds to me like you never had some real guildance in martial art. hah and a teacher that never teach? Isnt that clearly a big sign of Mc Dojo already? You passing a great art, and your only experience through it is from a Mc Dojo.

[Em-em]

You're still young. You have a lot of things in front of you. It's wrong to decide things at once if you didn't see all your choices. Try finding a different school and explore other asian MAs

[Asianpride]

Well thank u for taking the time to read and reply. But I feel u missed my point, that was just used to get u started, to...to...to get u to think! Yeah, I havent diregarded asian arts all together. In fact the academy i go to now teaches asian arts, we(my friends and I) actually got them more into capoeira(the owners friend did capoeira exclusivly). Ah! but thats beside the point, what i am trying to do is bring the discussion from the last article here since the thred was blocked.

Now i dunno if u read that thred or not but it had some valad points in it (and some melicious attacks). So i was hoping to bring those over to an open thred(with no malicious assaults on character or art form). I under stand how u feel as a teacher but i think u miss interprited my experiance, thinking that i gave up all asian arts. This was just one of my many experiences with the arts, the teacher we have now is probably one of the best i have ever had, be it school or martial arts. He not only stays up late for us but tried to get us a mestrae and change his whole shedule for us. Now this is a lot to do for a rag-tag group of kids that pay $10 a month just to use his equipment, on top of this his actual classes cost close to $50 a month and he was teaching us everything he was teaching his paying students for about a 5th of that...

Yet again i am off topic(I do that a lot, sorry) but what i was trying to say is that a lot of teachers these days only teach the fighting aspect of martial arts. Shane(the teacher i have bine talking about) had a few classes were he taught meditation and philosophy behind his arts not just moves. I am sure as a teacher u have had your fare share of arrogent and unruly students and these classes realy weeded out the ones who wanted to learn and the ones who want to beat people up...I know this sounds like a big idea but it's a truth will have to be faced by all martial artists someday.

I feel i havent coverd all your concerns but as they come i will try, till next type. AX'E

P.S. there are three kinds of people that will walk through your academy; farmers(like to learn the katas and philosophy over the violence), warriors(just want to learn how to fight), and dragons(those that want to learn all aspects of the art; fight, philosophy,katas, etc.)

Ax'e
Enson
Park

[Kof_Andy]

Congratz on actually finding a decent teacher that actually cares about the art, and the wellfare of his student. I tell you that is not easy to find these day. Many just teaches physcial, and leave philosophy out of the entire picture. Or pertend to teach phsyical, and pertend to teach philosophy, but they just ended up saying some common sense that a 9 years old can figure out by himself.:P:o Having a decent teacher is more important than any art itself. A martial art teacher arent just physcial leader, but also a spiritual leader aswell. Someone that you can really look up to. I'm glad that I met some wonderful teacher in the past, and I old everything that I am to them. Other wise my martial life could be very different. I could end up training in a Mc Dojo and just be ignorant about it.:confused:

[Em-em]

Originally posted by Asianpride
a lot of teachers these days only teach the fighting aspect of martial arts.

Hasty generalization. Gather all information first before making a conclusion.

A lot? A lot is a vague phrase. How much does 'a lot' means to you?

[saikyou]

yeah. I agree with em-em

[Martelo3000]

I am sorry for helping shut down a very importent thred for all martial artists, yet i feel the need to continue it. Except under a diffrent, hopfuly less hostial idea. Yes, i am a capoeirista at heart but dont feel capoeria to be the "ultimate" martial art, nore do i feel any art to be"ultimate". Each art has its own style and feel, for some, asian arts are their style, personaly i feel asian arts( at leats americanised ones) have gone too much tword violence. Forgeting that their roots are embeded in humility and peace.

This is probably one of the biggest reasons that i have abandended my ancestory for a more up beat, fun art. Now dont get me wrong i understand your feelings, saying that your art is the best or the art you want to learn is the best. This is another reason that i passed up asian arts. I belive it was my first teacher, a Tae Kwan Doe so called "master", would never directly teach us he was always off in his own little world training by him self. Now, if i remember corectly it has always bine the master who teaches the student, not the other students teach us. As i went back to the dojo, for almost a year, he began to get more and more arrogent, punishing us for not getting enough hieght into a kick that we acctually looked better doing than he did. Or not punching as fast as the black belts in the class, I mean i understand that disipline is a big part of the arts but how can u punish a kid for doing something not up to par when in almost a year you taught the class once!

I know that a few of u will come down on me, hard, for bringing up these points and i may be expeled from these foroms for an action so importent to the arts. But i am willing to risk my pride for something so invaluable, so neccecery, especialy since a lot of teachers today say that they are right and every one else is wrong. We need a discusion such as this to open our minds and bodies to new arts and feelings, and , and...maybe... through ones sacrifice the mass will benefit, change, evolve for the better

Thank you, all of you for participating in such a great act. All of you are heros...


Ax'e
Enson,
Park

Hey Man,

I hear you. Glad to hear voice your thoughts honestly. I appreciate Capoeira for being not just a martial art, but being a wide range of expressions including philosophy and celebration. Though I am not "baptised" in a capoeira group, it has become a big influence in my martial training.

As one of my instructors put it, martial arts are like languages. One isn't better than another. Some people are eloquent in their respective languages, some aren't, it doesn't reflect badly or well on the language itself, just the individual. And maybe there is some benefit to being multi-lingual? I wish I was. I love the diversity of our world.
:)

Sad to hear about your TKD instructor experience, there are bad instructors in any art, but at least he taught you a greater lesson: You found the ability within to start your own journey.

AXE!!!

MIKE

[M3inline6]

Wow, what a thread. Asianpride, I hope that you find solice in whatever art you decide to devote your time to.

[cafezinho]

I'm just beginning my training in capoeira (second class tomorrow!), but I've been a lusophile for a long time, first through the music of Samba and Forró (I'm a classical guitarist, by the way), then through the language as I began studying. Then I got a chance to study in Salvador and so much more was opened to me than I could have dreamed. Candomblé, spontaneous batucadas on buses, Carnaval and the trio elétricos, Dia do São João, afoxé, Olodum, Filhos de Gandhi, Ilê Aiyê, the Pelourinho, Itaparica island and Morro de São Paulo beaches of the Tinharé Archipelago, the 365 churches of Salvador, the Dique do Tororó, The terreiro of Ilê Axé Opô Afonjá, Casa de Oxumaré and the Terreiro de Jesus, Barra, the Mercado de Sete Portas, Abaeté Park, little monkeys they call micos, the Recôncovo, the openess and tenacity of Bahians, the horrible economic situation of so many in that city, the fitas of the Igreja do Senhor do Bonfim, a city full of artists, writers, musicians and surfers, the home of Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa, and Capoeira, among other things. Salvador is a cosmos in itself. I had to be dragged kicking and screaming on the way back home. Capoeira is a part of that incredible energy and culture of Bahia. Nothing can diminish what Capoeira is! It's not a martial art to me. It is a piece of Bahia, a way to stay connected to that world.