The over abundance of resources easily and freely available through the Internet is a double-edged sword. While it can certainly help us, when used wisely, it also has multiple disadvantages. One of the main ones being how easy it is to fall into the trap of being entitled to judge anyone else’s skills.
From one’s ivory tower of anonymity it is easy to sit at the keyboard and issue judgement about the various artists (for a Martial Artist is above all an Artist, and as such should they be respected and recognized) displaying their Art.
Now this is, in my opinion, wrong. But wrong, not only because it’s not appropriate or moral, but also because it’s fundamentally flawed. Meaning, it’s not that you should not judge other people, it’s that you cannot. You simply cannot, much as you would want to convince yourself of the fact that you can.
Now, imagine you are a beginner or an intermediate student of Physics. And I organize two different classes for you to judge which professor you want to join for a year-long course in Physics to take you to the next level of knowledge and also practical laboratory experience. One of the trial classes is with a regular Physics University professor, someone that knows the subject matter ‘pretty well’ and has experience teaching and explaining things catering to the audience in front of them. The other is Albert Einstein. One of the brightest physicists ever to live in this world. Now sit and think about this with an open mind. Who do you think you would tell me would be ‘better,’ and not just at teaching you, but who would you perceive as knowing more?
If you say ‘Einstein’, I postulate this is just because his name is famous. Let’s imagine he was not famous. After receiving his Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 it is well recorded how he would tour many stages and events to speak in public. He was keenly aware most people were not understanding most of what he said. And that was, mind you, having many fellow Physicists and researchers among the audiences.
No, I am quite convinced you–and I, for that matter–would perceive the first Professor to be clear and fascinating, and her or his ability to communicate a small piece of knowledge clearly would come across to us as if she or he was more knowledgeable.
Why? Because there is a principle at work here that we often forget. You need skill to recognize skill. You need a high level in Math to realize someone is at a very high level of Math. You need a deep understanding of Martial Arts, to realize someone has tremendous skill.
Think about it. Without experience in Martial Arts, what is someone’s exposure to Martial Arts? The answer is almost always movies. Movies show things that are often the opposite of true skill. Movies are performance arts, not only different than true skill, but often times diametrically different. Martial Arts are often efficient to the point that the less you do, the better you are doing it, which does not work for the camera. This is like realizing our only exposure to recognize a bright business person is having played monopoly with monopoly money for many years.
And also think about other types of Art. If you look at reality, you may judge poorly many Artists that don’t paint reality in a realistic way. There are countless schools of Art like surrealism, impressionism, etc. You are ‘free’ to like it or not, but you can’t stand there and determine which Art is ‘better’ because you will only be looking with the color of the glasses you are wearing. Many of us could have looked at this painting and not think very highly of it, if we didn’t know anything about History of Painting. Then we see a realistic sketch by someone else and like it much more. Yet the former auctioned for $15.4 million and the latter goes for a few dollars in your corner store. What is the measure of good? Wouldn’t it be better to refrain from judging, allowing everyone to have their preferences, and continue growing while admiring skill of any sort everywhere?
Often times, when a Martial Artist is very experienced and has been humbled by the true Path of the Martial Arts, she or he is the opposite of flashy. I have found that true virtue is often hidden. Not only consciously, because hidden virtue is so much more beautiful, but also because true virtue can only be seen by the virtuous, even if it was displayed publicly.
Many of us when were kids enamored by Kung Fu movies, were looking for Sifus/Senseis that were so skilled their skills appear magical. This was natural, and there’s nothing wrong in having an immature phase in life as we grow and get humbled by the Path. But eventually, little by little, we start realizing that this was flawed in two ways. First, the teacher that can help you the most is not always the most skilled. Teaching, guiding, mentoring, instructing, is a life skill like any other. Some people have it, some people don’t. But also, and very important to the point of this article, one cannot really judge the level of skill of another Martial Artist beyond the current level one has or perhaps just slightly over it.
For example, if we were to witness a real confrontation (and we certainly hope we never will, since such confrontation today would be illegal and end very disastrously from a legal standpoint) between a ‘Master’ and a group of opponents there could be many outcomes. The most likely is that the ‘Master’ would either be subdued or defeated, since fighting multiple opponents is truly difficult. We can imagine a ‘Master’ so ‘lethal’ (a word that I really despise as what society needs is the opposite of this today!) that she or he obliterates her or his enemies in seconds (a la ‘Zatoichi‘). But now, what if the ‘Master’ was able to get out of that situation without being harmed and without harming anyone. That takes a lot more skill, it’s a whole different level of skill that only someone experienced would admire and recognize.
It’s harder to win without hurting, for example. But even if you saw two people drilling, or sparring. The ‘Master’ may not move the way you expect. I have often seen people do things, slow and not flashy, that only many many years later, reflecting in hindsight, I get to profoundly admire. In other words, I needed life and experience to ‘forge me’ enough for me to open my eyes.
I once read a story about a Yogi in the Himalayas that was a student of a Teacher. Eventually the Yogi as a young kid is restless. Thinks there are ‘better Masters’ out there and goes away. Finds a ‘Teacher’ that can resurrect animals after they have died. The young Yogi witnesses a ‘miracle’ and is dazzled. He begs to be accepted by the ‘spectacular Master’ with life-giving powers. Only to realize later the ‘spectacular Master’ is a student of his own original Master! And to hear this Master praise his original Master as the source of everything he ever learned.
There’s another reason to withhold from judgement, other than utterly realizing it cannot be done fairly. It’s a lot more enjoyable in life to perceive every interaction as an opportunity to learn and grow. I often call myself the ‘eternal beginner‘ in Martial Arts. There’s only one thing I would fear in this Path (and I don’t consider it possible, so I am safe 🙂 ) and that would be to ‘complete the system.’ Imagine the dread! Why are we doing this anyway? Again, as I have said before, we are not doing Martial Arts to fight zombies on our way to buy coffee (hopefully!) but to grow, learn and know ourselves. When we perceive any interaction with anyone, of any Art, as a great chance to learn something new, life becomes so much more enjoyable. I often say to my Teacher, George Lee, that the classes in which he makes me feel I am still a beginner are the most enjoyable ones.
So what can be some practical advice here? Practice, practice, practice. Grow and learn from anyone and everyone. Focus on learning and challenging yourself instead of thinking of the skill of others. To be honest, when I see people gloating over the level of skill of their Sifus/Senseis while criticizing others, I think that even if that assessment was true, which as we know is hard to determine, what would be the point? The point is for you to learn and grow. Own your Journey, develop yourself. Your Teacher is a pointer of truth, not the truth, and her or his only true satisfaction would be that you show your own growth and development. I have often seen that those open minded to learning and not judging develop much faster. Instead of wasting time judging who is good or not, every single person and every interaction is a chance to learn something new!
To know more about this and other Martial Arts and Life topics, you can view my Vlog and Podcast as well as these Martial Journal-related articles: Book Review: Introduction to Zen Training by Justin Lee Ford and The Most Genuine Question for a Martial Arts Teacher by Jonathan Bluestein!
Francis can be contacted at francis.cordon@gmail.com, he is also an active Martial Arts YouTube Vlogger as well as the co-host of the Martial Arts Podcast ‘A Thousand Exits.’
- The Eternal Beginner - May 25, 2022
- The Art Of Enhancing Life - April 14, 2022
- The Art Of Observation - March 7, 2022
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