Perhaps the most "successful" coach in American history, John Wooden, has always stated that true success in competition comes not from winning, but from the preparation and effort along the way. He writes that:
"...there is great joy and satisfaction in competing against an opponent who forces you to dig deep and produce your best... The worthy opponent brings out the best in you."
The secret to competition is not that it is a place for deciding winners and losers, but that it challenges people to push themselves, both in their preparation and in the ring. If you never have the opportunity to test yourself, you will never push yourself to achieve something more. A martial artist who does not want to improve themselves is one who invites stagnation and death. Wooden describes this further:
"Most all good things come through adversity... We get stronger when we test ourselves. Adversity can make us better. We must be challenged to improve, and adversity is the challenger."
In Soo Bahk Do, we were challenged as a group when Chang Ip Jang Nim passed away. It created changes that we as a Federation still struggle to overcome. As individuals, we challenge our abilities through competition. Tests and clinics do not do this. They only allow us to push ourselves to fixed goals set out before us. The goals in competition are unlimited, because the abilities of our opponents are unknown. We are forced to strive to be our best, both in preparation and in the ring.
Personally, my best came when I fought the "Giant" from Minnesota in the team competition at Nationals a few years ago. It was a match that I didn't even win: we tied. Yet, I consider it my greatest achievement in Soo Bahk Do competition, because it forced me to challenge myself — to adapt, to dig deep, and to make myself better. I can only thank him as an opponent for giving me the opportunity to improve myself.
I cannot speak to any knowledge of it, but it would seem to me that those who wish to do away with competition do not understand its uses and benefits. Perhaps, instead of doing away with competition, we should strive instead to educate and promote a better understanding and perception of what good it serves. Otherwise, I fear we will be forsaking the "martial" for the "art" and ending up with neither.
'I fear we will be forsaking the "martial" for the "art" and ending up with neither.'
ReplyDeleteWise words indeed. We walk a fine line in modernity on this issue; on the one hand, we as a society are almost desperate to not have any more losers in any way. We have a well-intentioned cultural desire to give everyone a trophy, the "A for effort" philosophy. But if we avoid exposing ourselves to true competition in any field, this can very easily become a form of retreat from the self, a manifestation of fear of failure couched in positivist terms.
By eliminating competetive aspects, some leaders feel as though they are embracing a more inclusive, less judgmental philosophy, and yet they may, in some cases, be removing the crucible in which the raw materials of talent are forged into true achievement. This is true for everything from schoolteaching to the martial arts.
With regards specifically to martial arts, I have seen firsthand that particularly 'artsy' styles (as opposed to 'martial' styles) which have removed all vestiges of competition very often fall prey to unrealistic ideas of their own efficacy, the formation of inefficient habits, and even a somewhat subconscious gnawing fear of inability which leads the practitioner to adopt a 'holier-than-thou' attitude and actually look down on competitive practitioners. The health benefits and overall worth of arts such as Tai Chi and Aikido are beyond argument, and yet one can read in many students' translations of 'Grand Ultimate Fist' something of an overcompensation for the fact that the vast majority of them never will be in a situation in which they can learn from experience what martial ultimacy is.
It is not the place of anyone to say that a style must have direct, full-contact competition in order to be worthwhile. But it is equally obtuse to assert that the process of competition does nothing for personal development, in any field.