Hi Jim,

Thank you for taking the time to comment on this article. We are in agreement in the sense that I also see "no problem with people being part-time instructors." There has been much contributed to the martial arts by those who practiced MA part-time. My personal respect goes out to all who have shown any level of dedication such as yourself. I also agree with you that "it's all good" as long as one benefits from the training in some way. Perhaps if you review the article you will note that there is no criticism or judgment whether part-time or full time is better or worse. Each has it advantages and disadvantages.

You may also note that the primary point was the DISTINCTION between ACTUAL TIME and experience when calculating calendar "years" that were actually spent practicing and participating part-time in contrast with the "years" spent actually practicing and participating full time. The math has no "insecurity", and facts are clearly just facts. If there was any criticism or judgment in this article, it was aimed at those who may distort or confuse those differences and thereby create a less than truthful illusion. If you equate my advocation for integrity with being "insecure" then perhaps I would stand guilty as charged, or perhaps that part of your comment wasn't intended for me. However, from my personal perspective as a MA leader, it is part of my responsibility to stand for integrity, and clarity, speaking the truth yet, without attempting to disparage specific individuals. We don't need to agree since this is merely a personal conviction of mine.

As to why "this subject would even come up.."; it seems that it would be obvious since one of the first things out of the mouth of almost any experienced MA practitioner when asked about his/her martial arts is to re-count how many "years" he/she has trained. From my observations, what has also served to challenge the credibility of martial arts is a widespread "inflation" of ranks and titles to the point where it we are top heavy with more self proclaimed "Chiefs than Indians". Further, if more accurately pointing out this distinction between calendar "years" passed and actual MA activity occurring during those "years" appears to indicate some level of "insecurity" then perhaps you misunderstood the context of the article, or perhaps I did a poor job in communicating my ideas, or perhaps again the "insecure" part of your comment was a reaction to one of the other respondents. I hope this response to your reactions helps to shed more light on the issues you bring up from this article.

Regardless, we each view these issues from our own limited perspective anyway, so you are welcome to your own opinion. I am pleased to receive your response and share some constructive interaction whether we ultimately reach the same conclusions or not. Best of luck to you in your continued training.

Hi Ron,
It's great to hear from you after many years and see that you are doing quite well. It gives me great pleasure to hear that some part of your martial arts training has impacted your life in an significant way. To have played even a small role in that gives me great satisfaction. One of the lessons that has made a a difference for me is the realization that our legacy is less about our professional success and more about the lives we've touched, that relationships are the substance of life, lasting beyond what we are even aware of, and everything else will pass. My best wishes to you and I too look forward to yet another opportunity to meet face to face. Best of luck with your blog.

Thank you for the kind words, Dave. Will keep you posted and look forward to seeing you again soon.

Hi Heather,

I'm sorry that I can't be of more assistance. I have not had contact with Master Bowling for quite a while now. Perhaps some of our other readers could help you regain contact. If you are successful at reaching him, please give him my regards and ask him to contact me.

Abe, perhaps it is useful for me to point out what you are referring to is not whether there is a new "style" of not, but instead concerns "credibility".

Let's face it, any human being can announce tomorrow they are the "founder" of their own "style" of martial arts or anything else they can imagine. If you like to be entertained, check out the YouTube videos of "Hillbilly Ninja" and you will see a very funny example of that type of logic. One of the reasons that GM Peter Urban became so popular to some was less about his prowess as a martial artist and more about the way he challenged the structure of traditional oriental martial arts. In several interviews he took the "I think, so therefore, I exist" approach when asked to defend his claim to 10th Dan. He stated quite equivocally that his proof of his new "style" of USA GoJu was when he incorporated his business in NYC. Of course that would result in him becoming a Pop culture figure. His credibility as a competent martial artist and talented teacher were already established and also at a time when there was little else to compare with.

This radical departure from the established standards of his credible oriental teachers, if and when accepted by any aspiring individual, opened the door for anyone and everyone to have the illusion they were already at the pinnacle of martial arts by the simple proclamation of their own mouth! How novel, how tempting even to the most ethical, especially since after over 4 decades this specious logic has become more common than the practices of those who hold themselves to a much higher standard. In reality, it has never been before many years of work and effort that any system/style of martial arts has arrived at any significant level of credibility. Please note that none of the founders/GrandMasters of the commonly accepted "styles" of martial arts today ever started their systems proclaiming themselves "10th Dan" or "GrandMaster, Soke, Seiko Shihan, blah.blah.blah. Most of these "founders" of an earlier generation were acknowledged with such high accolades and social titles for their earlier work near the end of their lives and some not until after they had died.

The initial "proof" that someone "created" his own style is self evident from his own proclamation. The actual credibility and validation of its existence and progress as a legitimate new/unique "system" is played out through the life activities of that founder and through the lives of the students he has taught, Black Belts he has developed, Master teachers he has mentored. This process can not be replaced by merely sending a certificate or any other such proclamation. It is for this reason that a larger and larger segment of the martial arts community today is having a crisis of credibility. Some individuals are taking an unethical advantage while others are stepping up to the plate to do the work necessary to gain greater verifiable credibility step by step, day by day, student by student, school by school, MA activity by MA activity, etc.

Further, as we have already discussed, most "new styles" are merely variations of prior systems or even limited versions simply because that student never stayed with his teacher long enough or trained directly with him consistently enough to even capture the full essence and approach that made his teachers "style" unique to begin with. We subsequently end up with new "systems; that would more accurately identified as "GoJu-Lite" or "Shotokan-Lite" etc., or perhaps "mixed up GoJu" or even "half cooked Ninjitsu, Kung-fu, my uncle's bad boxing combo". The best that can be done by those who have chosen a more ethical and credible path is to educate the public (and other less aware sincere martial artists) concerning the elements and process necessary to reach a more accurate evaluation of what they see and/or practice. The second (and probably more important action) is to simply keep your own practice at the highest standard possible and let your own actions and performance be the best example and contrast to the other.

People are generally not stupid and eventually will get the clearer picture over time. The ones who don't get it, probably don't want to anyway. <div style="display: block; margin: 6px 0pt 0pt;"><a class="a2a_dd" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Fintensedebate.com%2FcommentPopup.php%3Facct%3D89f34ca946d1aa11ac49a3e6120e3bb0%26postid%3D1683%26posttitle%3DThe%2520%26quot%3BPETER%2520URBAN%2520SYNDROME%26quot%3B%25202%26posturl%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fricpascetta.com%2F2011%2F03%2F03%2Fthe-peter-urban-syndrome-2%2F%23IDCommentIDComment143905599&title=Intense%20Debate%20Comments&description=">

Thanks for your input, Abe.

Your comments certainly are logical and have merit. You point out what is sometimes overlooked or even missed when comparing the various approaches to martial arts in general. My observation is that there are those principles and concepts that are more specific to a particular type of martial art and then there are which I call "Universal" principles. By that term I am not simply referring to principles that are applicable to only physical techniques and/or physical application. I am referring to principles that transcend the physical into the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual aspects of human development. In that sense, they are "universal" and thus we find various methods applying those principles in the development of students that study that method. I tend to agree with you that all methods of practice, "style". and/or "system" are obviously subsets of the larger concept, "martial arts". However, there are some very different perspectives on where the emphasis is best placed in terms of priority of techniques taught, variety of techniques taught, along with sometimes distinct variations on HOW those techniques are taught. Therefore, the term "system" implies that a particular instructor and/or organization of instructors follow a systematic approach in organizing their curriculum and that there is some overall common emphasis on certain principles, concepts, and technical practice that is shared by those who identify with that particular system.

In that sense, there are numerous "styles" and "systems" of martial arts, some that are very similar to others and some that are distinctly different. What is also interesting when observing the martial arts in general is that not all instructors and alleged "organizations" actually have codified and/or clearly distinguished what the specifics that make their approach/variation unique. As a result, there is much room for speculation and also potential abuse. It is, however, my belief that the instructors, masters, and/or organizational groups that have the most credibility are those who have done the hard work to clarify those specifics.

Regardless, any systematic approach that attempts to cover such a broad area of human development (physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual) would likely be more effective when there is room left for some flexibility in teaching and applying that system of teaching. The challenge is to reach some balance between a very strict adherence to the formal practices of that system and the freedom to vary in emphasis or training practices. If the variance is too great, then it would be logical to conclude that the particular instructor is not truly teaching that system. If there is no variance permitted then there is less room for the opportunity for innovation that naturally occurs when some "new"" revelation is discovered during the process.

It has been my observation that unless the instructor also remains a "student" to his own instructor while he is working towards some legitimate level of "mastery" of his teacher's method/system, then that student/Master never really is able to pass on the full benefit of the system of his own teacher. How can you teach something that you never learned yourself? Whether the result is good, bad, or ugly is a matter of opinion that can vary drastically from case to case. Subsequently, martial arts is always in a flux and credibility can be illusive since it comes only after much time and is impacted by such a large variety of factors. In today's modern society (especially the Western culture) there is such a focus on ego, the self, and individualism that the door is wide open for abuse. Most people (even martial artists themselves) do not step back and view these activities from a broader, more objective and rational perspective. Rather, they form biased conclusions after choosing to limit the scope of their evaluation to those specific parts of this process that support what they are presently doing or chose to begin doing.

I sincerely beleive that this is something that will never change. It is part of the human experience in any area of human interaction. However, that is no excuse not to strive for integrity and ethical standards. With all that said, the bottom line is that we each need to comfortable in our own skin and be aware that whatever we do and however we act with each other will carry its own consequences, both good and bad.

Thank you, Master Perry, for your kind encouragement and support. I hope we can see each other again soon to share some training time. It's been many years since I saw you with your Sensei, Master Ron Van Clief at GM Urban's dojo. Those were some exciting days. GOD bless and take care until we meet again.

Thank you, Sir.

I was inspired to write this series in order to bring attention to some very serious mistakes I beleive have been happening in martial arts and even more so in USA GoJu. It is not my intention to contend with other martial artists, however, whenever and wherever honorable men will not stand for truth and integrity, then evil will prevail. Since this series I have been blocked from several Facebook pages and the page on which I first responded to the initial inquiry has been temporarily shut down while I defend my right and all other USA GoJu members to continue to use the U.S.A.G.A. name given to us by GM Urban. On one hand, it is a waste of effort and gives too much attention to the wrong people to make too much fuss, however, since the "leader" of this less than credible group has "registered" the U.S.A.G.A. without the authority of GM Urban, shortly after his death, and under false pretense and inaccurate information submitted on the Trademark application, I feel it is important to shed the light of truth on this travesty before the illegitimate use of this name becomes too rooted to be rescinded.

This is not simply a problem that exists in USA GoJu, but since this is so close to home for me and so many that I respect, I beleive we must first clean our own house. I have no illusion that we will ever changed the "fakers" or the once legit practitioners who have lowered their ethics in a desperate attempt to inflate their own accomplishments. However, I have found that the best way to expose something that is counterfeit is to place something "real" right next to it. Those who wish to be part of fantasy and are uninterested in seeking the highest standards will easily be swayed towards nonsense. Those who are interested in setting and achieving the highest standards for themselves and their students will always check more critically before involving themselves in substandard and or less than ethical nonsense. Ultimately, each will get what they seek.

Subsequently, in that spirit I continue to speak with truth and clarity, especially about the issues that affect me, my students, and associates the most. Whenever one of us lowers our standards and accepts less that credible practices, it reflects on the rest. Those who will not compromise their integrity or their standards loose part of what they have worked so hard for and those who function under the principles of "smoke and mirrors" gain, not from their own hard work but from being inaccurately viewed as the same as those who have paid the price to do what is right. I have restrained myself from naming names, however, people are not blind nor stupid, unless they don't want to see or admit the facts.

I am confident with time that all that is done in darkness will be exposed in the light. Thank you for helping share this vision and contributing toward what, I pray, becomes a grassroots movement to RESTORE INTEGRITY, HONOR and RESPECT to the Martial Arts. Our best influence will be through our own actions first, within our own groups second, and then stand as a testimony to influence the others. For those others reading these words and knowing that this issue points directly to your behavior, change you ways, acknowledge your errors in judgment, and return to the principles that have made Martial Arts so powerful. If not, shame on you.

Thank you again, Master Perry for your support. Grace and peace to you.

Great wisdom in your idea of limiting government intervention in private matters. The older I get the more I question what is the worse of the two evils, the private scoundrels or the government scoundrels. I appreciate again the vote of confidence, but would add that "age" has given us an advantage and that perhaps we can still do some significant and relevant things together, LORD willing. Whether they become accepted as "great" of not, only history will provide the proof and only if our humble contributions withstand the test of time. Ric

Thank you Dave. You have always been a "practical tactical" guy, unimpressed by nonsense. Best wishes to you on your continued training. Thanks for sharing.