Martial Arts Part 1

I am currently reading "American Shaolin", a book written by a fellow named Matthew Polly. It documents his journey & admission into the Shaolin Temple in China in order to learn Kung Fu & monasticism right from the source. The book is very funny. I just finished a hilarious exchange between the author & a young monk named Little Tiger. The two of them are going back & forth attempting to figure out whether Americans or Chinese have better curse words (Mandarin wins, hands down).

I've read other martial arts travelogues, or at least, i think i have. I can recall reading a book called "Angry White Pajamas" about a guy who went to Japan to learn Aikido. It was somewhat similar to this book in that while being very funny, it was also a very clear snapshot of a changing culture as photographed by an outsider.

I have not immersed myself this strongly in my attempts to study martial arts. I've taken trips here and there to attend camps & seminars related to various martial arts but i've not ever gone straight to the source to learn. My Arnis teacher has done so many times - he's gone on several trips to various places in the Philippines in order to learn more & more & always comes back with a wealth of knowledge.

However, i *have* been involved in martial arts for years. I've spent time studying various Japanese, Korean & Filipino martial arts in varying degrees. For example, i studied Aikido for 5 or 6 years and I studied Tae Kwon Do for 3 semesters...so yes, varying degrees. I will say this much, though - i learned some pretty solid lessons from everything that i've studied.

So maybe what i might do here is write down some of my experiences & lessons that i've taken away from years of (casual) study of various martial arts. I am absolutely not an expert on anything. I've switched horses a few times for a variety of reasons. I think that all of it could make for some interesting reading.

Let's start with Judo in the next post.