Tim, I've seriously practiced two arts: BJJ and judo. One is in the olympics, and one has tried to get in there in various half-assed forms over the years.
I've never been all that close to the "levers of power" in judo, but did get a little closer in BJJ due to longevity and connections. BJJ is still the wild west, but IBJJF pretends to be a governing body. It's not; it's a for-profit sports organization and nothing more. But it sure sounds lofty!
It’s a bit of a double edged sword whichever way you look at it. I practice iaido under the Japan Kendo Federation and I can pretty much go to any other JKF iaido dojo in the country and learn the same techniques to the same standard. But these standard techniques are practiced regardless of the style and as a result people complain about this robbing the different schools of their character.
With regards to my karate training I’ve trained in a different style under a different governing body each time I moved house. This has given me experience in styles that are quite different but my progression with regards to my rank has been reset every time I changed dojo. That’s not a problem for me but it means my highest rank after more than 20 years of training is shodan. I’m a strong shodan but I’m still a shodan.
Order can stifle character but unique character can stifle progress for all except the people who live on the doorstep of the honbu.
Iaido and Kyudo were at the back of my mind, but also, I think, Chinese Wushu, where something similar happened. It became state sponsored after all the real 'Masters' decided to leave to the safety of Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taiwan. What Wushu turned into at that point I don't really have the knowledge to comment, but it looked like a blend of Chinese circus and other acrobatic traditions and martial arts.
But Iaido and Kyudo standardisation was seen as a rescue job (same with Naginata) and as such, was successful.
I have done a little Iaido myself, but also dipped my toe in on Batto Jutsu, connected to Kuroda Tetsuzan Sensei's group, but now I am looking at a particular Koryu for Batto, a real eye-opener.
The koryu schools are still present in Japan but you can largely get away with not practicing koryu techniques until you hit a certain grade. It's a bit of a shame on some levels but it does make sure that objective standards are met first.
For karate in Japan there is the Japan Karate Federation but that's not really something I've been involved with for many years. The full contact styles I've done either don't have kata or have kata that are so far removed from the Japan Karate Federation that they couldn't possibly operate under that governing body.
Karate is a very large umbrella term with many fighting styles underneath it. There are some similarities here and there but the differences make them completely different animals.
Tim, I've seriously practiced two arts: BJJ and judo. One is in the olympics, and one has tried to get in there in various half-assed forms over the years.
I've never been all that close to the "levers of power" in judo, but did get a little closer in BJJ due to longevity and connections. BJJ is still the wild west, but IBJJF pretends to be a governing body. It's not; it's a for-profit sports organization and nothing more. But it sure sounds lofty!
Maybe there's a story for you Andrew?
Maaaaaybe. I'm not a fan of dirty laundry, but if you give me ten years...
I'm just baiting you :-)
It’s a bit of a double edged sword whichever way you look at it. I practice iaido under the Japan Kendo Federation and I can pretty much go to any other JKF iaido dojo in the country and learn the same techniques to the same standard. But these standard techniques are practiced regardless of the style and as a result people complain about this robbing the different schools of their character.
With regards to my karate training I’ve trained in a different style under a different governing body each time I moved house. This has given me experience in styles that are quite different but my progression with regards to my rank has been reset every time I changed dojo. That’s not a problem for me but it means my highest rank after more than 20 years of training is shodan. I’m a strong shodan but I’m still a shodan.
Order can stifle character but unique character can stifle progress for all except the people who live on the doorstep of the honbu.
Iaido and Kyudo were at the back of my mind, but also, I think, Chinese Wushu, where something similar happened. It became state sponsored after all the real 'Masters' decided to leave to the safety of Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taiwan. What Wushu turned into at that point I don't really have the knowledge to comment, but it looked like a blend of Chinese circus and other acrobatic traditions and martial arts.
But Iaido and Kyudo standardisation was seen as a rescue job (same with Naginata) and as such, was successful.
I have done a little Iaido myself, but also dipped my toe in on Batto Jutsu, connected to Kuroda Tetsuzan Sensei's group, but now I am looking at a particular Koryu for Batto, a real eye-opener.
The koryu schools are still present in Japan but you can largely get away with not practicing koryu techniques until you hit a certain grade. It's a bit of a shame on some levels but it does make sure that objective standards are met first.
For karate in Japan there is the Japan Karate Federation but that's not really something I've been involved with for many years. The full contact styles I've done either don't have kata or have kata that are so far removed from the Japan Karate Federation that they couldn't possibly operate under that governing body.
Karate is a very large umbrella term with many fighting styles underneath it. There are some similarities here and there but the differences make them completely different animals.