Totally Tae Kwon Do Magazine - Issue 20 - Usadojo

Going Deep Rather Than Wide
Over the course of the past two decades,
the martial arts community has
experienced inroads by several martialoriented
disciplines, some genuinely rooted
in traditional arts, others less so. In the
early 1990’s Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, a form of the
ancient Japanese art refined by Brazil’s
Gracie family, dominated the burgeoning
UFC competitions and
became the defacto self
-defense standard of
many police forces and
military units. Shortly
after, the Tae Bo craze
swept the world with
creator Billy Blanks
motivating thousands of
weight-conscious men
and women through a
series of instructional
videos. Recently, Mixed
Martial Arts of MMA has
made its debut. With the
exception of the Gracie
family’s contribution,
many of these current
trends in non-traditional
martial arts and martial
arts-related programs,
have or are likely to
reach their apex and
begin to fade into
obscurity along with the
general public’s waning
interest and a lack of
appreciation for in-depth training. This
leads us to a point of self-examination
concerning the unconditional commitment
required for excellence in the traditional
martial arts.
On average, the Western mind is a
questioning mind. It is also at times an
impatient mind. We as a culture are not
By Master Doug Cook
(845) 986-2288
Master Doug Cook practices Original Koryo
at Bulguksa Temple, South Korea
content with unexplained actions but
frequently require detailed, verbal
clarification for almost everything we do.
Moreover, we place great emphasis on
variety with a plethora of choices at our
fingertips including the food we eat, the
clothes we wear, and our wealth of leisure
time activities. And then there is the matter
of respect for contrasting
worldviews coupled with
a reverence for the
traditions of the past.
Being surrounded by
friendly nations sharing
similar customs, we
often evince ignorance
in understanding the life
styles of others.
Compound this with the
fact that we as a people
presently live on the
cutting edge of a
technological revolution,
the scope of which has
never been seen before,
and a picture begins to
emerge portraying a
society that is ambitious,
inquisitive and
sophisticated, while at
the same time often
cynical, anxious and
mistrustful. Taken in sum,
these attributes define
our social character and,
on a less overt level, have a direct bearing
on the martial arts we tend to popularize.
Looking back, most martial arts, including
karate and taekwondo, were taught very
differently in the past than they are today.
Venerable masters, both here and abroad,
would demonstrate techniques of varying
complexity with a minimum of explanation
Totally Tae Kwon Do - 15