She Must Have a Black Belt Before She?
I had a fellow tell me an interesting thing the other day, he told me of a fellow who won?t let his daughter go on a date until she is a black belt in karate. Well, I have to tell you, there is more than just good, old smarts in this idea. No such thing as rape, because when this girl decides to say no…she means NO!
Can?t you just see it? Little Johnny, eh, Slickhands takes daddy?s little girl out on a date. His hands start to do a bit more meandering than a drunk on a foggy night, and, suddenly…bam! Daddy?s little girl slaps a little kung fu upside his head and knocks the sweet living bejesus snot out of our horny, little knucklehead.
Now, there is humor here, I know, but there is something else, too. What most people don?t know is that once you get past the violence and fighting in such arts as kenpo or tae kwon do, there is moral certitude. You know the difference between right and wrong.
Oh, I know there have been people who haven?t lived up to this mnaifestation of the True Art, there have been martial arts instructors who have committed crimes, but they are just the exception. And, let?s face it, they probably weren?t studying the martial arts, they were probably just studying how to be a bully. They were scumbags, polite but still just scumbags, dressed in a martial arts uniform, and that?s all they were.
In ancient times people who taught karate or kung fu or other arts used to screen their students to make sure no idiots could infect the art. In modern times, however, the only screening process is whether a person has money. And, the sad truth is that most schools use the fact of fighting to try to sell the art.
The True Art has fighting in it, but it is only by the way. The True Art is actually an education in physics, it requires immense patience and attention to detail, things which are not normal to the thuggish personality. And, in the end, the True Art teaches one how to see things before they happen.
Oh, we?re not talking about some silly psychic stuff here, but rather the ability to observe such things as body motion, appearance, and what these factors indicate are going to happen. Once little Janey has practiced enough kung fu, and I mean the True Art, not just the fighting sport that is promoted in movies, she gains the ability to see people for what they are. She will not be fooled by a gangster in cheap clothing.
So, make your little girl get dan ranking in Karate or tae kwon do, or judo or ninjitsu, or whatever, before she goes on a date, but make sure she learns from a school that has some steel in the cement. Make sure that the instructor is smiling and joking, and knowledgeable, not some lantern jawed bully boy talking about the need to hit first and talk later. Make sure that there is awareness of virtue, the ability to know right from wrong, as well as good, firm martial knowledge, in the fellow who is going to give your daughter the ability to protect herself throughout her life.