This question was asked and answered in the recent Classical Fighting
Arts periodical, i.e. Vol. 2 No. 22 (Issue #45). I really appreciated
the answer they would give, "Any legitimate karate teacher should be
capable of teaching a complete system, regardless of the style."
I
want to go a bit further in explaining that answer. Unlike such
disciplines as medical where one can be a specialist/expert on just one
aspect of the entire/whole medical field, i.e. a ear, nose, throat
doctor; a urologist; a pediatrician; a general practitioner, etc. the
system of martial arts is that one system that is so interconnected and
reliant on each part as a whole it cannot be adequately separated into
specialties as kata person, free-style kumite person, etc.
The
martial systems we have that are classical/traditional to today's
variant are still and always will be a "whole system" that is comprised
of those many parts that make it whole or "one." In order to teach a
system adequately and completely one must learn and
instruct/mentor/teach all facets of said systems from the fundamental
principles of martial systems all the way to the
combative/defensive/protective applications.
In my
humble opinion if you find a teacher who teaches/specializes in teaching
only kata then the system is going to be incomplete and that teaching
may not be whole in and of itself either since even kata is broken down,
atomistic, into parts for teaching and learning that must be
re-assembled by the individual into a holistic "whole system" to have it
"work." I would avoid that and continue to seek out a whole system of
learning the martial arts.
Even today many teachers
are "lacking in cohesive expertise" since many never learned "bunkai" or
"fundamental principles of martial systems" from their instructors
therefore are unable to pass those gems of knowledge to their students.
In their defense many today are working diligently to fill in the
"gapping holes" in their knowledge and expertise - this is really,
really good for the systems.
"The Author, it must be remembered, writes from his own standpoint!"
My personal "Interpretive" Lens!
Do You Have A Question?
If you have a question not covered in this blog feel free to send it to me at my email address, i.e. "snow" dot here "covered" dot here "bamboo" AT symbol here "gmail" dot here "com"
"Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider..." - Francis Bacon
Warning, Caveat and Note: The postings on this blog are my interpretation of readings, studies and experiences therefore errors and omissions are mine and mine alone. The content surrounding the extracts of books, see bibliography on this blog site, are also mine and mine alone therefore errors and omissions are also mine and mine alone and therefore why I highly recommended one read, study, research and fact find the material for clarity. My effort here is self-clarity toward a fuller understanding of the subject matter. See the bibliography for information on the books.
Note: I will endevor to provide a bibliography and italicize any direct quotes from the materials I use for this blog. If there are mistakes, errors, and/or omissions, I take full responsibility for them as they are mine and mine alone. If you find any mistakes, errors, and/or omissions please comment and let me know along with the correct information and/or sources.
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