Been a while since I posted...
There has been one topic that has always interested me...
Internet martial art videos. I, for one, love seeing people share their knowledge and demonstrate their abilities. Forms are one of (if not my favorite) things in Taekwondo. As fars as their usefulness, I'll comment on that in my next blog.
The Good
A Video of Your Child: If for nothing else, it's a cute moment. Also, with our technology today, it's become easier to record and cherish their early training.
Recording Yourself Doing Forms: There are so many positives behind this. First of all, there is the obvious benefit on using video to improve your stances and techniques. I've recorded myself doing forms and realized a while ago that despite being a 1st Dan, I still needed some patience and attention towards executing my side kicks. Secondly, forms can be a real challenge in one's training. If someone else is going out of their way to show their ability in such an easily criticized field, there's clearly evidence of a love for the art.
Recording Your Tests: Not every test is going to be our best, but we can always learn from them. In seeing someone else's test, I like to take notes on what I can do to meet their standards (if needed). An example: A lot of the time, the tests at my school go straight to the standards (forms, self defense, weapons, assigned kicking combos). Usually we spend so much time on these that we don't get around to covering other things. One possibility is random kicking combos called out by an instructor. When I saw KickChick's floor technique video, there was more inspiration to spout out some random kicks and hand techniques during the early Saturday morning class that I teach.
Tournaments, Demos and Class Videos: No matter how I feel about their skill, it always make me strive to better myself. Seeing people challenge themselves shouldn't necessarily make you want to outdo them, but it should always bring out a desire to outdo yourself.
The Bad
The Ego: Some videos can be a tad transparent in fishing for compliments. Those who have read any of my blogs before know I like to stress a culture of character over a culture of personality. I know posting any video of yourself can be seen as feeding your own ego, but I think there are a few things that distinguish those who wish to share from those who wish to show off.
The Insulting Comments: "OMG, i'm only a (insert low rank) and i can do better than that lol" or "wow, our (insert low ranks) would mop the floor with your blackbelts"....Yes, these people can be considered "trolls" or perhaps some insecure child (or childish person) who needs to make themselves feel better. It's a bit sad to think some of these people are enlisted in organized martial arts. I shudder to think how they look upon their own classmates who have a hard time picking up things.
'I Know Better' Comments: "That was ok, but here's what you did wrong...". I could only imagine how many jaws would drop in "disgust" if I posted my Koryo. One of the biggest differences is that our chunbi for Koryo differs from what the Kukkiwon teaches. I posted a poll a couple of months back and I was happy to see the majority of people voted that the "correct" way to do things was "what my instructor said". My loyalty in training is first and foremost to my instructor, not masters who have never trained me or a voice on text, video, or the internet.
The Solutions
Video Posting Options: Many of you may know that you can disable the comments section. It's probably the easiest way to avoid childish comments (other than not posting at all). If you do wish for comments, there are still ways to avoid hateful comments. Overloading your video with 'tags' (tkd, taekwondo, black belt, poomsae, etc.), makes it more visable to everyone...including the jerks.
Video Behavior: So what are the little things to change so you're a character and not a characature? Don't do things like the "tough guy sniff". Don't know what I'm talking about? Look up 'Afro Ninja', and see the arrogant gesture before he gets what he deserves. Other actions such as overly theatrical kihaps and head movements, tend to mark someone who is placing a little too much importance on how they appear to others.
Commenting On Others: YOU DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING...and I'm not just talking about technique. I remember seeing a test of a young girl online. Every now and then she looked around the room. She only did this a few times (I didn't pay too much attention to it at first), and her techniques seemed fine.
However, someone who claimed they were a tkd instructor shamefully commented that if he was her teacher, he would have failed her for not paying closer attention.
Little did he know two things-- One, the person who posted the video was the child's mother, who was more than ready to defend her. Two, it turns out the child is autistic. Of course, the mother didn't post this info beforehand, since she probably gave people the benefit of the doubt. The online instructor quickly apologized and was forgiven. However, two lessons stood out...
1. One of the easiest ways to lose face is to try and take it.
2. Every martial artist has a story that differs greatly from our own.
Tags: Youtube Internet Forms Poomsae Test Training Video
