Monday, March 14, 2011

Student Comparison

If you were born in this country then chances are you love hot dogs, baseball, and rock and roll. Americans's have their own way of thinking which all stems from their cultural upbringing. This can be said of any native of any country. You are born into it, and in most cases that is what you believe no matter what. We are creatures of where we are born and where we grow up. There is no getting away from this fact.

Some of the predominant religions in this country are Catholic, Jewish, Baptists, etc. and most live according to their religious beliefs to some degree. Asians, on the other hand predominant beliefs are based on Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. These are not necessarily religions as we know it because in Buddhism and Taoism or Confucianism, they don't speak of a God. In fact, Confucianism is more how to deal with your family, your country and the world. It is the law of who is who how they should be treated and respected.

The Martial Arts stems from these philosophies. It is part and parcel of the Asian thinking, and a Master is part of this thinking and therefore, there is great respect for them and the teachings. It is these ideals that separate the American mind from the Asian mind.

Of course having said all, this does not mean there is no Americans at all, after all I am an American myself, and there will always be the exceptions to any rule. I truly believe in this thinking, and it overrides my cultural beliefs. However, in general that is why the Asian student will more often than not be more loyal and dedicated and fully understand what we call Wu-De (Ethics) which is the very foundation of our art on which everything is based and is part of their cultural upbringing.

Look at any Asian Master and how they are literally worship those that came before them. Their dedication does not die no matter what. Their whole motivation is to preserve the teachings and spread the name of their Master, their art and all it stands for. Look at the American and you will find those who spread their own name and in many cases try to say they are even better than those who came before them. I leave you with one question, what do you know that did not come from someone else? The Asian mind understands this fact, and their respect and loyalty and dedication last the entire span of their life. This is what preserves our Art to this day. To those of non-Asian decent and follow this code of conduct, I congratulate you for being one of the few that do.

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