subject: Are Eastern Martial Arts Dojos a Good Fit For Americans? [print this page] Author: Author: . Gary S. Goodman" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/authors/dr.-gary-s.-goodman/289778.htm">Dr. Gary S. Goodman
I've been a student of martial arts for decades, but my formal training didn't come until later. At that point, I invested eight years in achieving the rank of Shodan, first-degree black belt in Chinese Kenpo Karate. My training was first rate. But after achieving black belt I decided to leave the dojo and ply the spiritual skills I had learned in daily life. More significant, I departed because I had tired of the collectivistic, individualism-effacing rhetoric of the school. In service to my overall development, I had suppressed my American cultural values long enough. I was more than a rank, an interchangeable instructor or a face in the crowd. Individualism is a distinctively American trait. Most of us that have been steeped in American culture are not team-players, despite the fact that we revere team sports and may even function in teams, at work. "Playing well with others" must be learned, sometimes the hard way. General Stonewall Jackson summed-up our view when he remarked: "One courageous man makes a majority!" In a revealing study that I just read, it was demonstrated that in advertising, using a collectivistic appeal worked far better in Korea than in America, and using an individualistic message got significantly better results in America than in Korea. Specifically, when a "Do it for you" message was pitted against a "Do it for others" suggestion, the respective cultures responded differently. America is not homogeneous. We have more than 100 nationalities, so we should use caution in stereotyping. Still, there are overall proclivities and inclinations. And one of them is that there is more of a "Me, first" attitude here, than a "We, first." So, are Eastern martial arts dojos a good fit for Americans? In my case, the answer was yes, at least for eight years. And that was plenty of time to assimilate significant skills and a certain amount of non-Western wisdom. But I would suspect that the Eastern flavor of certain martial arts dojos is not a good fit for others. Moreover, I wonder to what extent martial arts businesses would be better served and would serve better by loosening this link, at least culturally, but not necessarily when it comes to technique. Is that possible? Is it desirable? What do you think?About the Author:
Dr. Gary S. Goodman is a top speaker, sales, service, and negotiation consultant, attorney, TV and radio commentator and the best-selling author of 12 books. He conducts seminars and speaks at convention programs around the world. His new audio program is Nightingale-Conant's "Crystal Clear Communication: How to Explain Anything Clearly in Speech & Writing." His web site is:http://www.customersatisfaction.com and he can be contacted at gary@customersatisfaction.com.
