Are there “cults” in the martial arts?
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I regularly have interactions with people who refer to their style or school as the strongest or the best, a genuine fighting style. They insist their style or school is authentic, and that it follows a lineage back to the creator of that style. It led me to think about this sense of a “cult”, and the fondness for embellishment in some martial arts.
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There is a trend I’ve noticed growing over the years in the martial arts. I call it the “Martial Cult.” To me it’s a most disturbing trend precisely because it seems to go largely unchallenged. When it is questioned, the “Cultist”, who is a fanatical follower of the particular “Martial Cult”, will ferociously defend it at all costs.
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What is a “Martial Cult”? Basically it is a form of “martial worship” that revolves around one style or individual. Typically the people who defend it are highly gifted, strong, athletic and well-skilled in tournaments and competitions. They believe that is all you need, and is the answer to ALL self-protection scenarios.
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Certain groups have been steeped in lies and embellishments for so long that people have lost sight of the truth, while seemingly stroking their ego and growth of the owner’s wallet. Why do they feel the need to constantly tell us they are the best, and the ultimate truth in all things?
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The most common failure of this that I see is people mistaking dojo or tournament fighting and self-protection to be one and the same. Open your eyes, please….. There is some crossover, of course there is, but no matter what these zealots say, the skills are very different, and teaching one as the other can be highly dangerous. Dojo fighting skills are of course important and should be part of any martial art, but teaching dojo or tournament fighting as the ultimate answer to self-protection is just plain ridiculous.
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Ignoring vitally important things such as personal security, awareness skills, the law, escaping, de-escalation, and a host of other things, all of which are not included in dojo fighting, is plainly stupid.
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No one is deriding schools who compete in tournament karate or sport karate, but stating that;… “Our training is often fast and highly dynamic broken by sessions of ippon kumite and other drills where our students get to exercise their sharpened skills in more real life scenarios.”… calling this self-protection is quite frankly, ignorant.
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As a life-time martial artist, you have to ignore most of these people who constantly brag about their martial art being the strongest or the best, as they don’t really know what they are talking about.
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The dojo, competition and tournaments, as challenging and fulfilling as they are, is NOT the real world. …. Get a grip! 
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