Life is short, and none of us are getting out of it alive. There is time for laughter. So why isn’t there more in martial arts?
One thing that has always struck me when I deal with the many frauds in the martial arts is that they take themselves way too seriously. It seems that the more people act serious 24/7 the more likely they are fibbing about their training history.
By comparison, some of the heaviest hitters I know, the guys I want covering my back when things hit the fan, all enjoy making fun of themselves. I am talking about wearing ballerina outfits while they teach and stuff like that. It gets a laugh from everyone, and sometimes we need a laugh.
My theory is that the guys that have seen the worse stuff laugh at themselves for two main reason. One, they don’t have anything to prove. They have been there and done that and they really don’t care if people aren’t impressed with them. They know what they did.
By comparison, the frauds know they are lying. And they are all about trying to impress others. Without any real accomplishments themselves, they live for the opinions of others. They are puppets controlled by others and they don’t know it.
The second reason is that after all the crap they have had to live through to get the experience they have in violence, the heavy hitters I know need to laugh a bit more than most of us. They know that when they get together with someone, it may be the last time they will be able to see them before they die. Death comes sudden in the lifestyles of some people.
I go to a little get together each year filled with these types of heavy hitters. I learn how to use a knife from people that have stabbed other folks, and they seem to that things like the sword work I show in return has value. It is the highlight of my year not because of the lessons I pick up from these guys, but the laughter we all share during the weekend.
Stories are told about goofs these guys have made and it brings tears of laughter to our eyes. My friend Clint is well known for his story of being confronted with a drunken, naked and extremely well hung little person at the bar he bounced at. The way Clint exaggerates the cringe he felt when THAT THING hit his shin would do a professional comedian proud.
Of course he has stories of how other people did stupid but funny things. But people like him seem to take delight in making fun of themselves so others can laugh. And maybe part of the reason is that they want to take themselves down a notch in the eyes of others. They are really dangerous people, so it is easy to scare folks unless you tell them stories like how you managed to get the local motorcycle gang to dance with you to the Village People’s “YMCA.” They don’t want to be seen as monsters. They want friends when they get together with people like me. So a bit of self depreciating humor might help them take the edge off and open doors that otherwise might close on them.
I see a lot of serious people in martial arts. They wear elaborate uniforms covered in patches, invent fancy titles and go to events where they get to run around and call each other Master. I really have no respect for these types. The guys I respect dress simply, make no effort to impress others and they laugh.
And you know, I like laughing with them.