4B - Thursday, January 19, 2012
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
4B - Thursday, January 19, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
MARTIAL ARTS
From Page 1B
Putting the "self"in
self-defense
Though martial arts are often
imagined in movies as aggressive
systemsof flamboyant swings and
kicks, these fictional movements
usually never exist outside of the
silver screen. A true martial art
invokes balance and composure:
techniques even more difficult to
perfect than a flurry of punches.
"You have to stop yourself,"
Sierant said. "You can't just get
into a frenzy and hit them as
much as you can. You have to hold
yourself back and make sure that
everything's together, or you'll
just get blown apart."
Many groups see utility as a
crucial aspect of self-restraint.
For 'U' clubs such as the Shorin-
Ryu Karate-do Club and the
Godai Ninpo Association, this
utility is key. By focusing on using
realistic actions applied to real-
istic scenarios, these groups give
their practitioners the tools nec-
essary to survive and improvise
in any number of situations.
"We're an extremely practical
art," King said. "If you're doing
real, traditional martial arts,
you're not doing it to be fancy
like you see in the kung-fu flicks,
and you're not doing it with rules,
whichyou see inthings like MMA
(Mixed Martial Arts)."
While karate provides stu-
dents with a range of effective
offensive and defensive moves, it
also instills followers with a situ-
ational awareness that changes
the way they think about their
internal and external world.
"You only want to use as much
force as is necessary to get out of
a situation," King said. "And that
could be just walking away. one of
the things that we teach people is
this humility. You're not out here
to be the big guy or the tough guy."
The University's Godai Ninpo
Club also emphasizes function-
ality over flare. Godai ninpo
pulls techniques from many pre-
existing ninjitsu styles, combin-
ing them into a utilitarian system
TERRA MOLENGRAFF/Daily
Students of karate and other martial arts find their activity's roots in ancient Asian practices, like the use of sai (pictured right), which are modeled after farming tools that had been used in place of weapons.
of self-defense that aims to keep
practitioners safe.
Additionally, godai ninpo uses
an elemental system consisting
of characteristics of earth, water,
fire, wind and void to help prac-
titioners visualize the systems
of thought they must use when
approaching every situation.
"Godai ninpo is all about per-
severance and controlling your
ego to better yourself so that
you survive the situation," said
Andrew Gomes, a former member
of the Godai Ninpo Club.
It's a strict command and a
thorough understanding of these
elements of the self that allow
students to truly progress in their
study of martial arts.
"The most demanding part is
being willing to put aside your
ego in order to learn," Gomes
said. "Because it's such an uncon-
ventional martial art from what
we're used to in Western culture.
We're used to a style of 'stand-up,
square-up' to your opponent to see
who can take the biggest beating."
Godai ninpo focuses entirely on
more practical scenarios its mem-
setting. Though it's inherently
noncompetitive, this form elevates
from a series of defensive strate-
gies into a martial art through its
holistic demand for mental, physi-
cal and emotional discipline.
"It helps shape the way you
view the world," Gomes said. "As
you study godai ninpo you'll gen-
erally strive for a balanced life
that's not convoluted by all the
petty little things that pervade
our culture."
Forms, function and
competition
Not all schools include com-
petition in their repertoires, but
many do feature some form of
one-on-one sparring alongside
their teaching of forms, which
are sequences of techniques per-
formed in a traditional order or
style that students must mas-
ter before advancing to the next
belt. Though the ceremonial air
of forms has a very different feel
than the dynamic atmosphere of a
live match, they are two halves of
a whole - one cannot be learned
Kendo is another martial art
that incorporates a strong com-
petitive element into the fabric of
its practice. While competitions
may provide a sporting atmo-
sphere for their participants,
forms allow them to maintain the
physically artistic aspects of their
studies.
"Every form is one-on-one,"
Sierant said. "You and a partner
going through these pre-scripted,
I would almost call it a dance,
between the two of you. You try
and put as much intensity and
beauty into going through all
of these forms, but they are also
supposed to teach you something
about actually doing kendo in a
competition form."
Still, many students enjoy one-
on-one matches, which allow
them to truly put their physical
and mental discipline to the test.
"Unlike a lot of other martial
arts, where actual competition
and fighting is almost more of an
honorific thing you do ... (kendo)
definitely has a strongcompetition
aspect," Sierant said.
"You're going to hit as hard as
you can and go as fast as you can,
kind of like taekwondo. In tae-
kwondo, competition is a very
important aspect, and kendo
also follows that," he added.
Taekwondo is especially val-
ued as a sport due to its stren-
uous physical demands. Its
extensive use of footwork forces
students of taekwondo to keep
themselves in peak physical and
mental condition.
It is also one of the most
sports-oriented martial arts
practiced at the University and
in the world of martial arts.
Taekwondo is the national
sport of South Korea, where it
was developed and refined from
techniques that were hundreds
of years old.
"Taekwondo is really fast-
paced and involves really
dynamic kicking," said LSA
senior and UM Taekwondo
Club president Sadegh Arab.
"You have to be in great shape,
and you have to be very flexible in
order to be able to do it."
Though students routinely
work on sparring during practic-
es, the frequentcompetitionspro-
vide a highly athletic challenge
to the club's members. While
members are not required to par-
ticipate in competitions, they are
encouraged to do so to enhance
their practices.
"We've seen that people that
compete end up taking practice
more seriously, and they stay
healthier, and they try harder,"
Arab said. "So it's kind of like a
feedback mechanism. That's why
we encourage people to com-
pete."
Taekwondo may be popular
as an athletic activity, but it still
retains strong ties to the tradi-
tions of martial arts.
"Even though most of us in
college are doing it as a sport,
it has the respect and the disci-
pline that comes from being a
martial art. People don't behave
the same way in a taekwondo
practice as in a soccer practice,"
Arab said.
At its core, taekwondo is a
dualistic martial art. Even the
most ardent competitor must
have a thorough knowledge of
the forms that lay the ground-
work for sparring,.which many
see as qualifying as a full-blown
sport. Though not as spontane-
ous as a one-on-one match, the
precise and measured moves of
taekwondo's forms give practi-
tioners a disciplined quality of
elegance.
"It's a performance, you know,
it's like a dance," Arab said. "You
have to memorize a sequence of
techniques, you have to perfect
it and you have to make sure that
every step you take is right."
Mind, body and spirit
Though they may share com-
mon pasts, the countless martial
arts schools, clubs and groups at
the University and around the
globe offer each of their partici
pants different challenges, expe-
riences and rewards.
"(Martial arts) is having to
bring your body and your mind
and all of your thoughts togeth-
er to focus on doing one thing,"
Sierant said. "It's this simulta-
neousness, this coherence, that I
think is certainly one of the most
difficult parts. You have to have
a clarity of coherence between
what's inside and what's outside."
The mental and physical bal-
ance fostered by students does
not leave when a belt is untied
or a uniform is removed. A true
martial artempowers its students
with the skills needed to face life
inside and outside the practice
studio.
"When you leave the basketball
court, the skills you have on court
don't translate into real life or
real-life situations, whereas with
traditional martial arts, those
skills can translateinto real situa-
tions," King said.
These skills are not only use-
ful for situations in which a clear
enemy must be overcome - stu-
dents are able to use what they've
learned to better understand fam-
ily, friends and even themselves.
"(Martial arts have) certainly
helped me in my discipline in
school and with friends, but also
in other circumstances where
maybe I feel like I'm a little over-
whelmed or I'm angry at some-
one," Sierant said. "I'm able to
better control myself after forcing
myself to learn how to do that in
kendo."
Martial arts practitioners are
asked to seek the most difficult
control of all: control of one-
self. But a combination of focus,
dedication and a willingness to
think openly can lead students
of every discipline into a jour-
ney of rewarding self-discovery,
allowing them to become liv-
ing, breathing embodiments of
the arts to which they dedicate
themselves.
hers may encounter in a collegiate without the other.
WEST WING
From Page 3B
was not very good, and there's
no way around that. Sorkin's
successors betrayed much of
the characterization the show
had spent four seasons building.
The plot points veered toward
the melodramatic. The opposi-
tion was demonized. But credit
the writers for bouncing back in
seasons six and seven. Though
none of them approached Sor-
kin's cleverness or virtuos-
ity (and really, who can write
dialogue like he does?), their
deconstruction of major char-
acters and subversion of the
idealism that was fundamental
to Sorkin's version of the show
was fascinatingto watch, even if
some of season five's weakness-
es occasionally still popped up.
Oh, and also, during Juwan
Howard's cameo, they made
him say he went to Duke. So
screw them.
-SAM CENZHANG
To some, "The West Wing"
is a by-product of left-wing
extremism hijacking Holly-
wood. The show, which depicted
seven years behind the scenes of
a passionate, productive Demo-
cratic White House, was dispar-
aged as an explicit expression of
creator Aaron Sorkin's promi-
nent liberal bias. And it's true that
the Bartlet administration is at
times deeply inspired by the glory
days of the Clinton administra-
tion, though embarrassing hic-
cups like that affair with Monica
what's-her-name never occur.
To me, and admittedly, most
of TV's critical zeitgeist, that's a
ridiculous oversimplification. Sure,
Bartlet was a Democrat, and sure,
the conservative point of view is
hard to find inside a left-leaning
White House. But to me, the pro-
gram was that rare political con-
struction that managed to separate
itself from party boundaries. Set
in an era before partisanship and
gridlock became so disgustingly
pronounced, the show depicted
characters on both sides of the aisle
as selfless individuals motivated
by their core beliefs about the best
way to run the country.
Staff members in the Bartlet
White House went out of their
way to consider all sides of an
argument, making their final
decisions based not upon party
affiliation or political conve-
nience, but on the maximum
amount of benefit to the country
as a whole. Throughout their two
terms in office, our friends on
Pennsylvania Avenue were will-
ing to reverse their positions after
closely reviewing the facts. They
expanded their horizons by hir-
ing Ainsley Hayes, one of their
most vocal conservative critics,
because she was "smart." And
after his daughter's kidnapping,
they advised President Bartlet
to invoke the 25th Amendment
and cede temporary control of
the White House to a Republican
Speaker of the House, a move that
the neo-conservative writer's
room of"24" would've considered
political suicide. Even inthe post-
Sorkin era, the show remained
decidedly idealistic, a universe
in which negative ads were truly
a sign of desperation and a live-
over-the-airwaves appeal to vot-
ers made the difference between a
concession speech and a surprise
rebound in New Hampshire.
In a scene from an early epi-
sode of "The West Wing," Donna,
assistant to Josh, the White
House deputy chief of staff, won-
ders why the President won't give
the federal budget surplus back
to the citizenry so she can buy a
DVD player. She promises, prom-
ises, promises to buy American.
"We don't trust you," Josh says.
"Why not?" Donna asks, dis-
mayed.
"We're Democrats," he replies.
"You shouldn't have voted for us."
No politically motivated equiv-
ocation. No attempt to retain a
potential supporter by sugarcoat-
ing the truth. Just a quick, educa-
tional snippet of party platform
analysis, and it's back to work for
their country. If only Washington
really ran so smoothly.
Disclaimer:I havea continuing
relationship with NBCUniversal,
which aired "The West Wing" dur-
ing its original broadcast run.
-DAVID TAO