One thing I noticed is that the martial artists who achieve a truly respectable level don’t demand respect. And they don’t give others more respect than they earn. Respect as far as I’m concerned is so subjective that real respect is oddly enough, objective. Now say a beginner, intermediate even, someone who lacks definitive skill and is still chasing the proverbial pot of gold, they tend to give too much respect. So much that anyone that is not their personal instructor or a ninja movie star, a potentially pedophile monster (a la Harry Cook) who they usually bow down to with “O’sensei great grand master silliness, are below them. Regardless of their own personal skill, you will always know less, are less skilled, and are never right. And that’s when they compare just themselves to you, let alone what they think of you compared to their “master”. And if this person “earns” a black belt? Watch out!
Judging people is pretty hard to escape, it’s not unrighteous to judge as far as I’m concerned, judging without knowing is, to judge unbiasedly is somewhat honorable at least. And to not judge at all is to not be human and think about things thoroughly.
People have this idea that you are supposed to live up to their standards. Meanwhile their life is most likely full of despair, fairly sub-par and inadequate. They judge without any concern for your situation, because they always know better anyway. How else can they judge you and know what’s better for you if they didn’t know better in the first place? Without blatantly saying they feel this way, they show it by the simple act of judging. Just writing this now shows my current opinion that I know better. I’m making a judgement on certain characteristics that I’ve experienced in certain types of people. I feel my experience has shown me some truths in regards to the type of people I’m talking about. At least I’m honest. Again, how else can they/you judge and know what’s better if they didn’t know better in the first place? Simple, because people can be wrong! They don’t know better, they could, but probably don’t, and most have no idea that they’re wrong. If they do and still continue? They’re, to put it bluntly, a piece of shit. Most people never stop and truly evaluate their actions and their own life, it’s way too easy to judge others than it is to judge yourself. And it’s incredibly easy to forget how wrong we usually are.
What’s this have to do with respect? Well, because if you make judgments without really knowing better or worse, then how can you give or take respect? You don’t know what you need to know. I’m sure I get respect from people whom if I knew on a deeper level I wouldn’t want. And I’m sure there’s someone out there that doesn’t respect anything I do yet I would appreciate the respect given because of who they are. I’m sure lots of people respected Harry Cook for many reasons, until they found out he was a kid toucher. I bring him up because it proves my point more than anything else could. If you’re a parent you get it. People respected that guy, they had no idea what they needed to know to actually judge him. Think about all the people who endorsed him. How many people got recommended to his instruction whether in person or through his publications by someone they respected, so they in turn gave respect to him, completely unwarranted? How many people got hurt because that person who is respectful inferred them to him, they thought Cook was worthy of respect. They were wrong. Cook was popular and in the positions he was in to hurt more people more often because of word of mouth than anything else. That’s how the “secret” inner circle of Karate works. Obviously none of those other Karateka would of helped promote this guy had they known what he was up to And most of them I respect as much as my knowledge allows, no different than they (including I) thought Cook was respectable. I’m only going on about this situation because as a father I know the trust it takes to let someone be alone or at least in a teacher/student position with your child. It’s a very real and scary thought to know people like him are out there.
If Charles Manson respected you I’m sure different feelings would surface if say, Neil Degrasse Tyson respected you. And if Neil Tyson respected you it would muster different feelings and actions in other people just knowing he respected you. Likewise, people would highly question your motives knowing the likes of Charles Manson had respect for you. Consider if you loved your parents and they didn’t respect you, you probably would greatly appreciate it if they did! What a sad situation that would be eh? There’s too much respect in Karate. We study how to use our body and the opponents body against them, usually in a very harmful and violent manner. Regardless of what kind of “way of life” wrapping paper you tidy Karate up with. There’s nothing respectable about hurting someone, or training to not be hurt, don’t make more out of it than it is. But respect? Give it to someone based on their character, based on what you actually know, and understand the truth that what you don’t know can hurt you, and ignorance is not bliss.
My main point is respect is a very powerful “thing”. It’s a socially acceptable tool that can greatly affect your life and ultimately alter the lives of others in both a positive and negative way. It’s a word that represents more than most give thought to. If you do then you don’t need me to tell you anything, it’s pretty obvious. When you truly respect someone, you let it be known that you respect them, you are giving a verbal acknowledgment that this person has good character. That he is reputable and most certainly skillful in their field. That their name is worthy of being associated with your name and your reputation, that anyone who respects you should at least consider respecting them. When you give someone your respect you are saying that their honor is at least in equal standing with your honor.
MY KARATE BLOG 