Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Of Wolves & Sheep

"A budoka learns to have the eyes of the wolf, not of the sheep."

I was inspired to post that yesterday on my Facebook and it led to an interesting correlation between two different groups of martial arts students.  Consider this as students of martial arts - there is a vast difference in a group of students who are a pack of sheep, than a group of students who are a pack of wolves. Both have their social group structure. One group relies on each other because they are food. The other relies on each other to more efficiently obtain food.

Think about that for a minute.  I hope what I write in this post doesn't offend anybody.  It's just my observation based on over two decades of martial arts training and teaching in a variety of classes and group dynamics, with a broad range of different people and subjects.  My hope is that you look at yourself, what you train on, why you train, and with whom you train and maybe find some ounce of inspiration and clarity.

In martial arts classes, you have those who simply follow the group.  They love the training and they may even train hard.  But, they do so as a form of social dependency, deriving a greater sense of security and purpose simply by being a part of the group.  They usually don't train on their own or have an independent nature towards their own growth as budoka.  They rely completely on the group dynamic and feel best when they are "safe" in their training environment.  For them, training is secondary to just doing something enjoyable with a group of people they like.  They accept everything they hear and question nothing, because as long as it meets their needs, they are satisfied to just go with the flow.  They come to class with no agenda other than to absorb whatever is handed to them.  They are most often compliant during training and their ukemi can look really good.  They may even be picked by others in their group because they are fun to train with. 

If the quality of the instruction is poor, they will still stick to coming to class if they enjoy the social dynamic of the group.  They value the relationships to people as more important than the quality of the training (or even the training itself).

Those students are sheep and every class has them.  In fact, I have found they make up the vast majority of students in most martial arts classes.  I don't use the term "sheep" to denote anything derogatory or demeaning.  In fact, I am grateful for their participation.  No matter the individual purpose, as long as someone shows up and trains hard, they always have my admiration and respect as students.

However, there is another kind of martial arts student.  This group is hungry, always digging, always looking for that deeper lesson.  They don't just blindly accept anything.  They have to test it, work with it and push the limits to see if what they're taught is worth knowing.  They challenge themselves, each other and, sometimes, even their teacher.  They come to class with an agenda.  They can be social, but they are more interested in results than the entertainment.  They won't put up with poor quality, even in their teacher, and will leave a class if the quality drops below their expectations.  For them, they see everything through the filter of it's value in their training.  They still believe in a social dynamic, even a hierarchy, because they know that you need others in order to train.  But, who they allow into their circle is also filtered by the value they bring.  They want to train with people who challenge them, push their limits and really test their skills.  They want to hit and be hit.

Between classes, they are the ones meeting in the park to work on techniques or concepts from class.  They hit the heavy bag in their garage.  They exercise or engage in other physical activities.  They read books and watch videos about the art they train in.  They may even cross train in other arts and can have several belt rankings from different arts.

They are the wolves of the class.


In our modern age of martial arts, people train for a whole variety of personal reasons.  Many train simply for the health benefits, the social interaction, love of history, and many other reasons which differ from the original purpose of martial arts - to engage in war.  They find personal value in the experience and the results come from their personal happiness.  They want their security, with green grass and fresh water, even if it means being confined and controlled.  There's nothing wrong with being a sheep.

Wolves, on the other hand, train for the purposes the arts were born.  They want skill sets that will work, keep themselves and their loved ones alive in moments of violence, and their passion for this purpose fuels their commitment, consistency, and intensity towards training.  They may enjoy the history, the health benefits, the social interactions and other benefits.  But, ultimately, they desire effective combat skills, to believe in what they do, and have real confidence to be able to protect others.  They are hunters, protectors and nurturers.

When sheep see the teacher demonstrate a technique, they see the beauty, the science and believe in the effectiveness - whether it is done well or not.  They then learn that technique because it was what they were shown.  When a wolf sees the teacher demonstrate a technique, they squint, tilt their head, and try to find the practicality of it.  They don't just believe it works.  They have to feel it themselves.  They look for the flaws and the strengths alike.  They train on it, not because it is what was shown, but because they want to test it for themselves, to learn and incorporate the lessons contained it in, and push the boundaries to get the most from it.  They don't want their uke to just comply, either.

When martial arts were, in fact, martial (i.e. war), people had to be serious about their training.  Their lives and the lives of their people depended on it.  Those who were responsible for the training and development of military forces were always searching for the most effective tools and strategies.  They often traveled, studied with those who held new technologies and lessons, and quickly brought it all back to their own people to share.  Any new advancement in weapons, armor and tactics were golden to the military forces who relied on them for success in battle.  There was no blind acceptance, because mistakes would cost lives.  Everything was tested, scrutinized and pushed to the limits before it became accepted.  They didn't care about esoteric, aesthetic, entertaining social groups, and charismatic teachers.  They cared about results.

They were wolves.

But, thankfully, the majority of people don't live in those warring conditions.  So, in any martial arts dojo, there is plenty of room for sheep and wolves to train side by side.  Just don't be surprised to see the sheep laughing, playing, standing around talking and have a great time, while the wolves circle amongst themselves and beat, throw, twist up and thrash the crap out of each other.  Both have their agenda.  Both are getting what they want out of the training and there's nothing wrong with being either one.

I have come to believe, however, that with strong training and a commitment to keep going, a sheep can eventually become a wolf.  That, to me, is probably the single most amazing transformation to experience.  Just as amazing is when you see one of your students change, to know that you played a role in making that happen.  As a teacher, it inspires me beyond words and it's a major part of why I continue to coach and teach people.  But, no matter my teaching, coaching or influence, the individual still has to make a conscious decision to change.

At the end of the day, no matter your reasons for showing up to class, you have to ask yourself - are you training to be at the top of the food chain, or at the bottom?