Some people claim their style is deep, and that other styles are shallow. Some say that their style is effective whereas other styles are ineffective. Some people repeat the marketing boilerplate their groups purvey, praising themselves bullet point by bullet point, elevating themselves and criticizing others. Check what they have done with their style, and how well they know the ones they are critiquing.
There are deep and shallow martial arts. But depth is not an attribute of a style. It is an attribute of the practitioner.
There are effective martial arts. But martial arts don’t do the work. It is the practitioner who can be effective. People have different goals and different means to reach them. What it means to be effective depends on what effect you are trying to achieve.
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Post and photo Copyright © 2024 Jeffrey Brooks, MountainKarateNC.com, Yamabayashi Ryu, Mountain Karate, Saluda, NC
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read True Karate Dō by Jeffrey Brooks
“One of the best books I’ve read in years, inviting and compelling. Jeff Brooks moves effortlessly from martial arts to Buddhism to consciousness studies, self-transformation, and related fields in this wide-ranging and Illuminating study that has much to offer both novice explorers and veteran practitioners. A splendid achievement.”
— Philip Zaleski, Editor, The Best Spiritual Writing series