Fanboyism in the Martial Arts

Fanboy –noun

a person willing to defend and promote the object of his affection regardless of fact and objectivity. This encompasses everything from technological items like PC's and game consoles to gearheads and fishing fanatics.

definition courtesy of urbandictionary.com

I used to be an avid gamer growing up. I've been into video games since the Nintendo NES came out. I grew up playing video games and owned many different platforms. Although I don't play as much as I used to (kids and a job will do that to you), I still enjoy playing now and again. I haven't gotten hold of a Wii yet (you have much better chance finding plutonium in the mall than finding a Wii) but I enjoy playing when I get a chance. I've owned numerous platforms and I love how far the graphics and gameplay have progressed. Each system had its loyal fans who swore allegiance to their brand. They would criticize any other system which was not theirs. Heated debates come pretty close to fist fights over who made the best consoles (or as close to fistfights as geeks would ever come): Nintendo or Sony. Sega was in the mix briefly and I came as close as I'll ever be to being a Dreamcast fanboy (It sucks that t hey had to kill it). Now you have Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo with Microsoft and Nintendo in the front right now. The console wars still rage on in gaming website forums, each side with their loyal enthusiasts.

You see the same phenomenon in the Martial Arts. Practitioners will swear that their style alone is the best and that all other systems are inferior. Kung Fu vs. Karate. MMA vs. Traditional. Internal (Nei Chia) vs. External (Wai Chia). Tae Kwon Do vs. Hwarang Do. Muay Thai vs. Silat. Traditional Kung Fu vs. Modern Wushu. Western boxing vs. Eastern martial arts. Each practitioner believes his art is the absolute best system devised.

All martial arts have a primary purpose: self-defense. Humans are equipped with 4 limbs a head and a torso so there is a finite number of movements to all martial arts. Many arts incorporate the same movements that were refined over centuries. Many borrow from each other and add new pieces. Each martial art has a specific emphasis that was designed to serve a purpose. They incorporate the cultural and spiritual philosophies of the people that devise them and also incorporate a host of other factors such as the physical characteristics of the founders, geographical characteristics of the land they were created in and any other historical factors that may have spawned a need to create them.

Each art is simply one unique branch on the same tree. No better or worse than all the others, just different. There are no good or bad martial arts, just good or bad martial artists. If you aren't very skilled at your chosen art you will probably lose to someone from a different art who is, even if his/her art has less techniques. As the Shaolin saying goes "I do not fear someone who studied ten thousand techniques in one day, I fear the person who has studied one technique for ten thousand days".

Whatever art you pick should align with your own personal philosophies. Some people like the grace and acrobatics of Wushu. Others like the gentleness of Tai Chi. Some arts emphasize tournaments and competition, others favor more combat training. Sometimes examining the principles and philosophies behind a different art can greatly enhance your own martial understanding. There is a wealth of knowledge to be gained from masters of the various arts. Whether it is Morihei Ueshiba, Mas Oyama, Gichin Funakoshi, Bruce Lee, Sun Lutang, Chen Man-Ch'ing or any other master, by examining each art, you begin to see the whole tree and its vastness from your branch. You may also find training or technique that you may find useful and adopt it into your own training regimen.