This is a great article for Martial Artists from my friend Scott Bolan,
well worth reading.
Never stop learning!
From Scott Bolan:
Who is the Greatest Martial Arts Teacher of all time?
Is it the most famous one?
Is it the best-selling one?
I learned very early on that skill, fame, fortune and
even beauty do NOT always equal intelligence, integrity
or true quality!
For example, most men often assign intelligence, wisdom
and super powers to a woman simply because she is
outwardly beautiful.
We're socially programmed to do that, as popular culture
worships celebrity and appearance.
Most people watch hours and hours of sitcoms every night,
programming their minds with shallow, witty amusement.
The supposed winner in the sitcom is always the one with
the most sarcasm and clever jargon, as the canned laughter
rolls in.
This conditions us to be stimulated by pablum, having an
emotional response and seeking social proof and acceptance.
It is a process of mental castration of your Warrior's soul.
And just look at the famous actors who can't even hold a
marriage together or stay out of rehab, yet they feel they
are qualified to advise us on elections and foreign policy!
In fact, we often find that the more a person is worshiped
and adored for their talent, beauty or success, the more
their character begins to warp!
This is because of human nature - our animal side, the ego,
is the thing that usually defeats us in the end.
There is a transference of spiritual energy when we follow
the famous, and even when we choose someone as a teacher.
That's why it is vitally important to remember that
ultimately, the best teacher is the one who gives you
MORE POWER & CHOICES than you had before.
When your power and choices increase, you have more
freedom and strength.
That's what it all boils down to.
Years ago I opened a dojo literally 3 doors down from another
school.
"What will they think? Won't they be mad?" a friend said.
"I hope they would think it's a good thing.
Why would they be mad?
Let's make this street a Martial Arts mecca!" I said.
To me, it was like opening a Mexican restaurant next to an
Italian restaurant - no competition at all, simply more
choices!
I was teaching a belt-less system (Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do)
and the neighboring school was teaching Tae Kwon Do, a
formal belt system with a nice colorful rainbow of belts.
Many times a seeker would come in looking for a belt system
and I would send them down to the other school.
I must've sent that guy a few dozen students.
He never thanked me, and he forbid his students to study at
my school, or any other styles at all.
I encouraged my students to study any kind of different
style that interested them and to bring what they
learned back to our crucible of truth: the sparring mat.
My interest was simply in helping the students GROW and
become better and more resourceful.
Had I held them back from seeking, I would have been
restricting their growth.
For what purpose?
For ego, for money, for petty insecurities and selfish interests.
So I never hold them back, ever!
A little over a year later my school was the largest in the
area, and I had done almost no advertising.
The newspaper and local radio would often feature me.
It was a favorite of families, college students and professors,
executives, law enforcement and military.
The neighboring school, which had been there over 12
years, never grew.
Another year later and I sold my school for a handsome
profit, and the neighbor went out of business around the
same time, going completely broke.
I grew. I helped my students grow.
The neighboring school did not grow, He "restricted" his
students, and thus himself, and lost in the end.
The Greatest Martial Arts Teacher and Coach of all time,
is the one who expands your POWER and CHOICES, and
does not seek to limit you.
Because ultimately it's not about "him" (the teacher)
or "it" (the style or system), it's about YOU (the student).
Bruce Lee said that "all knowledge is self-knowledge"
Consensus and opinion polls do not give us the greatest
teachers, they only give us the most popular.
The greatest teacher may or may not be popular, but he
is the one who assists you in discovering your own path
to the Great Warrior within you.
Never "restrict" your learning, never restrict your student's
growth, and never stop growing and expanding your Power!
Sincerely,
Scott Bolan
PS Scott and I have developed an amazing new
home study course called Primal Fighting Secrets.
You can learn this in just minutes a day!
Your Pressure Point Coach
Russell Stutely
