Wrong on the Internet

[blimix]

Okay, I recently stayed up late because someone was wrong on the Internet. Samir Seif is a prolific creator of short instructional videos about martial arts techniques. He is an instructor with broad and deep experience, and I gladly subscribe to his YouTube channel. He recently started posting vlogs responding to comments on his videos, and I took issue with some things he said about Jeet Kune Do. He appreciated my comment, slightly misunderstood it, and posted his disagreeing response as a separate video. Whoa.

As I wrote my response to his unintentional straw man argument, I was actually nervous. Not because of what he might think of me (which might be an issue for me only in a conversation with "Weird Al" Yankovic), but because I was trying very hard to show complete respect for him and his point of view, while disagreeing. Also while a bit sleep deprived, which both makes that sort of thing harder, and brings emotions closer to the surface.

Reasons for the extra careful attention to respect:
1. He's a human being.
2. It's his channel; as a commenter, I'm a guest there.
3. He is tremendously more experienced in martial arts than I am.
4. The sad prevalence of "tough guy" martial arts commenters who cannot respect differing opinions engenders in me a certain revulsion, and a wish to be as much unlike them as possible.

On a barely related note, point 4 reminds me that I've noticed an unfortunate tendency in on-line martial arts communities to lean toward politics of ignorance, fear, and violence. It seems that people who get into martial arts because they want to feel tough in the face of unfounded fears outnumber people who get into it because they are passionate geeks who grew up loving kung fu movies. *cough* (Or maybe that's observation bias, and the former represent merely the loudest and most prolific commenters.) (And yes, I know that people have many other reasons.)

Comments

[icarusfallen8.livejournal.com]

Conversational Martial Arts, or Online Martial Arts.

Methods of speaking, that when applied correctly can take someone down, but are meant only for self defense (or defending others).

[blimix.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I will check it out if and when I have time.

[beth_leonard]

It may be that the "normal" people who take martial arts don't frequent on-line martial arts forums. Everyone I know in real life who takes martial arts is very nice.

I know I'm farther to the right than you on many issues, but I don't think you'd count me in the set of people who lean towards politics of fear, ignorance, and violence. (or if you do, then we need to talk more.)

--Beth

[blimix.livejournal.com]

"Very nice" can be deceptive. Most people I've met have been very nice to me. Some of them have yet turned out to not be good people. There's a huge difference between being pleasant to people and having the character to do the right thing when it's deeply unpleasant or difficult and involves no personal gain (i.e., just because it's right). And then there are people who seem nice in person, but are raging trolls on social media or online games. (I believe the next album by Murder Ballads will have a song about that.)

That said, among those martial artists whom I have gotten to know well enough, I could name far more who are compassionate, wise, and peaceful than who are not. (However, that may be so heavily influenced by selection bias that I can conclude nothing about martial artists in general.)

No, I don't count you among the people I mentioned. The "fear, ignorance, and violence" people are right-wingers (specifically the ones that people on the left like to call "right wingnuts"), but certainly do not represent everyone on the right. I don't know a whole lot about your strength of character, but you have gone out of your way to be a friend to me, and I appreciate that.