Martial art superstitions

As an international news reporter, I have an opportunity to see and experience many cultures and traditions. Some factoids -- like the Dan Brown-ish ones -- have baffled, but are fascinating nonetheless.

Superstitions tell you a lot about a culture's belief systems and traditions. One blogger has set up a website investigation superstitions worldwide unfortunately she's left out Antarctica!).

There are already some interesting entries in there. I gave it a whirl and left a long entry, focusing on martial arts. I've been practicing martial arts -- Taekwondo mainly, and Kendo in the past -- and investigating the topic as a journalist for close to a decade. (Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3, Entry 4)

So here goes. Please be aware that this all comes from hearsay and observations. Superstitions are an inexact science. There's a lot of rivalry between martial artists from different styles, but this covers an entire range.

1) Some never wash their martial arts belt for fear of losing the knowledge they have already gained.

2) Tang Soo Do has a "midnight blue" belt instead of your traditional black belt as the color black is considered bad luck. South Korea also has a Black Day, which is a sort of anti-Valentine's Day where individuals come together and celebrate being single.

3) Many martial arts forms are tied to tradition, which are heavily tied to belief or superstition. Really depends on how you view it. Specific Capoeira moves in modern times still reflect as a dance form in how slaves protected themselves in the past.

4) Similarlty, Kung Fu forms inspired by animals and other objects have heavy ties to Asian beliefs on protection, wealth, long life and good health.

5) During bouts, Muay Thai fighters have good luck charms in the  form of amulets or bracelets.

6) Ninjutsu itself was built heavily on superstition tied to superhuman feats and paranormal activity. The ghost-like images of ninjutsu were in fact devised to protect them from the Samurai. Those thoughts carry on again, but Samurai ain't hanging out in Starbucks or pubs anymore.

7) Like so many martial artists, some of my friends in Taekwondo believe their belts are good luck charms. Or they believe specific uniforms or color combinations are good luck charms during tournaments.

8) This one's hard to explain: Some martial artists believe they can air-fight or defeat opponents without touching anyone. It's through what they call "chi" or "qi", or flow of energy (also claimed to be used for healing). Highly creative stuff, and it seems like a superstition that works for those who believe in it. The central topic of chi or qi is tied to many superstitions in Japanese, Korean and Chinese cultures.

9) Lots of Wizard of Oz-ish sorcery and black magic are central to many martial arts.

All said, there's a fine line between the beliefs and traditions in martial arts, and what may be considered superstition. I believe martial artists are only as good as the amount of work that is put in.

Wordsmith-ing again, oh dear

Writing daily news has smoked my creativity. The urge to filter that artistry is back, and I'm also blogging for Venus' Thine Explorer blog. Check out my entry on Exploring Personalities, and be moved by the blog.

Hopefully, will be blogging for a while. For those wondering, I remain in New York City, reveling in a war-time apartment in midtown Manhattan. And yes, still a journalist.

Exploring personalities

Judging a person in only five seconds isn't necessarily bad. The concept is flawed if the premise is to hate or like a person, but otherwise it is a way to adapt, measure and interact in the right way. Spouting Star Wars jokes to a volleyball player won't make you exotic.

But it takes adaptation. People can be different -- could be a unique sense of humor, a bohemian lifestyle, anything. Sometimes society places limits and defines how characters are to be judged. I'd rather people liberate and open their minds, but it doesn't happen under every circumstance.

I find shy personalities fascinating. They are mysterious, and tough nuts to crack open -- they watch and measure the surroundings, occasionally expressing themselves through a smile or frown. It's highly rewarding interaction.

One of my friends is an escapist, she shuts down in groups, but is bubbly in one-on-one meetings. It didn't take long to figure out she was shy when I met her for the first time at a party.

So I started with a bang. I heard she had just moved to New York.

"So what's your story, in a New York minute?" I asked. Instinctual words, but bad start, knew it right away.

"What?" she asked, bewildered.

She didn't react well to straight up, semi-satirical questions. I had to calm the situation down, and do it quickly.

"I'd rather be at the beaches in Sri Lanka, but here I am too," I said.

One more weird face, but she seemed to figure out what I was about. She perhaps thought I was trying to impress her (which wasn't the case, I just wanted conversation). I had to calm down in any case.

"I've never been to Lanka," she said.

Time to change topic. She was looking pretty, wearing a blouse with a lehenga, and a bindi on her forehead. I didn't want to complement her looks, I never do, but I did roll out a factoid that I found interesting.

"Saw you walking two blocks wondering where you were headed, and here you are! I actually told my friend that women in bindis are hard to find walking on New York streets."

She immediately was at ease, rolling out a laugh.

"I heard the same thing when I went to salsa class yesterday," she said.

Multi-talented personality, I thought. She's raised some topics that we could talk about. The conversation went on, but I felt rewarded with the salsa nugget. She seemed to establish a small level of trust in me atleast.

She didn't ask too many questions, and I egged on. The next time we met for dinner a few weeks later, she was open, vibrant and admitted group meetings weren't for her. She also thought I was weird with the first few questions, but then I compensated well by calming down.

I gave her grief that she was judging me too quickly.

"I was not judging you, you created the situation for yourself," she said.

"I was fishing to see what type of conversation would work," I said, contesting her theory.

"So you were trying to judge me even before met?" she said.

Caught. Red-handed.

(Cross posted on Thine Explorer)