Capitalist martial artists: Our job is to give multicolored belts to children so their parents think they're making progress and keep paying for lessons.
Socialist martial artists: We will teach you to kill with your hands.
The video implied a colorful history behind the invention of sambo @1:23 "A ban on anything that wasn't 'Soviet enough.' They liked the Judo, they just didn't like the Japanese culture that came with it." And to that end, Sensei Seth showed the back breakfall+standing up in base which is standard in fundamental BJJ and Judo classes. @4:00 The older coach, who won a tournament last year, talked about his 50 year tenure in the sport and how it allowed him to go to a university in the Soviet Union. Getting a less western perspective on Japanese culture in the Soviet Union, the formation of Sambo (esp concerning college admissions), and 'the ban on anything that wasn't Soviet enough' would be really interesting for me.
I thought Taekwondo was cool but since I grew up in a very yeehaw part of the country, the best we got was a McDojo. Went all the way to black belt, and it was basically an overglorified dance class. Rumor has it that the instructor was a diddler.
If you have kids that want to do something like that, I concur that belts are very sus alongside absurd prices. McDojos suck and waste the kid's time and the parent's money.
Anything with a belt testing fee is probably bullshit that, at best, teaches a kid to be less unruly in class. You might as well have them dig ditches and fill them back in for discipline.
Capitalist martial artists: Our job is to give multicolored belts to children so their parents think they're making progress and keep paying for lessons.
Socialist martial artists: We will teach you to kill with your hands.
The video implied a colorful history behind the invention of sambo @1:23 "A ban on anything that wasn't 'Soviet enough.' They liked the Judo, they just didn't like the Japanese culture that came with it." And to that end, Sensei Seth showed the back breakfall+standing up in base which is standard in fundamental BJJ and Judo classes. @4:00 The older coach, who won a tournament last year, talked about his 50 year tenure in the sport and how it allowed him to go to a university in the Soviet Union. Getting a less western perspective on Japanese culture in the Soviet Union, the formation of Sambo (esp concerning college admissions), and 'the ban on anything that wasn't Soviet enough' would be really interesting for me.
Modern-day senseis will call those belt mill martial arts studios "bullshito", of course.
McDojo
Ugh, tell me about it.
I thought Taekwondo was cool but since I grew up in a very yeehaw part of the country, the best we got was a McDojo. Went all the way to black belt, and it was basically an overglorified dance class. Rumor has it that the instructor was a diddler.
If you have kids that want to do something like that, I concur that belts are very sus alongside absurd prices. McDojos suck and waste the kid's time and the parent's money.
Anything with a belt testing fee is probably bullshit that, at best, teaches a kid to be less unruly in class. You might as well have them dig ditches and fill them back in for discipline.