I attended my very first weekend martial arts seminar when I was 18 years old. I was a student in a small kung fu studio in Cincinnati. I had a great deal of respect for the head teacher (sifu), so naturally I wasn’t concerned with the extra money I had to pay for the chance to learn from somebody she touted as being a “master” of something or other. I really can’t remember what he taught.
I can’t remember because all I could focus on was his tremendous belly. He was, for lack of a better word, fat. Not overweight, not a little chubby. Fat. He also smoked like a chimney and drank so much coffee it leaked through his pores. Like, he reeked of coffee, cigarettes, and sweat, not that he was doing anything to sweat. He rationalized his obvious lack of physical conditioning by telling us, and I remember distinctly, “I may be fat but I can still kick over my head.” I never saw him kick over his head. And honestly, I lost some respect for my teacher that day. I surmised years later that she was probably just trying to help out a fellow martial artist, but it was a sham. Some of the participants didn’t show up for the second day because this guy clearly couldn’t do what we were paying him for. He may have had the skill at one time, but there was far too much real estate for him to contend with.
Spoiler alert: If you are the least bit concerned with me speaking out against obesity and other unhealthy habits, you may want to move on. If you continue reading, you have been warned.
There have been plenty of times in my life and martial arts career when I didn’t pay as much attention to my diet and health as I should have. Of course, I could rationalize this and blame it on job or life circumstances but the truth for all of us is, we have a chance to make decisions every day. Nobody is tying you down and shoving food down your throat or forcing you to smoke. You can blame your bad habits on the bad things in your life, but it all comes down to you making bad choices. That's right, it's on you.
No matter what form of martial arts you study, there is an inherent understanding that your ability to perform is directly tied to your physical conditioning. I’m not talking about the the things we have no control over like age-related deficits or long-term injuries. There are some things you just can’t do anything about and that’s totally cool if you work hard with what you’ve got.
I’m talking about folks who study and teach Japanese martial arts (Budo). Budo’s primary purpose is ego mitigation through physical, mental and spiritual discipline. In my opinion, if you consider yourself a practitioner of any of these forms, it is incumbent upon you to practice discipline in all areas of your life. You may begin this journey looking for the discipline to overcome obstacles like being overweight and that’s a great reason to train. But if you want to get the full benefit of this way of life, you have to make it a way of life. Every day, even when you are not practicing technique. Along with a regiment of push-ups, you need to give equal attention to “push-aways”…pushing that plate away from your face. But a student can only look toward his or her teacher for inspiration.
I am particularly hard on martial arts “masters" who clearly have not mastered the pause button on food as well as other things that contrast a disciplined life. It’s nothing short of hypocrisy when students looking for guidance and inspiration have to contend with an overweight, undisciplined teacher who’s only credential is a title or a few pictures of past victories.
Years ago I bought and enjoyed a book written by a famous aikido teacher who had a fairly substantial dojo out in California. What I remember most about the book was the constant reminders of the importance of placing the aspects of martial discipline into daily life. Apparently he was a master of aikido as well as iaido (sword drawing) and sado, (tea ceremony) and he had all the rankings to back it up. All of these arts require tremendous discipline and precision. I was shocked the first time I saw a picture of him. He was clinically obese. Not just a little fluffy around the edges. I found a few videos of him and he could barely perform his techniques because he was in such horrible shape. His belly hung so far over his hakama (the black pleated pants worn in traditional arts) that you couldn’t tell where he tied it. The book still sits on my shelf, but I will never read it again.
Maybe you think I’m being harsh. “Fat shaming” I believe is the modern term for it. To be very clear, I’m not suggesting that we all have to have six-pack abs and a chiseled physique. There are unhealthy consequences with that too. But food addiction, like all addictions, is a choice. It is not something that should be celebrated as an alternative lifestyle. And it shouldn’t be tolerated in martial arts. It’s one of the reasons that older, traditional forms have lost credibility. You just don’t see fat MMA or BJJ fighters very often.
It may be a poor business model, but martial arts really isn’t for everyone. It was meant for people who are willing to consistently push themselves mentally, physically and spiritually in the quest to be better human beings. It wasn’t meant to be all-inclusive, rather exclusive to people willing to leave their comfort zone on a regular basis despite physical challenges. We are to strive to overcome our lack of discipline, not be rewarded for it or praised in spite of it.
Ok, I'm going to hit the weights and train. How about you?
Dave Magliano
Jissenkan Budo
Dojo Cho
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