Long Term Survival of the Martial Arts?

I am enrolled in my JM course and looking forward to the first green up of spring. Completion of this course puts me one step closer to Coach 2 Certification. With Coach 2 Certification from NCCP, many doors will open and hopefully wedge open some that may be closing.

For many years lobbyers have been trying to get legislation passed to regulate the martial arts in Canada. Part of their agenda is to make the legislation specific enough to favor their martial art over others taught in this country. As a Chinese martial art (and therefore very disorganized in a global sense) this would spell a major shift in our ability to survive. 2000 years down the toilet as it were.

So being the sneaky type, I figure having high coaching certification with the National Coaching Certification Program of Canada can only help our school, as well as our martial art should the legislation go through. Oh yes, I live to plot.

An extremely lofty (and highly improbable) goal, is to one day create something similar to ASPA & CSPA (Alberta Sport Parachute Association & Canadian Sport Parachute Association) for the martial arts. Though getting that many Black Belts and their respective schools to play nice together is going to be a night mare circus of pain. On the up side, ASPA & CSPA were created and you just gotta know that Skydivers are as bad as Black Belts when it comes to admitting that there could be a better way of doing things, especially when they didn't come up with the idea. Must have something to do with being an "A" type personality. Go figure.

If life has taught me anything, it's to be more tenacious than an oceanic white tip. Don't give up on anything you really believe in, just find a way of presenting it so that the recipient(s) see the true value.

Maybe one day in the near future it will be possible to have a formal collaboration of martial artists certifiable by the NCCP. Having a structure of training future teachers/coaches in the most effective ways of transferring knowledge to their novices. All endorsed by an existing national certifying body of sport educators, thus protecting said educators from potential extinction if unfavorable legislation is passed.

The NCCP doesn't regulate curriculum, philosophy, or influence business of the sport. It just teaches the coaches & instructors in the methods of learning, repetition of technique, and ethical accountability and responsibility they have to the students, novices, and each other.

I have no doubts that the work we are all doing with the UBBT is paving the way for this type of universal cooperation. I also have no doubts that it will be a long haul and a very difficult one.

Lets face it, if it was easy, it wouldn't be worth it.