“The issue of martial skill is impossible to determine within a civilized context.”
The text below is from a comment by Charles Humphrey in response to the blog “Schism and Disharmony – The Bumpy Road to Aiki,” by Alister Gillies. I felt it merited special attention for it offers a viewpoint not commonly heard. – Editor
Cheers on some more thoughtful contributions. This is why I avoid organizations like the plague. When there is an organization, there are organizational politics, and much wasted time. My answer to the question “how to determine who is good?” is far from the usual answer. Look at the personality. The issue of martial skill is impossible to determine within a civilized context. To truly determine who is “the best” in this sense is nearly impossible.
Even the most extreme imaginable situation of you sticking them in a limited space and saying “to the death!” You eliminate the possibilities of positional advantage and foresight that are the mark of true skill. In any case, it is unnecessary. Want to see who’s the best, just look at the life they lead. Do they belittle others? Do they repeatedly stress that they/their teacher/their style is the only one true way? Do they have a sense of humour, particularly about themselves? Do they laugh? Do they fart a lot? Do you feel comfortable around them? Are they good husbands/wives/children/parents? Do they accept people in all their limitations, do their best to be tolerant and yet admit that they experience natural human frustrations with certain people or circumstances? In essence, are they truly human, neither presuming to be a god nor laxing into an animal, and are they comfortable with this lot? What else do you expect?
Such a person is not an invincible warrior. No one is invincible, but they can live a quiet and content life knowing that if they are such a person they will have no more regrets than they should, and live neither a longer nor shorter life than they were intended. The highest level of skill is to be truly natural, foibles included. I have seen examples of this in teachers but none of them are part of organizations. They are obscure men because they are naturally disgusted with organizational politics. They don’t judge those who are involved in such organizations and if asked by someone to whom they feel they owe something they will assist these organizations, but will then promptly retire once their work is complete. I have seen such examples in the most senior students of great masters who humbly try to learn something from the second most senior student without resentment, recognizing that although junior, the other student understands some things they don’t. This second most senior student, in turn, continually attends lectures and reads books from other arts in order to expand his knowledge. I’m in a rambling jetlagged state of mind but it’s obvious. Look for lack of pretension, mellowness is the acme of true skill.