In the United States, there exist many different circles of the martial arts. There are thousands of schools and hundreds of styles to choose from. Each person who decides to become a martial artist has his or her own personal reasons and motivations. Each person who teaches the martial arts also has his or her own personal reasons and motivations. Many people write articles for martial arts magazines and/or publish their articles on the internet. Each person who decides to do such also has his or her own personal reasons and motivations.

      It is up to the individual reader to discern the truth. A discerning person will be able to read between the lines. Be wary of any author of martial arts articles that says his or her way is the only way. Be especially wary of authors who use "should" and "shouldn't" in reference to anything regarding the martial arts. Each person is unique. Every instructor, school and style is different. No two are the same. Why is it then that many authors write articles that state or imply that their way is the only way? According to my understanding, it is simply ignorance.

     As you progress through the martial arts, your understanding will grow and change. Traditionally, progress is measured in decades. Training in the martial arts is a process. One's motivations for training evolve throughout the years. If you ask a martial artist who has been practicing for more than two decades if the reason he is training is the same reason that he began training I believe the answer you would find would be no.

     There are, however, individuals who believe that their current level of understanding in the martial arts should be everyone's understanding. And those who disagree with them do not have differences in understanding, they are considered to be just wrong. The possibility that there can be more than one correct approach is either beyond their comprehension or these individuals have a vested interest, usually financial, in advocating their point of view as the only acceptable one.

     Isn't it wonderful that in the United States you can choose what martial arts school to join, what teacher to learn from and what style to practice? You can learn traditional or non-traditional styles of martial arts. You can learn sport or non-sport styles of martial arts. You can enter tournaments or practice street self-defense or both. In effect, you are free to do whatever you want in this country within the bounds of the law.

     In an article in a recently published national martial arts magazine, a non-traditional practitioner was severely putting down the traditional martial arts virtue of loyalty. While it is true that many non-traditionalists do not adhere to the virtue of loyalty, this virtue is of paramount importance to the traditional practitioner who sees the goal of martial arts training not to learn new techniques to increase the amount of information he knows, but instead envisions himself actually becoming a part of the history and lineage of the traditional art that he has chosen to study.

     Now although I consider myself to be a traditional martial artist, I would not be so arrogant to insist that all martial artists must follow a traditional path. Not everyone is cut out to be a traditional martial artist. Some people want to collect forms and techniques from various styles and piece them together. Others wish to simply learn from books and videos. But for those martial artists who wish to study and learn a traditional art in a traditional way, that too is available in our country. Neither option is better or worse. Neither the traditional or non-traditional martial artist is better than the other. They are simply different. And in this country at least for now, everyone is free to decide for themselves what martial arts path to follow.

      Remember the words of Master Morihei Ueshiba who said,