On Myth and History

Tracing the Circle – Weekly Meditations on the Practice
On Myth and History:

The only thing that can likely be said honestly about something that is old is that it is old. Any other value judgment placed on the old thing may be tainted by emotion rather than marked by reason.

This applies to the mythology of our martial practices.

"Myth" does not necessarily equal "untruth". A myth is simply a story, which may or may not communicate truth. Moreover, "myth" can equal "what one wishes to be true". For instance, in our own personal mythology, we may wish it to be true that our lives have meaning.

This, too, applies to the mythology of our martial practices.

Consider the following mythological claims often stated (explicitly) or assumed (implicitly) about martial arts. Then, consider to what degree your assent to such claims limits your personal practice and/or acquisition of skill:

1. Old masters were somehow qualitatively different from you and me.
2. In the past, it is perfectly acceptable to be taught by mountain demons, fairies, divine inspiration or non-human beings.
3. The teachers of the old masters were even greater than the old masters.
4. "Truth" has been passed on in an unbroken line of transmission.
5. If someone devotes their life to something, it must be valuable, or effective.
6. Older training methods are always better.
7. The wills / intentions of "the masters" are always beyond our comprehension.
8. "We" will never (can never, forbidden!) exceed the skill of "the masters."
9. Training devices / pedagogical tools (i.e. kata/form) are to be 'deified' for their own sake, and therefore are not to be questioned because they were created by the “masters.”
10. The “Other" (language, culture, geographic region, historical epoch, method, purpose, etc.), so long as it remains mysterious, is always superior to our own "known" reality, and therefore more powerful, more desirable, and ultimately the key to liberating our own weaknesses and arriving at skill and/or authentic self-hood.