This is a story about a running dialogue I’ve had internally with myself for about the last six months or so. Stick with it – the mission for this podcast comes in towards the end…I’ve tried to keep brevity in mind.
I have been immensely blessed in my martial study career to train with some absolutely amazing teachers. Simultaneously I’ve been blessed to meet and become friends with so many people in the arts I’ve truly lost count. There are so many positive things in my life that are directly relatable to something I’ve learned or experienced through the study of the Arts the contributions thereof are immeasurable.
In my career, I’ve also experienced or seen the negative sides of the martial industry – politicking, backstabbing, and selling of rank for example. It’s weird – I’ve been a part of several generations of martial art lineages…some of my teachers were born in the 1930s, some in the 1940s, but then again I’ve got some born in the 70’s and 80’s. What I want to see happen is to get to the point in the Arts that the stories from those 30s/40s teachers about how people got along and worked together and shared ideas becomes once again the normal and everyday status quo once again. Somewhere that concept got lost. It won’t be too long before my generation becomes the leaders of the industry…so we’re in prime position to influence the course of the next era in the martial studies.
The really interesting thing is that the negative sides of the arts are by and large driven by a very small amount of information being blown out of proportion to an extreme level and that becoming the entire picture of a person or a lineage. What I’d like to do is provide a positive place for people to share about themselves, their career, why they’ve trained in what they’ve trained in. Let’s learn more about WHO the people are so that we can understand where that person is coming from. Like a ripple in a pond…when we can understand more about each other, those differences become less important…and instead we see the similarities and how we can help each other.
So then, thinking about all of this… the idea hit me. A podcast is a perfect forum for people to share their stories. “Artists of Motion” was born to provide a positive learning environment so we can share and learn and grow together. Those ripples become waves. And a large enough wave can move mountains.
Come join the movement…let’s change the world positively. One person’s story at a time.
I hope you enjoy these stories as much as I did conducting the interviews.
Artists of Motion.