A few days ago I had a nice discussion with Mr Chuck Norris about the importance of 'values and ethics' in the martial arts training environment. It was my contention that as forward thinking martial artists, we want to embrace new developments emerging from the MMA trend but without the 'attitude' and 'lack of values' that seem to come with them. Chuck agreed wholeheartedly, as did several hundred black belts who were present - it seems that I am not alone in looking ahead to a time where we see a martial arts landscape that embraces a healthy marriage of MMA training and traditional martial arts values (respect, loyalty, integrity, etc).In fact, I feel strongly that the most succesfull martial arts schools of the next decade will be those that embrace this very concept.
Today's public is a highly informed public. They know what MMA and BJJ are - and they are walking into their local martial arts schools expecting these things to be on offer. MMA has permeated our culture - and here I am talking about our non-martial arts public. You can walk into a fashion clothing store in an upscale American mall and buy Tapout shirts and other MMA branded clothing. It's everywhere. The world is changing rapidly - how martial arts school-owners respond to these changes will impact strongly on how well they survive in the future.
Interesting times.
JBW
