| I've been a student of martial arts for decades, | | | | collectivistic appeal worked far better in Korea |
| but my formal training didn't come until later. | | | | than in America, and using an individualistic |
| At that point, I invested eight years in achieving | | | | message got significantly better results in America |
| the rank of Shodan, first-degree black belt in | | | | than in Korea. |
| Chinese Kenpo Karate. | | | | Specifically, when a "Do it for you" message was |
| My training was first rate. | | | | pitted against a "Do it for others" suggestion, the |
| But after achieving black belt I decided to leave | | | | respective cultures responded differently. |
| the dojo and ply the spiritual skills I had learned in | | | | America is not homogeneous. We have more |
| daily life. More significant, I departed because I had | | | | than 100 nationalities, so we should use caution in |
| tired of the collectivistic, individualism-effacing | | | | stereotyping. Still, there are overall proclivities and |
| rhetoric of the school. | | | | inclinations. And one of them is that there is more |
| In service to my overall development, I had | | | | of a "Me, first" attitude here, than a "We, first." |
| suppressed my American cultural values long | | | | So, are Eastern martial arts dojos a good fit for |
| enough. I was more than a rank, an | | | | Americans? In my case, the answer was yes, at |
| interchangeable instructor or a face in the crowd. | | | | least for eight years. And that was plenty of time |
| Individualism is a distinctively American trait. Most | | | | to assimilate significant skills and a certain amount |
| of us that have been steeped in American culture | | | | of non-Western wisdom. |
| are not team-players, despite the fact that we | | | | But I would suspect that the Eastern flavor of |
| revere team sports and may even function in | | | | certain martial arts dojos is not a good fit for |
| teams, at work. | | | | others. |
| "Playing well with others" must be learned, | | | | Moreover, I wonder to what extent martial arts |
| sometimes the hard way. | | | | businesses would be better served and would |
| General Stonewall Jackson summed-up our view | | | | serve better by loosening this link, at least |
| when he remarked: "One courageous man makes | | | | culturally, but not necessarily when it comes to |
| a majority!" | | | | technique. |
| In a revealing study that I just read, it was | | | | Is that possible? Is it desirable? |
| demonstrated that in advertising, using a | | | | What do you think? |