As far as I'm concerned there is no point. Wado is useless for most part. Just like a painting of Van Gogh is useless. It's even too small to use as wallpaper, so what's the point?Gusei21 wrote: At the end of the day you have to be able to destroy people otherwise what's the point?
However, even though Wado is useless, it is still quite valuable to me. Just like a van Gogh painting. One thing is sure though, if I were in the business of destroying people (which I'm not), I would choose more modern means as tools of the trade.
That said, there still is the issue of quality. Useless or not, I much prefer to do my activities with quality. I strive for quality, no matter if it is a paid job, or a walk in the woods. I think we agree that quality in wado has something to do with the ability to employ internal power.
Then, what is 'to train correctly'? I suppose that is what most (or some?) of us are already doing. I guess my beef with the 'normal' way of teaching Wado is that most students are left in the dark. They get pointed into the right direction by the sensei (if they're lucky...) but have to proceed pretty much blindfolded in most cases. They're in the same position as the blind man feeling the elefant. The only difference is that the sensei tells them that if they touch enough parts of the elephant, they will 'get' the elephant.oneya wrote: ...internal power( as opposed to internal energy) is a simple proposition and very much like wado ryu kihon waza where again, you either train correctly and train sufficiently to attain, achieve or understand it to possess it or 'get it' and have it or you do not. It is part of the process - for some.
I'm not sure if there's a way around this. I've been in martial arts long enough to know that some things are very difficult to put in words. The inability to explain something in a clear way does not always indicate lack of knowledge of lack of ability. Sometimes it just IS hard to explain certain things. My sensei always used to say that the only way to 'get' the taste of coffee is to drink the coffee. And I can accept that.
However, I also know from experience that some things could very well be explained more clearly. And for some reason, they are not. It is beyond me why a sensei would keep things from students. Sure, not all students are ready for everything. But so what? I tell things in class that are meant for a particular student because he is in a particular point in his journey. But I don't keep it a secret for the others. It's fine if they hear it, as long as they understand that they have other issues to attend to. At least, that way they all get a sense of the wider landscape they're all travelling in. It's not different from learning a language. Obviously, books 5 and 6 of the language course are readily available. But everyone understands that there's no point in attempting to learn them if you haven't first finished books 1 to 4.
And sure, not everyone will make the whole journey. In fact, I have to admit that I probably don't train enough and maybe don't have enough talent to ever 'get' internal power. But so what? Does that mean I have to travel blindfolded? Perhaps, if I can see the landscape more clearly, I will be more inclined to cover more distance to get somewhere.
So I see no point in secrecy. Maybe it's something Japanese? I think a couple of hundred years ago in Japan, such practices had merit. But maintaining secrecy today is a disservice to the art.