A true chasidic tale:
My chavursa studied karate in a program run by one of those proverbial oriental masters. He learned all the kicks and blows and readily advanced through the ranks. One of the critical points that his teacher emphasized - besides that strict ritual of bowing and respect - was that karate is not to be used. It is to be studied and appreciated but not used against another person unless there was no choice. It was an art form and a spiritual endeavor.
One night my chavruta was walking down the dark streets of St. Louis when he was jumped from behind by a huge mugger who put a muscular arm around his throat and demanded his wallet. Having learned his lessons well he turned slightly stomped on his muggers instep, jabbed his elbow in the guys gut and twisted the surprised mugger's arm until the elbow broke. Then he ran to safety.
He was greatful that he had learned his lesson well and had handled the situation well. While it was a shame he had had to break the muggers arm - but it was purely self-defense as his master had taught.
With a feeling of self-satisfaction at his skill and his self-restraint - not only in dealing with the mugger but also his own ego - he went to his karate master to tell him how he had successfully applied the lessons he had been taught.
The karate master listen impassively as the events of the night before were related by his excited student. When he finished his karate master bowed slightly to him and then proceeded to give him the beating of his life. "I told you karate is not to be used unless you have no choice. If you had given the mugger your wallet he would have left you alone. This beating is because you have not learned the most elementary lesson of what karate is about.
My chavursa studied karate in a program run by one of those proverbial oriental masters. He learned all the kicks and blows and readily advanced through the ranks. One of the critical points that his teacher emphasized - besides that strict ritual of bowing and respect - was that karate is not to be used. It is to be studied and appreciated but not used against another person unless there was no choice. It was an art form and a spiritual endeavor.
One night my chavruta was walking down the dark streets of St. Louis when he was jumped from behind by a huge mugger who put a muscular arm around his throat and demanded his wallet. Having learned his lessons well he turned slightly stomped on his muggers instep, jabbed his elbow in the guys gut and twisted the surprised mugger's arm until the elbow broke. Then he ran to safety.
He was greatful that he had learned his lesson well and had handled the situation well. While it was a shame he had had to break the muggers arm - but it was purely self-defense as his master had taught.
With a feeling of self-satisfaction at his skill and his self-restraint - not only in dealing with the mugger but also his own ego - he went to his karate master to tell him how he had successfully applied the lessons he had been taught.
The karate master listen impassively as the events of the night before were related by his excited student. When he finished his karate master bowed slightly to him and then proceeded to give him the beating of his life. "I told you karate is not to be used unless you have no choice. If you had given the mugger your wallet he would have left you alone. This beating is because you have not learned the most elementary lesson of what karate is about.
Yeah, and that's why I would never want to waste my time on such shtus! Give me a break! (I would have sued the "master" or had him arrested, by the way-- though it's true that I could have accomplished much the same by giving the "master" my wallet.)
ReplyDeleteThe moral of the story this karate master sheigetz was trying to impart, is punkt farkert from Yiddishkeit.
ReplyDelete"The moral of the story this karate master sheigetz was trying to impart, is punkt farkert from Yiddishkeit."
ReplyDeleteThat's a pretty strong statement. Source?
Nice seeing my home town portrayed in such a favorable light....
ReplyDeleteI think this is a nice parable.
ReplyDeleteTo me, it means that you should not take quotes of "chazal" out of context in order to hammer down someone in argument.
(cf. "chazal themselves gave the advice not to marry a giyorus" and subsquent comments in http://daattorah.blogspot.com/2010/01/michal-tastik-world-of-ger-v-fixing.html)
Everyone should learn krav maga or abir or whatever. You never know when giving somebody your wallet won't be enough! Anonymous, if someone was attacking your wife, and there was no help around, wouldn't you want to know how to stop it?
ReplyDeleteMoral of the story, the teacher is a hypocrite! He went ahead and did the very thing he preached about not doing. Hmmm this reminds me of someone we know.
ReplyDeleteDid the sensei know his students well enough from training them to know, for example, whether a student tended to like to set traps for his opponents, and maybe even inflict a bit more pain than necessary when he sprung the trap, or whether a student's sparring partners tended to get banged up more than absolutely required? If he was the real deal, he did.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, there's a context, a relationship based on knowledge, and the sensei's sense of responsibility for making sure his students don't misuse his teaching behind "proceeded to give him the beating of his life."
Also, could your chavruta have avoided the street in question? Did he to any degree choose to walk down a dangerous street because he had some training?
In any case, there's a context, a relationship based on knowledge, and the sensei's sense of responsibility for making sure his students don't misuse his teaching behind "proceeded to give him the beating of his life."
ReplyDelete===============
Viewing this story as a moshol your questions are meaningless.
If you want to know the facts as they happened then it is irrelevant to my point.
This sensei has smoked to much Sensei!
ReplyDeleteThe student was obviously not on the level to know that this mugger would not could not hurt him. This was from the fact that he ran scared afterwards.
Also what is wrong with metting out a little discipline to teach a dangerous cohort a lesson that might discourage him from mugging other people. The sensei gave him a beating to teach him a lesson. Why can't the student give the mugger such a lesson.
As the saying goes, you have to put the board of learning to the seat of education.
It's an attractive story on one level.
ReplyDeleteOn another level though, allowing muggers to expropriate wallets, secure in the knowledge that they won't be stopped because those with the power to do so would prefer to surrender the wallet, will lead to a heck of a lot more stolen wallets!
I see a great deal in this story that touches on the differences between Eastern and Western thought. (Western being quiet heavily shaped by the Torah.)