 Can you do a video please about martial arts in social life and showing off? When they say showing off, I'm assuming they mean showing off your martial arts skills in a public space. I'm definitely a little bit torn on that. So I'm not sure where the lines are drawn here. You talk about just being public about your martial arts or you talk about doing demonstrations or showing off. My gut reaction is I generally like to keep my martial arts a little bit private. I mean, if I'm out with friends or talking or just talking in the casual conversation, that's one thing. But when it comes to like performing it in public, I think there's some caution to take there. What do you think about that? Well, I mean, well, you know how it is is like when you first start learning something. So, you know, I have a funny feeling that they're they're new into the martial arts or new to a certain art. You want to show it off. That's what you're thinking about. That's what you're talking about. Every conversation you're talking to, you know, your loved ones and you're like, oh, that reminds me. And you got to remember they may not be into as much as you are. And that gets obnoxious. But also to with the showing off, it depends if you're trying to use it to to, you know, because people are showing interest in you, people are showing interest in martial art or you're trying to advertise and market your school or in a positive and reinforcing way. It could be a good thing. But very quickly, it can be one of those things where it's quite, I don't know, the proper word, inappropriate. Yeah. And grading and more of less, you know, you're the guy pumping their chest and back it up, you know. So you're you're reminding me of a story you told me years, years back that you said when you were young and you and your friends went out to like the clubs, if there was a local karate guy out there and he was doing he was like drunk or high. He was doing kata out on the dance floor. Yes. Yes. He was. Yeah, he was doing. Yeah, he was doing kata in the dance floor. And of course, you know, then everyone's just like, what is this guy doing? Yeah, he's sitting there. He's doing kata to like as a day. I we I don't know to this day what he was thinking or what he's doing. But everyone's just kind of like, oh, God, OK, stay away from this guy. He's he's not right in the head. So and you know, and I say he was drunk or high or something, but I don't know. But that's that's that's the thing. He might have been just having a good time and having fun. But you just, you know, you got to do things appropriately. So and and if you're starting new, you're starting off probably less is more. Any time. Yeah, probably. Well, I when I was in high school, there was a kid in my class in my journalism class, and he had just started taking karate to local school. And this kid, he had his own his own share of problems. He didn't have the greatest home life and not the greatest sense of judgment. But he had just started taking class and we had come from a lunch break and we came into the classroom where we're sitting down and he's going up to people saying, hey, I just started learning karate. Will you throw a punch at me so I can block it? And I had to kind of pull aside. I'm like, dude, what are you doing? You're just asking for trouble. And he's like, well, I want to see if this works. I'm like, you're in a school classroom. You're going to ask the wrong person and you're not going to like the answer to that, especially just starting. But I think in his case, it was a confidence issue. He definitely had a major complex. And like he came from an abusive family. He had a lot of self-esteem issues, a confidence issue. So I think he was using at the kind of, I don't want to say posture, but almost kind of gained a little bit of respect. But it was having the opposite effect on that. And I think he was going to put him in a more of a dangerous situation because he had just started a week under his belt. So he wasn't going to be able to really defend himself if something happened. But I'm like, this is inviting trouble. And I think that's one of the threats, too. When you get to the point of showing off, if you're saying, oh, I'm a martial artist and you're showing off. And if you're at in the public setting and you start doing it, you don't look as cool as you probably think you do. I mean, if you're trying to show off for the people, most people aren't going to be that impressed. And I know some people might do it to show, look how good I am. You don't want to mess with me. But my perspective on that is if you're trying to use it as a deterrent, the type of people that you would want to detour are not going to be deterred. They're going to actually take that as a challenge. So you might actually invite trouble with that. Yeah, actually, one of the stories my father used to tell me is and my father is a pretty big guy. You know, he's he's six, two. And he's talking about when he used to work back in the day when he was a young kid and you would work at a grocery store. That there was a guy that would tower over him. So so my dad's six, two. So this guy's got to be pretty big. He said he towered over like another three to five inches. So he was a big, big guy. So he said that every night when they would close up, he would ask him, could you walk me to my car? Could you, you know, you know, walk me out when I close, you know, close the store? And finally, he's like, you know, you're so big. Why do you want me to walk you out? And he goes, because I'm so big, everyone keeps picking on me because they think I'm the challenge. So he's like, if there's two people, they're less like they don't they don't they don't find me through it. And because when I walk out by myself, I'm the big guy. He says, all the all they want to do is start a fight with me to prove this because the newest people want to prove themselves so they can beat up the biggest guy. So they have something to prove with it. And so the challenge is there. So if you're walking around showing off moves and that kind of person's around you, they're not going to be impressed. Yeah, exactly. So, yeah, they're they, yeah. And if you're starting out and you're doing it, you know, you might not have the skills that you need to defend yourself. Yeah. So I hate to say it's not corporate guy that you learn to watch a window and sweep the floor and jack up car that you can defend yourself off of three three people at once. You know, are you telling me I've been doing chores on my life for nothing? Well, I don't know. Have you been doing it the right way? Have you been washing the not very well? Yeah, you want me to ask Tracy? She'll probably tell me the truth. Yeah, she'll be like, hey, what she'll say what chores? No, but this is funny, too, because like we're talking here about like showing off martial arts in public. I don't even like going out anywhere in my uniform. Like, even after class, I see I know people who go to the grocery store, who go out to eat and they'll just wear the uniforms. I'm like, I can't like to me. I'm like that I wanted doesn't feel appropriate because I don't know. Like it's you're kind of walking around in pajamas, but doesn't feel like appropriate dress. But too is like, I don't want to walk around on my belt and my ski for the same kind of reasons. You're you're not showing off. It's not really going to impress the buddy. And if anything, it might just invite trouble. Yeah, that's just me. Yeah, I can kind of see it one thing because it is really comfortable. It is. It's like wearing pajamas. So, yeah, I can see it. I can see that to some sense, just because, you know, just just wear pajamas around all day, all day. Bring a pillow and sleep. They are mighty comfortable. But yeah, no, and the yeah. Now, if you're trying to do it, we're like if you was talking about like doing like showing off as in like public, like you were part of when you're in high school, what was it called the demo team? The demo team. Yeah. So that might be, you know, that's a different thing. That's kind of a marketing thing. Yeah, but there's also a time and place for that, too. It's not like we just went out and just did. I mean, we actually set up, we were at festivals. We were at like martial arts festivals there. Or was that like even certain shopping days like shopping centers would send her off like an area for performances. So it was always like a pre-planned set up thing. It wasn't like we just sit up in the middle of the bar and just started doing kata on each other. Yeah. Well, and also, too, is it never looks as good as you think it looks. No, that's the other person. That's the other problem, too. It's one of the things when you're doing, you're like, this looks awesome. And then you watch it back like someone shot for you like, oh, yeah. Yeah, that's you guys. OK, for those watching, you have no idea how many clips I have filmed for B-roll for our episode. When I played it back, I'm like, I look like that. No. So it's like, yeah, it's a perception of what there's there's what you feel like and what you think you look like and then what you actually look like. So yeah, showing off in public, it doesn't come across probably as cool as you think it does. Yeah, yeah, because those are two is more. Yeah, I mean, besides some of the high kicks and stuff like that, most martial arts, not as thrilling as you think it is, you know, it's yeah. Armist 23 says in a lot of cases, the bigger the talk, the less the fight. That's true. And that comes with posture. A lot of people who posture are just trying to cause a deterrent. So this could be, you know, showing off martial arts could be a form of somebody's doing that, just trying to. There's way of talking big, but they can't always back it up. True. But also, yeah. But also, too, is if you also put the other way, too, if you can, if you can prevent or just escalate a situation by showing off your martial arts skills, you know. Yeah, yeah, you know, that that's always that that is definitely something there, you know, if, you know, if you if you do something where, you know, I can't think of anything else on my head that, you know, you know, the people then are no longer like, oh, OK, let's let's get to get into a fight. You know, that's a that's a win. Yeah, that's a win. That's that's that's definitely a win, especially if you can, you know, do something in where you get them where they're more interested into learning about the martial art than actually, you know, fighting, that's definitely a win. So. Oh, absolutely. But the guys that worry me are the ones who are quiet and you can kind of you can kind of see them take a stance that's passive that they'll turn their center line away. You see that their their feet are balanced and pointed and their hands might be like, hey, man, they're up, whatever, like that's a person that and then they're quiet. That's a person that might know something or at the very most, at the very least, you shouldn't assume they don't. Those concern me more than people who are so boisterous and just showing off. Look what I could do, because I don't know a little bit about the unknown is like not knowing what that person knows is a little bit scarier than showing off because when you're showing off and there's someone there who might actually want to fight you, you're basically showing them your technique. You're kind of giving them some tells true. Yeah. So there's definitely a risk with that. Yeah, no, that is definitely true. Is yeah, they gotta be careful, but there's always less is more. I always say. All right, I have to read this comment. Michael says, I took a photo once for Kempo and I was a white belt throwing a high kick and I didn't have my cup on so you can see the full X print of my dangly bits. Yeah, the whole photo package is gone now. Yeah, we all have photos where we play back and like, yeah, whoops. Yeah, whoops, not, not, and not as cool as I thought it was. No, the image that's up here is never translate. It comes out the same way. No, no, the moments when you're like, oh, that, that was awesome. That's the cool moment when you look back at like, oh. But then on the same point, too, though, is, is out of friend and high school. And it was one of those things where she had a picture taken of her. And I don't know what exactly stands to do, but she was doing just one stand. She didn't think of it. She may have this angry face on, but it's still one of the coolest little pictures she ever took of martial arts. She just looked like such a like, like such like a badass. And and she's like, wow, I look awesome. But, you know, at the time, she's just thought it was, you know, she just did one of the stupid little caught a move and it wasn't anything spectacular, but it looked awesome. Just happened to be one of those things. Yeah. So it works the other way, too. It does work the other way. Well, there was actually when we were at Spire one day and it was to say Alex and we were actually talking about a kick and Alex stood there and he let me throw a high kick just for a demonstration. Well, somebody snapped the picture right at the same point in time. And it looks like I'm nailing him. Like it's a beautiful photo. It looked like I totally caught him off guard. And he was he was going to post it. Hey, look what I did. I'm like Alex was standing. He was letting me demonstrate something like I didn't catch him off guard. It looked cooler than what actually was going on. Yeah. But this is the other side, too. There's a few times, too, where something cool did happen. I was really excited to pull something off and I go back and watch with you later and I was off camera. Oh, yeah. It's like, no, I know in here. I know when it happened. So this clip is an excerpt from one of our recent Art of Wendojo live episodes in which we talked about the martial arts and whether or not they should be allowed or taught in the prison system. Now, I'm going to challenge you on this topic right here on your beliefs. Do you believe that the martial art should be taught or should not be taught? We look at it from both angles. So you tell me what you think. Should the martial arts be allowed in prison?