A Martial Artist’s View of The Film, “Ghost Dog”
Forest Whittaker is an enigmatic actor.
When you think you have him figured out, he does something to surprise you.
But of course, this shouldn’t be unexpected.
Like a Las Vegas Blackjack dealer who tosses all of the cards face-up, there isn’t much mystery left. Yet, how that same gamesman reaches for the deck to tender the next “hit” always seems to have a lot of suspense.
We know in this movie that Whittaker’s character is a professional hit man whose own life was spared by a gangster, for whom he has plied his deadly trade ever since. They communicate by carrier pigeons, inscribing tiny notes that detail the next target to be whacked.
Whittaker is an unconventional hit man because he openly subscribes to the Samurai code. Periodically, we’re reminded of this because cryptic passages appear on the screen from time to time, telling us how appropriate it is to live each moment as if it is your last, and how things are never quite as they seem.
This movie raises the classical question: How can you be honorable in an inherently dishonorable walk of life?
Is there such a thing as a “good” hit man?
Indeed, when most of us consider Samurai folklore, are we mindlessly glorifying violence, while sanctifying it with a code of conduct that is merely for show?
I’ve often wondered why prize fights feature announcers who are dapperly decked out in tuxedos. Unless I’ve missed something, they’re not doubling as musicians at the chamber orchestra after the bouts, are they?
There is much decorum associated with violence, at least of the positively sanctioned sort.
Duelists, in the European tradition, went out of their way to be fastidious as they tried to blow holes in each other or skewer their counterparts with rapiers.
Why do we need our violence “prettied-up?”
Director Jim Jarmusch shows Whittaker, the Ghost Dog in the title, as an efficient killer who reads books. But the character isn’t deep; just deadly.
I suspect he is closer to today’s generation of martial artists than to those who lived in Samurai times, but then, we’ll never really know, will we?
Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of http://www.Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, “The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable,” published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC’s Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations from Santa Monica to South Africa. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com
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Martial Arts - Judo versus BJJ
This is one of the hottest topics up for debate in the martial arts community and quite frankly I don’t think either side understands the other’s point of view. The bulk of the issue stems from the many misconceptions of the two respective arts but more so the lack of understanding of Judo. It is funny that most people understand that BJJ was created when a Judoka taught a Brazilian the martial art of Judo but both sides fail to agree on how similar these martial arts are. If you take into account that Judo is one of the biggest sports in the world and is also recognized as an Olympic sport, you would wonder why it receives so much disdain. The average Judo club will charge around 25 dollars per month to join while the going rate for a BJJ school is 100 dollars or more. For this reason alone I think this topic needs some further investigating.
Like everything in our society, we view higher priced services as being of a better quality. Surely no car that costs a fraction of the price of another car can be even remotely comparable. BJJ costs more to take so it must be more effective. Just like the marketing exhibited in the car example martial arts often fall prey to these smoke screens. The fact is people are willing to pay more to take BJJ then they are to take Judo. The real question is why. When the UFC was created by the descendents of the creator of BJJ the world was about to witness one of the greatest infomercials they would ever see. Many people agree that the real reason this fighting organization was created was to bring attention to BJJ. Well it worked! A skinny BJJ fighter by the name of Royce Gracie defeated 4 other fighters from various other martial arts backgrounds, quite easily and showed the dominance of BJJ. Based on the momentum of Royce’s success his family began to open BJJ schools throughout America. The question that many people don’t ponder is what if a Judoka would have been invited to the inaugural event and did the same thing this BJJ practitioner did? It is not hard to figure out that Judo would have boomed even more so than it already has and could’ve demanded much more for its services.
Let us take a look at the many differences betwen the 2 martial arts. Although BJJ was spawned out of Judo it has adopted a completely different philosophy. Judo is a sport that focuses more on throws while still covering submission holds and ground fighting. If I were forced to give a percentage of each aspect I would say that its 50% throws, 25% submissions and 25% ground fighting. BJJ in comparison is 95% submissions and ground fighting with only 5% of the time allocated to throws. You may be wondering why there is such a discrepancy between the two martial arts. Simply put they’re both sports and their rules are quite different. In a judo match you are awarded points for throws and can even end a match with a perfect throw while you’re only allowed 30 seconds on the ground. BJJ on the other hand has an unlimited time on the ground and rewards its competitors for attempting to try various techniques while on the ground. As you can see from the way their respective competitions are formatted, the way each school is focused is a direct reflection of this.
The number one argument I always hear in support of BJJ is that whenever a Judoka and a BJJ practitioner fight, the BJJ fighter reigns supreme. They also claim that a Black belt in BJJ tends to be better with submissions and ground fighting then a black belt Judoka. What they fail to realize is that this is not a fair comparison. Rather then viewing it as a belt versus belt matter, why not look at it as a timing matter. The point I am trying to make is that it takes 3 years to obtain a black belt in Judo while it takes over 10 years to receive a black belt in BJJ. In Judo a black belt represents a student’s understanding and beginning of mastery while in BJJ a black belt represents a student’s mastery. A fair comparison would be between a Judo 4th dan black belt and a BJJ black belt because the time they have both spent in the respective sports would now be equal.
Although after reading through this article you may still be confused on which martial art is truly better you would have to admit you have a better general understanding of the two martial arts and that you fully understand how similar they are.
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Michael Russell |
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