(This rant is an interesting confluence of conversations, readings, and events that have all happened recently)
For starters, GMA marched in the yearly fall foliage parade recently. We value supporting community events and hope we added to it, and it is a good lesson in perseverance for our students. But along the route of one of the longest parades in the states, there are always a few comedians who find think themselves quite original to make Bruce Lee sounds or Karate Kid references and gestures. * It doesn’t faze our upper ranks who are used to it, but perhaps it is a new and somewhat surprising experience to our lower ranks. In a weird way, I am glad they are exposed to it though.
We also recently held another one of our Stop Bullies FAST courses. Many of the participants are also our martial arts students, and some come in GMA flair…they want to look official, after all. During the scenarios, I will often take the opportunity to expose them to similar verbal mockery and crane kick poses. Even though I am in role, they are still taken aback and confused when I say things like “that school sucks!” I guess I should be glad they just don’t nod in agreement. Get used to the fact that calling attention to your training is going to be a magnet for attention, but the moral of the story is that you need to be aware of where you are calling attention.
Don’t get me wrong, we still have a pro shop full of GMA swag at our school. It is part of our branding, and I would argue is an important part of being part of the tribe. When I teach sports management classes on branding, ** I ask a volunteer to pick out the soccer players in the class based on their appearance or dress and they almost always get it right (usually it’s the footwear). If we want to be part of a tribe, then looking the part is one way to gain acceptance and part of your identity in that tribe. I could have the biggest, baddest Harley and log millions of miles on it, but if I walk into a bar in Sturgis wearing an ascot, I am probably not going to be quickly accepted. You must look the part to be taken seriously. It is just part of social branding, and it is more powerful than most people think. I have had parents complain that their child will no longer wear any of the Nike stuff they own because they only see me wear Adidas, but I swear that is not an “official” uniform requirement at GMA. And I am not immune either.
When I go to gunfighting classes, I dress like those instructors do. My closest is overflowing with martial arts t-shirts announcing all the tribes I belong to. I try to be very careful, however, not to offend by crossing tribal allegiances. I find it incredibly disrespectful when people, less sensitive to their own social branding influences, show up to an event of one tribe wearing the branding of an unrelated and or even competing tribe. But this is a lesson that goes far beyond sensibilities and martial arts courtesies—it is an actually an important concept for self-defense.
Most people are proud of their identity and want others to know which tribes they belong to, but we must be careful who we broadcast that identity to. Again, this goes beyond just making sure we don’t offend a competing martial arts group or asking for a fight by wearing an ascot to a biker bar. What information are you giving away to prospective predators, and how can it be used against you? We lose the element of surprise and possibly make things worse for ourselves by showing our cards by what we wear. Your jujitsu hoodie tells people in a conflict you are likely going to rush in and grapple (that is, if your ears haven’t already given you away), and against a seasoned predator that might be all the warning they need.
I was recently having a conversation with another student about how they can’t afford to deck themselves out in the 511 store to look tacticool. As I admitted earlier, when I am at the range, I also try to look the part. But I as I pointed out to this student, I will remember a commentator on the internet that mentioned how they like to walk up to people wearing 511 pants and untucked button down shirts and explain they are doing an article on concealed carry and would like to ask them a couple of questions, just to see the person repping the tribe get flustered. While funny, it is also an invaluable statement.
If I were a predator, how would I attack a guy looking like a NRA instructor who just walked off the range? Well, I most certainly am not going to give him a chance to draw his weapon. I might just knock him out from behind. Had he been dressed more inconspicuously, I might have taken a softer approach, taking a calculated risk he wasn’t armed, etc.
As Varg Freeborn points out, concealment of our capabilities is an important part of our self-defense strategy. It is an element of uncertainty for the predatory. They can’t game plan using information we have given them. He points out that wearing your statement gear might deter low level criminals…the ones you could probably manage anyway. But it handicaps you against the higher level’s ones.
As much as I want our students repping our brand, we still need to be careful when and where we do it. One of the brands I have started sporting is Train, Lift, Shoot…. cause I am obviously a fan of all three. But there are only four times where I wear this brand—doing one of those three, or privately hanging with people I know do the same and/or already know I do. Those are the only places I CAN wear those shirts….at least without compromising on self-defense principals. I hope our students also use discernment on when to proudly rep the GMA swag, and when it is broadcasting a challenge (at a bar for example). Everyone likes to look the part of their tribe and share their identity by looking the part, but we need to be conscious of not only what we are communicating, but also to whom.
*But to the one person who just looked at me and said Cobra Kai never dies—respect. Somehow that is totally different.
**A very occasional occurrence.
Gentry Martial Arts--the rants of a martial arts eccentric 