The Bad Guy........

Osu!

How many times have you heard people speak ill of others just to take the spot light off of their own bad performance?

How many times have you been guilty of doing this your self?

In the martial arts, there are so many people who revel in gossip rather than self perfection.

Yes, everybody loves a bad guy. So they can say "Look, there's the bad guy"

The problem is that it is most often the person who has the most to hide, or be ashamed of, that points the finger of judgment.

It's so much more gratifying to complement or stick up for, someone than it is to speak ill of them.

I remember back in 1980 when I first arrived in Okinawa Japan. I had visited a couple of dojo, and was pretty disappointed in one particularly. Later, while visiting Grand Master Eizo Shimabukuro, I commented about the dojo of disappointment, and asked what he thought. He said "KaraTe teacher no talk bad about anyone." I bowed and said Hai Sensei, as he had just taught me a very important lesson.

Something that I learned from my older brother Dai Sensei Kow Loon Ong, is that it is far more important to clean ones own house, than it is to worry about how dirty someone else's floor is.

I myself have been guilty of perpetuating historic bad mouthing on the subject of Bad BuDo and Pseudo Sensei ism.

That is a short coming on my part.

The thing that really urks me though, is when it is a supposed friend that bad mouths you.

Especially a supposed friend that has so many skeletons in his or her closet that they could easily start a Halloween shop.........

The interesting thing about this, is how folks that participate in this type of interaction generally can't keep their mouths shut. They pass the poison on, gladly sharing where it originated from.

So, my dear reader, what is the moral of this story?

Keep your friends close by.
Keep your enemies right next to you.

Trust no one. I hope that I am incorrect about that one........

And as the Bible says: Don't be so quick to point out the cinder in another's eye, until you have removed the log from your own.

And even then, if you can't say something nice, re read this article.........