A-levels, SATS, GCSEs – every year the same headlines ring out – exams are getting easier, grades are too high, ‘A’ grades are worthless, etc etc. But of all the academia stories seen in the press during this silly season, the press seem to reserve a special sneer at the unusual and quirky university degrees that our beloved institutes of education appear to specialise in. You know the ones. Degrees in things like surf science, acupuncture, parapsychology, even a degree in funeral studies – the list of non-traditional academic degrees is endless.
So why not a BSc in martial arts?
I’m serious! A curriculum could include all aspects of sports science that affect martial arts, lots of practical training in eastern and western arts, coaching studies, psychology, physiology and anatomy, history etc.
A degree in martial arts would give weight to individuals who wish to pursue their career as instructors with universally recognised academic qualification, as opposed to a simple black belt in a style no one’s ever heard of.
STOP PRESS…I’ve just been informed, and this is no lie, that you can actually do a university degree in martial arts. It comes from the University of West Coast in Panama (not quite Ivy League then) and is a distance learning course (those dreaded words distance learning…ahhhhh!)
STOP PRESS…God, I knew it, this Meerkat is obviously quick on ideas, slow on realising them. The University of Bridgeport in Connecticut, US, has an established martial arts degree – and one you can actually attend, rather than from a bogus place in Panama.
STOP PRESS…OK I give up, you can do a degree in martial arts at the even more renowned, Indiana University in the US.
Oh well, back to the drawing board. Martial Art doughnuts anyone?
BTW - the diploma picture above contains some offensive chinese words - you know when you are paranoid that the Chinese waiters are mocking you in front of your face?
Finally, finally, after about 7 weeks of injury provoked inactivity, I got back onto the mat at Nick's BJJ club. It felt sooooooo good to be back in training, and the sweeps we drilled were excellent. I was a bit gutted to miss the sparring but it was probably for my own safety so soon after injury. Instead, I looked after a bunch of kids who were scarily good at BJJ, despite being so young and tiny - the future of BJJ.
4 comments:
Hello there!
I was Google-ing with the words "female jujitsuka jujutsu" when I somehow came across your blog. Nice and interesting read! Where I come from (Singapore), it's extremely rare for people to even know what ju-jitsu is, much less blog about it.
I've been training in ju-jitsu for a little more than two years now, so I'm still relatively new to the sport. Ne-waza (groundwork) is truly funfunfun! :D
Cheers,
Celest
(celest@gmail.com)
P/S: I understand Mandarin and the characters on the "Diploma" aren't that offensive, I reckon; they just don't make much sense, that's all ;)
Sorry I deleted the original comment - I forgot to include my email add :)
For those who need a translation, the Chinese words say "I think I am Chinese, but I am really just a 'Big Nose'"
A phrase intended to mock, ever so slightly, Western folk who take their martial arts so seriously, they start to act, think and talk like an oriental person, and yes, I have really met people like this.
Oh, and Chinese waiters really do insult you behind you backs, ha ha!
Uni of Derby do an Martial Arts degree with input from a Karate 3rd Dan, if I remember correctly. I think it relates to Sports Science but I can't remember it that well. I got a handout from them at SENI 2006.
Peter McC
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