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Wednesday, January 13, 2021

Delusion in Martial Arts example: Ripping off Funakoshi's flesh

Here is a good example of a Delusion (GURPS Martial Arts, p 53-54) in action. This would probably be a Minor Delusion in a low-combat campaign, and a Major Delusion in a higher-combat campaign.

"In karate," they say, "a strong grip is essential [. . . ] The man who has strengthened his grip to the maximum in this way is easily capable of ripping the flesh of his adversary into strips."

What Nonsense! One day such a man came into my dōjō and offered and offered to teach me the secret of ripping flesh into strips. I begged him to demonstrate on me but burst into laughter when, at last, he succeeded in pinching my skin a bit without even causing a single black-and-blue.

- Gichin Funakoshi, "Karate-dō: My Way of Life"


At least he tried it on the generally pacifistic Funakoshi Gichin. Still, it struck me as a good example of how a Delusion can get you in trouble. Perhaps the practitioner didn't really believe his own b.s., but if he was willing to give it a go on a master instructor, he probably did.

1 comment:

  1. I've witnessed a similar delusion where a karate "master" claimed to be anchored to the ground by his control of shi, and thus, impossible to be lifted off. Of course, his second said it was all true, but the master didn't offer anyone else to try...

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