Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on September 2010

Beat ’Em Up

Regarding “Power Play” (Feature, September 10): I hope that DREAM succeeds in expanding. In the US, we have the UFC, which caters to bloodsport morons and has some of the most boring fights around. DREAM and Pride were awesome organizations, and I’d love to see DREAM expand into the US (perhaps through Bellator?).—infidel4life*

I have serious problems with these being called “martial arts.” Competition fighting isn’t a martial art (an art of war), it’s a sport. It’s the same difference as kendo to katori, or sword fighting to fencing. Simply put, there’s no lethal intent in a sport, while in a proper martial art there are movements which are undeniably designed to kill your opponent. This is why these tournaments are always won by ground fighting specialists, because one can only fend off an opponent with slaps and tickles for so long. In order to mount a proper defense against a ground fighter, you need to be allowed to hit them somewhere critical.

The relevance to this article? They defend the arm-breaking as a movement that was legal because there was a plausible alternative: tapping out. To my mind, this is sophistry. The viable alternative to avoiding a throat shot is simply a good defense and not charging in, but the rules outlaw throat shots while permitting arm breaking. It’s not martial arts—this is just a sport, and has nothing to do with which martial arts are best.—Frungy**

Stuck on Repeat

Regarding “Tokyo Symphony Orchestra” (Japan Beat, September 3): I fully agree that the “classical” concert repertoire in Japan has become increasingly limited. It’s not only that they always play the same few popular composers, but only a limited selection from among the works of those composers. The sad thing is that this restriction is not limited to the Japanese orchestras. It’s almost worse with the foreign orchestras which come to Japan—everybody just wants to cash in on what they think is the Japanese (?) mainstream taste. How static, how boring!—gonemad**

Meditate This, Sucker!

Regarding “Zazen” (Body & Soul, September 3): “It’s not mysticism and it’s not religion”? Baloney. I did this for 20 years and it’s very much a “religion” in both the Soto and Rinzai traditions. My advice: don’t believe a single word from these people, as all they do is regurgitate the fancy talk they’ve read or heard about “one mind,” “big mind,” etc. Temples are full of foreign kids talking about this stuff and at the same time squabbling over who gets to light the candles, etc.—nutsagain**

Unsolicited Missive of the Week

I was shocked to hear the news that some leader of the church in the US tried to burn the Quran. I have been so amazed by the fact that American people think that, whatever it is, what America has is the best and only one, and they do not respect other cultures and religions. As a Japanese female who has lived in the US, I do not hate America itself, and sure, America is the richest country in the world—but look around the world. So many people in the world except the US think the same. It’s just disrespect and narrow mindedness. Before making up a story, making excuses, attacking, ruining and ignoring other cultures and countries, look at yourself, and learn how to live with the world.—Miyuki

* taken from the Metropolis online comment threads
** taken from the Japan Today online comment threads

Metropolis wants to hear from you. To send your comments, . Note that letters may be edited for length and clarity.