We
live in the information age, for better or for worse. Those of us born and
raised before the whole Internet thing still remember how seeking any
information related to martial arts pretty much boiled down to magazines and
books, while some of the claims presented in those were pretty much impossible
to verify. Most of us dreamed about the universe where the information would be
at your fingertips…
And
it arrived! And very little has changed! It took me a couple of years to figure
out – how is it possible that same old myths and misconceptions are still
perpetuated to this day…we are only aware of even more of them. First, the
world wide web is loaded with misinformation just as much as it is with good
information; but second, even more important, it is now evident more than ever
that information is not the same thing as knowledge.
On
the most basic level, the information is intellectual, while the knowledge is
experiential; the former gained by reading, listening, watching…the latter by
doing. These two domains are not exclusive, but not necessarily inclusive
either. And there is certain hierarchy here, in the sense that knowledge takes
precedence over mere information.
Why?
Well, because having true, deep knowledge of something means you already have
the necessary information about it, and it has been fully integrated, processed
and filtered. In fighting, it means you fully understand the value of certain
techniques, tactics, concepts etc, and you can apply them with confidence when
called for.
Now,
while knowledge entails having information as well, the other way around is not
necessarily true. How many times have you met a guy who could be spitting the
technical specs about sport cars all days long, and yet utterly unable of
driving one? Or, to be “closer to home” here, a fellow harping on who are the
best boxers/MMA fighters of the day, without having ever spared for even a
minute? Granted, they will gladly support their argument with a lot of
information and facts, but we all know it is irrelevant in the end. Ask
yourself – would you rather be someone who knows
five methods and can use them in a fight, or know about fifty methods but can’t use any? Want to be an artist or an art
collector?
Finally,
knowledge provides the essential filters and criteria for taking a pool of new
information and then separating wheat from the chaff, distinguishing the
valuable information from junk, thus further expanding the knowledge. This is
why we have the widespread phenomenon of keyboard warriors engaged in the
heated debates over nonsense…because they don’t know any better. It is also why the experienced people will keep
out of such debates, because they know better.
In
the end, it is possible that two persons be experienced, have actual knowledge,
and yet be in disagreement. However, there’s a world of difference between
disagreeing and missing the boat altogether, i.e. learning from a debate or
wasting time on senseless arguments. Be sure to know where things are heading
at times…
