How we select those we name USNKA Living MA Treasures

As I mentioned in my last post, I receive many suggestions for our USNKA Living Martial Arts Treasure Award as well as questions about how we select our recipients. Let me go over what I take into consideration when making a selection.

First, they must be someone who has made extraordinary contributions to the martial arts, not just someone who has been a skilled practitioner or high dan. A film director doesn’t receive a life-time achievement award for making a movie. He receives it for making many great movies.

Second, in all past cases, excluding a couple of recent ones, I personally knew or had first-hand knowledge of each recipient’s skill and knowledge. In the cases of those I didn’t personally know, I had recommendations from people I greatly respected and trusted (and personally knew over many years), plus a large amount of confirming documentation was also often available. But I generally place the greatest weight on my own first-hand knowledge, acquired through both public and private encounters with the person.

Third, their contributions have spanned a significant number of years, 50 or more years in many cases. None have been young men. A couple have been middle aged. More have been in their 60s, 70s, and even 80s.

Fourth, in every case, their credentials were impeccable – received from highly respected martial arts masters and organizations which utilize high technical standards and appropriate minimum age and time-in-grade requirements. And the credentials of each reflects continuity from dan grade to dan grade, not switching from instructor to instructor, or organization to organization, in order to pick up each promotion.

Fifth, they were all men of great honor, gentlemen who demonstrated – both publically and privately – the very best qualities of a martial artist, someone our young people could and would be wise to emulate.

Sixth, I also take recommendations from our Living Treasure recipients, and others I respect and have known for many years. As their names will be linked with anyone named, the recommendations of our Living Treasure recipients go a long way.

Seventh, I need to have some level of contact with a proposed recipient. I sent out an email this morning, asking a high ranking sensei if he was in a position to award a certificate to one of our proposed recipients or could supply an email and mailing address. I need communication between myself and the proposed recipient (or a close associate), to make sure the award would be welcomed by them, the name they would prefer appeared on the certificate, appropriate title, etc. I also ask them to supply photos of themselves for the announcement.

And eighth, they have all been deshi of the martial arts. A deshi is one totally devoted to the martial arts, not just a student. They are all martial artists 24/7. They buy every book they can find on the arts, attend every workshop in the early days, seek out and train with the very best, regardless of distance and time necessary to do so, and so on. A student is someone who is a martial artist when they don their uniforms. A deshi is always a martial artist, whether in his or her uniform or not.

I am presently looking to present more Living Treasure awards to deserving martial artists around the world. So far, they have only been presented to those in America, UK, Canada, Japan, and Okinawa. There are many great men and women out there and I’m attempting to identify them. So stayed tuned.