Jan 01 Dennis Jones – Appearance Can be Deceiving…

This interview was published in October 2006

DJ  I thought we’d talk a bit this month about appearance, Steve.

SR  Are you trying to say something here Den? (both laugh) Funnily enough, when the readers read my column this month they’ll see it’s partly about a student who goes to great lengths to cultivate his ‘UFC’ style of appearance.

DJ  People have been cultivating their ‘appearance’ or ‘style’ forever, there were the ‘Teddy Boys’ of the ‘50’s, the ‘mods’, ‘rockers’ and ‘hippies’ of the ‘60’s and ‘punks’ of the ‘80’s.  In fact even now whenever I see someone with long hair I think of them as a ‘hippy’ – I immediately think of peace, love, flower power, John Lennon, Soul, Motown and the Byrds. I was a kid in 1968 but I can remember what it was like.  There was a lot of interest in Indian philosophy and especially Hindu scriptures-Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and so on.  A lot of young people in the West looked to the East in their search for ‘understanding,’ they needed a different view of life.

But first impressions are not always reliable.  I remember dealing with someone with long hair and assuming that he would be ‘peace loving’, I spoke very politely to him,  he turned round and was abusive, telling me to um…shove off!  It shows the danger of making assumptions on appearance!

SR  The long hair gives you something to grab though!  There are also people who ‘dress up’ and those who ‘dress down’ to deliberately deceive others.  People who are confident in what they are don’t really need to ‘dress up’ – so you often find the wealthiest people dressing down and driving old bangers and similarly the toughest guys not looking the part!  The best martial artists often don’t have the flashy belts with loads of dan grade stripes or flashy costumes, as their abilities do the talking for them!

Culturing a physical appearance can make some people go to great lengths, even trying to change their body types with weights and drugs, there does seem to be a bit of a problem with people using steroids to copy the muscular builds of film stars, the UFC and MMA style fighters though doesn’t there?

DJ  If you look at the old style boxers like Rocky Marciano and Joe Louis, they developed physiques based around the requirements of fitness and skills they needed for the ring.  By the time we got into the ‘70’s and ‘80’s even the boxers had became monsters!

SR  One of the best examples of the old style boxers physiques was our own Henry Cooper.

DJ  Yeah… I’d still say Joe Louis though!

SR  The point is that Henry and Joe were still effective boxers.

DJ I remember watching Herbie Hyde who had a tremendous physique, getting into the ring with another boxer and thinking “Herbie’s gonna pulverise this guy”.  So even before the first punch, I’d assumed that he was going to win.  Mind you as soon as the bell went I quickly realised my first impression was wrong.  The other guy pulverised Herbie and knocked him out!

SR  Back to the subject, of appearances what are your thoughts on these over developed, muscular guys?

DJ  The purpose of bodybuilding is to build a beautiful body.  Right back from the fifties, and even earlier, the primary function was to look good.  Although I believe in the Victorian age, the ‘Strong Man Act’ was more important than looks.  The secondary view is that people associate big muscles with fighting ability.  That might or might not be the case, but it does tell you a lot about the bodybuilder.  First is that he trains very hard (and smart), second it indicates a measure of fitness and third he has a lot of strength!  The way you ‘carry’ yourself is also important.  Some people go around acting ‘hard’ to stop others from intimidating or ‘putting it on’ them, this could be considered as a form of bullying, whereas the person doing it might not see it that way – so we could be a bully without knowing it!  The subliminal messages conveyed by your posture tell others a lot more about you than anything you might say.

Any doorman will know that it’s not what you say but HOW you say it that counts.

SR  I remember the old Charles Atlas adverts in the fifties and ‘dynamic tension’ with everyone hanging on to their bathroom sinks as tense as possible, then came the ‘isometric’ exercises and the ‘Bullworker’, nowadays some people still subscribe to that philosophy with ‘sanchin’ kata!

DJ  I’ve still got the Daily Telegraph book on isometric exercises!  I used to finish a martial arts workout and then spend ages pushing with all our techniques against the wall!

SR  What about ego?

DJ  Karate people don’t have egos Steve!

SR  I overcame mine years ago Den, my modesty is magnificent!  (laughter)

DJ  I thought that was more to do with Buddhist monks than martial arts.  The mind is very powerful though, it can make you think that you look better or even worse than you are, rarely seems to get the truth though…

SR  Ego is an image that we create of ourselves in our mind.  It’s described in the dictionary as:

“The self, especially as distinct from the world and other selves.

In psychoanalysis, the division of the psyche that is conscious, most immediately controls thought and behaviour, and is most in touch with external reality.

An exaggerated sense of self-importance; conceit.

Appropriate pride in oneself; self-esteem.”

So I guess once it becomes separate in the mind, it begins to build self esteem but is in danger of exaggerating it.  You must have a story for us here Den?

DJ (Laughs) As a matter of fact Steve, I have… Your ego can cause havoc.  I remember many years ago, when ‘Saturday Night Fever’ was all the rage, there used to be a guy who came to the club in a white suit and we used to let him in for free.  At around 1am we used to leave one bouncer on the door and all gather round the dance floor, the DJ used to put Saturday Night Fever on the deck and he would immediately go into his John Travolta act.  This was real for him and the whole nightclub used to stop and watch, at the end of his ‘dance routine’ the DJ used to give him a bottle of bubbly, and we all used to enjoy it.  He did a great show and we’d fall over ourselves laughing, but he took it seriously.  The irony is although everyone was openly laughing, it didn’t affect him because he thought he was a great dancer and that we were all admiring him!  Steve he really couldn’t dance, so he must have blotted everyone out of his mind and filled it up with a distorted image of himself.  That’s how ego can give you a false sense of reality and that’s not even mentioning the problem with street violence!

The words you use date you. The clothes you wear, how you act and the way you think date you.  No youngster generally fears someone that is old.  It is the way of nature but if you find your true self then an old mind is a wise mind.  So I’ll end with this quote which I feel sums up a wise mind:

“The essentials of speaking are not speaking at all.  If you think that you can finish something without speaking, finish it without saying a single word.  If there is something that cannot be accomplished without speaking, one should speak with few words, in a way that will accord well with reason. 

To open one’s mouth indiscriminately brings shame, and there are many times when people will turn their backs on such a person.”  (Hagakure-Yamamoto Tsunetomo)

Steve Rowe

Steve Rowe is a highly successful Martial Arts instructor - an International Neigong, Qigong and Tai Chi Teacher and an 8th Dan Karate with many other senior dan grades in other martial disciplines.

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