In the martial arts, there is SOOOOO much B.S. that goes around that it is sometimes overwhelming. People just throw out utter garbage on a constant basis. Sometimes you can't even argue it because you are just dumbfounded at the utter stupidity of it.
BUT, sometimes you can fight it, often with some simple common sense, or even better, the historical record.
I am really anal when it comes to historical accuracy. You can debate the whys and wherefores in history, but you should not be able to argue whether something happened or didn't happen. So, we can use that to fight some common fallacies in the martial arts.
One of my pet peeves is that the US Marines got their nickname of "leatherneck" from the Philippine Campaign. The B.S. legend goes that the Moro fighters were such bad asses that they would fight their way through a hail of gunfire and manage to get in close where they used their native martial art (Kali/escrima/arnis/whatever you want to call it) to kill marines with knives and swords, often by cutting the necks of the marines. So to combat this, marines wore leather collars around their neck to help survive.
That is a really cool legend. Too bad it has absolutely NO basis in fact. The reason the Marines have the nickname Leatherneck dates back to the early part of the 19th century. The uniform of the Corps had what was called a "stock". Simply, it was a leather collar that was designed to forcibly keep the Marine's head up no matter what, so he always looked smart and squared away on duty. The stock was, understandably, hated and was eventually done away with by the 1860's. And, just so there is no misunderstanding, IT WAS NOT BROUGHT BACK at anytime in the history of the Corps.
So all the proponents of Filipino martial arts, PLEASE stop spouting this line of crap. Your art has enough real and authentic stories that you don't need to make up nonsense that only serves to make you look foolish. It is an undisputed fact that the Moros were bad as*es. They don't need lies to appear so. Be truthful and knowledgeable.
In the above picture of an actual uniform, you can just make out the black leather collar.
Here is the actual official tale of the phrase leatherneck from the Marine Corps itself:
“Leatherneck”
In 1776, the Naval Committee of the Second Continental Congress prescribed new uniform regulations. Marine uniforms were to consist of green coats with buff white facings, buff breeches and black gaiters. Also mandated was a leather stock to be worn by officers and enlisted men alike. This leather collar served to protect the neck against cutlass slashes and to hold the head erect in proper military bearing. Sailors serving aboard ship with Marines came to call them “leathernecks.”
Use of the leather stock was retained until after the Civil War when it was replaced by a strip of black glazed leather attached to the inside front of the dress uniform collar. The last vestiges of the leather stock can be seen in today’s modern dress uniform, which features a stiff cloth tab behind the front of the collar.
The term “leatherneck” transcended the actual use of the leather stock and became a common nickname for United States Marines. Other nicknames include “soldiers of the sea,” “devil dogs,” and the slightly pejorative “gyrene,” (a term which was applied to the British Royal Marines in 1894 and to the U.S. Marines by 1911), and “jarhead.”
And, before you start arguing with me, read the following books that prove beyond all reasonable doubt that what I have just written is correct.
United States Marine Corps by John Selby
US Marine Corps by Charles Cureton
USMC: A Complete History by John Hoffman
as well as this website: http://www.usmcmuseum.org/Museum_LoreCorps.asp
These books include DOCUMENTED fact. If you want to debate me, you had better be prepared to cite facts to back you up. I did.
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