Vash.

For me tradition is very important, it helps me understand a lot of things.

If you really want to understand something away from your culture you need to get involved into the tradition and culture of what you are studying.

I used to think that the I-Dan ranking system was a bunch of crappola, till I met and got to know the japanese culture.

Same thing with the inner door students in CMA, it totally makes sense when seen in context with the culture.

Same way with learning a foreign language, you can spend a few years at Uni learning it. First time you are in a native environment and need to rely on it you will scratch your head and curse your inability to use it.

Tradition is important as it is part of everything that we do, may it be carving a thanksgiving turkey, or whatever.

Take the tradition away and all you got left is a physical action (ergo carving a turkey), but you lost the "why" of it.

So if I as a non-US guy want to understand thanksgiving I need to study the culture and history behind it.
If I don't do that I will follow a custom I don't understand and the action has lost it's true meaning.

I got a completely different view on CMA & JMA after having lived in asia for a few years.

Just rambling.