So did the British, the Germans, the French, the Spaniards... basically, anywhere anyone fished before reels were invented, and perhaps more importantly, before knotless fishing lines that would slide through rod guides were invented.

Strange that the original post didn't suggest that fly fishermen should honor the tradition of fly fishing by going back to greenheart rods and gut leaders. Same difference.

What most people who have not tried tenkara do not grasp is that the long rod and light line allow you to keep your line off the water's surface, so you get much less drag and you never "line" a fish. You really will catch more fish. For smaller streams, where you don't cast to your backing, and where fish don't run to your backing, not only do you not need backing, you don't need the reel to hold the backing you aren't going to use.

Fortunately, we don't get as many ridiculing posts as we used to, but there will always be people who put down things for which they are unable to see the benefits. Maybe they don't fish moving water. If they do, it's their loss.