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There has been an interesting
development in the martial
arts in the
late 20th Century and into the 21st. Martial
arts have evolved and become much more
true to life than
ever. There was a
time when the karate man was looked
upon with respect and feared. A time when,
if someone
said they were a black belt,
it caused others to be
impressed. You
can say that karate has become outdated.
But what has really happened is that karate
has become
exposed.
If you
are one of those people who like to question
things
then maybe this thought has gone
through your mind.
Why are there so
many different martial arts systems in
the world. We all have two arms and two
legs don’t we? So
why all the different
systems of self defense? I know that
systems were usually born out of a need
such as one
group of people having to
fight another group who were
better
armed. So they developed systems to fight
those
men who used certain weapons a
certain way. But then
these same people
showed others their incomplete system
and sold it as unabridged.
So
let’s look at what we have in the world
without going
into a deep history
lesson. You basically have karate and
ju-jitsu from Okinawa and Japan. You have a
multitude of
kung fu systems from
China. You have Tae Kwon Do and a
few
others like Tang Soo Do from Korea; boxing
and
wrestling from Europe of course. Of
these there is every
variation under
the sun. You name it and someone has
tried to develop it into a fighting system.
But what do we
really have. Remember
that all we really have is three men
out there. It all boils down to those
three. You have
boxers or people who
fight predominantly with their
hands,
kickers who like to use kicks as their main
weapon
and grapplers who like to take
people to the ground and
finish them
there. That’s really it. Just those three.
Now
there are people who are good at
one, two or even three
of those
methods. Those guys are now known as mixed
martial artists.
Someone
once asked, what is truth? I think we can ask
that same question here. I mean how can
the average guy
deal with someone who
is skilled in one or even three of
the
main fighting methods? You know, the boxer,
the
kicker and the grappler. If the guy
is good at all three
methods then do I
have to be good at all three methods,
too? Do I have to fight in the same manner?
I know karate
won’t do the job.
Definitely Tae Kwon Do will not do. How
about adding a self defense class or two.
Will that help? I
don’t think so. What
about kung fu and all the various
animal styles? No. You can pretend to be an
animal but
that won’t beat the skilled
boxer, kicker, grappler. So how
do we
deal with this guy. It can’t be using his own
methods. You can’t box a boxer and
expect to win if he’s
really good at
what he does. Let’s just assume this guy is
a really good mixed martial artist who
happens to be a
thug and wants to rob
and maybe even kill you. What’s the
answer if you don’t have a weapon at
hand?
The answer is simple yet
complex. In order to effectively
deal
with a skilled thug you must first put away
all your
preconceived ideas about what
real combat is. Forget the
ring. Forget
what you see on TV. How can an older man;
say in his forties, deal with one or more,
younger,
stronger and faster opponents?
It will not be by speed and
power. If
he is to win; and he must, he has to do
something all together different. Yes the
older man is a
master of self-defense.
But his method is extremely
sophisticated. He relies on a core group of
concepts
rather than techniques. Not
that he doesn’t use
techniques but
everything he does is founded in his core
concepts. He also has the amazing ability
to fight in a
very apropos manner
because he is guided by highly
developed contact reflexes. In other words,
if he is
touched by an aggressor, the
older man instantly knows
all about him
and deals with him in proper time with super
preparatory application. That means he
stops the first
attack and all future
attacks immediately. He also uses
skeletal alignment to enhance his power. He
is able to hit
much harder than his
younger counterparts who use
muscle to
deliver their blows. The skilled older man
delivers his strikes with his bones
which feels like being
hit with the end
of an iron rod.
The answer is to
become one with the opponent. No
struggling or resisting but moving
according to “the now”.
To be able to
discharge a highly potent “motion martial
art”. Not static or choppy, muscular
movements but
relaxed yet aligned
motions that can deal with an attack
as
if it were just a crude language. Yes, the
answer is to
have a highly developed
and fluent martial language as a
complete and elaborate communication. Yes,
self defense
can be like this. The only
martial art I know that achieves
this
elevated dexterity is Wing Chun.
If a person truly dedicates him or herself
to only doing
and developing a system
that is fit for the 21st Century
real
world self defense, then he must use external
defenses guided by internal faculty. A
system that
encompasses the most
effective techniques a person can
deliver with the most advanced internal
concepts one can
make manifest. Now I
mentioned Wing Chun earlier but
not
every Wing Chun teacher has developed in this
manner or to this level. It is rare to
find people who have
this high level
skill. But they are out there.
If
you really want to get involved with a
martial art and
want to find verity,
then take a few steps back. Get back
far enough away from what is traditionally
known and
taught. Take an honest look
around and see if the martial
art
before you justifies itself intellectually.
Ask the hard
questions. Is it good
against the three fighters in the
world? Can it be done effortlessly? What
makes the most
sense? Study and do
research before you join a school. I
can tell you right now, forget karate and
Tae Kwon Do
unless you just want to do
a sport. Don’t be too reverent
with any
martial art system. Be honest with yourself
and
hopefully you’ll find a good
teacher.
I have been involved in
martial arts since
1979. My school is
highly recognized in the industry as
being one of the top Wing Chun schools in
the country.
by: Armando Sainz, http://www.centerlineacademy.com
Article date: April 2008.
