One of the most popular "discussions" martial artists seem to engage in is the question of whose style is better. Hard stylists praise their strength and toughness. More fluid stylists praise their speed and flexibility. Ground fighters believe every fight goes to the ground. Stand-up fighters believe fights never go to the ground.
So, which is better? In truth, the answer is "none." Let's take an example.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the hot martial art today, so we'll look at that. If a BJJ practitioner gets you in one of those crazy pretzel holds, your only hope is having some familiarity with it. He's going to break something on you. So, BJJ is the best? Well, no.
BJJ's weakness is that it is effectively a 1-to-1 art (unlike Japanese jiu jitsu whose goal is to stay on your feet). In a street fight or bar fight, if you go to the ground and put your opponent in an arm bar, his friends are going to kick you in the head. Repeatedly. BJJ isn't great for moving between multiple opponents.
So, does this make BJJ bad? of course not. It just highlights the fact that every style has its strengths and weaknesses.
The key to any martial art, regardless of which you choose, is experience. Recognize your style's strengths and play to them. Accept your style's weaknesses and train to defend against them. If your goal is to be a professional fighter, study a contrasting style like mixed martial arts competitors.
To paraphrase Sun Tzu, Victory goes to the warrior who understands himself and his enemy. And Bruce Lee's martial philosophy of Jeet Kun Do provides excellent guidance in "taking what is useful, and ignoring that which is not."
Don't waste time arguing about which style is best. It is a better use of that time to study another style or to practice your own.
Showing posts with label martial arts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label martial arts. Show all posts
30 March 2009
23 March 2009
So, are the martial arts relevant today?
Modern action movies love to mix gun play and the martial arts. Protagonists leap through the air, firing away with their submachine gun, tuck, roll, and launch into a spinning back kick. Of course anyone who has every served or trained in the combat arms sections of the US military knows that is pure fantasy.
In the real world that old maxim I learned in the Marines, "Never bring a knife to a gun fight," takes precedence. Kung Fu won't allow you to dodge bullets and no "iron skin" technique will make you bulletproof.
Of course one cannot simply whip out their concealed handgun and stick it in someone's face just because that said they were going to kick your keister. That's a quick trip to jail, even in Texas.
So, there could be situations where the martial arts are both practical and warranted. Occasionally a street fight may be unavoidable. In those instances it will be very important to take care not to seriously injury your assailant. In most states it will result in a trip to jail and, quite often, a civil lawsuit by your "victim." (What do you expect when you turn the reigns of society over to the soft and weak?)
But, there are two critical factors that has yet to be mentioned wherein the martial arts can be truly beneficial.
The first is awareness. Through training, particularly through sparring, a martial arts becomes more highly aware of their surroundings (or at least they should). By being aware of potential threats a martial artist is better able to avoid them, to cross a street, to slip into a store, or to leave the club before things become to rowdy.
"But, that's running from a fight," you exclaim! You are correct; you win the rubber chicken. Well, you're not exactly correct, but you can still have the rubber chicken.
That brings us to the second critical factor which the martial arts can help us address: ego. Avoiding a conflict should be a natural response. Most "dumb" animals will avoid conflict unless there is something in it for them, a meal, a mate... ok, that's pretty much it: self-preservation and reproduction.
But, the human being, on the other hand, has one thing an animal does not: an ego. Typically a gigantic over-inflated ego. We will fight for no other reason than to "prove we're a man" or "prove we're as good as any man." (Do not underestimate the ladies; I have seen some very beautiful ladies who can leave you on the ground wondering what happened and why your arms and legs are at such weird angles.)
This is where the traditional martial arts, at their highest level, provide their greatest benefit. According to Japanese tradition, the samurai who no longer cared whether he lived or died was superior. In kyudo, as attested by Eugen Herrigel in his excellent treatise "Zen in the Art of Archery, only when you mastery comes through "purposelessness."
Ultimately the martial arts provide us with an avenue to defeat our toughest opponent: ourselves, our ego. And I have yet to see an opponent that is bigger and tougher than my ego. Hey, I'm a Marine and they issue you at the end of Boot Camp that it took 13 weeks of hard training in order to carry.
And, if someone tells you that their martial arts system will turn you into "The Terminator" and allow you to mow through a room of armed terrorists like a laser through extra-firm tofu, take my advice: run.
In the real world that old maxim I learned in the Marines, "Never bring a knife to a gun fight," takes precedence. Kung Fu won't allow you to dodge bullets and no "iron skin" technique will make you bulletproof.
Of course one cannot simply whip out their concealed handgun and stick it in someone's face just because that said they were going to kick your keister. That's a quick trip to jail, even in Texas.
So, there could be situations where the martial arts are both practical and warranted. Occasionally a street fight may be unavoidable. In those instances it will be very important to take care not to seriously injury your assailant. In most states it will result in a trip to jail and, quite often, a civil lawsuit by your "victim." (What do you expect when you turn the reigns of society over to the soft and weak?)
But, there are two critical factors that has yet to be mentioned wherein the martial arts can be truly beneficial.
The first is awareness. Through training, particularly through sparring, a martial arts becomes more highly aware of their surroundings (or at least they should). By being aware of potential threats a martial artist is better able to avoid them, to cross a street, to slip into a store, or to leave the club before things become to rowdy.
"But, that's running from a fight," you exclaim! You are correct; you win the rubber chicken. Well, you're not exactly correct, but you can still have the rubber chicken.
That brings us to the second critical factor which the martial arts can help us address: ego. Avoiding a conflict should be a natural response. Most "dumb" animals will avoid conflict unless there is something in it for them, a meal, a mate... ok, that's pretty much it: self-preservation and reproduction.
But, the human being, on the other hand, has one thing an animal does not: an ego. Typically a gigantic over-inflated ego. We will fight for no other reason than to "prove we're a man" or "prove we're as good as any man." (Do not underestimate the ladies; I have seen some very beautiful ladies who can leave you on the ground wondering what happened and why your arms and legs are at such weird angles.)
This is where the traditional martial arts, at their highest level, provide their greatest benefit. According to Japanese tradition, the samurai who no longer cared whether he lived or died was superior. In kyudo, as attested by Eugen Herrigel in his excellent treatise "Zen in the Art of Archery, only when you mastery comes through "purposelessness."
Ultimately the martial arts provide us with an avenue to defeat our toughest opponent: ourselves, our ego. And I have yet to see an opponent that is bigger and tougher than my ego. Hey, I'm a Marine and they issue you at the end of Boot Camp that it took 13 weeks of hard training in order to carry.
And, if someone tells you that their martial arts system will turn you into "The Terminator" and allow you to mow through a room of armed terrorists like a laser through extra-firm tofu, take my advice: run.
08 March 2009
What is it we seek?
So, what does that mean, "Seeking Satori"? Clearly it refers to the Japanese Zen concept of Satori and enlightenment. But this isn't some emaciated Buddha sitting. For a martial artist it is "the union of arrow and target" as they refer to it in Kyudo.
The perfect union of mind, body and spirit; without thought, without conflict, without hesitation, without internal monologue. The body acting instead of reacting.
The leopard does not "decide" to bring down the gazelle. It does not think, "I will jump now; I will land on its back; I will pull it down to the right; I will use my back legs to eviscerate it. The leopard simply acts.
Satori, at least that which I seek, is a state of enlightenment, but not an enlightenment of the mind or spirit separate from the body.
Satori is like a perfect Japanese sword. The swordsmith layers steel, working in the carbon, then assembling it so that hard layers form the edge; softer, more flexible layers the spine; medium layers the core. The result is the perfect blade with an impossibly hard edge and, yet, unbelievably flexible, eternally durable.
In the same way, Satori is the perfect forging of body, mind and spirit. In some ways this resembles mushin, or "no mind." But mushin is the welding of body and mind in order to allow physical action without apparent thought. To reach Satori one must pass through mushin and live only in the "now."
What does this have to do with the martial arts? If you have ever kicked without conscious thought, felt your target fold about your foot, and watched them fly across an entire room, then you know the value of mushin.
D'accord.
The perfect union of mind, body and spirit; without thought, without conflict, without hesitation, without internal monologue. The body acting instead of reacting.
The leopard does not "decide" to bring down the gazelle. It does not think, "I will jump now; I will land on its back; I will pull it down to the right; I will use my back legs to eviscerate it. The leopard simply acts.
Satori, at least that which I seek, is a state of enlightenment, but not an enlightenment of the mind or spirit separate from the body.
Satori is like a perfect Japanese sword. The swordsmith layers steel, working in the carbon, then assembling it so that hard layers form the edge; softer, more flexible layers the spine; medium layers the core. The result is the perfect blade with an impossibly hard edge and, yet, unbelievably flexible, eternally durable.
In the same way, Satori is the perfect forging of body, mind and spirit. In some ways this resembles mushin, or "no mind." But mushin is the welding of body and mind in order to allow physical action without apparent thought. To reach Satori one must pass through mushin and live only in the "now."
What does this have to do with the martial arts? If you have ever kicked without conscious thought, felt your target fold about your foot, and watched them fly across an entire room, then you know the value of mushin.
D'accord.
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