Mastering Techniques
"There are some things that can beat smartness and foresight? Awkwardness and stupidity can. The best swordsman in the world doesn't need to fear the second best swordsman in the world; no, the person for him to be afraid of is some ignorant antagonist who has never had a sword in his hand before; he doesn't do the thing he ought to do, and so the expert isn't prepared for him; he does the thing he ought not to do; and often it catches the expert out and ends him on the spot."
Mark Twain (A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Chapter XXXIV)
Training in the martial arts doesn’t mean anyone will ever learn to fight, or be successful at fighting. There are so many variables that take place in a life or death confrontation that it is impossible to prepare for them all.
There are other factors to consider also. The first being most people who attack others violently have nothing to lose, or use weaponry to intimidate and immobilize their victim.
Many times the confrontation is not one on one. The movies may make it look easy to fight multiple opponents, but in reality it’s not.
The bad guy also often has the element of surprise; but if you are being taught properly that advantage should be lessened. There are common sense things one can do to help eliminate that factor. Those common sense things should be part of every self-defense program.
There is also the issue that the victim normally has a life--work, payments that are due every month, and family responsibilities. So even if they are successful at defending themselves, any injury they may sustain, or legal ramifications that may develop as a result of the altercation could have drastic consequences on their quality of life. As stated before, the bad guy normally has nothing to lose. That’s a great psychological advantage for the bad guy.
Lastly, few people ever consider the fact that they will be a victim of violence. As a result they are not mentally prepared for such an altercation. Fighting, to protect one’s life, is not like sparring in the classroom. Sparring is a give and take, controlled activity. There are rules, and in the dojo no one is really trying to hurt anyone else. Yes, you may get bruised, and injuries occur, but it’s not life or death.
The same can be said about any technique practiced in the dojo. No matter how fast or hard a technique may be done, one still has to hold back. We don’t go for the kill; we don’t break each other’s bones. We can’t, or there wouldn’t be any one left to practice with.
No matter how “reality based” the art wants to say it is, there is still room for doubt as to its effectiveness. Or I should say, doubt as to each person’s ability to use what is within the art effectively. What works for me, may or may not work for anyone else. That is why there are so many techniques and variations of techniques in any given system.
However, with all that said, training in the martial arts--especially in a school that attempts to train its students in more that just the physical elements of a violent confrontation--will give the practitioner an advantage. Hopefully, it is an advantage they can utilize to their fullest potential.
From experience--experience that includes being shot at three times, attacked with a knife a few more times then that, and having the need to restrain numerous hostile criminals during my years as a police officer—I have seen that altercations are sometimes over before one realizes they have begun. You are attacked, you defend, and it is over. It is that quick. You are either successful, or you are not. You have no time to think, or even process what is going on. You react on instinct. Hopefully, your instinct is correct.
That leads me to the most important aspect of training. An aspect often overlooked in most schools. It is called realism. How you practice, how much attention you place on the minute aspects that makes techniques work, has a direct bearing on your effectiveness. Too many practitioners focus on their goals of acquiring rank (colored belts) rather then perfecting anything.
Some teachers claim to have been successful in over 400 street fights, and base their fighting system and the techniques within them on these credentials.
First of all, who in the world gets into that many fights? Is that someone you really want to learn from? Is that what true martial arts is about? Were these fights, really street fights, with no rules, and no one present who would end the fight before someone was severely injured or died?
I don’t think so.
Yes, traditional martial arts are military skills intended to kill an enemy during warfare. They are effective. However, we don’t use martial arts in the same manner as our ancestors. The average martial artist today is not a professional warrior. Today’s modern life-protection skills have changed. Today’s self-defense involves verbal avoidance and physical skills, as well as instilling the belief that running away from a hostile situation is normally the best course of action.
There are also legal concerns that need to be addressed. Legal concerns that can either justify one’s actions, make one appear as if they over reacted. They can turn a person from the “victim” into the guilty party.
In addition, many martial artists lack the physical abilities (strength, speed, stamina, mind-set, etc.) to actually fight, injure and/or kill another human in battle. Something the warriors of the past didn’t lack.
Warriors of the past were professional fighting men. Fighting was their livelihood, and they used their skills in a professional manner. They trained daily, kept fit, and lived in a period of time when perfecting their skills of hand to hand combat (armed or empty-handed) meant life or death. Fighting and learning the skills to fight was their only occupation.
Contrast this to the man who holds a 9 to 5 job, and trains for one hour two to three times a week. Whether training for self-defense, spiritual enlightenment, tournament fighting, physical fitness, or all of the above, there is no comparison to an actual warrior trained and ready for battle.
Though some martial art instructors in the modern world may involve themselves in numerous street fights to perfect their skills, the professional warriors of the past could not afford to hurt themself in a “street fight.” Injury could mean unemployment. Defeat or dishonorable victory could lead to vendettas that would last for generations. Worst yet, the loss of too many warriors in contests of skill could mean a lack of able-bodied soldiers to defend one’s clan or homeland.
In many instances the professional warrior had no right to place himself in such situations since his life was not his own to risk. Forget the Hollywood image of two samurai dueling on the street over some matter of honor. Masterless samurai maybe, but employed samurai almost never. These employed samurai would have had to answer to their superiors, who would not necessarily be supportive of their decision to fight for personal reasons.
This does not mean contests of skills did not take place in ancient times. They often did, especially for warriors who might be seeking employment. Most of these contests however, were controlled, and causing injury or death to ones opponent was not the intention.
We know these professional warriors had techniques that were effective. They developed and refined many of the forms we practice from real life trail and error, in a time and manner we cannot duplicate. If necessity is the mother of invention, then they had the necessity more than we do.
Even with thirty plus years of martial experience, and the knowledge that I have successfully defended myself during violent attacks in the past, I still wouldn’t claim I know how to fight, or have 100% complete faith in any technique I know. Further more, I hate fighting and avoid it like the plague. I do not even spar any more. I prefer using verbal self-defense.
And I can proudly say I have talked my way out of over more than 400 altercations.
Mark Twain (A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Chapter XXXIV)
Training in the martial arts doesn’t mean anyone will ever learn to fight, or be successful at fighting. There are so many variables that take place in a life or death confrontation that it is impossible to prepare for them all.
There are other factors to consider also. The first being most people who attack others violently have nothing to lose, or use weaponry to intimidate and immobilize their victim.
Many times the confrontation is not one on one. The movies may make it look easy to fight multiple opponents, but in reality it’s not.
The bad guy also often has the element of surprise; but if you are being taught properly that advantage should be lessened. There are common sense things one can do to help eliminate that factor. Those common sense things should be part of every self-defense program.
There is also the issue that the victim normally has a life--work, payments that are due every month, and family responsibilities. So even if they are successful at defending themselves, any injury they may sustain, or legal ramifications that may develop as a result of the altercation could have drastic consequences on their quality of life. As stated before, the bad guy normally has nothing to lose. That’s a great psychological advantage for the bad guy.
Lastly, few people ever consider the fact that they will be a victim of violence. As a result they are not mentally prepared for such an altercation. Fighting, to protect one’s life, is not like sparring in the classroom. Sparring is a give and take, controlled activity. There are rules, and in the dojo no one is really trying to hurt anyone else. Yes, you may get bruised, and injuries occur, but it’s not life or death.
The same can be said about any technique practiced in the dojo. No matter how fast or hard a technique may be done, one still has to hold back. We don’t go for the kill; we don’t break each other’s bones. We can’t, or there wouldn’t be any one left to practice with.
No matter how “reality based” the art wants to say it is, there is still room for doubt as to its effectiveness. Or I should say, doubt as to each person’s ability to use what is within the art effectively. What works for me, may or may not work for anyone else. That is why there are so many techniques and variations of techniques in any given system.
However, with all that said, training in the martial arts--especially in a school that attempts to train its students in more that just the physical elements of a violent confrontation--will give the practitioner an advantage. Hopefully, it is an advantage they can utilize to their fullest potential.
From experience--experience that includes being shot at three times, attacked with a knife a few more times then that, and having the need to restrain numerous hostile criminals during my years as a police officer—I have seen that altercations are sometimes over before one realizes they have begun. You are attacked, you defend, and it is over. It is that quick. You are either successful, or you are not. You have no time to think, or even process what is going on. You react on instinct. Hopefully, your instinct is correct.
That leads me to the most important aspect of training. An aspect often overlooked in most schools. It is called realism. How you practice, how much attention you place on the minute aspects that makes techniques work, has a direct bearing on your effectiveness. Too many practitioners focus on their goals of acquiring rank (colored belts) rather then perfecting anything.
Some teachers claim to have been successful in over 400 street fights, and base their fighting system and the techniques within them on these credentials.
First of all, who in the world gets into that many fights? Is that someone you really want to learn from? Is that what true martial arts is about? Were these fights, really street fights, with no rules, and no one present who would end the fight before someone was severely injured or died?
I don’t think so.
Yes, traditional martial arts are military skills intended to kill an enemy during warfare. They are effective. However, we don’t use martial arts in the same manner as our ancestors. The average martial artist today is not a professional warrior. Today’s modern life-protection skills have changed. Today’s self-defense involves verbal avoidance and physical skills, as well as instilling the belief that running away from a hostile situation is normally the best course of action.
There are also legal concerns that need to be addressed. Legal concerns that can either justify one’s actions, make one appear as if they over reacted. They can turn a person from the “victim” into the guilty party.
In addition, many martial artists lack the physical abilities (strength, speed, stamina, mind-set, etc.) to actually fight, injure and/or kill another human in battle. Something the warriors of the past didn’t lack.
Warriors of the past were professional fighting men. Fighting was their livelihood, and they used their skills in a professional manner. They trained daily, kept fit, and lived in a period of time when perfecting their skills of hand to hand combat (armed or empty-handed) meant life or death. Fighting and learning the skills to fight was their only occupation.
Contrast this to the man who holds a 9 to 5 job, and trains for one hour two to three times a week. Whether training for self-defense, spiritual enlightenment, tournament fighting, physical fitness, or all of the above, there is no comparison to an actual warrior trained and ready for battle.
Though some martial art instructors in the modern world may involve themselves in numerous street fights to perfect their skills, the professional warriors of the past could not afford to hurt themself in a “street fight.” Injury could mean unemployment. Defeat or dishonorable victory could lead to vendettas that would last for generations. Worst yet, the loss of too many warriors in contests of skill could mean a lack of able-bodied soldiers to defend one’s clan or homeland.
In many instances the professional warrior had no right to place himself in such situations since his life was not his own to risk. Forget the Hollywood image of two samurai dueling on the street over some matter of honor. Masterless samurai maybe, but employed samurai almost never. These employed samurai would have had to answer to their superiors, who would not necessarily be supportive of their decision to fight for personal reasons.
This does not mean contests of skills did not take place in ancient times. They often did, especially for warriors who might be seeking employment. Most of these contests however, were controlled, and causing injury or death to ones opponent was not the intention.
We know these professional warriors had techniques that were effective. They developed and refined many of the forms we practice from real life trail and error, in a time and manner we cannot duplicate. If necessity is the mother of invention, then they had the necessity more than we do.
Even with thirty plus years of martial experience, and the knowledge that I have successfully defended myself during violent attacks in the past, I still wouldn’t claim I know how to fight, or have 100% complete faith in any technique I know. Further more, I hate fighting and avoid it like the plague. I do not even spar any more. I prefer using verbal self-defense.
And I can proudly say I have talked my way out of over more than 400 altercations.
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