The Science Of Techniques - Part I
If you’re easily offended I suggest you skip this “blog” entry. This essay is only intended for those who can face facts, and can understand there are major differences between training in a martial art school and fighting for your life in the real world. Or maybe more relative to my topic, people who have an understanding of what it takes to go from techniques that work in a classroom to those applicable in the real world.
I don’t care how “realistically” you think you train, how hardcore you are, or how many competitions you have won. Until you’ve been in a life and death confrontation, you have no clue how well you can defend yourself. You have no idea whether you have the physical and/or psychological toughness to react, counter, and survive.
That goes triple for an armed attack.
I don’t mean this as an insult, and I’m no different than anyone else. I, however, have the guts to admit it. I also have the first hand experience to state that during a life and death confrontation your physical and mental outlook is extremely different than you can or will ever experience in training.
And now for the bombshell.
It is estimated that 80% of all martial art techniques one learns, in any school, any style, are ineffective. They just won’t work. Whether that’s due to the technique being too intricate, to Hollywood, or just plain bad science makes no difference. The fact is, all martial art practitioners spend a lot of our lives practicing things we will never use, nor should use.
What makes things even worse is the fact that what might work great for me, may not work great for you.
Now before you start writing me e-mails, or posting my opinion on the various martial art discussion sites along with your ridicule let me explain.
Calm down, sit back, and listen. Listen with an open mind.
The truth is that techniques are nothing but illustrations of scientific principles.
It’s the scientific principles the martial artist needs to learn. Should learn. However, for most martial arts practitioners they will never discover this, or explore it once they hear about it.
Most practitioners are satisfied being carbon copy clones of their instructors. Unfortunately, just mimicking one’s instructor does not make one a martial artist, nor does it really help one understand the underlying intricacies of a given fighting method.
The desire to study the intricacies within techniques is what differentiated the master of yesteryear, to most martial artists today. It was their desire to study the sciences within techniques that helped form the martial arts, refine the "martial arts, and create the techniques we practice. These scientific intricacies are the foundation, behind all techniques (the roots), and the explanations why thee fighting skills work so well, the genius of their creation.
The truth is if you only learn a technique then that’s all you have, a technique. Learn the principles that make the technique work and you can come up with numerous variations that may be more effective for you, or help you apply what you know more easily with better results.
Of course this means doing your homework, and making a major effort to delve beyond basic explanations. It also means forgoing esoteric and metaphysical beliefs, as well as historical biases.
Most of all it means learning to ask the tough question; “Why.” Of course asking why is meaningless if you are willing to settle for an answer that doesn’t make sense or fully explain what you’re doing.
No style, at least in regards to authentic military based fighting systems, is better than any other. THERE ARE NO SECRETS! The only secrets that exist are ones you haven’t been told yet, or you’re too lazy to research and discover on your own. The information is out there you just need to look for it.
There is also no truth to the claims about discovering new and improved methods of fighting such as the ones you read about in almost every issue of “Black Belt Magazine.” These discoveries may be “new” to the people who write the articles, but they are old news to many old timers.
I don’t care how “realistically” you think you train, how hardcore you are, or how many competitions you have won. Until you’ve been in a life and death confrontation, you have no clue how well you can defend yourself. You have no idea whether you have the physical and/or psychological toughness to react, counter, and survive.
That goes triple for an armed attack.
I don’t mean this as an insult, and I’m no different than anyone else. I, however, have the guts to admit it. I also have the first hand experience to state that during a life and death confrontation your physical and mental outlook is extremely different than you can or will ever experience in training.
And now for the bombshell.
It is estimated that 80% of all martial art techniques one learns, in any school, any style, are ineffective. They just won’t work. Whether that’s due to the technique being too intricate, to Hollywood, or just plain bad science makes no difference. The fact is, all martial art practitioners spend a lot of our lives practicing things we will never use, nor should use.
What makes things even worse is the fact that what might work great for me, may not work great for you.
Now before you start writing me e-mails, or posting my opinion on the various martial art discussion sites along with your ridicule let me explain.
Calm down, sit back, and listen. Listen with an open mind.
The truth is that techniques are nothing but illustrations of scientific principles.
It’s the scientific principles the martial artist needs to learn. Should learn. However, for most martial arts practitioners they will never discover this, or explore it once they hear about it.
Most practitioners are satisfied being carbon copy clones of their instructors. Unfortunately, just mimicking one’s instructor does not make one a martial artist, nor does it really help one understand the underlying intricacies of a given fighting method.
The desire to study the intricacies within techniques is what differentiated the master of yesteryear, to most martial artists today. It was their desire to study the sciences within techniques that helped form the martial arts, refine the "martial arts, and create the techniques we practice. These scientific intricacies are the foundation, behind all techniques (the roots), and the explanations why thee fighting skills work so well, the genius of their creation.
The truth is if you only learn a technique then that’s all you have, a technique. Learn the principles that make the technique work and you can come up with numerous variations that may be more effective for you, or help you apply what you know more easily with better results.
Of course this means doing your homework, and making a major effort to delve beyond basic explanations. It also means forgoing esoteric and metaphysical beliefs, as well as historical biases.
Most of all it means learning to ask the tough question; “Why.” Of course asking why is meaningless if you are willing to settle for an answer that doesn’t make sense or fully explain what you’re doing.
No style, at least in regards to authentic military based fighting systems, is better than any other. THERE ARE NO SECRETS! The only secrets that exist are ones you haven’t been told yet, or you’re too lazy to research and discover on your own. The information is out there you just need to look for it.
There is also no truth to the claims about discovering new and improved methods of fighting such as the ones you read about in almost every issue of “Black Belt Magazine.” These discoveries may be “new” to the people who write the articles, but they are old news to many old timers.
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