What are “Real Martial Arts”?
What is a martial art, in reality?
The term is modern in usage; and, is understood to denote training involving
individual combat with ancient warrior traditions behind it. Nothing could be
further from the truth. In reality a martial art would be, “A skill for the
Armed Forces of a nation; designed for people whose profession is to fight.”
Training consists of learning the most effective techniques that can be used in
military combat; where the outcome is life or death. Used in coordination with
other unit members, these techniques were created to carry out government
policy, with full scale assaults in mind, wearing weapons and armor. No soldier
would have the foolish idea of going on a battlefield barefoot and wearing
nothing but pajamas; while thousands of the enemy, wearing armor and armed to
the teeth, are about to charge. The “Wu-Bei-Zhi” (an encyclopedic
treatise on war and the arts of combat), published in China during the Ming
dynasty (circa 1621), states, “The art of empty-handed combat has no use
in battle, but is the foundation of every weapon’s training.” Empty-handed
combat has it's very specific purpose: When you find yourself accidentally
disarmed on a battlefield (broken, malfunctioning weapon, etc.), you must disarm
an opponent who is attacking you, turn his own weapon against him, and keep on
fighting with the newly obtained weapon. If you want to learn a
“Real
Martial Art ”, you'll have to join the military! However, the
modern usage allows for charlatans, the irremissibly deluded, “martial art’s
warriors ”, not to mention the
dysfunctional, to
make all sorts of fanciful claims about “secrets”
(ancient or military that they teach) or “lineages”
of ancient (original) knowledge.
If you want to know more about this, read:
http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com/MAculture.html Read ALL of the
links in the article (it is massive) to understand exactly how I feel about this
subject. (Those of you living in “Fantasy Land” or on “Cult Island” will
probably be insulted.)
(For the sake of brevity, I am addressing the “boxing” arts; and, not the “wrestling” arts in the following.)
What do you mean – “Sport Karate”?
Modern Sport Karate dates back to 1905 when Chomo Hanashiro and Anko
Itosu began promoting the idea of Karate’s inclusion into Okinawa’s physical
education school curriculum. Due to the fact it was to be taught to children in
large groups, new kata were introduced, older kata were modified and complicated
lethal movements were eliminated. In 1922 Gichen Funakoshi introduced Karate to
Japan. He modified and changed it to better suit the personality of the Japanese
higher classes. It was the Japanese university students who brought the
competitive side of Karate to full bloom after Funakoshi’s death. In order to
preserve human dignity as well as life, the Japanese pulled their punches and
kicks when competing. This formed the basis of the sport that is now called
“Traditional” Karate. In Japan, this concept worked well, given the high quality
and standards of judging and judges. In the U.S., and most of the world, the
judges never achieved these same standards; and, in the years following the late
60’s, we saw a decline in the performance and quality of the competitors. Soon,
the entire concept of sparring was changed, in so called ‘open’ tournaments,
from an attempt display skill, to a game of tag, in which the players resorted
to flashy, ineffective, crowd-pleasing techniques. The players lost the ability
to really fight, and gained only the ability to entertain. ‘Open’, ‘Musical’,
and ‘Team’ kata soon followed; along with, lightweight and toy weapons in the
‘Kobudo’ kata section. The current wave of so called ‘Full Contact’ Sport Karate
is a backlash to the silly antics of today's modern competitors in ‘Point’
Karate. Kata competition never recovered; as, it is part of the ‘entertainment’
for the evening show.
Due to the amount of time spent training for sport, self defense is sadly
neglected by most Sport Karate schools. Those who teach Jujutsu or Aikido, to
supplement the lack of Karate techniques of self-defense, tend to abandon Kata
and weapons training. Sport Karate tends to develop in its practitioners
aggressive behavior traits and patterns of movement which are counter productive
to the goals of good character training; not to mention the related health and
injury problems that occur in later life.
So, what is Taekwondo?
Taekwondo, today, is a
modern Olympic sport. Taekwondo is not thousands of years old. It dates from
after WWII. It is a Korean version of Shotokan Karate. Something like Shotokan
on steroids. Originally promoted by Gen. Choi Hong Hi of Oh Do Kwan, it combines
the basic superficial features of Northern Chinese kicking arts with Japanese
Sport Karate and what the Koreans call Taek Kyon, an old native foot fighting
art. However, as General Choi says in his book “Tae Kwon Do (the Korean art
of self defense)” copyright 1972 on page 9, “Confusion has recently arisen
by the use of the terminology “Tae Kwon Do, the Korean art of self defense.” I
emphasize the word Korean. Today in the Republic of South Korea, it is becoming
the practice to indiscriminately apply the word Tae Kwon Do to a bastardized
imitation of the real original Korean martial art. …. It is also true that the
basis of Taekwondo goes back to the ancient past of Korea, but to call Taekwondo
purely Korean is somewhat like one country claiming to have introduced
fire.”...Around 1960, a huge split occurred in the Moo Duk Kwan system because
of politics which invaded the Martial Arts. In the end Taekwondo was the
offspring of the Moo Duk Kwan system. Taekwondo is more of a sport; it's a game.
They are under the Korean Athletic Association (like the AAU in the United
States).” In school Korean children are taught Taekwondo just like American
children are taught baseball, for sport. While it is true that it is taught to
soldiers in the R.O.K. Army, it is used for physical fitness and “esprit
de corps”.
The original Kata were from Okinawa. In the late 1960's these were broken
down and recombined into “new” forms. As the Koreans never understood the old
Kata, they must teach a form of Aikido they call Hapkido for self-defense. They
emphasize flashy high kicks and jumping (flying) kicks. As spectacular as these
may appear they are highly ineffective on the street. No one will stand still
while another runs and jumps at him. And, with minimal training, it is virtually
impossible to kick someone in the head. The Japanese remember the Koreans from
before 1920 and they remember nothing of any Koreans fighting with Karate like
techniques. They are famous, however, in Japan for head butting when fighting.
(see, also,
http://www.scottshaw.com/history/ for more of
the Korean arts’ history). It is
interesting to note, in our country and around the world there are thousands of
Korean Tae Kwon Do instructors. Yet from Japan and Okinawa (the birthplace of
Karate) there are only a few hundred. Taekwondo is good for those who want to be
Olympic athletes; but not for self defense. It approaches criminal incompetence
to teach it for self defense.
What is “Kyokyushinkai Karate”?
Founded by Mas Oyama (Yong I-Choi), a Korean, Kyokushinkai Karate is like most “traditional karate” with the exception of its extremely difficult physical contact and conditioning regimen. It is known for its “full contact“ tournaments and training. However, in order to hold down injuries, they do not allow punching to the head nor kicks to the groin; both of which are allowed in the “bogu kumite” of Ryukyu Kenpo.
What is “Kenpo Karate”?
Founded by James Mitose, most of what is taught in the U.S. is based on the teachings of Ed Parker. Kenpo teaches a highly theoretical art of kicking and punching. The techniques are flashy and overkill is abundant. However, a distinct lack of knowledge of counters to grappling techniques is evident, as is a lack of weapon knowledge. The entire system is a long drawn out kick-punch art that merely combines blocks, punches, and kicks in ever increasing complexity without ever delving into the deeper knowledge available. Many times, instructors must resort to incorporating material from other systems to increase the knowledge base.
What is “Krav Maga”?
Founded by Imi Sde-Or, Krav Maga is the hand to hand combat taught to the Israeli Defense Forces. Keeping this in mind, one realizes it has to be easy to learn and employ within the shortest possible training period. It is important that a soldier's proficiency can be maintained with minimal review and practice. Trying to reinvent the wheel is difficult; and, owing to the fact Krav Maga is just 60 years old it still has a LONG way to go before it is something worth spending a lot of time learning. It still has major flaws in theory and application that need to be corrected. While there is good in it, there are, also, ideas that can get you hurt - terminally.
What is “Abir”?
Abir is the “Martial Art ” developed by Yehoshua Sofer. He claims that it comes from the twelve tribes, handed down in total secrecy amongst religious Jews, and is now being taught as the Sofer family system. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abir_(martial_art) While I have my reservations, I think what he is trying to do and the background historical information he presents is admirable. I, too, feel that Am Yisrael needs to develop this side of Torah. Failing to do so will not bode well for the future.
What is “Kung Fu”?
The slang term, Kung Fu refers to Chinese boxing. It is a generic term covering over 2,000 different systems of Chinese fighting arts. It, generally, includes the ‘external’ schools in its scope; although, nowadays, its use encompasses the internal systems such as Tai Chi, Pa Kua, Hsing I, and others. Wushu, a thoroughly modern invention of Communist China in the 1950’s, is an excellent example of “Sport Kung Fu”. Ryukyu Kenpo Kobujutsu is an Okinawan based “Kung Fu” system that is not considered “Flowery Hands”.
What is Aikido?
Aikido should not even be listed here as it has little to do with the boxing arts. Morihei Ueshiba founded Aikido after spending 22 years (1915-1937) studying and teaching Daito-ryu under Sokaku Takeda. Aikido is, basically, a watered down, softer version of Daito-ryu; in line with the new age Japanese Omoto religion’s philosophy embraced by Ueshiba. It is good for those who enjoy a cult like atmosphere and want the benefits of training; but, are not interested in self defense (read - Macho Posturing).