San Do Kuen Martial Arts

Quite often, people focus on the “martial” or combat-related aspects of martial arts because the movements taught in martial arts systems are meant for self defense.  However, the word “art” in the phrase also deserves some attention.  How can we conceptualize fighting systems as artistic?  Combat is full of chaos and brutality – what is artistic about this?

When I think of “art” I imagine a sculpture, a painting, a poem or  a song.  What these things share is that they are all forms of human expression.  In a painting (if you know what to look for) you can learn about the artist and her style of painting.  If you study several of her paintings over a period of years you can learn about her what mediums and subjects she prefers and how her style changes over time.

Martial arts systems and movements are a form of human expression in a very similar way.  If you are a martial arts student over several years you will get to know your instructor and his style.  You will begin to understand “who he is” in terms of his martial arts style.  The way a man teaches, learns and trains martial arts can be a window into his personality.

After enough time in martial arts, the movements and concepts that a person uses for their martial arts practice can be become part of them.  Every practice session or class then becomes their artistic expression.  In this there is a very difficult dilemma – without separating the artist from his medium or his subject, the martial artist risks loosing himself in that medium.  Imagine a painter painting a self portrait that was so lifelike and accurate that all the painter’s friends began interacting with the canvas rather than with the artist herself.

The human expression involved in combative movement is artistic because it requires the artist to become the subject of his own study.  The word “self” in self defense is the key to this realization.  To protect ourselves we must first discover who we are.  Only when we are aware of this can we find see the dynamic flow of combative movement as an amazing art that is uniquely human.

Most young men today just want to become UFC fighters and they have no interest in traditional forms.  In fact, they scoff at anything traditional even if they have no idea what they are missing.  On the other hand, older martial artists are trapped inside their forms and cannot see beyond their structure.  This post is the beginning of a long discussion of the role of forms in martial arts training.

The Pros of Forms Training:

• Coordination & muscle memory development
• Balance training
• Cardiovascular exercise
• Leg strength
• Footwork pattern development
• No partner required
• Forms provide a framework for repetition training

The Cons of Forms Training:

• Very time-consuming
• Abstract movement patterns don’t always apply to combat
• Imitation does not always lead to creativity
• Limited feedback during movement (no resistance or variables)
• Looking good doing a form and fighting well are not the same skill
• Fighting has no pattern

As you can see, it is difficult to discern the value of forms without a lot of study and practice.  No matter what anyone says about forms, they do have value, its just that it takes a long time to discover it.  Most people do not have the patience or the discipline to tolerate the repetition required to master forms.

Our world moves at an alarming pace.  We are constantly overwhelmed by the combined demands of our work, our families and other relationships.  Our senses are always being bombarded with stimuli form multiple sources at a rapid rate.  Daily life has become very complex.  Practicing martial arts can either add to this confusion or help free us from it.

In martial arts, there are a myriad of styles and different techniques available for our exploration.  There are too many choices.  Some schools are very narrow in their focus – they teach one style.  Other systems claim to have combined 6 or more styles into one.

• What both these approaches lack is simplicity.

I have always loved martial arts because it teaches us to eliminate superfluous thoughts and movements so our bodies can become powerful.  These “extra” movements or wasted thoughts only distract from what works or is “true” for each person.  How can we get rid of the baggage we bring to our training if the technique we study is too specialized or complex?

Over time in training, most people hold on to the belief that they need to learn something completely new to improve their art.  The result is that people continue to add technique to their list with no real knowledge of how it fits together.  All the value in martial arts training lies not in the character or “style” with which we move, it is our translation of  that training into the context of self-defense situations.  Most of the “fluff” technique we cling to because it is part of our “style” is lost in that translation.  What we are left with is . . . simplicity:

• In self-defense, either you fight or you run.
  • If you fight, you either win or lose.
    • If you win, it does not matter what moves you used, it only matters that you were victorious.
    • If you lose, then it does not matter what moves you used, only that you were not effective.
• Win or lose, it is simply our own ability – our focus, discipline, awareness, confidence and fitness – that makes us effective or not.