|
Martial
arts are more popular today than ever before, particularly as spectator events
and other entertainment venues. Martial arts as a practical matter are almost
extinct. The former has, in many ways, led to the latter.
Full-contact matches, tournaments, movies, TV, and chain martial arts schools
all contribute to the tremendous popularity of martial arts-flavored activities.
At the same time, they encourage a view of martial arts training and application
that is completely divorced from reality.
Ask yourself what tournament sparring skills will help you when a knife is to
your throat (it takes but a flick of the wrist to cut). How will pushing hands
or performance wushu skills prevent an intruder from harming you and your loved
ones late at night? If grappling is your thing, what prevents the friends of
the guy you've just wrestled to the ground and are attempting to choke out from
beating you to a bloody pulp while you're occupied?
Yes, some valuable skills are to be gleaned from boxing or kickboxing - timing,
distancing, and rhythm. Grappling may teach escape from holds. These skills
are but components of real combat skills, and training within the framework
of these sports may diminish one's ability to react properly to actual violence
or the threat of violence.
When faced with a hostile attacker (rather than a sparring or ring partner)
there is no time to set up and feel out the opponent. The encounter must be
ended almost as soon as it begins, within a second or two at best. The end result
should be a would-be perpetrator who is either unconscious or severely incapacitated.
When weapons enter the equation, ending it quickly is all the more vital.
The sort of training which yields these results is the antithesis of sport martial
arts. The student must practice realistic, simple techniques repetitively, to
the point where conscious thought is no longer required. The techniques must
then be further practiced under stress, in as close to a realistic format as
possible. Only then is there a chance that the techniques will be there when
needed. The techniques must be inherently violent and capable of doing maximum
damage with the least-wasted motion and effort.
Willingness to use the force necessary to hurt or even kill is absolutely essential.
This quality, what the British call "bloody mindedness," is what distinguishes
survivors from victims. This quality is not anger; rather it is a kind of ruthless
determination and emotional detachment.
I have seen these qualities and skills in many places, but seldom among "martial
artists" today. Members of the Shinbhet (Israeli secret service), SAS elite
forces and Soviet GRU agents possess similar skills from similar training. The
martial arts teachers I've known who had these qualities were almost to a man
from backgrounds that required them to be mean, suspicious individuals. For
the most part they were at least peripherally involved in some aspect of either
organized crime or intelligence. What these individuals had in common was not
just similar training, but the need and opportunity to use their training.
Which brings me to my last point: few martial arts teachers today have had encounters
that seriously put their skills to the test. I still cringe when I recall a
prominent writer of kung-fu books telling me that he had never had a real fight,
or even witnessed one, but he taught what he imagined would be useful. Sadly,
he is not the exception. He is perhaps just more honest than most teachers.
Originally appearing in "Inside Kung-Fu," Dec
2000, Used with permission.
|