MA versus SF (who do you bet?)

Let’s define a martial artist. A martial artist pursues growth, discipline, self-control and personal accomplishments. Street fighter. Who is very aggressive and willing to use underhand methods and someone who learned to fight in the streets rather than being formally trained. Would they go vice versa? Yes! Although a MA always think about his personal well-being but the street fighter take more actions without ever thinking what will happen next.

We should be training for the time we may have to defend ourselves against a dangerous individual or group, with real fighting abilities. I've been face to face with proficient fighters who've never once stepped into a martial arts training hall; but they had real experience hurting people. Let me tell you, I would rather face off against any $2000.00, two-year black belt than one of these street-hardened fighters. The criminals are out there, and are in many ways similar to the gladiators of ancient Rome. Defending your life demands training in reality, no rules and no time limits.

Many of us, who have studied martial arts for years, care about its development and evolution. But there are many schools out there that may as well be dance studios. The world is filled with images of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li, but the reality of martial arts has been diluted and the purpose clouded. Martial arts seems to be the only field where we people are blindly led by the word of a stranger claiming he can save our life with a thousand year old system. Never mind that he's never fought a real fight, but instead claims someone in his lineage had once defeated 50 attackers at once. We need to evaluate the techniques for ourselves; we need to ask, "Will this work for me?" If you have a sincere desire to defend yourself in a real situation, you'll have to sacrifice your ego, put aside the pride we hold so dear, and present yourself to someone who will teach and test you for the street. Look for someone who is willing to [at the very least] separate the art from the application. The art of the technique is not in how pretty the lines or circles are. The art is in the free use of the technique. The art is the science and psychology of aggression and physics, of leverage and kinetics, not the mysticism in the so-called advanced levels. Strengthening the spirit has long been part of eastern martial tradition, but it should occur as a by-product of mind and body temperance. Nothing in the Dojo matters if you can't go into the street and apply what you've spent so much time practicing. That "so called" strength of spirit comes from confidence in your abilities and belief in your training, if you have neither, you're dead. How can you have confidence in your training unless you've hit someone and have been hit in return? How do you know how your body and mind will react if you have never put them to the test? An instructor who never gets dirty and avoids fighting you because he's afraid to hurt you is useless. The fact is many instructors are often just scared of being humiliated in front of a full class of "paying" students. Any good instructor knows, they can always learn more, even from a student. A truly skilled martial artist never stands in front of another man expecting to learn nothing. "The investment in loss," means that a loss is not a failure if you walk away from it with something besides the bruises. Without loss there are no skills, no learning, and no advancement.

Instructors and students should all work towards that confidence in our abilities, to train like we fight and fight like we train. In the streets, there will be no one to call the match or stop the time. Do everything you can to prepare yourself for the potential attack of a madman. Devise worst-case scenarios and try to recreate them as closely as you can in a controlled environment. Feel the sudden rush of adrenaline when you fear being hurt, and feel the sudden drop in strength and speed when you deplete your adrenaline stores. Experience what it's like to be disoriented by single or multiple blows. Only when you're familiar with these sensations can you recognize them and maintain some semblance of focus.

Over that past ten years, there has been a sudden resurgence of interest in actual combat training. With many systems being based on combat science, reflecting the increasingly violent society we live in. Much of this training uses some core principles of eastern martial arts interwoven with western thought and scientific processes. Almost militaristic, these groups focus on all-around defense including: firearms, knives, sticks, or history's first weapon, the rock. These new systems are viewed as entities unto themselves. What a shame that the people concerned with true self-defense feel the need to distance themselves from traditional martial arts. Perhaps you've had a similar discussion with someone before: "Oh you do martial arts, what kind?" "OH, I train in Kung Fu and some other stuff." "Yeah, well I don't believe in martial arts, I'm a street fighter."These people don't believe that training in martial arts has any merit anymore because so many instructors have taught them poorly, placing too much emphasis on form and tradition, or even hiding behind it. These schools represent the face of martial arts that are seen by the world today. Potential students are blinded by the allure of status and rank. If all a student seeks is greater health and an outlet for his energies than so be it. We all take from the arts what is most beneficial to us, yet it's still the duty of the instructor to distinguish between the uses and training of the martial arts. Those who are truly interested in the full potential the arts offer are entitled to the full spectrum and experience. After all, similar visionaries developed the arts we hold so dear. People traveling and studying under other instructors long after they were already masters in their base systems. These were the men who invested in their losses and grew because of it. Go and find a teacher in ground fighting. Find a teacher in knife and stick fighting. Find an instructor in close quarters combat and learn how to disarm an attacker with a gun. If we don't take control of our arts and continue to develop them in such ways, changing what must be changed, and holding onto only that which is useful, very soon there will be nothing of applicable value left. More importantly, as our society becomes more violent, people training in non-reality based systems will be in the streets dying at the hands of any thug that wants his watch. We should all be making the sacrifices in our schools, students and teacher alike, so that we can feel as safe outside the walls of our schools as we do inside.