What truely is a martial art?
Word Count:
2601
Summary:
The first things that usually pop into your head when discussing modern fighting systems do you think leaping, kicking, punching, blocking, inverting elbows, twisting necks, throwing, and weapons combat. But also battle strategy can all be classified within as the field of martial arts. Anything that a soldier might do in battle is a martial art.
Keywords:
martial arts kung fu wing chun karate fights fighting street
Article Body:
A martial art is identified as any skill that is usefull within warfare. The definition of martial means "military." So traditionally, a martial art is a military art. The first things that usually pop into your head when discussing modern fighting systems do you think leaping, kicking, punching, blocking, inverting elbows, twisting necks, throwing, and weapons combat. But also horsemanship, javelin throwing, archery, spear fighting, halberd fighting, wrestling, knife fighting, rifle, shotgun, and pistol shooting, demolitions, logistics, and battle strategy can all be classified within as the field of martial arts. Anything that a soldier might do in battle is a martial art.
By martial art usually it is meant aikido, arnis, boxing, capoeria, chow gar, choy la fut, hapkido, hsing'i, hun gar, jeet kune do, jow gar, judo, jujitsu, karate, kempo, kick boxing, krav maga, kung fu, pa kua, penjak silat, praying mantis, savate, shaolin, tae kwon do, tai chi, white crane, ving tsun, wu shu and more! As you can see the list is quite long and it is actually very promising how many combat arts systems there are and how many methods of self defense can be formulated.
The best style out there for you is the style that helps you achieve the product you have set for yourself, and that advances you to take your skills up a level. If that means full contact training, then you need styles that can give you that.
Often within a martial arts school it is taught that 'this style is the best system and it was created to beat all the others'. Of course every martial artist would have the viewpoint their style is the best because that is the style they have chosen to do, but in reality what they are saying is 'this is the best style for me as it suits myattitude and I like the teaching environment'.
There is a ongoing joke in the martial arts, that basically says when someone says theirs is the best style, what they really mean is "I study X". Have an open mind and open eyes, and you will find the style or styles that best fit your needs.
The changing of the arts
During the period of this history and development of the martial arts and all the combat systems of man our training tools have been instrumental in evolving and perfecting these fighting systems.
All the martial arts have been altered due to the function that mechanical devices play whether it be weapons, dojo mats, breaking boards or even the uniforms we wear - all these paraphanialia indentify the martial arts into their systems and style.
The main players in shaping our new martial arts would surely be the non-contemporary wooden dummy, ving tsun rings, iron palm ointments and even the system of using forms and karta have developed the martial arts into their current form.
Even today modern training tools are common and again the martial arts are evolving and growing with new training products such as the Wavemaster, the BOB training dummy, the Focus Master. All with a common idea, to create a well rounded combat system.
Ideally a martial arts solo training tool definately has to be workable for all and based on great background ideals and through constant drilling develop into sound physical application. The ideology and theory would have to take into account all the history of the combat technology of man and give this competition and street application.
Martialarm Combat arts Kung Fu is a total control system made up of scientific body weapons with unrivaled effectiveness in both attacks and defense. Formula Fighting allows a unrivaled set up for attack and defense - a much faster system of fighting than the conventional 'wait until they move response' defenses. Formula fighting correctly applied is so far above current combat systems technology to evolve into a martial science so to set new standards.
# The system includes:
# Smart error ideas and selective targeting
# Meridian points and internal shock strikes
# Multi-functional and military applications
# Broken Rhythm or plyometric applications
# Chi-Sau and automatic reflex systems
# Hidden weapons and clasifications
# One arm combat strategies
# Fire and forget formulas
# Inertia breaking
# Delivery zones
# etc
Martial Arts Modern Warfare
Chinese fighting systems especially are renowned for the wide variety of their hand techniques. Most Kung-Fu styles use a good variation of hand/arm weapons (such as claws, gouges, palms, backhands, punches, backfists, hammerfists, forearm, elbows and shoulder strikes) than their Japanese, Okinawan and Korean counter?parts.
In addition to the actual number of natural body weapons used there is also a tremendous range of different applic?ations due to the regionalised development of Kung Fu styles and the different approaches taken by hard or internal/external styles.
In this analogy, the legs are used as the body's heavy artillery, while the hands are the body's infantry. In a military en?counter, it is common to use first satelite technology to view the opponents attack and defense cababilities and then use long distance stealth artillery to soften up the enemy and to provide a moving cover behind which the infantry can advance to seize and hold disputed territory. Without the benefit of the artillery, the infantry would take heavy casual?ties.
However, artillery with nothing else cannot seize and hold territory - a major bom?bardment may drive the enemy out. So it is with arm and leg techniques - we often use our legs to soften up the opponent and to enable us to bridge the gap until we can close in and finish the fight with hand/arm techniques and the proper use and co-ordination of hand/arm and leg techniques is often crucial to success/ survival.
We espouse a combination approach which uses hand/leg attacks from different angles of attack and at various target levels. The concept is tomaintain a flow of offensive techniques moving into an opponent's target zones from different angles and at different levels, in order to disorientate him/her completely. We believe that this position is superior tactically to reliance upon one or two heavily committed techniques.
Martialarm Scientific Training For Speed
#1. Beginning of action
a. You must start in a positive delivery zone otherwise a negative zone can either injure your body parts or work against the intended action and become counter productive. (Newtons 1st law of motion)
b. Create an inertia breaker, a movement that will help you overcome the inertia (resistence to motion due to gravity and friction).
#2. Middle of action (Newtons 2nd Law)
a. After the inertia breaker you must continue the acceleration with a Booster. (Like a booster rocket, an extra aid, a second stager)
b. All body parts eg arms and legs, in any move be it a punch, block or kick, must always end up in a bent elbow or knee movement to enable a very quick change in any direction at any time.
#3. End of action
NOTE: 'End' of action should not be taken literally as one should never really stop action until the job is done. Our 'end action' has to be programmed to an interuppted continuity as if this stage is still the middle stage.
The Martialarm Combat Training Partner
In a martial arts career you can occationally get into a circumstance with no school to go to or no one to train with and so out of neccessity the martialarm solo training partner was manufactured out of an idea. The Martialarm is a Wu shu training machine used to develop the entry and trapping skills of any martial arts system. It is designed to put to the test any techniques so to improve the ability to trap and control your opponents hands and arms. This can be done because the Martialarm moves and reacts like a real opponent. The Martialarm moves and twists up, down, left and right just like a real opponent would - so it can spring forward and so will strike back!.
The Martialarm Combat Training Partner was tested and implemented on the following theories
Martialarm Theory
#1) Safety - You must maintain 100% safety when entering into the dangerous range, this means to limit any variables that could occur by covering them. (Ways of attack must be sophisticated yet simple, fast as well as safe!)
#2) Attack - You must have the ability to attack when you want, with no worry or problems. The attack should include a great handling of the opponents weapons. (Attacks must be structured to have within them a 100% defense!)
#3) The ability to change and - Techniques, attacks and defenses must flow but not necessarily at a constant pace. The ability to change and to choose what's next is very important!
Martialarm Martial Developement of Power
Most Chinese styles use a calm approach to power development. We try to keep unnecessary muscles from being involved in the technique, in order to avoid inhibiting the prime movers behind a certain technique from achieving its result. Essentially, a straight punch is a triceps-driven technique and the Chinese style of punching allows the triceps to do its job without the inhibition of significant biceps involvement in this punch.
Most other techniques can be viewed in a similar fashion - you have muscles which are vital to the effective execution of a technique and muscles which can be not, or which are even counter-productive when involved in that technique. No matter which martial arts style you do, try to avoid unnecessary muscle involvement.
Many Chinese styles use more "follow-through" in their techniques and achieve their power by driving the entire body weight through a target zone at speed. The arm is totally relaxed until contact is made and the body is still driving deeper into the target when attention is brought to the technique using a trigger.
The body has more inertia to overcome before it can move with the descending line of force and, as a result, the power is more completely absorbed by the body rather than being partially dissipated by the body moving more freely with the punch, as with a horizontal line of force.
Martialarm Combat systems Weapons
The Martialarm System uses quite a large array of natural body weapons, a few of them fairly specialised. The main ones are:
? Fist Strikes. (Sun Fist, Dragon Head, Phoenix Eye and Leopard Paw)
? Palm Strikes. (Tile Shattering, Yin/Yang, Wil?low Leaf and Hurricane Palm).
? Finger Strikes. (Flying Fingers, Immortal Pointing the Way, Twin Dragons, Tiger Claw, Eagle Claw, Dragon Claw, Rat Claw and Crab Claw).
? Back Fist Strike. (These tend to be follow?through rather than the 'snap' versions).
? Bottom Fist Strike. (Iron Hammer equates to the Japanese tettsui technique).
? Forearm Strikes. (This is used for smashing, sweeping blows of great power).
? Elbow Strikes. (This is generally used in a very flexible manner using multiple strikes).
? Shoulder Strikes. (Used for close-in work, of?ten to propel an opponent out into punch?ing range).
As you can see, there is an emphasis on tightly targetted use of a specialised hand formation in many cases. It is not enough merely to lash out in the hopes of an effective strike. In a ring situation, the "when in doubt, lash out" tactic may gain you points, but in the street it will be ineffective, unless you are lucky enough to impact on a vital point. A precise, surgi?cal strike or kick into one of your opponent's vital or weak targets is needed and your combinations definately has to be structured with this in mind.
Martialarm System Technological Achievements
1. Revolutionised Martial arts thinking and design of "Formula Fighting" or "Martial Arts by Numbers" that allows pre-emptive attack - a much faster system than the conventional "Reactionary Response" to attack.
2. Development and pioneered Martial Science - a system which enables practitioner of all styles to evaluate and modify current technologies to improve efficiency and allow comparisons with proof of technologies, concepts and technologies.
3. Developed the following technologies -
a. Sightless combat
b. Smart weapons systems
c. Stealth weapons systems
d. Fire-and-forget systems
e. Broken rhythm energy
f. Plyometrics applications
g. U.F.O. motions
h. Counter error programs
i. Convert errors into attack
j. Selective automatic targetting
The Three Cs - Capability - Control - Confidence
Certainty in containing the opponent by a huge technological edge and a super tough body and mind.
1. Capabilities - Current fighting systems technologies have been transcended by great handling in that it is a martial science based on completely prooven concepts.
2. Control - Allows great handling of the opponents capabilities making him defensively impotent. Multi functional applications in everyday life as well as in self defense.
3. Confidence - The small, the unco-ordinated, the disabled and also the best and brightest will gain in self belief through this training.
Martial arm Martial Science Offers
Attack systems that cant be blocked. A shield that cant be breached. Body toughening, Formula fighting, Stealth and U.F.O weapons including the Nukes. Mind freeze technology that shuts the opponent down. 3Cs Capabilities and Control bring about Confidence.
Martial arm Martial Science Concepts
1. Traditional Fighting systems - Animal styles or based on kata and ritualised.
2. Acclectic Martial systems - Collection of what works for the individual into a new style.
3. Designer Martial arts - Only the usable of conscious mind, scientific and repeatable.
Similarities to Bruce Lee Jeet Kune Do
Simultaneous parrying & striking
When standing up to an incoming attack; the attack is parried or deflected and a counter attack is delivered at the same time. Not as advanced as a stop hit but more effective than blocking and counter attacking in order. This is also practiced by some Chinese martial arts.
Economy of motion
JKD students are told to waste no time or movement. When it comes to combat JKD practitioners believe the easiest things work best.
Be like water
Lee believed that martial systems should be as flexible as possible. He time and time again used water as an analogy to describe why flexibility is a desired trait in martial arts. Water is absolutely flexible. It can be seen through, but yet at other times it can obscure things from sight. It can split and go around things, rejoining on the other side, or it can crash through things. It can erode the hardest rocks by gently lapping away at them or it can flow past the tiniest pebble. Lee believed that a martial system should have these behaviours. JKD students reject traditional systems of training, fighting styles and the Confucian guidance used in traditional kung fu schools because of this lack of flexibility. JKD is is often said to be a dynamic concept that is forever changing, thus being extremely flexible. "Absorb what is useful; Disregard that which is useless" is an often quoted Bruce Lee maxim. JKD students are encouraged to study every form of combat available. This is believed to expand one's knowledge of other fighting systems; to both add to one's arsenal as well as to know how to defend against such tactics.
Stop hits / stop kicks
This means deflecting an opponent's attack with an attack of your own instead of a simple block. JKD students believe that this is the most difficult defensive skill to develop. This strategic plan can be a feature of some traditional Chinese martial arts.
No high kicks
JKD practitioners conclude they should mark their kicks to their opponent's shins, knees, thighs, and mid section. These targets are the closest to the foot, provide more stability and are more difficult to defend against. However, as with all other JKD principles nothing is "written in stone". If a open area presents itself; even a target above the waist one could take advantage of the situation without feeling burdened by this principle.
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