Martial Arts: Martial Ideal

Short Synopsis

Manifesto regarding Contact and Non Contact training in Martial Arts and general ideas of the truest ideal of a Martial Artist.

Contact vs. Non Contact.

In the world of Martial Arts there are two schools of thought concerning training.  Contact and non contact; also subcategorized as Full Contact and Semi Contact.  Both have their uses but I think that for the beginner NO CONTACT rules should apply.  

The reason I say this is because people new to martial arts start at level ZERO.  Level ZERO; we can also call this level WHITE BELT, 0 kyu or whatever fits the bill; have all the grace, style and control of a Hippo on a pommel horse.

Side Note:

***I can practically hear the accusatory tones of people misconstruing my meaning.  I am not comparing people to hippos I'm just trying to draw up a visual to help illustrate my point.***  

When a person starts in a martial art it should be as much philosophy as physicality.  

I'm not saying that white belts aren't dangerous - in fact due to their lack of technique, control and knowledge they draw their entire repertoire from a barrage of Kung Fu movies.  Most of the time they end up hurting themselves or an unfortunate trainer trying to instill a little knowledge.

When beginning at the beginning precision, control and technique are more important than physical power. When people start out - and this isn't exclusively a martial arts problem - they lack the discipline and any sort of follow through to understand the underlying principles of the art they are trying to learn.  

They quit after about a week of training realizing that they can't leap tall buildings in a single bound.  What a person should realize is that one should train in martial arts in order not to use it.

If you look at that last sentence with a quizzical look on your face...chillax...you wouldn't be the only one.  Here is the thing, most people when confronted act out of fear.  A martial artist has the self confidence not to aggravate the situation.

People in general fall into two categories when confronted by an aggressor. PARALYZING FEAR and RECKLESS ABANDON.  They freeze up making the already anxious mugger nervous because you seem unresponsive and wasting time that he could spend spending your hard earned cash.  

The other option is to attack head on and hope for the best.  This too has a less than stellar outcome.

The true martial artist finds the third option.  They control the situation to a more favourable outcome.  When an attacker or mugger confronts them they have the discipline and strength of mind to either run away or deal with the situation fitting of an intelligent human being. 

But if they are forced to fight than the fight could be swift and decisive.  “Running is for cowards!” I can hear you shout.  Running is practical; it’s safe and all and all much less of a headache to deal with than broken bones and missing teeth.

When a person starts out and trains for a week then quits he has gained just enough knowledge to be dangerous to himself and other people.  

FULL CONTACT from the get go makes things worse because not everyone appreciates the fact that their skills at punching a makiwara or punching bag doesn’t translate well into real world conflicts.  To further add to their disgrace they go and willingly and foolishly seek out conflict from others and it ends in tragedy.

In General

Martial Arts is a lifelong pursuit.  It can be done for many reasons, health, longevity, fitness, self confidence. 

Whatever your reasons for becoming interested in martial arts might be it should never be because you feel you can learn just enough to “kick ass”. 

Even champion fighters don’t enter competition because they want to kick the teeth out of someone.  They enter because fighting another martial artist that has devoted time, sweat and pain to better themselves and the art they practice is the truest test of their progress. 

Fighting an equal endeavours you to become more than you were before you stepped into that ring.  The martial arts should be about balance.  The balance between mind, body and soul.  The balance between yourself and others.  The balance between past, present and future. 

No other drawing in the world- to the best of my knowledge- exemplifies this than the taijitu (Yin Yang) symbol of peace and harmony within and without.

As with anything you do remember that what you get out is proportional to what you put in.