Instantaneous Adaptation!

There is a lot of information out on the Internet as well as in print regarding the supremacy of one art or method of training over another. So much in fact it is hard to know what is right, what is misinformation and what is disinformation. Though the question of which style is better is an old debate in the Martial Arts community, there is some credence to the statement that Traditional Martial Arts’ approach is ineffective. So what is the best art to train in? Karate, Kung Fu, Eskrima, or some other style? And, if one style or way is better, why is it better? These are actually better questions and help us get to the real essence of this inquiry.

With Traditional Martial Art, as opposed to Mixed Martial Art and Street Fighting styles, there is a great deal of emphasis put upon the dogmatic approach to training and teaching. The “New School” approach values more ‘tools in the tool box’ and less waiting to learn more...

But what about effectiveness? Is it that traditionalists can’t actually fight? As if the old masters, samurai, and warrior traditions of old, where many of these styles and systems are rooted in, never thought of how it was to “really fight” or “combative application”. Could it be Alexander the Great and Sobutai Khan knew nothing about the training of military prowess and the exercise of such prowess?

The story of this is simple and uncomplicated:
Litigious society has made it nearly impossible to teach the ‘old school’ way
So much so that instructors and teachers have shunned “full contact” and the like
Instructors further down the lineage have never been shown applications
Society has relegated martial arts to a fancy kind of day care with it’s own fashion sense
People are afraid of getting hurt, the instructors too
So practitioners mistake their drills for combat
Society uses too much carrot and not enough cane (can you say entitlement?)
Empirical Knowledge is trampled by Dogma
Self Defense is a Farce
Most schools teach a method of waiting to be struck to practice their art
Waiting to be hit is asking to be a victim
Society breeds victims

It is not as though Sun Tzu or Musashi never knew what a real fight was, or that Jack Dempsey or Gabriella Silang were never actually in a fight. It’s not like the Ping Fa and Go Rin No Sho are a farcical fairy tale, or that the Demon’s Sermons on Martial Arts are ineffective.

I would postulate the “New School” lack-of-patience combined with the “Old School” test-your-patience-ways, plus the mewling childlike societal worker bee just don’t mix anymore. There is something to be said for training that includes risk and danger, two ingredients the modern sensei-cum-businessman can’t legally afford. So, the advent of back yard, garage, closed door training is bourne.. but are they better? Often the case, but not because they are underground, but because they adhere more closely to very old traditional methods.

Better? Better at what? Better is such a loaded word full of vague meaning, and like a double edged dagger, cuts both ways. Better looking martial arts has a value, for aesthetic movement is an indicator of a more physically and structurally sound bio-mechanic... Sometimes. Better hitting? Go to YouTube and search “street fight” or “bar fight” and you can see people get knocked out by a weak pawing hay-maker. Better by the standard of harder, or the standard results? Results are the king in that debate. Besides, a single-knuckle punch delivered to the occipital region takes little force for your opponent to have an astronomical experience.

Effective? More Effective how? If the intention is for you to put your opponent down then ugly technique is fine.. there are lots of arts that are ugly. Effective and efficient, meaning you’re not even breathing hard and your opponent isn't even breathing is a different story entirely. Martial Arts, at least superlative martial art is designed to make the fight unfair. Real martial art purposely stacks the deck in your favor, a.k.a. cheating. In martial arts you don’t want to work hard to win, you just want to win. With this criteria, effective and efficient become birds of another feather.

The tradition of a system or style should include efficacious and chaff reducing elements to remain true to it’s warrior roots. Moreover the art will be well served if the instructors and practitioners support and propagate a moral standard too. This is the warrior way, and for the money, the best way to train in martial arts. So whether your “New School” or “Old School” keep it real, keep it true, or just keep out.

All arts are viable within their own environment. I repeat ALL ARTS. The question really is what environment are you, the practitioner and would be fighter, preparing for? Is it self-defense, competition, movie choreography, meditation, which is your cup-o-tea? For the money, my preferred poison is one that addresses first from the practical and traverses the landscape on toward the illuminating experience, but that’s my prerogative.

A good hierarchy of focus might be:
Exoterica
Self Defense (although not simply waiting to be attacked before I “defend”)
Skill Development
Fighting Prep
Fighting
Aesthetics
Esoterica
Philosophy
Morality
Theory
Polishing and Misc.
Doctrine
Erudition
Insights
Wisdom
Substance

Please note that a steady diet of martial philosophy and morality is imperative, breeding bullies and thugs is a perilous endeavor.

So if all arts are viable, then what might be the deciding factor? In a word... Methodology. Training methods differ in many styles, and they are often dictated by the environs the teacher is addressing. Combative arts ultimately must endeavor to simulate combative situations. Scenario training, mental rehearsals, stress/adrenalin inoculation, tactical and strategic mindset training, and a myriad of other important aspects should be addressed. And, in each possible environment the above aspects must be fine tuned for that environment.

In the end, traditional martial arts are ideally suited for all purposes. Though it does not really matter if your are doing Kung Fu, Karate, or Eskrima, it does matter how you train and why you train the way you train. One must consider that the old warriors from ages gone by dealt with more difficult situations than a bar room brawl, and spent more time than 2 months of basic hand to hand in boot camp to be proficient in their profession. Their endeavors were not on a time limit, didn’t have weight classes and rarely conformed to any real rule set, in other words truly “No Holds Barred”. History illustrates a vast panorama of skills and tactics that served man in the times of antiquity, and can serve us well in the times of technology, something a more scholarly approach to the science of defense will reveal.

About the Author: Suro Jason Inay is the head of the Inayan System of Eskrima, inherited from the system of martial art his father, Mangisursuro Mike Inay, founded. Currently residing in the Bay Area of California and teaching internationally. www.inayan-eskrima.com , www.jason-inay.com