Misconceptions in Martial Arts
A person who does karate thinks kata are the best way to practice fighting. A person who does karate must also always get his arse kicked against kung fu experts (That's what it's like in the movies, right?)
A boxer is either: a big brute who is arrogant and loves picking a fight, or an underdog who can go for 15 rounds against a drugged supersoldier (Rocky IV fans please stand up).
A kung fu expert MUST know chi. He must be a mystical fighter who can levitate and use cool-looking stances that function well while at the same time looking good. You know, like Matrix or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon style.
A Brazilian Jujutsu fighter is T3H B3$T AT GROUNDFIGHTING!!!
All these misconceptions, and more, are outright harmful to the wider martial arts community. Some of the karateka I know have beaten Muay Thai fighters before. "WHY MUAY THAI GUYS AREN'T THEY SO MUCH TOUGHER THAN KARATEKA RAY?!??!" Well, these karateka were trained by a good sensei who was knowledgable in the atmosphere of the modern martial arts world. Where mixed martial arts and Brazilian Jujutsu have become staples of many champions, learning one style of fighting often is not enough. It's organizations like modern Shotokan karate, and in particular, the absolutely worthless Go Kan Ryu karate conglomerate (invented by Robert Sullivan, so it's not even a native Okinawan style), which has diluted so much of mainstream karate into useless training and emphasis on black-belt acquisition that would not stand against a freestyle fighter.
The World Taekwondo Federation is also just as worthless. There are too many "McDojos" around where so-called masters are just out to make a quick buck and not provide quality martial arts education. Taekwondo, unless taught in the best manner possible, is completely worthless for self-defence - and even worse, is completely worthless against styles like boxing, Brazilian Jujutsu and Tang Soo Do. I mean, high flying kicks advertised as a method of self-defence? Barely any handwork compared with styles like Goju-Ryu karate and a sloppy emphasis on kicks below the abdomen?
Ridiculous. And harmful.
I recently went to another boxing class. The coach in charge of that session is not a big guy. Rather, his body is functional - slim, agile, and powerful. And moreover, he is friendly and looks like any normal guy living a normal life. Martial artists are PEOPLE. Living in the strengths and weaknesses of their own humanity. There is no Rocky. There is no big brute. There may be a few, but they're always quickly put in their place by the coaches who really know what they're doing.
Finally, everyone knows Eastern martial arts have been done harm by quacks who claim to be able to train you in mystical powers. Those people who believe you can learn "dim mak" or pressure point attacks within a couple of years should be stripped of their qualifications and prosecuted for business deception. Chinese martial arts have copped a lot of criticism for having so many fake masters. I understand. When "fighters" use training stances like the horse stance in ACTUAL battle, it shows how little they really know. You can wave your arms in an extravagant fashion while beckoning your opponent forward? Ooh, pretty. *Smack* Heh. Out for the count.
Never believe the movies. Never believe the cartoons (They're still awesome though). Never believe the adverstisements of most mainstream martial arts. Train for real. Fight for real. Win for real.
A boxer is either: a big brute who is arrogant and loves picking a fight, or an underdog who can go for 15 rounds against a drugged supersoldier (Rocky IV fans please stand up).
A kung fu expert MUST know chi. He must be a mystical fighter who can levitate and use cool-looking stances that function well while at the same time looking good. You know, like Matrix or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon style.
A Brazilian Jujutsu fighter is T3H B3$T AT GROUNDFIGHTING!!!
All these misconceptions, and more, are outright harmful to the wider martial arts community. Some of the karateka I know have beaten Muay Thai fighters before. "WHY MUAY THAI GUYS AREN'T THEY SO MUCH TOUGHER THAN KARATEKA RAY?!??!" Well, these karateka were trained by a good sensei who was knowledgable in the atmosphere of the modern martial arts world. Where mixed martial arts and Brazilian Jujutsu have become staples of many champions, learning one style of fighting often is not enough. It's organizations like modern Shotokan karate, and in particular, the absolutely worthless Go Kan Ryu karate conglomerate (invented by Robert Sullivan, so it's not even a native Okinawan style), which has diluted so much of mainstream karate into useless training and emphasis on black-belt acquisition that would not stand against a freestyle fighter.
The World Taekwondo Federation is also just as worthless. There are too many "McDojos" around where so-called masters are just out to make a quick buck and not provide quality martial arts education. Taekwondo, unless taught in the best manner possible, is completely worthless for self-defence - and even worse, is completely worthless against styles like boxing, Brazilian Jujutsu and Tang Soo Do. I mean, high flying kicks advertised as a method of self-defence? Barely any handwork compared with styles like Goju-Ryu karate and a sloppy emphasis on kicks below the abdomen?
Ridiculous. And harmful.
I recently went to another boxing class. The coach in charge of that session is not a big guy. Rather, his body is functional - slim, agile, and powerful. And moreover, he is friendly and looks like any normal guy living a normal life. Martial artists are PEOPLE. Living in the strengths and weaknesses of their own humanity. There is no Rocky. There is no big brute. There may be a few, but they're always quickly put in their place by the coaches who really know what they're doing.
Finally, everyone knows Eastern martial arts have been done harm by quacks who claim to be able to train you in mystical powers. Those people who believe you can learn "dim mak" or pressure point attacks within a couple of years should be stripped of their qualifications and prosecuted for business deception. Chinese martial arts have copped a lot of criticism for having so many fake masters. I understand. When "fighters" use training stances like the horse stance in ACTUAL battle, it shows how little they really know. You can wave your arms in an extravagant fashion while beckoning your opponent forward? Ooh, pretty. *Smack* Heh. Out for the count.
Never believe the movies. Never believe the cartoons (They're still awesome though). Never believe the adverstisements of most mainstream martial arts. Train for real. Fight for real. Win for real.
posted by Raymond at Tuesday, August 08, 2006
4 Comments:
bit stereotypical and i dont believe you could be too critical since i dont think you've done all of them, but i do agree there's tons of crap schools out there and the instructors are there so it can feed their ego.
Kevy lee
I wasn't talking about your Taekwondo club. The World Taekwondo Federation, otherwise known as WTF, is a different story. I have read their articles where they demonstrate the backfist as a "legitimate" method of punching, which is akin to advertising high kicks as a legitimate way to defend oneself. Also, there was an occasion when a WTF black belt got taken down by a street thug and almost died. He wasn't stabbed or shot, just bashed silly. So I question either the legitimacy of the black belt, or the ability of that Taekwondo fighter himself.
Likewise, Go Kan Ryu karate's teaching system is appalling. Robert Sullivan himself is a fantastic fighter, but his "dojos" have black belts who have been learning karate for less than 2 years. Even worse, they advertise their karate door-to-door, do no sparring, and only learn basic forms and katas. Go Kan Ryu karate represents everything wrong with Asian martial arts today. As a practitioner of Goju-Ryu karate I'm ashamed to say this.
not at all offended in that way, I mean I never liked our club for its lack of practical fights not to mention they grade too lightly. you know im doing taekwon coz i cant find anything else and i wanted to work on my combat and kicks (lets hope they dont see this....); but i mean in the way of addressing martial arts as if statistical of it's strengths and weaknesses, guess it's alright for the sake of arguement, but any martial art no matter what skool the choice of fighting is different, you could use more kicks than punches in karate and more punches than kicks in taekwon
kev
I think one of the best ways to offset your martial art's "weakness" (and I mean every martial art because if there was a perfect martial art there would only be one fighting style) is to cross-train. For example, boxing teaches you great punches, but you shouldn't neglect your legs.
Then again, that's assuming you've got enough time. o_O
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