The eternal question: Part III
Tue, Dec 27 2011 08:56
| krav maga, MMA, martial arts, sambo, www.amaclub.org.uk, Wing Tsun Kung fu, martial arts Altrincham, Japanese martial arts, systema
| Permalink
In parts one and two of this mini-saga cum blog post I have discussed the various aspects of how valid any given martial art is to practice and pursue. Of course all arts have their wheres and what for’s when it comes to what they do, however my perspective is heavily coloured by my main art Wing Tsun.
Previously discussed have been the common anxieties over the validity of the art, the transmission of it from teacher to student and the context of the training room, street and competitive arenas in which one might use their hard won skills. Today however I want to add the third common perspective on applying your art and that’s the use of it by the military and police forces around the world.
Martial arts tend to fall into the “sport” and “practical” camps broadly speaking the taboo really being over the deadly aspects of specific techniques being the main distraction for many who forget one can die in the ring just as easily as a “practical” practitioner may or may not choose to kill someone else in a given fight.
However there is a strong following amongst martial artists on forums and beneath YouTube videos that reveal a slightly bizarre almost political bent towards a specific cluster of martial arts devised and used by various military forces. This is reflected in the marketing devices of “new” to the high street arts such as Krav Maga and to a lesser extent Systema/Sambo of Russia. Throw in recent references and uses in Hollywood blockbusters, and it’s easy to understand the explosion of these arts.
But on these forums you will see arguments about the SEALs (USA navy) vs. the Spetsnatz littered throughout relevant and often irrelevant discussions on learning and practising any given art. It usually centres upon a childish desire similar to who would win a fight – Batman or Superman? The desire to don combat pants instead of rash guards is not always an invalid one, far from it. However as you will see from the monster thread below (wading through it is not necessary) there are loaded assumptions with opting for a ‘military’ outlook on your training.
http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102789
The art you choose often defines you for other people and the sort of people attracted to an art can be subject plenty of labels and assumptions. Military arts if you like, are no different. Often some may worry about an unhealthy obsession with the constant onus on death, destruction and weaponry but to be honest these arts no different to Japanese arts with their roots in feudal society or the monastic roots of Chinese Kung Fu. It’s simply that the AK47 s the mechanised equivalent of the katana et al.
One thing WT emphasises is its creation as an art for the little person to overcome the much bigger, stronger more aggressive foe. What the military has however is a minimum requirement of physical fitness before you can join, likewise this is a point rarely mentioned or glossed over by many people. It weakens somewhat the position of “well the army use it” type of thinking.
What can be said however is that the WT masters have visited and trained many units all over the world including in Europe and India as well as across Asia. The famous Krav was largely kept to Israel thanks to its newness. Likewise the Russians have been using Sambo since its inception taken from Japanese arts on a large scale since the 1940s the real question is what these arts were used for. Only since the end of Communism and the cultural mixing with Russia has its martial arts had much western scrutiny after nearly a century in isolation.
Above is one version of Wing Tsun being framed in a military context. The problems with these kind of demonstrations are fairly self-evident as the notion of "real" runs in opposition to staging something.
The Japanese arts were very relevant to military power centuries ago whilst the Russians and Israelis had very specific needs and demands in new and different environment thanks largely to the mechanisation and use of guns which consigned the Samurai to the history books. If people bear this in mind it’s easy to see that validity is really what you make of it. Many martial arts historians are often keen to note that medieval Europe had techniques that “look a lot like Jiu Jitsu” or that the Victorians practised a version of Jitsu utilising their canes and knives etc. Does this mean Jitsu is not a Japanese invention by approximation of British fight culture? No, probably not. Does it mean that universal truth to facing an armed attacker when unarmed is quite similar? I’d say so.
The historical and cultural connotations of your art should never be ignored but they should frame it not place it in a cage. The fundamentals of disarming an attacking should be relatively universal. It is not for us to question why the Filipinos use sticks almost exclusively and as a base for all of their better known fighting arts. What we should do is consider the skills this gives the practitioner and how useful they are in everyday life. After all it is incredibly recently where society didn’t dictate the need to be armed, and the likelihood of using and facing weapons on an everyday level.
This is really what you need to consider again, it’s not what your art can do for you but what can you do with your art? What truths have been exposed as fraudulent or left to antiquity and what will always remain useful to anyone willing or needing to fight?
Research and reading help you place your questions and concerns. Training whatever and wherever it may be should answer them.
The eternal question: Part 1
The eternal question: part 2
Previously discussed have been the common anxieties over the validity of the art, the transmission of it from teacher to student and the context of the training room, street and competitive arenas in which one might use their hard won skills. Today however I want to add the third common perspective on applying your art and that’s the use of it by the military and police forces around the world.
Martial arts tend to fall into the “sport” and “practical” camps broadly speaking the taboo really being over the deadly aspects of specific techniques being the main distraction for many who forget one can die in the ring just as easily as a “practical” practitioner may or may not choose to kill someone else in a given fight.
However there is a strong following amongst martial artists on forums and beneath YouTube videos that reveal a slightly bizarre almost political bent towards a specific cluster of martial arts devised and used by various military forces. This is reflected in the marketing devices of “new” to the high street arts such as Krav Maga and to a lesser extent Systema/Sambo of Russia. Throw in recent references and uses in Hollywood blockbusters, and it’s easy to understand the explosion of these arts.
But on these forums you will see arguments about the SEALs (USA navy) vs. the Spetsnatz littered throughout relevant and often irrelevant discussions on learning and practising any given art. It usually centres upon a childish desire similar to who would win a fight – Batman or Superman? The desire to don combat pants instead of rash guards is not always an invalid one, far from it. However as you will see from the monster thread below (wading through it is not necessary) there are loaded assumptions with opting for a ‘military’ outlook on your training.
http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102789
The art you choose often defines you for other people and the sort of people attracted to an art can be subject plenty of labels and assumptions. Military arts if you like, are no different. Often some may worry about an unhealthy obsession with the constant onus on death, destruction and weaponry but to be honest these arts no different to Japanese arts with their roots in feudal society or the monastic roots of Chinese Kung Fu. It’s simply that the AK47 s the mechanised equivalent of the katana et al.
One thing WT emphasises is its creation as an art for the little person to overcome the much bigger, stronger more aggressive foe. What the military has however is a minimum requirement of physical fitness before you can join, likewise this is a point rarely mentioned or glossed over by many people. It weakens somewhat the position of “well the army use it” type of thinking.
What can be said however is that the WT masters have visited and trained many units all over the world including in Europe and India as well as across Asia. The famous Krav was largely kept to Israel thanks to its newness. Likewise the Russians have been using Sambo since its inception taken from Japanese arts on a large scale since the 1940s the real question is what these arts were used for. Only since the end of Communism and the cultural mixing with Russia has its martial arts had much western scrutiny after nearly a century in isolation.
Above is one version of Wing Tsun being framed in a military context. The problems with these kind of demonstrations are fairly self-evident as the notion of "real" runs in opposition to staging something.
The Japanese arts were very relevant to military power centuries ago whilst the Russians and Israelis had very specific needs and demands in new and different environment thanks largely to the mechanisation and use of guns which consigned the Samurai to the history books. If people bear this in mind it’s easy to see that validity is really what you make of it. Many martial arts historians are often keen to note that medieval Europe had techniques that “look a lot like Jiu Jitsu” or that the Victorians practised a version of Jitsu utilising their canes and knives etc. Does this mean Jitsu is not a Japanese invention by approximation of British fight culture? No, probably not. Does it mean that universal truth to facing an armed attacker when unarmed is quite similar? I’d say so.
The historical and cultural connotations of your art should never be ignored but they should frame it not place it in a cage. The fundamentals of disarming an attacking should be relatively universal. It is not for us to question why the Filipinos use sticks almost exclusively and as a base for all of their better known fighting arts. What we should do is consider the skills this gives the practitioner and how useful they are in everyday life. After all it is incredibly recently where society didn’t dictate the need to be armed, and the likelihood of using and facing weapons on an everyday level.
This is really what you need to consider again, it’s not what your art can do for you but what can you do with your art? What truths have been exposed as fraudulent or left to antiquity and what will always remain useful to anyone willing or needing to fight?
Research and reading help you place your questions and concerns. Training whatever and wherever it may be should answer them.
The eternal question: Part 1
The eternal question: part 2
Review: Ultimate Warrior Workouts by Martin Rooney
Sun, Sep 5 2010 10:05
| MMA, karate, kettlebells, martial arts, sambo, boxing, muay thai, keep fit, Wing Tsun Kung fu, martial arts Altrincham, kickboxing, judo
| Permalink
The concept of mixed martial arts (MMA) as a sport and spectacle often rankles with the purists amongst the kung fu and wider martial arts communities in my experience. There is perhaps a distrust and even jealousy in some cases of the guys involved. Dismissed as “meatheads” or barbarians who are destroying the sanctity of arts with their cherry-picking and cross training ways. Ironically most of these guys, particularly in the Wing Tsun community will express a deep love of Bruce Lee – the movie star who built his house on breaking the mould in the field of martial arts training.
The pedigree of Rooney as a trainer of champions is impressive and in this book he relays some great philosophy and musings on the lot of the martial artist. I was worried when I invested in this tome on a whim I might have wasted my money on yet another book that promises a lot and fails to deliver. Luckily those fears were dismissed in the opening few pages.
Rooney wanted to write this book by training with the best in certain fields he identified as crucial to success for the MMA fighter in the octagon today. He identified the arts/styles and relevant instructors and went and trained with them on location. From Brazil for BJJ to Russia for Sambo or Thailand for Muay Thai to Japan for Karate and Judo to locations in USA for Wrestling etc. Offering a small apology to anyone offended by the omission of their style Rooney might be covering himself needlessly. As a WT exponent for years I'd be amazed and amused as to how he can reconcile it with what is clearly a sporting pursuit. While some WT guys bristle at the chiding challenges as to why no one from the art has stepped into the ring with the new boys on the block, it's not really necessary. When they let us go in un-gloved and able to gouge, pull, snap and break you might see WT in full fury and glory – you might also see the collapse of society back into a Roman state of bloodsport and grisly macabre.
I am not a purist. I've enjoyed sparring with other styles and am fully aware I do not represent WT, it represents me. Anything I do wrong or badly is not the fault of the art but my understanding of it. So with that in mind what does this book offer?
Well the answer is a lot of exercises that relate to specific arts and therefore the all round fitness of the MMA exponent or enthusiast. Personally I was bit concerned as each chapter seemed filled with hundreds of press up variations on first skim. This perhaps vindicates me in my notion that weightlifting is only a small part of the martial artist's needs.
Glossy and clearly written there is little here in terms of long essays but some honest and practical advice from a man who is clearly a fan-boy and student of martial arts as opposed to a self-aggrandising master or guru. Rooney comes across as quite likeable in the course of the book, from art to art and country to country. What you build up is a clear picture of the dedication all races and arts bring to the table and how there is more to martial arts than Oriental chaps in pyjamas smashing each other about. All countries have great fighters and ergo great martial arts if you scratch the surface a little.
There is a heavy flavour of 'sports science' pervading the book. A meal planner and massive six month (yes I know, SIX of 'em) workout schedule. Whilst that may seem unwieldy the excellent photography and detail within this book make it more manageable. In fact I am still tempted as I type to embark on the mammoth quest of six months with religious vigour and see how I progress. Added into that there are specific “warrior challenges” to test yourself and a level system in place there is reason to think this book and Rooney's work provides many years of mileage for the hobbyist and pro alike.
Overall I really like it as a book and concept, its weaknesses are the same as any other book trying to relay the split seconds of physical exertion that is combat in still and academic media such as a textbook. It is perhaps biased towards the more well known arts it covers but for Rooney there is little market share for a book on obscure and esoteric fighting arts that while deadly have no place in rules and sport of MMA. For example it would be impossible and fruitless to try and capture the mechanics of Poon Sau that develops soft and reflexive responses to unprovoked attacks. In the scope of MMA you should know and expect an onslaught from the opening bell as it were.
The real strength of this book is the sport and athletic elements that are relevant to everyone. The attitude that technique prevails so common in many non-sporting arts is something that cuts little ice with me. Those that believe simply training ideas without any physical exertion are kidding themselves I'm afraid. While the ravages of time might be compensated for with technique when you are younger and more inexperienced the ability to be resilient and fit in order to fight is crucial as you don't have decades of practice to refine your skills behind you, unless of course, you hope not to use them until you are old. This book will no doubt inspire and guide you to become a “warrior” should you choose to accept the long and arduous path ahead. A great and easy to use manual that will help you up your game.
The pedigree of Rooney as a trainer of champions is impressive and in this book he relays some great philosophy and musings on the lot of the martial artist. I was worried when I invested in this tome on a whim I might have wasted my money on yet another book that promises a lot and fails to deliver. Luckily those fears were dismissed in the opening few pages.
Rooney wanted to write this book by training with the best in certain fields he identified as crucial to success for the MMA fighter in the octagon today. He identified the arts/styles and relevant instructors and went and trained with them on location. From Brazil for BJJ to Russia for Sambo or Thailand for Muay Thai to Japan for Karate and Judo to locations in USA for Wrestling etc. Offering a small apology to anyone offended by the omission of their style Rooney might be covering himself needlessly. As a WT exponent for years I'd be amazed and amused as to how he can reconcile it with what is clearly a sporting pursuit. While some WT guys bristle at the chiding challenges as to why no one from the art has stepped into the ring with the new boys on the block, it's not really necessary. When they let us go in un-gloved and able to gouge, pull, snap and break you might see WT in full fury and glory – you might also see the collapse of society back into a Roman state of bloodsport and grisly macabre.
I am not a purist. I've enjoyed sparring with other styles and am fully aware I do not represent WT, it represents me. Anything I do wrong or badly is not the fault of the art but my understanding of it. So with that in mind what does this book offer?
Well the answer is a lot of exercises that relate to specific arts and therefore the all round fitness of the MMA exponent or enthusiast. Personally I was bit concerned as each chapter seemed filled with hundreds of press up variations on first skim. This perhaps vindicates me in my notion that weightlifting is only a small part of the martial artist's needs.
Glossy and clearly written there is little here in terms of long essays but some honest and practical advice from a man who is clearly a fan-boy and student of martial arts as opposed to a self-aggrandising master or guru. Rooney comes across as quite likeable in the course of the book, from art to art and country to country. What you build up is a clear picture of the dedication all races and arts bring to the table and how there is more to martial arts than Oriental chaps in pyjamas smashing each other about. All countries have great fighters and ergo great martial arts if you scratch the surface a little.
There is a heavy flavour of 'sports science' pervading the book. A meal planner and massive six month (yes I know, SIX of 'em) workout schedule. Whilst that may seem unwieldy the excellent photography and detail within this book make it more manageable. In fact I am still tempted as I type to embark on the mammoth quest of six months with religious vigour and see how I progress. Added into that there are specific “warrior challenges” to test yourself and a level system in place there is reason to think this book and Rooney's work provides many years of mileage for the hobbyist and pro alike.
Overall I really like it as a book and concept, its weaknesses are the same as any other book trying to relay the split seconds of physical exertion that is combat in still and academic media such as a textbook. It is perhaps biased towards the more well known arts it covers but for Rooney there is little market share for a book on obscure and esoteric fighting arts that while deadly have no place in rules and sport of MMA. For example it would be impossible and fruitless to try and capture the mechanics of Poon Sau that develops soft and reflexive responses to unprovoked attacks. In the scope of MMA you should know and expect an onslaught from the opening bell as it were.
The real strength of this book is the sport and athletic elements that are relevant to everyone. The attitude that technique prevails so common in many non-sporting arts is something that cuts little ice with me. Those that believe simply training ideas without any physical exertion are kidding themselves I'm afraid. While the ravages of time might be compensated for with technique when you are younger and more inexperienced the ability to be resilient and fit in order to fight is crucial as you don't have decades of practice to refine your skills behind you, unless of course, you hope not to use them until you are old. This book will no doubt inspire and guide you to become a “warrior” should you choose to accept the long and arduous path ahead. A great and easy to use manual that will help you up your game.