Questioning Martial Arts

My Sifu, Alan Orr often starts his class with the question "Any questions?"

One of the problems with martial arts training can often be the unwillingness to really question anything, it's an easy habit to get into and often only broken by the best students, so start by asking yourself if you want to be amongst that group? One of the best students, the students who go on to become instructors and/or fighters within their system.

It is a constant questioning of what you are doing, what it is that you are being taught, why do this? What happens in this situation and possibly most importantly "Is what I'm doing actually relevant?" that will lead to finding the solutions. It's maybe that those questions take you away from where you are training to seek out new information, maybe new teachers. I have trained under many different instructors, some good, some not. Sometimes years on you realise all you learned from one was that you had to find another but this article is aimed at cutting down that time span and to help lead you to the right path for you.

Why am I doing this?

This to my mind is one of the questions you should be asking yourself and then a secondary question should be what am I doing to achieve my goals??

My belief is that if you wish to do a martial art then you must want to learn the skills to defend yourself effectively against an average adversary maybe one with greater strength or size, maybe to be able to really fight against a skilled and determined opponent or multiple attackers. The self confidence aspect of martial arts to my mind is the knowledge that you really can do those things under pressure. If you simply want a social club and a bit of fitness thrown into the bargain then fair enough maybe this article holds no relevance to those people and I know there is quite a contingent of people out there that go to their respective martial arts club to say they do a martial art but really have no intention of ever really being able to seriously use it. This article is aimed only at those who really want to achieve a good level of skill and the ability to use it under real pressure.

Anyone who trains at a martial arts club will recognise this scenario.......

You know nothing or very little about the martial arts but are eager to learn, you have seen Bruce Lee flicks, the UFC, Jet Li, you want to be like those guys, you are in a training hall with fifteen others most of which obviously know what they are doing. The instructor starts the class and everything feels alien. You learn some moves, the instructor explains and demonstrates them with the help of a willing senior and they all look good. This is probably where most people have stopped thinking....

Its accepted practice in many walks of life that in order to be successful you must have clear and concise goals. In martial arts this is very true. However so few people take control of their path, instead they chose to rely on the guy standing at the front with the black belt or the pretty suit to take them there. If the guy with the black belt isn't of the highest calibre then you probably won't get to where you wish to be. However if you are in control, if you have done your research and have kept informed then you may learn to recognise what you can take from an instructor and also what to leave, sometimes even when to leave! An instructor must have integrity and humility to truly lead his students to a high standard and this is the ability to be transparent to his students as regards his/her own strengths and weaknesses. I admire any instructor who willingly brings in other teachers to fill his own deficiencies and will happily take his better students to study with others with skills to offer they might not have themselves. The best instructors are unafraid of honesty.

To blindly follow someone on the premise that because he or she has done something a long time therefore they must be right, because they call themselves "Master" or "Sensei" or "Sifu" or simply because they have put themselves into the role of an instructor is certainly unwise. Common sense, taking note of real situations, reading, watching will all tell there own stories so don't ignore them.

Listen to your own experiences!!

My first martial art was Tae kwon do which at the time was very much the fashionable martial art. In some ways I was lucky because I landed at a club where the instructor was both honest and also ex military and unlike many in the TKD field had spent some time boxing and was reasonably progressive with his training. However after 2 years I had started reading Bruce Lee's JKD books and in practice started trying out many of the techniques and concepts outlined there. Bruce Lee's investigations led me to go to a local boxing club and voila.... Some of the guys I really couldn't do much with in sparring suddenly became much less trouble. The day I walked past one particular black belts' defences and landed several unanswered punches was the day I decided TKD had lost its appeal. I had my 5th or sixth grade at the time, no black belt. I didn't want one if 8 weeks boxing could wipe out the advantage of years of my opponents experience.

Be prepared to walk!!!

It was about the same time I decided to find a Wing Chun school. Like many people I decided to learn this martial art because it was the basis of Bruce Lee's thinking. One of the truly keenest and revolutionary minds that the martial arts world had ever produced had based many of his beliefs on his first system and that was good enough for me. Unfortunately finding a teacher to match was another matter. I was in a class almost exactly like I outlined in the scenario above aside from the fact I did have some sparring experience and was still boxing on and off.

One year on my feelings towards this school were changing. Most of the students there couldn't handle my sparring ability, they couldn't handle pace or power, couldn't deal with my ability to kick. I stayed for another year although mainly because I'd met a guy very like minded who became my sparring partner and friend. We used the class to train together and often just experimented with our own ideas. Dave emigrated (returning years later to again help with my development) and that was me done with that school. Again the temptation to stay for the next grade, the next 'level' just lost its appeal and again the idea of chasing the black belt held nothing for me there.

This particular school is a great example of a place where the instructor had lost all his humility and although a nice enough guy who did believe in his own ability he was neither skilled nor really honest. He would rarely chi sao and certainly never spar with his students, external training was very strongly discouraged. Everything was in house. There was never a comparison with the outside and students could blindly follow their "master" for many years achieving meaningless grades in a system that was never ever tested.

The year that time forgot......

In 1993 two things happened that shook the martial arts world. The Ultimate Fighting Championships should have re educated the world as to what it takes to win a fight but much of the martial arts world myself included were unaware of it in its early days (although mixed martial arts certainly changed things for me later on) and a series of books by a gentleman by the name of Geoff Thompson, a night club doorman from Coventry. I can't remember whether it was 93 or 94 when I read "Watch my back", and then bought "Real Self Defence" and "The Pavement Arena".

Real Self Defence is to my mind still one of the best books ever written on the subject of self protection in the street and "Pavement Arena" should be sent to every "traditional" martial arts club in the UK and beyond because its honest and frank discussion of what it takes for a martial art to be effective for real is still very relevant. The information in these two books certainly reinforced some views I held and gave me impetus to explore other aspects of my training. I recognised the truth of what the man said and acted upon it. I still find it amazing how the so many in the martial arts world still manage to ignore all the information available to them, if you wish to own a black belt that's worth more than the 5 quid you paid for it then don't be one of them.

"You too can learn the ways of the force"

I had ditched one martial art took up another and had sampled several others including traditional Ju Jitsu, Freestyle Karate and Kickboxing. Whenever I got sick with Wing Chun I went back to the boxing gym, often doing the two in tandem. My heart was with the kung fu style but often my head with the honest sweat of the gym. Looking back I have often thought that had I put the effort into my boxing over the years that I had my Wing Chun then I would be a better fighter today but as its turned out I now don't think that's true but not because I finally exited the temple doors a shaolin warrior monk with secret kung fu skills only revealed to me after years of training, nor did I face Darth Vader again to finally become a true Jedi.

Like many others I continued to believe that if I just got that bit better in Wing Chun everything would fall into place and I would be the untouchable "Bruce Lee" type I'd seen in his films. I think many martial artists fall into this trap. The truth was I knew my Wing Chun training lacked something, I could see its potential, I knew it had something special, something I hadn't seen anywhere else but couldn't grasp what it was.

So, I followed my Wing Chun instructor and continued to supplement my training now in the new realms of mixed martial arts. I learned some Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (A martial art with true depth that has become a second love), Wrestling, takedown defence and indeed takedowns. My new training and sparring partners often derided my Wing Chun training with "prove it, get in the ring, do it!!" In fairness they did give my hands some respect but would often put that down to my boxing and encouraged me to use my long reach and not play the 'Wing Chun' game.

I'll finish this little story with a happy ending but bare with me for the moment and I'll return to the key points of what this article is about.

When learning something new the worst thing to lose is time and many people in martial arts spend many years developing something that simply isn't really relevant in the belief that if they just get better at it then they'll see that thing, learn the ways of the force???? It'll all click??

It's also a total and utter lie

César Córdoba vs. Chaowaritt

FIGHT!!

An Overall View of Muay Thai

Muay is also known as Thai boxing and this is also one of the oldest forms of martial art that is very much effective in self defense. The art form is believed to be created and tested in various battle fields in ancient Thailand. Presently this form of Thai art is practiced by a number of people around the globe. This form of martial art is also used by CIA, US Military personals and Navy Seals. Unlike any other form of martial art, Thai students get grading on the basis of their skills. In most cases its training is offered to earn belt when practicing inside the ring. There are a number of students who are more interested in championship belts as it reflects their dominance in this field.

The skills that are used in this martial art is best for developing striking techniques. When practicing this art form, you concentrate very little in the art of grappling and concentrate more on the techniques of bone shattering, punches and side kicks. If you are very well in making use of this technique, you can develop your skills to take your opponent just with one single blow. In most cases the opponent has to loose his bone and in few cases they are also killed with a single elbow blow or kick.

As this art form was developed in ancient battlefield so a lot of ground grappling techniques are used. With muay technique you can easily overcome multiple attackers. With this form of martial art, you also learn various skills to use swords to overcome your opponents. Apart from swords, players can also make use of other weapons like sticks, spears and strikes. This art form also makes use of techniques that are very fast and precise. This is also one of the reasons why most people like learning this ancient art form. Even if students make use of grappling and submission techniques, still there are a number of students who like Muay Thai just because it is performed within the ring. Presently most strikers also try combining this art form with boxing techniques to make it more effective.

As compared to any other form of martial art, muay thai training is very much different. When practicing, students are thought to make best use of their knees and elbows to strike the opponents. These are techniques that are generally used by a number of boxers around the globe. So when practicing you may have to make best use of kneeing and kicking techniques. So if you need to be expert with this technique, you have to try and overcome your pain. After you have finished years of training you can always develop your skills as a type of deadly weapon. If you are a trained Muay Thai fighter, then you can always create a deadly impact on your opponents.

Breathing Training For Martial Artists

One of the most important aspects of martial arts training is proper breathing. However, for practitioners of hard styles, effective breathing methods are often left to the students to figure out on their own. The central principle of breathing is of internal cleansing, getting rid of that which is old, worn out, and stale, and exchanging it for what is new, fresh, and energized. During inhalation we are bringing in fresh oxygen, nutrients, and vital energy. During exhalation we are expelling carbon dioxide and other toxins and poisons that we produce or collect in our daily lives.

There are a large number of breathing exercises. Some are simple and easy while others require years of practice. I will discuss the five I believe to be the most effective for the martial artists who are beginning to explore the potential of proper breathing. First, we will describe the two methods which are best suited for becoming aware of the body: Attention Breathing and Abdominal Breathing. We will then go on to the more advanced exercises of Reverse Abdominal Breathing and Nose Panting. Finally we will introduce The Complete Breath which is more challenging and requires increased concentration and practice.

In practicing these breathing exercises it is important to concentrate on breathing through the nose, both during inhalation and exhalation. Of course when training in the martial arts, breathing strictly through the nose is unrealistic. In fact it is physically impossible since the body's demand for oxygen increases too fast for the nose to handle the flow. However, while doing these specific exercises it is important. Think of it as a closed circuit within the body, breathing in through the nose and out through the nose. If you open your mouth, you break the circuit and the energy dissipates.

Attention Breathing

It is important to realize that people breathe differently. Children tend to breathe with their abdomen, while middle-aged people breathe with their stomachs, and older people often breathe mainly with their upper chests. But the way people breathe is also affected by other factors, emotions, for instance, or ill health. Someone who is excited will breathe faster and shallower than someone who is sad. Someone who is calm will breathe slowly and deeply. Someone out of shape may be panting after a short walk or climbing some stairs.

Attention breathing, as its name implies, is about focusing your awareness on the natural rhythm of your breath, not to control it but simply to observe it as a bodily function. Your awareness is the instrument which enables you to shift from unconscious breathing to conscious, or dynamic, breathing. This shift is accomplished by concentrating on the feeling of the body as it breathes. Feel the air as it enters your nostrils. Follow it as it flows into the lungs and notice how deeply it reaches into them. Maintain your full attention and follow it back up as you exhale. Feel the used air as it is expelled from the body.

Gradually, as you become aware of the feeling of the breath it should become smoother and more relaxed. But don't try to change your breathing during Attention Breathing. Your aim is to observe your unconscious breathing habits so you will be able to feel the difference when you actually begin dynamic breathing. If you find your mind wandering, simply catch yourself and return to the breath. Try to perform Attention Breathing for five minutes each day at the same time of day, perhaps in the morning when you wake up or at night when you are about to go to bed. As you become used to it, see if you can focus on your breath at other times throughout the day. Eventually the awareness of the breath and your breathing should become an integral part of your life.
Abdominal Breathing

Once you become aware of your breathing, it is time to begin modifying your breathing habits. Abdominal breathing is by far the best breathing method for people beginning to study breathing exercises. Regular practice brings quick, tangible results. It is easy to learn and difficult to do incorrectly. In addition, Abdominal Breathing has the benefit of invigorating the abdominal muscles. Their constant movement massages the internal organs and increases blood circulation.

The basic idea is simple: fill the lungs from the bottom up. Abdominal Breathing is about filling the lungs completely. Most people breathe using only their chests or the top half of their lungs. Abdominal Breathing seeks to expand lung capacity by starting from the lowest part of the lungs. The focus, therefore, is on the abdomen, an area roughly three finger widths below the navel. Known as the hypogastrium in Western medical terminology, this area is called the dan tien in Chinese and hara in Japanese. This point is the focal point of Abdominal Breathing.

Start in whichever stance or posture you feel most comfortable. Inhale through the nose. Expand the abdomen gradually by lightly pushing out and down as the oxygen fills the lower lung cavity. Focus the mind on expanding the abdominal area. Don't be overanxious and forcefully protrude the abdominal wall. Instead, try to achieve a gentle and smooth expansion in time with the inhalation. When the abdomen is full, exhale through the nose and pull the abdomen gently back into the body, compressing the lungs from the bottom. With each inhalation the abdomen expands, with each exhalation the abdomen contracts. It is important to remember that you should not expand or contract your chest; instead, feel as if you are drawing the air deep into the lower part of your body. Repeat for ten cycles of inhalation and exhalation, filling to maximum capacity and emptying completely with each breath.

Reverse Abdominal Breathing

Reverse Abdominal Breathing is more difficult than Abdominal Breathing simply because it reverses the natural flow of the breath. Reverse Abdominal Breathing is a breathing method best suited for those who study the martial arts since it concentrates focus on the hara during exhalation. Regular practice strengthens the abdominal muscles and makes breathing naturally strong. Try blowing up a balloon while keeping one hand on your abdomen. As you blow out, your abdomen naturally expands instead of contracting. The same is true if you are trying to push a car that has run out of gas. In order to express the power you are putting into the act, you exhale while pushing out. Reverse Abdominal Breathing is a breathing method which tends to infuse the breather with power.

Again, start in whichever stance or posture you feel most comfortable. Inhale through the nose. Slowly draw the abdomen in and up. The upper chest will naturally expand as oxygen fills your lungs. As you inhale, contract the muscles of your perineum. The perineum is the area between the anus and the lower edge of the pubis at the front of the pelvis. The central point of the perineum is called the huiyin in Chinese and is the focal point for Reverse Abdominal Breathing. By contracting and pulling up the huiyin you are able to concentrate on the abdominal area. Again, don't be overanxious and forcefully squeeze the abdomen. Instead, focus on keeping a smooth and relaxed motion. When the lungs are full, exhale through the nose, release the huiyin, and push the abdomen out and down. Repeat for ten cycles of inhalation and exhalation, filling the lungs to maximum capacity and emptying them out completely with each breath.
Nose Panting

Breathing through the nose is of the utmost importance when practicing breathing exercises. The nose has a number of defense mechanisms that prevent impurities and extremely cold air from entering the body. First, a screen of nose hairs traps dust and other particles that could injure the lungs if we breathe through the mouth. Next, there is a long passage lined with mucus membranes, where excessively cool air is warmed and very fine dust particles that escaped the hair screen are caught. Finally, in the inner nose are glands which fight off any bacteria that may have slipped through the other defenses. The inner nose also contains the olfactory organ that gives us our sense of smell, which can detect poisonous fumes that could damage our health if we were to breathe them.

The Nose Pant is a great exercise for charging yourself up with energy if you feel sleepy or for releasing stress any time during the day. Imagine that you are blowing a piece of dust out of your nose by sharply puffing out through the nostrils. This is immediately followed by an equally sharp intake of air through the nose. This in-and-out ventilation should be repeated in rapid succession ten times. As you become comfortable with the exercise, increase the number of repetitions. When beginning, just concentrate on the nose and upper chest when breathing, but as you progress try to focus on the abdomen. Abdominal Nose Panting consists of contracting the abdomen as you puff out. Reverse Abdominal Nose Panting expands the abdomen on the puff out. After completing a session of Nose Panting, always follow with a couple of deep slow breaths to calm the body down.

The Complete Breath

The Complete Breath is a dynamic breathing exercise that is both simple and complex. Regular practice expands lung capacity, which, in turn, slows down unconscious breathing and makes it smoother and more regular. In addition, The Complete Breath maximizes oxygen intake and enables oxygen-rich blood to flow to the extremities. It also cleans and invigorates the lungs.

In the beginning it is best if The Complete Breath is practiced from a lying-down posture so maximum concentration can be placed on the exercise itself, which consists of four separate aspects: inhalation, retention, exhalation, and suspension.
Inhalation

Inhale through the nose. Expand the lower abdomen, pushing out and down, just as if you were starting Abdominal Breathing. Once the abdomen is full, continue inhaling and expand the chest, filling the upper lungs. Raise the collarbone and shoulders as you continue inhaling. Fill the throat and the nose. Stop.
Retention

Hold the breath in. Bring your attention to the fullness of the body. Feel the expansion circulating the oxygen-rich blood throughout the body. Continue to hold the breath in for a count of ten.
Exhalation

Exhale through the nose. Contract the lower abdomen pushing in and up. Continue to exhale by squeezing the air from the lungs and chest. Lower the collarbone and shoulders. Blow the air from your throat and nose. Empty it all out. Stop.
Suspension

Hold the breath out. Bring your attention to the emptiness of the body. Feel your body like an empty balloon waiting to be filled. Continue to suspend breathing for a count of ten.

Repeat

On the next inhalation don't gasp for air. Calmly and smoothly inhale just as before. Feel the air reaching far beyond your abdomen, filling every corner of your body like an expanding balloon. Notice the sensation of your body as the new oxygen is brought in.
Do the complete set five or ten times each day.

The purpose of breathing exercises is to enable you to bring awareness to your breathing. When you are aware of your breathing you can use it to maximum effectiveness. The change from unconscious to conscious breathing is accomplished by thinking about your breathing and becoming aware of your own body. Most of our behavior is unconscious. We walk around in our bodies, rarely noticing how they feel unless there is pain. Seldom do we consciously think of the body as feeling good. Feeling good shouldn't be an absence of pain. It should be an invigorated, energetic state where you are comfortable and happy in your body. Becoming aware of your breath is a way to reach that feeling. Expanding your breathing ability is a way of extending that feeling.

Try to become more aware of your breathing during training and at other times. Take deeper breaths. Do regular Abdominal Breathing. If you feel yourself getting tense or angry, do some Attention Breathing and notice how your feelings change. If you are bored or sleepy, do some Nose Panting to reenergize yourself. No matter what you are doing, breathe. Make conscious dynamic breathing a regular part of your life and you will find it naturally benefits your martial arts training.

Storm Riders part 3

One of my favorite action martial arts films. DISCLAIMER- i dont own storm riders i just think it kicks ass. If you are a fan of naruto you love this. live action ninjas kickin ass (more)

Joe Rogan VS Crazy Lady

Joe Rogan argues with a crazy lady on the radio.

What Martial Art Is Best For The Police

Occasionally I like to surf the web and usually I always find a similar question posted on Internet forums and question and answers sites. "What is the most practical martial art to learn for joining the police?"

Well firstly, to answer this, I suppose you have to look at the work of a police officer. If a person is resisting arrest, an officer wants to control the situation by controlling the offender as quickly as possible. Unless the officers lives are in great danger, they don't want to be choking out there opponents, pulling them into a guard position or trying to break there ankles and knees with heel hooks, so styles that are based on this type of fighting are not so important to learn. Also, with most of the equipment that officers carry on them, (guns, batons, radios, tear gas) which are usually strapped to there belts, it would be very hard to perform head high kicks or even bobbing and weaving type defences so that rules out some stand up styles.

If a person is resisting arrest, then as mentioned above, he/she must be controlled as fast as possible, so techniques that involve restraining and control must be learnt. If an officer is trying to control someone while standing and is failing, then the chances are that both the officer and the offender shall at some time fall to the floor. In this case knowing throws and takedowns, but so as not to really hurt someone may be needed in an officers repertoire of techniques, and also knowledge of how to pin someone and control on the floor may be needed. If the officer has another officer with him/her, than they can both control and "cuff" the offender quite easily from here.

Learning how to deal with multiple attackers, may be something needed by police officers. As most offenders usually stick in gangs then knowing how to deal with two or more people may be advantageous for police officers.

By looking at the above (which is just my own rough outline of police requirements) it is clear that officers would benefit from arts like Judo, Ju Jitsu, BJJ or Karate (for self defence not sport) as the close quarter combat control principles that are needed are present in these arts. But as with anything, there is never a guarantee that things will always work out, but knowing the techniques in these arts should allow you more of a chance than not knowing the techniques.