Apply Every Technique

"You can only fight the way you practice"

-Miyamoto Musashi

 

"Nothing is more harmful to the world than a martial arts that is not effective in actual self-defense."

-Choki Motubo

 

 

 

Very often have I seen a martial style taught, such as the stances, and then quite often not seen them used while practicing sparring.

It is my belief that many can fight, but the point of fighting in martial arts is to fight in a way that represents the art itself. I have asked about this, only to find time and again the reply of a sort, 'oh we practice it, but do not use it while sparring.' and this has always seen somewhat wrong.

Why practice it if it is not to be used? I understand preserving the history and actual essence of a martial style from one generation of practitioners to the next, but if one is learning techniques and not learning what they are for, and then not using them at all to hone our ability in combat, I feel is wrong.

One of my favorite experiences with a martial arts school was one where they literally took every technique and taught its' application. And if it was not taught to them they experimented until they found a situation and application which would reliably work. And they did this for everything; a lot of people do not consider the ready stance, known as 'chumbi' in Korean and Tae Kwon Do a stance but I do. They took it a step farther, teaching how it, and every move in their respective system of Chung Do Kwan and Okinawa-te to be used both offensively and defensively. They taught how the technique could be used for both defense and offense, something I had honestly never even considered.

That's something a lot of people do not do even though they train. Very often we take what we learn and hone it, but rarely expand. And that is what separates martial artists from martial masters; the latter whom give back and expand their arts. There comes a time where we no longer only take when we train, but give as well.

To do this one must experiment. That's what training is for; finding what works for us, and with what doesn't, and if we can finding a way to make it work so we don't have that trial and error when our lives may depend on it.

One technique I came up with large amounts of experiments was how to throw a tanto from its sheath and accurately hit a target. You use the thumb to push it out with a lot of force, and torque your wrist toward the opposite shoulder, which gives it a spin so that when it is ejected it will turn and fly out point first.

I would never have come up with that if I had not experimented. And sometimes it can take hours and hours of practice. And it helps that it's fun. And it may be true I may never actually use this technique practically; but the point is the same, it would not exist without me exploring the arts.

And even if you come up with a thousand techniques and 999 are useless, at least one may prove an invaluable addition to your martial style, and may even save a life down the road.

And that thought makes the whole process more worthwhile in my eyes.

 

"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great"

-Zig Zagler

 

"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do."

-Bruce Lee