Four Focuses of the Martial Arts
by Marc MacYoung
This article is from the July 1999 issue of Black Belt magazine.
Four Focuses of the Martial Arts: How to Choose the One That's Right for You
Whenever you see your favorite martial arts star on the silver screen,
you can bet that the role he or she is playing was based on the life of a person
who does that sort of work for real. Those
are the people I teach.
I’ve never taught a hypothetical fighting art or sport. My students face real knives, bullets, blood and criminals.
They have no director to say, “Cut, do it again and make it look
better,” and no referee to shout, “Break!”
Everything has to work the first time, and nobody cares how it looks.
You won’t hear them talk about tournaments or say, “If I ever had to
use this, I would. . . ”
What you do hear them day are things like, “The next thing I knew, this
crackhead was coming at me with a knife.”
When it’s your job to clash with the scum de la scum, the stories are
real, and so is the danger. Recently,
though, I walked into a local dojang (training hall). Instead of being surrounded by the grim-faced professionals I
usually deal with, I was surrounded by laughing children and pleasant, friendly
adults. While the kids practiced
their forms, I chatted with parents about how taekwondo had helped their
sons and daughters improve at school and home.
There was a true family atmosphere at the school.
Those children will probably never need to use their martial arts skills
to restrain a drug-crazed maniac or neutralize an enemy soldier. In fact, odds are that most of them won’t ever step onto
the mat for a full-contact tournament. Most
will compete in forms or point sparring – if they compete at all.
What I teach and what those children are learning are worlds apart.
The question is “What is the true martial art?”
Actually, that question is meaningless.
While both can be called martial arts, their different focuses take them
in divergent directions. Each
direction is not only valid, but important and useful for what it is. But there are several other directions that the martial arts
can take students. And those
different focuses are what you need to consider most when looking for the right
school.
In the western world, the martial arts can be broken down into four
distinct categories or focuses. Unless
you know which focus you are looking for, the odds are that you will end up
being disappointed and frustrated with your selection.
Of all the focuses, this is the most limited.
It serves only one purpose: the application of force to resolve a violent
situation. It is not a sport – no
matter how intense the match is or how few rules it has.
It is martial, but not art. With
this focus, you go into every engagement knowing that if something goes wrong,
you can end up in the hospital or the morgue.
It is for high-risk situations that must be resolved immediately.
This is not training based on “what if something happens”; it is for
“when something happens.”
Training can range from a weekend combat course for the public to
intensive takedown-and-control tactics for police and orderlies in mental
hospitals to military close-quarters combat techniques.
The training focuses on neutralizing armed and unarmed opponents.
The techniques are simple, effective and often brutal.
You don’t have to spend five years learning them; most can be taught in
less than three months, if not during an intensive weekend.
How much you practice them on your own depends on how much you like
breathing. There are no belts,
ranks, awards, titles, styles or traditions.
You learn the techniques and you go back to work.
Then if you have to, you use them.
Because violence is usually extremely taxing, the better classes also
deal extensively with the psychological issues that arise from using force to
defend yourself. In a civilian
context, the issues of legalities and “reasonable force” need to be added
– unless you are interested in spending the next 10 years in prison or wasting
all your money in drawn-out civil lawsuits.
The violence is real, and so are the long-term repercussions.
This is the flower of the Westernized martial arts.
It also is what most commercial schools teach. The best-known benefits of the martial arts are found in this
focus: self-confidence, exercise, courtesy, mental conditioning and control.
Many people find this focus also offers pleasant social connections and
community involvement. The people
at a martial arts school often serve as an extended and supportive family.
Under this focus, troubled children bloom.
Many kids who otherwise would have turned into juvenile delinquents have
used the discipline and control they learn in the martial arts to free
themselves from life on the streets. Even
marginal kids can benefit: Their grades improve and unacceptable behavior
subsides as they delve further and further into an art.
Training also has positive, proven benefits for children and adults with
attention deficit disorder. It is a
great way to learn balance, coordination, physical awareness and control, which
are important developmental steps for children.
Even adults who are self-proclaimed “klutzes” can benefit.
Just as important is that there are defined levels of accomplishment and
goal-setting. This focus does not
merely build self-esteem; it also creates self-respect.
It amounts to much more than just feeling good about yourself; it is
being able to stand tall because you have accomplished something few people will
ever achieve. When that belt is tied around your waist, it shows the world
you have succeeded in a major undertaking, and no one can ever take that away
from you.
These are the arts that help develop inner peace and harmony. They are often called soft styles and are likened to poetry
in motion. If the martial arts can
be called an ocean, these arts represent the depths. Like the ocean depths, they have powerful currents and untold
mysteries to be discovered. Interest
in this focus usually begins later in life when, after sailing the wide seas of
the martial arts, we begin to look inward and plumb the depths of ourselves and
our art.
Their benefit to your body should not be underestimated. When you watch a group of people in the park, the youngest of
whom is in her 40s, moving with more grace and flexibility than most
20-year-olds, even the most skeptical person must admit that these arts have
something to do with it. Many
practitioners remain spry and limber well into their 80s.
While practicing the spiritual/health arts can be a lifelong process, you
don’t have to make a five-year financial commitment to a school – although
you probably will want to have an ongoing connection to a teacher or group of
practitioners. As you discover new
depths in your art, you will want to share and discuss what you learn.
Master of these arts doesn’t imply the ability to beat people up, but
it does imply a long healthy and harmonious life.
Tournament fighting is a demanding and challenging sport that requires
great dedication and intensive practice. There
are entire styles designed for competition, and like the more traditional arts,
they take years of practice to master. They
also require that you remain in excellent physical shape with regular trips to
the gym.
Fortunately, this focus is a sport you can participate in no matter your
level. Whether at an inter-school
or an international competition, accommodations for fighting style, height, age
and experience can be made. Such
competitions can also be a family event: If parents and siblings do not wish to
participate, they can attend tournaments to cheer on their loved one(s).
This focus teaches sportsmanship, concentration, self-control and
comradeship. It’s not about
hitting people or showing how tough you are; it’s about dedication and hard
work. If you want to be a champion, you have to act like one and
work for it. That means learning
how to accomplish your goals and work with others.
Even though you step into the ring by yourself, the road to the ring
requires a team effort. No champion
is a lone wolf.
Each focus of the martial arts has a very different goal – and
different attitudes, training procedures, rules of engagement, standards of
conduct and levels of discipline. As
in life, where we end up in the martial arts depends on which road we take.
Although each focus is real and valid, it may not emphasize what you want
– or need – to learn. Because
of these differences, finding the self-defense or martial arts training that is
right for you can be a confusing, misleading and frustrating experience. Not only are there many different styles, but there are
hundreds of schools and teachers, each claiming to be able to teach you what you
are looking for.
It is helpful to think of a focus of the martial arts as a tool designed
for a particular job. Just as you
should not use a glass cutter as a hammer, you should not try and learn how to
take out a sentry by studying tai chi chuan.
Although there is a certain degree of crossover, a focus designed for one
purpose may not work for another. And
until you know about this diversification, everything can look the same and you
can easily fall prey to a fast-talking instructor who tells you his focus really
is just what you need.
Diversification also applies to an instructor’s qualifications. Unfortunately, skill in one focus does not automatically
bestow expertise in another. While
an instructor may be eminently qualified to teach tournament fighting, he or she
may not be qualified to teach military-style close-quarters combat – much in
the same way a plumber is not qualified to do electrical work.
It is nearly impossible for one person to master all four focuses, for
each focus is an ocean in and of itself. Mastering
even one can take decades. A
teacher who claims to have mastered them all is lying not only to you, but to
himself as well.
The four focuses of the martial arts can have a profound effect on what
you learn and can determine whether or not you stay at a particular school.
Many people enroll in a school to learn a particular focus.
They leave feeling frustrated and betrayed because they are being taught
another. If you walk into a school
where the focus is different from what you want to learn, you’re in the wrong
place. It may be a great school,
but it’s not the right one for you.
You must decide which focus you want to learn and find the right school. Now that you know the difference between the focuses, you can more easily find a school or course that fits your needs. If the school doesn’t teach what you want to learn, move on. It’s your right to invest your time and money as you want, not as the instructor wants.
Read the side bar: How to Tell If a School Is Right for You by Marc MacYoung
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