MARTIAL ARTS:

Attrition vs. Development Model

– Written by Dennis Nackord, 10th degree Black Belt,

World Champion – Senior Member of the Joe Lewis

Undefeated National Fighting Team

IS MMA A MARTIAL ART?

Human beings often act like animals when involved in an uncontrolled fight situation. Acting like an animal is the last behavior a skilled martial artist desires.

The marketing of MMA (mixed martial arts) has resulted in some people thinking that MMA represents an evolution of the martial arts today. MMA can provide exciting entertainment and is very popular with certain groups of people. This is all good. However, the reality is that MMA is not a martial art at all, but a martial sport. It is not an evolution but a specialized offshoot. As a matter of fact, MMA often displays the exact opposite behavior as the true essence of martial arts.

There are three things that define the essence of martial arts. The first is effective fighting skills. The second is maintaining a healthy body and the last is the development of a calm and centered mind.

A real martial artist knows that if one grounds and pounds on someone else’s head that it will result in trauma to that person but also result in trauma to oneself. Thus, the culmination of training is to avoid trauma if possible and to act with dignity and empathy.

So, although MMA is popular and entertaining to some, it does not meet the definition of true martial arts but is a martial sport that takes place in a cage.

KARATE FOR ADULTS

Adults are often confused about martial arts simply because of misinformation or no information at all. They certainly don’t want to train with children nor try something they think they cannot do physically. Moreover, there are so many styles/systems of martial arts that the volume alone is overwhelming.

WHAT’S AN ADULT TO DO?

My suggestion is look for a school that follows the three elements which are at the core of martial arts and run as a common thread through all excellent styles/systems. A school must teach effective martial skills and attitudes, have expertise to keep the body healthy and finally, mentor a philosophy which encourages a calm mind. The school should already have an adult student body with mature instructors. And finally, in this day and age the system should adapt to the student and not try to force the student to adapt to the system. In this way, the student can be the best he or she can be.

If you join a school that meets these prerequisites you will be very happy with your results.

OFFENSE VS. DEFENSE

“Which is better – offense or defense? “The best defense is a good offense” is something we have all heard many times. This might be true against a person who isn’t trained in martial arts or boxing, but it is a foolish statements otherwise. The best offense is a good offense, and the best defense is a good defense.

Many world class fighters I have known believe a good defensive fighter has a slight advantage since every time an offense is initiated an opening is created. A good defensive fighter will take advantage of that. Furthermore, the person attacking usually moves into the opponent increasing the impact of the defender’s strike. As an example, we’ve all seen a boxer step into a punch and instantly get knocked out.

Finally, a person who trains regularly can have pretty good offensive skill is about a year or two. It takes many years to build a good defense. It’s the same in all sports—a good defense keeps you in the game long enough to execute your offense effectively.

STYLE VS SYSTEM

“What style of martial arts do you teach” is a question I have been asked hundreds of times during the last 6 decades. People are asking the wrong question but only because they don’t know what to ask. I teach a system not a style.

Each style of martial arts expresses itself in its own way based on its goal. Some styles teach close contact movements as in Judo, Wresting or Ju Jitsu. A midrange style deals with grabs, pushes and close striking. Long range styles use more kicks and long strikes.

Most good styles do a little from each distance but specialize in one.

The common thread of all good styles is the correct execution of the six elements of performance. i.e. speed, power, accuracy, timing, attitude and conditioning. Teaching how to keep the body healthy and the mind centered should also be a big part of a good style.

Most styles today are eclectic, which means they take parts from different styles and turn these parts into a system. A good system is based on sound principles. The added element now needs to be an understanding of transitions between the different distances.

This can be difficult for an inexperienced instructor who does not know much about principles.

If you can find an experienced instructor who teaches a fundamentally sound system you are in luck. There are some good ones out there.