Do it right

Its Wednesday, April 11, 2012, I'm tired and this The Side.  Nothing clever to open up with.  My buddy broke his arm at work yesterday, so I'm off and running to try to help out as best I can.

TEACHIN'S!!!

There was a really unfortunate incident last week.  Two guys were wrestling.  Neither of them had any real training.  The younger guy lucked into a rear naked choke.  The older didn't know how to react and was put under.  The younger didn't know what had happened and continued applying the hold.  His cousin never woke up.


Here's a quick word from two guys who know a lot about a rear naked choke.





What's important here applies to all martial arts.  Just because you see something that looks cool on TV or in a movie doesn't mean you should try it at home.  I cringe at footage of some of these dumb kids would watch WWE and go out in their backyards or go into their basements and decide to have their own rasslin' match.  Somebody goes getting hurt.  Sometimes there's even some pissed off parent who wants to blame WWE or the UFC or whatever because their kids did something ignorant or stupid.


This is coming form a guy who grew up doing stupid stuff like this.  I didn't emulate pro-wrestling, even though i did love watching it, but I had a steady stream of martial arts entertainment coming my way.  If there was a martial arts movie coming out, my Dad was more than happy to take me and my brother.  Unlike many families, there was a key difference between my brother and I, and the two cousins involved in the tragic incident the video talks about.


My brother and I had training.


Even better, that training came from my father, and experienced instructor, who was the one taking us to these movies or watching these TV shows with us.  He gave us a full appreciation for how dangerous those stunts were.  We knew how much a martial arts technique could hurt somebody.  I've been hit plenty of times during my training, and it hurts plenty even with the punches pulled.  Getting hit full steam is something I take very seriously whether I'm on the giving or receiving end.


Mixed martial Arts is one of the most popular sports right now.  Professional wrestling continues to be very popular as well.  These are both great, but if you're a fan of these thing, you need to really appreciate what those people in the ring do.  They train hard.  They know the risks.  They know their bodies.  They know what these techniques can do.  They know what it feels like to have a submission hold put on them.  Very important, they know when to tap out.  More important than that, they know when that other guy taps to let the hell go.


Safety is important, and part of that is getting the proper training from someone who knows what's up.  Sure there are the McDojos out there just looking to make a buck, but there's plenty of other schools and clubs that can give you a really good idea of the realities of hand-to-hand combat both for sport and protection.  If its worth doing, then its worth doing right.  Get the training.  At the very least go online and hunt down some resources detailing what these techniques do.  Better to be safe than be a news blurb.

MUSIC!!!

Been listening to a lot of Midnight Oil lately, so now you will listen to Midnight Oil.

The four different types of martial arts

As the title says, there's four different types of martial arts. This has nothing to do with styles and a bit to do with actual technique. What this is concerning is intent.

Show

These are martial arts done solely for the sake of performance. You can find them in movies and in some martial arts demos. The techniques are empty and it's more of a dance. Yes, it does take sufficient physicality to execute. This has become quite popular with the advent of XMA and "Tricking". The goal is to look impressive.

Competition

These are done purely for the sake of competition. The goal is to win, be it trophies at tournaments or belts in the ring. Training revolves around doing what it takes to impress judges and earn points.

Transcendental

This is focused on the betterment of self through martial arts. Personal growth is the goal. The results desired are physical, mental and spiritual. Rigorous training is often accompanied by meditation.

Fight

The goal is self preservation. This is training for dealing with real life situations. Techniques are explored for their potential in use in real combat situations.

Now, many schools offer a combination of these four in their training regimes. Some do specialize. Really it's up to the individual. Two people can be studying the same art from the same instructor and be doing two different types of martial arts.

So the question is: where is your head and heart in relation to your fist and foot?

"JC Penny, $5.95"

I'm hoping to get there one of these years. It may sound weird that a person who is a black belt is trying to get a white belt, but I'm going about it the long way. Like quite a few Karate men I have a satin belt which wears away. The black doesn't stay very well and the belt gets worn out becoming white again. Shogo Kuniba had a belt and there were only a few spots of black left on there. I want a belt like that.

I'm a member of the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai, and my last Karate test was through them. I wore a white belt to that test even though it was for certification to 5th dan (degree of black black belt). You wore your white belt to those events until your rank was certified. There's a new rule now that you wear your white belt to events.

Here's what I like about this. It's not what rank you are, it's what you bring to the table that's important. That is not to say that rank is not important. Those of a higher rank than oneself are the one's that walked the path before you and therefore have wisdom and insight, so they should be respected. So, if those of a higher rank are to be respected and everyone is wearing a white belt, then who should I be bowing to? Everyone.

Besides, I'm a Karate man. We only started wearing different color belts when Funakoshi started teaching the Japanese karate in the 1930s and they used a belt system for Judo. They asked him "What belt are you?" He asked what was the highest belt which was at the time 5th degree black belt. His answer, "I'm a fifth degree black belt."

I've half a mind to make all my students wear white belts all the time, but the kids wouldn't go for it. They look at me wild-eyed when I tell them about wearing white belts to the events I mentioned. Then a few of them get it: it's not the belt that's important.