I haven’t written a post in a couple of weeks now, and I thought I should get off my ass and do something about. By virtue of this, I wanted to touch on something that I saw over the weekend as I was watching something on a streaming service that relates to the martial arts. As I’ve written in the past, much of what we see in shows and movies are exaggerated or unrealistic, which makes sense, right? I mean, it’s a show! It’s meant to entertain, not be realistic. But there are some things that are quasi-factual, even in fictional environments. Whilst some shows that feature karate may be unrealistic with their approach in how many times someone can get kicked or struck and keep on fighting, a lot of the training and methodology can be somewhat realistic. But in the real world, there are styles and training methods that are a bit over the top and seem unrealistic and useless in a fight. And that’s where some of the confusion comes in.
One good example of this is Tae Kwon Do. For those of you who may not know, Tae Kwon Do is a Korean style of empty hand fighting that focuses on the use of the feet as its primary attack method. Known for its flowery, complicated kicks, you’ll often see demonstration of practitioners who are kicking and breaking boards that are held quite high above the average adult’s head. Developed about 80 years ago, Tae Kwon Do was created using basics from karate and Chinese martial arts, although like every other style, there are likely those who practice it that would have slightly different origins for it. In looking at Tae Kwon Do, one needs to ask oneself, what is the value or the purpose of flying through the air and kicking a board that’s ten feet up from the ground? Any traditional martial artist would likely agree that t3here would be little or no application for this technique in an actual fight, right? And just remember that we’re not discussing athletic prowess here; we’re strictly discussing practicality of the technique.
This is only one example of this phenomenon. Another good one would be Brazilian Capoeira, which blends a combination of dance, acrobatics and kicking techniques. While it looks impressive on its face, the waste of time and energy in the constant movement tends to boggle my mind. This obviously makes sense when one considers that I’ve spent the majority of my life studying a small circle style of karate that focuses on direct strikes and conservation of movement. I’ve been trained to understand that if the opponent is not within reach of my foot or fist, there’s little point in striking or attempting to. There are instances where I’ll cross small distances but certainly nothing extreme like other styles. Shotokan, for example, will almost cross half the dojo in executing a technique. All of this made me extremely judgmental when I was younger, where a loyalty to my style mixed with youthful ignorance caused me to judge these styles as opposed to studying and understanding them to get clarity. Luckily, that veil lifted years ago and I understand the concept and origins of these other styles much better now, and can accept them in the form that they are studied. While I may not favor Tae Kwon Do as a self-defense style, I’ve fought against some practitioners and I sure wouldn’t want to fight one in the street.
The point to this post, and it won’t necessarily be a long one, is that different styles will have different methods of training and for different reasons. Depending on what you’re trying to accomplish, different styles will get you there in different ways. For myself, my focus has always been defending myself and others, maintain my health and fitness AND helping to control my blood sugars and Diabetes. Effectively in that order. I don’t need to spin through the air or have both my feet leave the ground in order to do that. One also needs to recognize the inherent risk that comes with training and practicing this way. When you spin kick in such a way that both feet leave the ground, you leave yourself extremely vulnerable. If that kick doesn’t land or they manage to strike you while you’re airborne, the level of damage can be catastrophic. Even high kicks, where the practitioner is kicking to the head or something of the like, is very risky and opens up the inner thigh and groin areas to potential attacks that are otherwise un-blockable while you’re doing the splints in mid-air.
Everyone’s style and perspective are different. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve stayed away from judging other styles based on what they’re doing and how they demonstrate their training. But I’ve also grown to assess and analyze fighting styles to determine what I believe would be most effective. From the athletic prowess side of things, many of these styles are quite challenging and will help you develop and get in shape. From a practicality standpoint, they may not be so great at mainstream self-defense. That being said, ever try getting kicked in the head by a Tae Kwon Do practitioner’s spinning kick? That shit fuckin’ hurts! I don’t recommend it. As I’ve often written in the past, it becomes critical that when looking for a dojo to train with, you take your time, watch what they do, how they do it and hold it up against what it is you’re trying to do. Looking to commit yourself to something and just train for the exercise? Most of this likely won’t matter. But if you’re training for a specific reason, the details matter. And martial arts can never take a cookie cutter approach. What works for one may not work for another. Food for thought… ☯️
The Blogging Buddhist 