Tree of Many Branches
…A student of the martial sciences must be taught to critically think. This is so vital that, try as you may, there is no going around this for a student who knows only technique will be poorly prepared when faced with a real-life combat situation. …You cannot teach a student to undertake a concrete, street confrontation on the bases of drills. "
Because the martial sciences have branched out into literally hundreds and, perhaps, thousands of styles or disciplines around the world – each with their own unique approach to the forwarding of their Art – you will find everywhere a teacher who insists that one style is superior to all others. There develops (for lack of a better word) a jealousy of technique and method of delivery. Yet, there are countless martial arts instructors who are not cross-trained and, of those that are, most are only superficially so.
For that reason, when faced with a teacher who is absolutely adamant about one style over all others, you should recognize that this teacher, though conceivably excellent in noting the differences that exist between the various disciplines, nevertheless lacks in the ability to identify the commonalities. And to fail to do so is to of fall short of an appreciation of the very fundamentals which exist between each and every one of these styles that in actual fact unify them all into one complete whole. What you have left then is a partial science, and it is inevitable that an instructor who so teaches will suffer the effects of his short-sightedness.
Look at it this way: there are many paths when scaling a mountain, but when all is said and done, no matter which path you use to begin your climb from, they will all arrive at the same peak. In the same manner, there are some variations on how an Art is taught or approached, but ultimately all paths within the martial sciences have the same end product at heart and that is, namely, the growth and development of the student, both as a martial artist and as an individual.
A student of the martial sciences must be taught to critically think. This is so vital that, try as you may, there is no going around this for a student who knows only technique will be poorly prepared when faced with a real-life combat situation. The reason for this is simple: there is an immense difference between sports tactics and combat tactics. You cannot teach a student to undertake a concrete, street confrontation on the bases of drills. To teach strictly technique is to infallibly set the student up for defeat. What happens when he is caught in a lock or a hold for which a technique has not been addressed?
To be effective, the method a teacher or instructor exercises in teaching a student to address an assault or attack must be universal. To do anything less is to fail to make the grade. And in order to understand universal principles in the training of the martial sciences, the teacher is obliged into a recognition of commonalities as they apply to the various Arts and to the understanding of natural laws especially as they apply to dynamic events and movement.
For the purposes of this discussion, the universal principles of which I speak are specifically those concepts, rules or laws that can be reliably applied to triumph over any conflict at any time without exception. This is the totality of the definition. A principle is universal if it holds true and workable in any circumstance at any time. Universal principles are the stuff upon which techniques stand. A martial arts technique should never, for example, apply to one particular hold at one particular time. Think about it. It is completely unrealistic to assume that an assailant on the streets will respect your need for an attack to be executed in a particular way before triggering the appropriate defensive response on your part. The applicability of a technique should not be reliant upon the manner of the attacker’s attack.
So, for instance, to teach a student a specific defensive counter in the event he is grabbed by, say, the front of his shirt is very different from teaching a student how to attack an opponent’s body alignment. Comprehension of precisely how to attack body alignment is vastly more effective in that, once grasped, it doesn’t then matter how the student is attacked. He can be assailed from the front, from behind, from the sides – it literally makes no difference for a student who is trained appropriately is quickly able to go on the offensive in order to overcome the attack. In effect, he is armed with critical thinking skills that serve him in a myriad of encounters - skills that are developed upon sound principles, and by extension, thus, techniques that translate universally.
Take weapons training as another example. It is my opinion that once you understand the principles associated in training with a particular weapon – a stick, for instance – then training with any other weapon requires a simple translation of these same principles. In other words, the principles don’t change when the weapon does. And the same can be said of empty hand training in comparison to weapons training. It all coalesces as one whole once there exists an understanding of the underlying concepts.
Therefore, the key to the successful preparation of the martial artist is distinctly found in this type of concept training. Through it you find methods which include and isolate whole principles upon which the techniques used address and can apply to a multitude of situations. Drills should then pin down this training in a way that soft-wires the techniques involved into the student’s own natural responses and movements.
You cannot, however, teach on the bases of drills and techniques alone for the student is left no better for the wear if you do. An instructor or master teacher can all too easily awe the developing student with a show of impressive maneuvers or routines. But you have to ask yourself at some point where this type of training is leading. I can make training look awe-inspiring too, but to what end? Effective training concentrates on teaching a certain amount of movements developed from a core concept with the intention of achieving a specific result. To drill and drill and drill in the absence of a common thread that ties all drills together as a unified whole is to attain next to nothing in the way of martial skills. Ultimately, you have to know where all your training is leading.
The martial sciences are precise and exacting, and they demand a certain degree of perfection in their practice. Though steeped in mystique, you must never lose sight of the fact that when taught correctly, the skills learned will essentially transcend fundamental martial purposes and become relevant to every aspect of your living. In effect, the martial arts train you in a way of life that surpasses most expectations, and this will always remain true so long as the principles espoused are universally intact.
