Spartacus Maximus

Just to nitpick, the definition of “comprehensive or authoritative knowledge” would be more accurate if it said “and” instead. They are indeed different, but possessing both is what makes the basic definition of an expert. In other words, a martial arts expert is simply someone who is highly skilled and who serves a reference or example by others who train in the same system. Someone whom others will consult, listen to and follow to get important insight into what they practise. It should also be noted that even among experts, there are different levels and not all experts have a far-reaching reputation, nor do they seek it. Some are not even recognized as experts until later in their life or after their passing.

This keeps getting interesting. For many, the answer is that it takes a serious martial artist to know one. Quite right, as most if not all truly dedicated practitioners have appeared or been called obsessed or fanatical about their training. Then again one cannot be any other way when the goal is to constantly improve and increase ability in each and every thing about whatever martial art is practised. It is often very difficult for others to comprehend how much effort serious martial artist put into what they do or why they always seem to do more than everyone else.

Expertise can be defined by many different points but one of the common traits that stand out is the fact that an expert is constantly active in their field. Doing it and thinking about it occupies every waking moment. They are not only highly knowledgeable and competent, but entirely consumed by their chosen path. To them there is no such thing as “good enough” or “knowing enough”.

Who of the two is the serious practitioner: Both A and B belong to the same school and have the same instructor. The school/instructor is available 5 days a week for 2 hours each time. A attends nearly every day, but hardly ever does anything outside on his own time. B can only manage to attend the school more than once a week but is always asking questions and spends an hour or more practising at home most days. B also spends much of his free time studying any reference material or media for his chosen system from his instructor as well as other sources. Who is serious? One or both? Why?

With or without a belt, one’s skills do not change. With or without a given rank one still has the same qualities, abilities and weaknesses. Ranks, belts, certificates etc are only arbitrary symbols. Once a martial arts practitioner is honest about that and accepts that there is always something more to improve and someone with more knowledge and skill to share, all ranks are insignificant. Ranks etc have symbolic value only because the recipient values, recognizes and respects the judgment of whoever bestowed it. A rank or belt bought from a random source or an unconfirmed authority is worthless. Imagine for instance, that a highly skilled martial art practitioner has a high rank with belts and everything from his deceased teacher. Our hypothetical martial artist has all the authentic symbols and they are one of a kind. Unfortunately he has the misfortune of having all these destroyed by an accident. With all documentation of rank and belts gone and unrecoverable, does he not still possess everything his teacher passed on? If you suddenly loose all the tangible symbols of your training, do you still have what you know? Can you still do everything you were able to do before?

It's all about developing a sense of awareness and the right habits. These are the same whatever the kind of possible threat may be. A great proportion of possible violence can be avoided just by knowing how to behave and what to do before a situation calls for using any physical force. If any training is done to prepare, it ought to be spent learning how to prevent a situation from happening and how to recognize a potential danger before it becomes unavoidable. Fire and evacuation drills follow exactly this principle. Spree attackers might seem to commit their crime at random, but there is always a method to their madness. There is always a reason for why it happened in one place at a certain time but not others. Knowledge of this is more useful than training any defensive techniques.

The police are there to enforce the laws and arrest those who disobey them. It is not reasonable for a citizen to expect each and every officer to have more than basic working knowledge of criminal laws. If one really wants sound advice, better get it from professionals whose specialty is to interpret and explain the law.

It is interesting to see that nobody has mentioned time spent training and practising. How much does it really count?

Yes, storytelling goes back much much further than that, but the Victorian era stories are some of the most studied and influential. The point is that stories are and have always been an effective way to teach and get people to remember a lesson. The one important difference between those stories and ones used by martial arts teachers is that in the latter, only a student of that particular teacher and martial art will be able to (eventually) understand the point that is conveyed because the student will have a technique reference. Without knowing the reference, the stories or phrases mean very little.

Many discussions about martial arts raise the idea of “serious” versus “casual” practitioners. What really defines a serious practitioner of martial arts? Is it the number of hours per day or week? Does “serious” only apply to those who run a school or compete? What is YOUR definition?

The key principle is to train for what happens most so that one can deal with most of what might happen. More important to self defense than any technique of using force is learning to use ones wits. Training to spot potential dangers and risky situations. Learning to read the subtle warnings of imminent violence is the best way to anticipate and avoid it before physical defense becomes necessary.

Story telling is a traditional way of teaching common to many cultures the world over. Everyone can remember one or two stories told by a grandparent or elder family member in which there was a lesson to be learned. There are also traditional stories, rhymes and songs passed down through the ages meant for people to remember certain pieces of wisdom. The best examples are the children’s stories from the Victorian era(150 years ago). Storytelling is a great way to make a point or illustrate a concept. Chinese martial arts are well-known for using stories and poetry as mnemonic devices for students to learn and remember key points for training. This is also found in Okinawan Karate although to a much lesser extent.

Whether or not anyone is welcomed anywhere depends largely on the attitude with which the guest comes calling. An experienced guest is no different from a complete neophyte. Be polite, respectful and modest with an open mind. This is a universal concept and it is understood everywhere by all martial arts practitioners. In a few cases it is preferable to downplay one’s experience.

There is arguably no difference between rank and belt. Both of these are arbitrary in that the criteria for which they are given wildly vary from one school or instructor to the next. Perhaps belts are more obvious for they are tangible markers that can be seen. Both are only significant when one trains within a group where the instructor must keep track of everyone’s progress. When training is individual, private or in very small numbers ranking and belts are meaningless and may as well not be considered.

Simply put, what makes an expert in something is a the number of years of practise and experience in a skill set combined with a great depth of knowledge in the field to which said qualities are important. That and the approval as well as the recognition by others in said field. Scholars for instance, are called experts in their field of study because their peers and colleagues recognize the depth of their knowledge, experience and efforts to make advancements in it. They also enjoy a certain degree of influence and authority in their field. There is also a certain reputation factor. For martial arts, it can be more difficult to establish than for scholars and grades mean the very least.

He(Nagamine) was right about his concerns in that letter. His feelings and opinion were and are still shared by many of the Okinawan ryuha heads and prominent karate practitioners there. This is but one of the many reasons why it is very difficult nigh impossible for them to adhere to the concept of tournaments. Even on Okinawa there is bias against some schools. Kata tournaments there are dominated by Goju ryu and Uechi ryu which are both “Naha di”. One has to truly be exceptional to get top marks for presenting a Sui-di(Shorin ryu) kata.

The story does not sound familiar at all. Perhaps it could (a very long shot) be traced if a specific forum where it was posted were named. There are only a few martial arts forums around the net which were and are still active since early 2000’s. Maybe look there in the Kung fu/Chinese martial arts section? Also, cartoons and comics are not exactly among the most reliable source of information related to the martial arts. Even if part of the plot line is based(very loosely) on actual events.

This is one of the reasons why it is a very wise idea to keep one’s practice of martial arts private. Even if absolute secrecy is not possible, avoiding any mention of it outside a limited circle is not a bad idea. The less people know about it, the better it is.

This is far from being as complicated as some people make it. The answer to how much force should be used is simply whatever it takes to allow the “victim” to break and get away, from the attacker. The longer one stays near the attacker, the higher chances are for the situation to get worse. Attempting to beat, dominate or subdue the attacker is a very foolish and dangerous idea. Self-defense is not a fight and the goal is not to “win”, but to get away and out of sight before the attacker can recover and: A) draw or pick up a weapon B) call or attract more attackers C) confuse the situation when/if the police arrive D) attract a crowd/witnesses who will make escape difficult. In addition to this, running away give time to collect oneself and come down from the adrenalin rush. Then it is possible to think clearly about explaining the situation when/if the time comes.

Try going from teacher to teacher in the exact same system. The two may well teach the same thing on the surface , but that is as far as it goes. Prior experience or not black belt means very little to an instructor who hasn’t had the time to evaluate one’s level of skill. This is from personal experience training in nothing but the same Shorin ryu system. Everyone and anyone is treated with the same courtesy, respect and hospitality, provided that the newcomer or visitors comes with the intention to learn what the instructor teaches, and an open mind. It all depends on the attitude of the person. When visiting a school one must be willing to set aside prior experience. If one has the intention of becoming a serious student there, then one must be able to forget it and accept learning new skills as a novice.

All three of those “annoyances” could be categorized as simply “marketing”. The video description sounds exactly like the type of production aimed at the general public who, by definition are uninformed and have only entertainment or mass media as a reference for martial arts. People with little to no experience in something and only the media or hearsay as reference cannot possibly look at such a video the same way and get the same impression of it as someone who has training and experience enough to know exactly what they are looking at.

For the sake of sharing and picking the brains of anyone who has had the experience of teaching seminars or running a martial arts school it would be interesting to discuss this question: What was your worst mistake as an instructor as far as teaching or running a school is concerned(administration etc) ? How did you fix it and what did you learn from it? Were you able to see the mistake right away or did it take time to realize it?

What works in self defense is whatever comes spontaneously. Usually this is the simplest and most basic techniques that one has practised most often. The goal of training any technique is to make it automatic. It must be so ingrained that one just reacts to an attack.

It might not be documented fact but considering the history of Okinawa it is highly plausible that Okinwans had the opportunity to learn or at least be exposed to martial arts such as Muay Boran. Okinawans were and have always been a nation of sailors and fishermen. Wealthy and noble Okinawans who also happen to be the class of people who could train in martial arts, had many opportunities to travel. Ryukyuan ships sailed to all ports of China, Japan and as far as Indonesia and possibly even India. It is well known and documented that Ryukyu had very intimate diplomatic and political ties to China. Siam and Annam(the region where Muay Boran originates) are not far off. It is likely similar exchanges took place with those countries at some point.

There is more than one kind of selfdefense. Obviously(it should be obvious) defending from an attack on the street and dealing with one in the course of doing a job is different. In the former, the defender is not on duty. Escaping is always an option and once the threat has passed it is finished. Those whose job it is to protect other people and actively deal with violent or deranged individuals are much more scrutinized and their actions when handling a threat must follow the rules and policies of the establishment for which they work. In addition, it is very likely that they will have to contend with their administration, the attacker(especially in a holding facility) and other complications after the fact. As far as asylums or other such places, the focus of the self-defense programmes have always been on group action and favour restraining techniques to control and subdue violent and aggressive patients. Others were techniques to break holds to escape and then call for help.