The Martial Athlete vs. the Martial Artist

[Adonis]

thanks for the tip elbows and knee's.

You ever seen the DVD "The day of Zen" I think thats the tiltle. Starring mario sperry' and others of the BTT. He had an intersting work out routine.

What did you think of it? if you seen the dvd.

[elbows_and_knees]

haven't seen it. But, my school has a BTT black belt. We would bring him over from brazil to do seminars, and he liked it here so much that he moved here.

[elbows_and_knees]

More muscle compared to fat also makes one much faster, but you're right about the tenseness. My karate instructors always tell me that im too tense and that i need to be more response, and i ne'er asked them why, but now i know why.

that's a relaxation issue. I am a fairly big guy - tyson's size. I'm not tense at all. We had a new guy join class yesterday. He's big too - but he boxed for two years - so he's completely relaxed also.

[elbows_and_knees]

Can't martial artist and martial athlete be the same thing?

IMO, it IS the same thing. Nobody can tell me that because I train muay thai and judo that I'm less of an ma than someone who trains shotokan or kung fu.

[Jiffy]

That can be the same thing, but that doesn't mean that they always are.

There are plenty of people that study the full arts including phillosophy, culture, science etc, and still get a physical workout during training. On the other hand however, there are plenty of schools that only do one or the other.

[elbows_and_knees]

I should clarify. I was speaking from a martial athlete's point of view. he is a martial artist. a martial artist may or may not be a martial athlete.

[Jiffy]

Correct

[cross]

The main thing is that a schools instructor should be very clear from the start about what type of training they will be offering the student.

If they are offering instruction in ways to become a proficient fighter, then the training should reflect that, with a heavy focus on conditioning and 'live training'.

If the instructor claims to teach self defence, then the training needs to address self defence issues, including legal implications, scenario based training etc. It cant be assumed that by showing up and doing the technique without addressing these things that you will learn to defend yourself by accident.

If the school is designed has a place to maintain a basic level of fitness and take part in the martial arts more like a "hobby" then they should be proud to tell the student this and not claim to be anything they are not.

I think its very possible to be a martial artist and a martial athlete at the same time, or each one exclusively, just be aware of which you are and be proud of that, just dont pretend to be something that you are not.

[Jiffy]

Cross, you summed it up beautifully!!!

[wolfen]

a "martial athlete" or to rephrase, professional martial artist will have an advantage not because of rigor or style of training, but because its their damn JOB. most MA practitioners do it in addition to their work. so instead of: fit practice outside of 9am and 5pm; you have "martial athletes" saying: let's work (practice) and maybe do some practicing afterward.