To Share or not to Share Martial Art Principles

[Alan Armstrong]

Sharing martial art principles (to martial art students) is my way of transmitting the most amount of information (efficiently) in the shortest amout of time available.

I believe that martial art principles will improve a student's progress more rapidly and profoundly than just constant physical repetition.

To challenge the student's strategic intellectual mind and combine it with new physical martial art abilities.

Also exploring and practincing with some of the similarities and differences of the most popular known or major MA styles.

For a martial artist in this day and age to be fixated on just one style could have disastrous consequences for that individual.

One principle I like to use more often than not is body mechanics.

Also how to use (leverage) the human body as a crowbar.

There are plenty (hundreds) of martial art principles to be learned, some of my martial art instructors neglected to share this aspect with students.

Perhapse instructors due to there own 'none' willingness to share principles is a way to keep students coming back for longer! Or as a way to continue to dominate and keep a student on a lower level for a longer amount of time.

Most of the martial art principles that I have been fortunate to learn have been of Chinese origin. The Japanese and Koren MA styles that I have been equally exposed to have fallen short in this topic of learning principles.

Ironically 'The Karate Kid' movies/films were full of wisdom and principles... did the owners of dojos forget this aspect... the principles learned from these movies is the reason many parents sent their children to learn karate!

Many parents have sent their children to dojos for many reasons, most likely to help them become better people and eventually benefiting from the experience.

Kicking and punching while screaming without principles equals in my mind a kicking and punching screaming kid.

[bushido_man96]

By principles, are you stating methodologies of training, or the spiritual aspects of training?

[Alan Armstrong]

Nothing spiritual or religious in nature. More on how the body can and cannot move related to martial arts.

A few examples.

Examining and exploring all of the leverage possibilities available to martial artists.

Principles of keep the advantage in a situation instead of being in a disadvantages position.

No matter the style a person practices the human body stays the same. A karateka nose is no stonger or weaker than a boxers; they both can break just as easy a kung fu master's can.

Nothing that I convey to students are vertual.

All of my knife defence principles for example work because they are based on real life (military) circumstances.

[guird]

When I've seen people try to teach based on principles, it often comes off as abstract. That said, principles always seem far more important than specific techniques in my experience. I find that when techniques are trained well, common mistakes pointed out, over time the principles that underlie the techniques and make them work become clear. Because you have been using these principles in you movements in training, they also become more general habits outside of the specific techniques you've trained, leading to better improvisation using these principles.

So what I mean is that technique-based training (in my experience) offers better understanding of principles than explicitly principle-based training because of the hands-on experience it gives with these principles. I should add that in explaining techniques, instructors should (and usually do) touch upon the underlying principles.

Though it could be I'm using principles differently than you are. I'm talking about e.g. correct synchronization of footwork and hand movement, understanding of base, center of balance, using the legs to generate force rather than weaker muscles, best practices for posture, hip and arm position in different situations, etc.

[Luther unleashed]

I think that a little principle teaching is good, but with the standard time one trains per week I feel as a teacher, that heavy principles should be reserved for after black belt. Getting a very strong foundation in good technique will lead to better applying principles after black belt. This is the way I think of it anyways. I will always take some tyke to go over concepts like distance and timing, but under black is heavier into technique.

When I asked everybody what they thought about form application and when they teach it (I asked this once on the forum) I forget who, but an answer that stuck with me was "application should be reserved for good karate"! I believe this and it is very similar in response to your post. Teaching a white or yellow belt basic principles are ok, but good form is necessary over those ideas at first. Everything in martial arts should be about steady progression.

[Alan Armstrong]

Principles combined with techniques are a way to help a student to stay focused.

I find it rewarding when a student can use a concept with techniques efficiently.

I try to make ma principles for students, as if installing good figting and defending habits immediately.

Having good habits to start with instills confidence in the student.

So many students kick, punch and block well enough but without the whys and wheres luck and intuition play a larger part of their strategy than it should.

Tried and tested combinations of kicks and punches, exactly knowing the whys and wheres combined with principles makes for an efficient confident fighter.

Using body mechanic principles such as limb control and all controlling joint locking methods are beneficial for all martial artists.

Understanding principles regarding muscles and bones will help a martial artist to maintain them better than on the contrary damaging them or prematurely wearing them out

A great understanding of knockouts principles will not only help to defend against them but can also be used for offensive purposes also if need be.

A way of making or customizing a good principle for a student is to take a major mistake of theirs and find a common denominator idea for that person. For example if a student falls down easily then balance principles need to be perfected and incorporate in to their techniques.

[bushido_man96]

I think that happy medium is to teach a base set of techniques, and then you teach the principles with which to apply them.

I'll use my Krav training as an example. We learn combatives in the form of straight punching, palm heel strikes, hammer fists, and front kicks, then we learn outside/inside defense. So we take our combatives, and apply them to the principle of 360 degrees of defense, using the outside or inside principles. With gun defenses, we use a set of principles that are designed to get the gun off line, control it, attack, and then take the gun away. From here, we train with the combatives to this end as much as possible. The goal is that under stress, you get the desired results, regardless of what it looked like. If the principles are followed, you'll be pretty close, and should be safe.

[Alan Armstrong]

I like the Krav maga 360 principle.

It works well against multiple attackers.

[sensei8]

I don't believe that I've never refused to share things of Shindokan!! As Soke taught us..."Shindokan belongs to everyone, not just the few!!" Secrets? What are those? Afraid that the other schools of the MA will discover a means to close your school down?

Share and share alike, with a joyful heart, I say!!

[Alan Armstrong]

I believe the meaning of life is share.

There are ma instructors that use students and string them along for their own financial benefit. Over hearing my karate teacher boasting to his friend that he can teach any idiot martial arts.

The style or curriculum is adhered to but there is a part that they (instructors) hold back from students; all students.

A lower grade student could overtake his teacher in a sparing match for instance or other higher belt ranking students; causing embarrassments.

In a TKD school that I attended, higher belt ranking students complained to the head instructor due to having difficulty in defeating me in the sparring sessions.

The head instructor started giving these higher belts tips on how to defeat me, right in front of my face, during sparring practice. While not sharing anything else but the curriculum with me.

Shortly afterwards, I won a gold medal sparring. Instead of being congratulated for winning a gold, the head instructor just said "I'm surprised you did so well"