I am going to open up my mind and heart and share with the world some ideas I have on the Martial Arts. I feel compelled to do this because I have spent quite a bit of my life pursuing the MA. I have been to many classes, taught by many different teachers. I have lived the life of a dedicated disciple of more than one MA. I have handed over precious lifetime (mine) going to obscure classes in strange spaces looking for what I call Martial Truth ("MT").
I have spent much money as well on this search for MT. As have many of you. Too many times in these MA classes the teachers and students seem to be complicit in perpetuating a bullshit line of instruction. Too often the MA culture has followed the unwritten law that you do not question the instructor. Many instructors have forgotten the first rule of public relations... don't believe your own hype. I see many MA teachers with questionable fighting abilities taking the money of eager students when the only real expert skills the teachers have are in ignoring reality or dispensing bullshit.
Unfortunately, I don't have time to sit down and draft grand prose. I am going to keep the tone of this blog somewhat stream-of-conciousness. I am going to try to silence my inner critic and pour it out here, for any interested readers. I am going to also strive to do something else besides write about the MA. I am going to strive to keep this blog a Bullshit Free Zone.
I won't delve into bullshit speculation of who would win a street fight of Bruce Lee vs. Muhammed Ali. I won't do it. MA is serious stuff to me, and there is much that is lacking from popular discourse on the MA today.
This blog is mostly my attempt to codify and explain my own approach to the MA. So without further ado, lets get into the discussion you came here for.
Plano Joe's Bedrock Martial Truths ("BMTs"):
BMT 1: Sound philosophy leads to sound technique
BMT 2: Unsound philosophy leads to unsound technique
BMT 3: Sound technique is dangerous to the opponent
BMT 4: Unsound technique is dangerous to oneself
BMT 5: Sound instructors impart sound philosophy and sound techniques
BMT 6: Unsound instructors impart unsound philosophy and unsound techniques
The number one question you can ask any instructor, to gauge whether they are worth learning from is this: "What's your philosophy of the martial arts?"
Here is the answer I would give, were someone to ask me that.
"My philosophy is 'Leave No Stone Unturned,' in both the approach to training and to fighting, and the period after the fight."
First off, training. Do I know how to properly train? Do I have a corpus of basic training methods that are battle proven to produce sound techniques? Are there any training methods I should lose? Are there any I should add? Have I left no stones unturned in searching for training methods that produce sound techniques? Is it time for me to reevaluate my philosophy? Is there a better philosophy I should follow? Have I left no stones unturned in searching for a better philosophy?
Next, the fight itself. Is this fight necessary? Is there anything else I may do to resolve this conflict peaceably? Have I left no stones unturned in trying for a peaceful resolution? If I must fight, do I have a plan that leads to winning? Is there anything I should add to my plan or take away from my plan? Is there a plan available that leads to winning faster? Is there a plan that leads to winning with more certainty? Have I left no stone unturned in formulating a plan that maximizes my chances of a swift defeat of my opponent(s), with the least amount of harm to myself? In the execution of the plan, have I chosen the best targets? Are there better targets for my attack? Have I provided well for my defense? Is there anything I may do to improve my defense? Have I left no stones unturned in preparing my catalog of available techniques I can execute? Are weapons available to me? Are objects that may be employed as weapons available? Have I left no stone unturned in searching for effective weapons in the environment? Does my plan provide for protecting myself from weapons my opponent may employ?
After the fight: do I have a plan for contacting the authorities? Is it necessary to contact the authorities? Am I going to seek medical help for my opponent? Do I have a way to get medical help for myself, if I require it? Does my fight have broader social implications I will need to deal with? Do I have a plan to deal with those social externalities? Have I prepared a post-fight plan, based on my own personal philosophy? Have I left no stone unturned in identifying alternatives available to me for my post-fight choices?
I will talk about individual technique later, but to me that is somewhat boring. Don't get me wrong, I have techniques available that will win fights. But, those techniques were borne from my higher level MA philosophy.
So there you have it. This post is the basis for what I want to explore in my blog. This is a high-level look inside my mind at this point in time, and I look forward to writing more in the posts ahead.
Thanks for reading, and I look forward to your comments.
