Martial Arts should be ageless
When you first start to study a martial art you are taught the basics of punching, kicking and blocking. Now in reality there is no blocking, blocks are just strikes. You will train and practice this for years and years until you perfect these moments. Many practitioners think that the perfection of these movements makes them masters, and to some degree this is true, but there is still so very much more to learn.
If we take a look at competition the martial artist will focus on what it is they wish to accomplish in the ring. They practice and drill the techniques they wish to use. To be a world class competitor you must train hard and get your body into fantastic shape. This cannot be kept up indefinitely and from a self defense aspect the focus is in the wrong place. As the fighter ages he or she become less and less affective. This is not what the arts intend.
The truth is that the longer you practice, and the older you get the more affective the art should become. This means that it must take a different direction where physical fitness is no longer the focus. A direction where understanding the human body and how it works become paramount. The focus goes to the attacker.
When a person is first learning to defend themselves they are again taught the basics. Punch, kick and block. The focus moves to defense against grabs, pushes and punches in what is often called a 1 step situation. These are learning tools, not reality. Some of the reality systems will then proceed to practice ‘live’ attacks, often first spinning the defender to take them off their game and forcing adrenaline to flow. This practice has it’s benefits but once again misses the target. The older the practitioner the less affective this will be. It relies purely on strength, stamina and timing. Understanding of movement is simply not there.
The true path to advancement is in the study of the opponent and how he moves. Movement is universal and therefore can be understood and mastered. The masters of old, men like Morihei Ueshiba and Gichin Funakoshi were masters of understanding movement, the opponent and how it was to be applied. Once the basics are mastered the martial artist must move on to learning to understand the natural laws of movement and the laws of the opponent. Only then will his or her art become timeless and ageless. Sport is a great learning tool, but it is not the path, only a fork in the road along the way.
The martial arts is a lifelong path, on in which the learning never stops.
Tags: Art Mason, Black Belt, Hapkido, Octagon, Peaceful Warriors, Self Defense, Zen
