What makes up a martial art?
A martial art simply is any skill that is intrinsic in warfare. The word martial means "military." So historically, a martial art is a military art. The first things that usually come to mind when discussing modern fighting systems are leaping, kicking, punching, blocking, inverting elbows, twisting necks, throwing, and weapon fighting. But also horsemanship, javelin throwing, archery, spear fighting, halberd fighting, wrestling, knife fighting, rifle, shotgun, and pistol firing, demolitions, logistics, and battle strategy can all be described as the field of martial arts. Anything that a soldier might do in battle is a martial art.
By martial art usually it is meant aikido, arnis, boxing, capoeria, chow gar, choy la fut, hapkido, hsing'i, hun gar, jeet kune do, jow gar, judo, jujitsu, karate, kempo, kick boxing, krav maga, kung fu, pa kua, penjak silat, praying mantis, savate, shaolin, tae kwon do, tai chi, white crane, wing chun, wu shu and more! It is clear to see the list is very big and it is actually get to see how many martial arts systems there do you think and how many methods of self defense can be formulated.
There is a long running joke in the martial arts, that basically says when someone says theirs is the best style, what they really mean is "I study X". Keep an open mind and open eyes, and you will find the style or styles that best fit your needs.
Often within a martial arts school it is taught that 'this exact style is the best system and it was created to beat all the others'. Of course every martial artist would seem to think their style is the best because that is the style they have chosen to do, but in actuality what they are saying is 'this is the best style for me as it suits myattitude and I like the teaching environment'.
Just because a style doesn't focus on whatever it is you are interested in doesn't make it a bad style, it just makes it not the right style for you. Be wary of anyone who says otherwise.
The changing of the arts
During the period of this history and development of the martial arts and all the combat systems of man our training tools have played a vital part in evolving and perfecting these systems and techniques.
All the martial arts have changed by the part that mechanical devices play whether it be weapons, dojo mats, breaking boards or even the uniforms we wear - all these paraphanialia indentify the martial arts into their systems and style.
The main players in shaping our new martial arts would be the traditional wooden dummy, wing chun rings, iron palm ointments and even the system of using forms and karta have developed the martial arts into their contemporary state.
Even today modern training tools are common and again the martial arts are getting better with age with new training products such as the Wavemaster, the BOB training dummy, the Focus Master. All with a common idea, to create a complete combat system.
Ideally a martial arts solo training tool should be workable for all and based on great background ideals and through constant drilling develop into sound physical application. The fundimental theory would have to take into account all the history of the combat technology of man and give this competition and street application.
The Martialarm Combat Training Partner
In a martial arts career you can occationally get into a circumstance with no school to go to or no one to train with and so out of neccessity the martialarm solo training partner was manufactured out of an idea. The Martialarm is a Martial arts training machine used to develop the bridging the gap and parrying skills of any martial arts system. It is designed to develop and test any techniques so to improve the ability to trap and control your opponents hands and arms. This can be done because the Martialarm moves and reacts like a real opponent. The Martialarm moves and twists up, down, left and right just like a real opponent would - so it can spring forward and it does strike back!.
The Martialarm Combat Training Partner was created on the following theories
Martialarm Theory
#1) Safety - You must maintain 100% safety when entering into the opponents attack range, this means to control any dangers that could occur by being in control of them. (Methods of entry must be sophisticated yet simple, fast as well as safe!)
#2) Attack - Pertinant is the ability to attack when you decide, with no worry or problems. The attack should be made up of a great handling of the opponents weapons. (Attacks must be structured to have within them a 100% defense!)
#3) The ability to change and - Techniques, attacks and defenses must flow but not necessarily at a constant pace. Adaptability to choose what's next is vital!
Whatever martial arts you choose take your time so you do experiment a little before you decide and enqire with the school what combat systems equipment they utilize to get the best from your training.
This article was written by P. Sundbye who has been training in various martialarts for the last 11 years including Wing Chun Kung Fu, Aikido, Tong Long and the Lee Total Control system.
Advanced Military Technology In The Martial Arts
Articles List
A collaborative collection of the best martial arts articles and news reports writen by world renown writers. Martial arts development, training and techniques with articles on all styles and systems. New articles submitted daily and are rotated throughout the site with snippets and links to full articles. Your one-stop martial arts information news resource!
