The Harder They Fall

We used to do push-ups on our knuckles in karate class, a practice of which I do not have fond memories of. It didn't matter where I trained, the knuckle push-up was a time-honored staple. I think from a physiological perspective aligning one's wrist vertically (as opposed to hands flat on the floor) is better for the sake of the wrist joint. I've done my fair share of push-ups, I've had no aversion to hard training in the past, but pressing knuckles into a hardwood floor can be trying. The idea is that it conditions the fist for sparring, but I'm skeptical. Routines that include focus mitts and the heavy bag are more practical and sensible. 

 

A traditional karate dojo has a hardwood floor. Isshinryu's founder, Shimabuku, had an outdoor training area that was surrounded by a brick wall that supposedly had shards of glass glued to the tops to dissuade the local Okinawan youth from climbing atop to peer in. Photos from that time reveal what looks like a concrete floor. Years later, Angi Uezu built a dojo with a concrete slab that had springs underneath, presumably to absorb shocks from jumping and landing. Great for the spine, I guess. Not so much if you land on your head.

In combat sports such as karate, tae kwon do and amateur boxing (some organizations), head gear is mandatory. The head gear is primarily designed to protect the user, not from getting hit in the face, but from falling. I've seen boxing matches where professionals (who don't wear head gear) get knocked out on their feet, then fare worse from landing  on their heads. I cracked a wisdom tooth at a tournament years ago when I was dropped with a side kick onto the hard gym floor of a local high school. This despite wearing head gear and a mouth piece, the latter of which is designed to keep the jaw from breaking, while no consideration is shown for the dentition.

There is a circuit of underground fight clubs such as King Of The Streets where combatants fight on a hard surface, no-holds-barred. Illegal and absolutely insane. Street fights can turn fatal when someone falls and hits their head on the pavement. 

 

Head trauma from years of boxing, kickboxing, MMA, and other sports have shown that dementia, Parkinson's Disease, and other neurological disorders associated with CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) can manifest themselves, typically long after retirement.  

Whatever style you practice, do it on mats if you can. When sparring, move your head and protect yourself at all times. Loving your art shouldn't mean you have to pay for it later.

Magic

Lately, on martial arts threads I see online, it seems that traditional martial arts (TMA) have fallen out of favor. Apparently if you're not training for life-and-death or the Octagon, you're spinning your wheels. But in the idealistic past we've had TMA heroes gracing the big or little screen that seemed larger than life. Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris and the TV show Kung Fu inspired us. It was David Carradine's portrayal of Caine, the Shaolin monk turned cowboy that inspired me to bug my parents to enroll me in my first martial arts class. Carradine was not really a kung fu practitioner of note, but that didn't matter to me. Norris once quipped that Carradine was about as qualified a martial artist as he (Norris) was a gifted stage actor, but I digress. Both of them presented martial arts in a very positive way. I miss that. And in its place we have to witness internet squabbles over full-contact sports like Muay Thai and judo, versus aikido, wing chun, tae kwon do, karate, or any other TMA du jour that's on the radar of these basement-dwelling chat-room pseudo cage fighters when they should be out looking for a job. To be fair, not all critics fall into this category. But then, the qualified critics, those with real combat, security, or fighting experience, (usually) can't be bothered airing their grievances on reddit. 

In 1984, The Karate Kid movie became a surprise hit. And in its wake, martial arts schools flourished. Enrollment doubled and tripled overnight, especially with kids, but what made this movie unique was the feature of the tournament. So between charging for lessons, belts and tournaments, karate school owners raked in the bucks. It's my opinion that kata and point-matches for trophies and colored belts have been both good and detrimental to karate. By the early 90s MMA came to the US, courtesy of a Brazilian clan's rendition of jiu-jitsu. A corner was turned, and there was no going back. 

In the old days, TMA were held as magic. We believed, because we had Kato and Lone Wolf McQuade and Mr. Miyagi there to give us faith. They were the good guys. I believed, because I wanted to believe that the style of karate that I espoused gave me a chance to be something greater than I was. Maybe I was naïve. I was young, what did I know? 

Today, critcal thinking reigns, so when we see a video of a "master" knocking out his student via hypnotic gaze, we know better. But these cringey clips, along with qi strikes and 7-year-old black belts, these things by default get relegated to TMA. And that's a shame. Still in spite of it all, the karate that I know, somehow, still possesses something magical.

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Little Trouble In Big China

There was a famous bodybuilder from the 40s (I believe it was John Grimek) who as a teenager decided to enter a swim meet to be held at an Olympic style pool in a nearby town. He didn't have access to a pool or beach, so he decided to train for this event by swinging around a pair of dumbbells to mimic the motions of a swimmer. He did this for several weeks, and when the big day came and he jumped into the water for the first time, he nearly drowned before somebody rescued him. It's really reminiscent of the Bruce Lee aphorism, “If you want to learn to swim, jump into the water. On dry land no frame of mind is ever going to help you.”

Lee was speaking of what he saw as unrealistic training that doesn't prepare you for an actual fight. Of course there are styles that don't emphasize combativeness as much as others. It is also contingent upon how the syllabus for said style is presented, and this can vary greatly from school to school. Some clubs train for heavy sparring while others pair up students to work pre-set self-defense drills exclusively. Others still, more closely resemble the atmosphere of a gym. Be careful with that one, as gym is used as a term to describe some MMA and boxing clubs.

Over the past couple of decades, MMA has been held as a crucible for testing the efficacy (or lack thereof) of certain fighting systems. Again, not all styles prioritize fighting, but rather other ideals such as character, fitness, and tradition. A fat, brutish thug can still whip ass, and all the good intentions and knowledge of etiquette won't stop him in his tracks. A point match is not like getting mugged. How you train is how it happens.

Recently there was a match that pitted a retired MMA competitor against a proponent of taijiquan after the former issued a challenge to the traditional martial arts community in China in an online tirade. Taiji (tai chi) with the added quan suffix translates as "Grand Ultimate Fist" but for most people tai chi is not a martial art, but a regimen of slow moving exercises that supposedly enhances longevity and health. Clearly, the tai chi representative who responded to this challenge was not doing this for his health. For the record, the combatants are Xu Xiaodong, a Beijing-based MMA coach and promoter, and Wei Lei, the founder of his "Thunder style" of tai chi. Let the lightning strike:



While not particularly graphic, this was still painful to watch. Most of the spectators were clearly less than enthusiastic with the outcome. I'm glad Wei, the tai chi man, wasn't as seriously hurt as he could've been. But Wei said after fight that the only reason he lost to Xu was because he was showing mercy, fearful that his "internal strength" would prove to be fatal against Xu, the MMA guy. Not to be outdone, Xu remarked that tai chi is a "sham", followed by reiterating his challenge to the Chinese martial arts community.

Apparently this is causing a big uproar in China, including complaints issued by the Chinese Wushu Association, as they see this kind of a no-holds-barred match as an affront to Chinese culture and that it violates the morals and principles of martial arts. For this, Mr. Xu has gone into hiding. "I've lost everything, my career and everything," he said. "I think people misunderstand me. I'm fighting fraudulence, but now I've become a target."

I really thought the debate on this was long settled. I could entertain hard-style kung fu stylists taking up this guy's challenge, but to what end? Tai chi and other neijia (internal) arts were simply not designed for a ground-and-pound affair. Maybe if Xu comes out of hiding we'll see more of this kind of spectacle. I hope not.

Nunes vs. Rousey

Striking is back in style:

The UFC bantamweight title match pitting champion Amanda Nunes against former champ Ronda Rousey Friday night (Dec. 30, 2016) looked more like a boxing event than anything else with each opponent getting off few kicks. Rousey's head movement and defense was non-existent against the superior striking Nunes who scored at will. Rousey was stopped by Nunes after 48 seconds.

A world class judoka, Ronda never got to close the distance to use her grappling skills. Like I've said in earlier posts, I don't really follow the sport, so who knows how Nunes — who like virtually all MMA players has trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu — would have fared on the ground against the likes of Rousey. The majority of Rousey's wins came by use of an armbar and have lasted on average less than a minute. Nunes lost in her pro debut via armbar submission in 2008. Grappling techniques like those found in judo, wrestling and BJJ dominated the early years of MMA.

Prize money was lopsided as Rousey was guaranteed a 3 million dollar purse to Nunes' $100,000, plus a "matching win bonus."

Ronda doesn't need to do this anymore. Hollywood's calling with even bigger paydays.

Rousey vs. Holm: My Two Cents

This post begins with an admission: I am, at best, a casual fan of mixed martial arts. By now, any real MMA fan has heard that Ronda Rousey, the UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion, was defeated last night (Sat., Nov. 14, 2015) by a relative unknown — Holly Holm. So the following is my naïve understanding of a sport that I really don't follow closely, and it is with this neophytic perspective (along with my actual knowledge of karate, among other things) that I'll weigh in.

Nobody gave Holm a chance. She was regarded as mere cannon fodder for the indestructible machine that the undefeated Rousey has been portrayed as, and justifiably so. Her last three bouts have lasted an average of 22 seconds each! An adept striker, Rousey's real forte is judo, as she earned a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics.

Witness the second and final round of the match. Rousey is forced out of her comfort zone of close quarter grappling by Holm's strategy of maintaining a healthy distance. Holm, a southpaw and a former professional boxer and kickboxer, repeatedly lands crushing left crosses against Rousey's unprotected face. Note the sweet slip Holm gives Rousey at 4:28. The coup de grâce was a brutal round kick to the neck by Holm.

Holm's transition from boxing to MMA may be wiser than she realizes. MMA has been shown to be less injurious than boxing.

Some thoughts I've held for a while, but culminated with this match:

• Many fights don't end up as a ground-and-pound wrestling match.
• MMA is not merely sportive head bashing, but a highly technical art that deserves respect.
• Women in MMA can be as popular as their male counterparts.
• The idea that competitive fighters of any stripe are heartless thugs that lack empathy is largely a myth.

The golden age of women's MMA has begun. Indeed, MMA in general is here to stay. Anyone who thinks otherwise is sadly mistaken.

'Judo' Gene vs. The Boxer

While I was researching for a possible post on legalizing MMA in my home state of New York, I stumbled upon an old story (news to me!) about the grappling great Gene LeBell. Apparently, yesterday was "Judo" Gene's 83rd birthday, so to commemorate the event, the tale of his bout with a professional boxer has been popping up on MMA sites.

The story starts when an article in the August, 1963 edition of Rogue magazine included this gem about judo:

Judo … is a complete fraud. … Every judo man I’ve ever met was a braggart and a showoff. … Any boxer can beat a judo man. Judo bums hear me one and all! It is one thing to fracture pine boards, bricks and assorted inanimate objects, but quite another to climb into a ring with a trained and less cooperative target. My money is ready. Where are the takers?

The writer, one Jim Beck, obviously had judo confused with karate or something else, as if that would have mattered to him or most of his readership. Beck supposedly was an amateur boxer of some renown and claimed to have beaten a judo player using his boxing craft. So Beck promised to pay 1000 dollars to any "Judo Bum" who could whip him in a match!

LeBell, a former two-time US judo champ, was tipped off about this offer and jumped at the opportunity to fight an amateur boxer for a cool grand — serious money in 1963. The match was arranged to be held in Salt Lake City as this type of mixed event would be either unsanctioned or illegal everywhere else. At the last minute however, Beck sobered up to the prospect of duking it out with the likes of LeBell and substituted himself with a ringer: former middleweight contender Milo Savage. Savage's professional record was 49-46-9 and was 39 years old (LeBell was 31). He was an over-the-hill journeyman, but had beaten some highly regarded fighters in his day. There was even a rumor that Savage had broken the jaw of a local karate instructor during an impromptu match.

The rules for the scheduled 5-round bout were that punches and grappling were allowed, but no kicks. LeBell was barefoot and donned a judo gi while Savage wore lightweight speed-bag gloves, but also wore a gi top, as requested by LeBell's handlers. As the bout started both men were naturally leery of each other and managed to avoid any type of wild clashes. By the fourth round LeBell began to warm to the the task and finally closed the distance. After grabbing Savage he executed a hip throw with a sweep, taking him to the canvas, then finished him off with a rear choke hold. Not knowing how to tap out or signal quits, Savage was rendered unconscious and remained so for about twenty minutes. Pandemonium ensued as fans hurled garbage and chairs into the ring, likely because it was assumed their hometown fighter had just been killed!

Savage only fought one more time before he officially retired from boxing. For LeBell, it was a defining moment for judo — and really, martial arts in general. LeBell would become a sought-out stuntman and stunt coordinator for Hollywood, working on on hundreds of movies and TV shows. Today, he is highly respected by martial artists all over the world.

In conclusion: Never mess with someone nicknamed "The Toughest Man Alive" and who is secure enough to wear a pink gi.

Misperceptions

Look at this poster. The guy on the left is depicted as a musclebound thug covered in tattoos with cauliflower ears engaging in a blood sport. Maybe we should be grateful there is such a thing as MMA or this character would be in prison or the nuthouse, right?

Now observe the gentleman on the right. He's bowing in respect, an obvious by-product of self-mastery developed from a long time of training in an honored fighting tradition that ultimately has lofty, even peaceful aims. He is a disciple (and perhaps a teacher) of Budo — the martial arts.

Basically what this image is saying is that Traditional Martial Arts (TMA) are civilized and cultivate good qualities in its adherents while MMA is legalized headbashing that provides little more than a buglight for violent whackjobs. This just reinforces some unfair stereotypes, especially to laypeople. There are good and bad people in all walks of life. Don't be so fast to judge a book by its cover.

It's true that MMA has no official philosophy or written tenets of life principles like those found in TMA. But MMA doesn't automatically produce a crop of bad guys anymore than TMA can unconditionally change otherwise unsavory types into good citizens. As karate master Yasuhiro Konishi once said, "Karate aims to build character, improve human behavior, and cultivate modesty; it does not, however, guarantee it."

The Shin as a Weapon

Yesterday I received an email from a reader regarding my last post on the perils of hand conditioning. Here's part of it:

Been training in ----- for about a year. In my school we don't punch anything hard but my sensei has us round kick the heavy bag with our shins. Man that s#!t hurts! He [the instructor] says the thai boxers have shins like steel, this is the way to do it. What do you think? My legs are all lumped up now I'm thinking of quitting.

Among other things I advised him to let his shins heal before he resumes training. Like makiwara training for punches, shin-striking hard or semi-hard objects are not my forte. I've never really been schooled in this method, but I'm guessing that the shinbone (tibia) should not take the full brunt of impact, but when performing the roundhouse kick the toes should be angled down a bit so that the muscular part of the shin (tibialis anterior) makes predominate contact.

In Muay Thai shin-strikes are a signature move. There's a lot of controversy and misunderstanding about shin-striking delivered as a roundhouse kick. Traditionally, Muay Thai fighters would kick banana trees till they keel over. Banana trees, unlike most North American variety, are relatively soft and flexible. Still, being able to fell one is a formidable task. It's not hard to fathom how novices would end up crippling themselves after hearing about these feats.

It's debatable as to the effectiveness of shin conditioning in the martial arts. Some use a rolling pin device for the shins to deaden the nerves, thereby raising the pain threshold. There is also a psychological component involved concerning pain tolerance. According to Wolff's Law, bones that are subject to incremental overload will respond by becoming stronger and denser. Evidence suggests that activities such as weightlifting and jumping support this thesis. Other research has revealed that microcrack damage actually decreases bone brittleness, making the bone less susceptible to further fracturing.

A low-section roundhouse shin-strike to the opponent's outside thigh can be highly effective in a match, but it can come at a cost. In a UFC title match held in 2013 between Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman, the former attempted a low-target shin-strike that was leg-checked by the latter with catastrophic results. Silva had orthopedic surgery to repair his broken tibia with an intramedullary metal rod infused in the bone cavity. He is scheduled to resume fighting in 2015.

I hate to say it, but every fighter Silva is matched with from here on out is going to target that left leg. He may also be gun-shy with kicking (or even checking kicks) with that leg, another impediment. I really think Silva should call it a day, unlike my reader with bruised shins who probably just needs a break (no pun) if he intends to stick it out in a school that he otherwise likes. Hopefully this young man won't continue getting hurt and is getting qualified coaching.

Looks That Kill: The Alpha-Male Face

A friend sent over the image above that made me think of somebody I used to train with. (The meme is titled Becoming A Black Belt: Expectation vs. Reality.) "Alan" was an intellectual type with an advanced degree and a facial symmetry that made him appear like a milquetoast. He was a decent karateka, a good fighter, but he looked like a pushover. Depending on one's perspective this could be either good or bad. At any rate, Alan was a self-described geek that could kick ass.

Judging a book by its cover is something we all do, but research has revealed that face symmetry in males can reveal how effective they are as fighters. In one study,

The researchers first analysed the facial structure of 241 competitors in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Why choose this competition? "[T]he 'no‐holds‐ barred' nature of the fights and the process of 'cutting' serially defeated combatants from the championship makes for a somewhat Darwinian environment, well‐suited to the investigation of fighting ability," they explained.

The paper reveals that "the width of a man's face [determines] with accuracy his likely fighting ability." Survival of the fittest apparently correlates with having a relatively wide mug, or in scientific lingo 'facial Width-to-Height Ratio' (fWHR). The paper also suggests that a wider face may have evolved as a structural mechanism to be more resistant to punches.

So I did a little more digging on this facial-width indicator, and another study claims that traits such as racism are prevalent among males with broad faces, adding that "fWHR may be a physical manifestation of dominance motives in males and may be best described as an inclination toward interpersonal social dominance and related behaviors."

Both studies cite the presence of high levels of testosterone in males as the culprit. I've posted about the male hormone previously.

As far as facial configurations go as a predictor for fighting prowess or social (or anti-social) dominance, I'm a tad skeptical. I'm reminded of the old wives tale of "criminals have shifty eyes" from my parent's generation. Perhaps more research needs to be done before fighting ability is potentially conflated with negative stereotypes due to face broadness.

Aaron Banks: Martial Arts' Ultimate Promoter

This past May, Aaron Banks, the prolific martial arts promoter of tournaments and exhibitions, passed away. It was sometime during the first week of May; the exact date of his passing is unknown as he died of an apparent heart attack alone in his New York apartment at the age of 85. Banks began his training in traditional karate in 1958, enduring numerous sparring matches with no protective gear on blood splattered decks on his journey to black belt. By the sixties he began promoting karate tournaments in Manhattan, first at the Felt Forum and then at the much larger Madison Square Garden, showcasing the talents of Chuck Norris and Joe Lewis, among others.

In the seventies his event, now officially dubbed The Oriental World of Self-Defense began to include interdisciplinary matches pitting practitioners of kung fu against karate, judoka against wrestlers, and boxers versus kickboxers. There were other attractions that could be considered carnivalesque in nature, but not in Banks' view:

"May we have absolute quiet, please," he says, "for this master who is going to take his sword and slice a cucumber resting against his student's throat!" Banks has been accused by his critics of putting on a circus, but he replies, "Anything that demonstrates that kind of control, with or without a weapon, is martial arts. When William Chen lies on the stage and shows the strength of his body by allowing himself to be run over by a motorcycle, that is martial arts. When Joseph Greenstein, a 92-year-old vegetarian known as the Mighty Atom, drives spikes through steel with his bare hands and bursts a chain with the strength of his chest, that is martial arts."

In a 1979 interview Banks claimed that Bruce Lee had taught him the basics to dim mak or the "death touch", even claiming that Lee himself succumbed to the ancient Chinese technique. In reality, Lee scoffed at martial arts hocus pocus and even doubted the existence of chi, the vital energy allegedly required to perform the dreaded dim mak.

Ironically, Banks loathed the advent of the UFC in the nineties, claiming that mixed martial arts were not really about true martial arts but more to do with making money. I wholeheartedly agree that the "art" aspect is lost in MMA. But then so is having a ninja catch a flaming arrow with his teeth in front of 20,000 gasping ticket holders.

Learn To Fight Like George Zimmerman!

Kokopelli's Gym, a "fight training center" that offers MMA in Longwood, Florida is trying out a rather controversial marketing ploy on their website guaranteed to make you cringe: Training information on George Zimmerman that he received at their venue. The email form goes on to say that this info will only be provided after the trial involving the highly publicized shooting death of Trayvon Martin is over.

How decent of them. Still, this begs the question: If George Zimmerman was trained in MMA, why did he need a gun against Trayvon Martin? Remember that, acccording to Zimmerman, Martin had attacked him and that he had shot Martin in self-defense using a weapon Zimmerman had on him. Zimmerman was bleeding from the nose and from cuts on the back of his head he received while he was being struck about on the ground.


As it turns out, Zimmerman was not an exemplary disciple of MMA. According to testimony from Kokopelli's Gym owner Adam Pollock, he spent about a year training the defendant, beginning in October of 2010. Pollock described Zimmerman as being "nonathletic" and "just physically soft". On a scale of 1 to 10 he rated Zimmerman's ability between a 1 and 1.5. and that

Zimmerman was “a beginner” and not competent in grappling — a tactic used in mixed-martial arts.

Pollack said that Zimmerman was “very diligent” and “very coachable” but didn’t have the strength or skill to be successful in the sport.

Pollack also said that Zimmerman began boxing training but that he never progressed past shadow boxing. “He didn’t know how to really effectively punch.”

Back to the ad on the Kokopelli's Gym website. Why would anyone want to learn how they can spend a year preparing to get beat up? Indeed, when the prosecution re-called Pollock as a rebuttal witness, he was asked, "Are you now marketing the training you gave to George Zimmerman on your website?"

"Absolutely not" replied Pollock. The defense objected to this line of questioning and the judge told prosecutors they couldn't call a witness during their rebuttal case, just to impeach him.

I wonder if Kokopelli's Gym ever got Zimmerman's permission to use his name in this manner. If so, what sort of deal did they hammer out? Let's see what happens with this publicity stunt of theirs once the trial ends.

MMA: Sport or Spectacle?

A co-worker asked me recently if I thought mixed martial arts was a "sport." Sport as a word has a wide range. Badminton is a sport. So are billiards. I think what my friend was getting at, like many people, is twofold. First, it's the idea that MMA contests are seemingly devoid of any rules. Secondly, rules notwithstanding, anything that involves gore and violence of this kind shouldn't even be granted viewership, let alone be classified as sport. MMA is still banned in my home state of New York, much to the delight, I'm sure, of promoters in neighboring New Jersey where it is sanctioned and regulated.

Getting MMA on legally equal footing with boxing, kickboxing, etc., has been no easy task for its proponents, thanks to propaganda and bad press. Politicians such as John McCain railed against MMA in the 90s. Still, in spite of what appears to be gratuitous violence, MMA is no more dangerous to its competitors than other contact sports. A John Hopkins University School of Medicine study from 2006 verifies that...

Mixed Martial Arts competitions have changed dramatically since the first Ultimate Fighting Championship in 1993. The overall injury rate in MMA competitions is now similar to other combat sports, including boxing. Knockout rates are lower in MMA competitions than in boxing. This suggests a reduced risk of TBI [traumatic brain injury] in MMA competitions when compared to other events involving striking.

Years later, McCain did recant somewhat on his earlier position by stating, "They have cleaned up the sport to the point, at least in my view, where it is not human cockfighting any more. I think they've made significant progress. They haven't made me a fan, but they have made progress."

Granted, I'm not a fan of MMA, either. At this point, "mixed martial arts" strikes me as a misnomer. If I was born a generation later my take on it would be different, I'm sure.

I don't think MMA should be banned, though. What do you think?

Evolution

Change is good. Or is it? Over the past several years we've seen a major shift in what people refer to as "martial arts." Currently, MMA is in vogue, and already there are thick boundaries drawn between what is considered nouveau and the time-honored traditional martial arts. It seems TMA are no longer fashionable, as heavy emphasis is being placed on the combat effectiveness of an art, quite often to the exclusion of all else. Asian martial arts in particular have always been shrouded in a little mystery. Chi/ki-energy, mind control, and superhuman abilities are the stuff of urban legends and hucksters. With the advent of reality fighting all bets are off. There are no secrets.

There's this place near my job that offers boxing, sambo, jiu-jitsu, the works. The area with mats is surrounded by a chain-link fence. In one corner of this school someone is working on a speed bag, while in another, basic self defense drills are taking place. This type of eclectic approach has become the norm, and I'm left wondering if becoming a jack of all trades is better than being a master of merely one. Is learning a hodgepodge of styles the direction that the martial arts are heading towards? Some of the old time masters forbade their students from cross-training in other styles, but the founders of many traditional systems did just that to develop their own curricula.

Previously, I mentioned TMA as being "time-honored" but truth be told, the majority of traditional styles are barely a century old. Tae kwon do, aikido and karate - while they have ancient roots - were all formally systemized in the twentieth century. Judo, which was created in 1882, actually negated the nasty martial applications found in jiu-jitsu so it could be taught to school children and the proletariat. Budo, the martial ways, flourished during Japanese peacetime as a dignified and ethical pursuit of warriorship. Today, we can watch bloody cage matches on TV or YouTube. So much for evolution. Change is not always good, but for sure it's inevitable.

Delinquency and Martial Arts

There are no bad boys. There is only bad environment, bad training, bad example, bad thinking. - Father Edward Flanagan

The Jiu-Jitsu Sensei Blog had an interesting piece about gang members and their less-than-noble reasons for learning martial arts, particularly MMA. In the past, street kids from urban areas would take up boxing to sublimate their fighting tendencies. Indeed, many prize fighters in hindsight are grateful for boxing being their ticket out of what would have been juvenile delinquency, gangs and eventually prison.

Gangs are very different today from the ones that existed years ago. Current US gang activity more closely resembles those of organized crime than a bunch of teenagers protecting turf. Some well established gangs are nationally networked and are involved in drug trafficking, among other things. The gang leaders themselves aren't kids but hardened criminals that local youngsters admire, much like the glorified Mafiosi of the past. The attraction to gang membership in a ghetto setting is very seductive. Gangs provide a sense of security, belonging and identity that is sorely lacking in the life of a troubled youth.

In a recent study, researchers asked public middle-school teachers in an undisclosed large city to select a group of their most violent students. They were then divided into two categories; one a control group, the other the tested group that was required to attend a traditional martial arts course given at the school by an outsider. The course included self defense, kata practice and meditation. Using a number of variables to gauge the study, the treated group that attended the martial arts class made noticeable improvements in nearly all the areas that were measured, while the control group's antisocial behavior either remained the same or got worse.

Obviously this portrays the traditional martial arts in a very positive light. With its brutal matches and heavily tattooed players, it's easy to see why MMA would appeal to wannabe gang members and violent types. Adolescents are both impressionable and malleable. Could training in MMA redirect the future of a young potential criminal? The real point is whether MMA could adapt to a philosophy and similar core values found in traditional martial arts.

Fighting Gear

My earliest sparring sessions in karate were without the mandatory protective gear you see today. The only requirement was the groin protector; a mouthpiece was optional. By the 80s, foam head gear and hand guards had become compulsory for most schools per insurance purposes.

Probably the biggest argument against the use of protective gear is that it conditions the student to a kind of safety net that isn't always available. And yet despite this added precaution, the potential to get seriously hurt during a match still exists. In truth, the protective gear users may be instilled with a false sense of security and in turn feel that they have carte blanche to commit mayhem on one another. One article refers to this as risk compensation, which basically means we adjust our danger levels in accordance to so-called security measures.

The issue of protective fighting gear presents an interesting dichotomy. On one hand we have the time-honored body hardening techniques that are purported to forge our bodies into steel. I have my doubts, but you'd be hard pressed to find a Thai boxer who's heard of shin guards. Traditional karateka pound the makiwara (striking post) bare knuckled, yet Western boxers wrap their hands with gauze before lacing up a pair of 12 oz. gloves.

On Okinawa, karate fighters occassionally wear bogu, which is the protective armor used in kendo (sword-art). Bogu includes a chest protector and a full-face shield. Again, the idea is that players can go full tilt in matches without killing one another, try as they may.

Obviously, padded protection is an absolute must for children involved in any sportive striking-style martial art. Dojo Rat just wrote a piece on a Missouri school that teaches MMA to kids as young as six. Hopefully, safety will be stressed when showing these little tykes submission moves.

The next time you train, try sparring without your fighting gear. It will feel strange and uncomfortable, and you'll probably feel reticent about loading up on shots. At the very least, it'll provide you with an interesting reality check.

The Ultimate Self-Defense Move?

Image courtesy of USA Weekend

While browsing through my Sunday paper I chanced upon this interesting item. The attacker in theses series of photos is one Bas Rutten, a retired MMA competitor. At 6'2, 210 pounds, Rutten makes for a formidable adversary against the diminutive defender who checks in at 5'2 and 110 pounds. I've never seen this particular escape from a rear choke, but it seems to be heavily reliant upon a rather compliant uke. What do you think?

Boxing vs. Mixed Martial Arts

Few people realize that boxing has a history that is as rich and varied as most Asian martial arts. Nineteenth century boxing actually resembled today's mixed martial arts (MMA). Prior to the Marquess of Queensberry charter that incorporates the now mandatory gloves, London Prize Rules boxing or fisticuffs allowed throws as well as punches. These bare-knuckled events were brutal, and quite often matches had to be held in secret, lest the intervention of local constables.

In the early twentieth century "open to all" tournaments in Japan were fairly common. One legend tells of a European prize fighter defeating one judoka after another when Okinawan karate virtuoso Choki Motobu stepped into the ring. "Maybe judo isn't the answer" proclaimed Motobu as he knocked out the boxer with a shuto (knife hand) to the temple in the second round.

In 1950 Helio Gracie, the famous founder of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, challenged then heavyweight boxing champ Joe Louis to a no-holds-barred match. Louis, who had nothing to gain and everything to lose with such an event, wisely declined. Two decades later Japanese grappler Antonio Inoki took on Muhammad Ali in a 15-rounder. Inoki was billed as a pro wrestler, but he previously defeated numerous martial art exponents in legit contests. The match was a bizarre one as Inoki spent almost the entire time on the ground in a futile attempt to kick or sweep out Ali's legs. The fight was declared a draw, but even Ali's typical pre-fight hyping tantrums couldn't save this hopeless spectacle.

When MMA bouts first made their appearance in the 90s there was some clamor as to whether a fading Mike Tyson would make an interesting opponent. How do you think Tyson would have fared against somebody like Royce Gracie? Gracie would've had his work cut out for him. Don't forget that Tyson was disqualified during a title fight when he tried to bite Evander Holyfield's ear off. It was a dark moment for boxing and Mike Tyson in time became his own worst enemy.

Unlike traditional martial arts, nobody ever seems to question the validity or street effectiveness of boxing. Indeed, boxing as a viable method of self defense is explored in this TDA Training article. Boxing is still one of the most dangerous sports as there have been a number of ring deaths through the years, to say nothing of the long term health risks involved with being a career fighter. Recently MMA suffered its first fatality as the result of a sanctioned match. Some proponents of MMA insist that it's safer than boxing, but the jury is still out on that verdict. Will MMA even be able to survive the way "The Sweet Science" has for so many years? Time will tell.

That's Entertainment!

For the most part, the martial arts are divided into striking and grappling categories. Both of these major systems have been interwoven into the relatively new paradigm of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). MMA contests often go quickly to the ground, and in this fashion players "tap out" to signal they've had enough, or they're simply rendered unconscious courtesy of a strangulating choke-hold and it's game over. But without launching into a debate about whether MMA are really martial arts, combat sports or whatever, I'd like to address their entertainment value. MMA are being touted as the next big thing in sports and have already become more popular than professional boxing. This is big news, since prizefighting has long held a solid position in worldwide culture, especially in the West. What it all comes down to is this: Would you rather see a standup fight, or a submission-style MMA match? Somehow an armbar, no matter how effective it is, doesn't quite measure up to the visual dazzle of somebody dropping an opponent with a crushing right cross or reverse punch delivered to the jaw.

Does anyone remember the John Wayne classic The Quiet Man? The Duke partakes in the most famous - and perhaps the longest - fistfight in cinematic history against Victor McLaglen's character. The last time I saw a real-life grappling match of similar epic proportions was when Royce Gracie defeated Dan Severn in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC 4, 1994). Gracie, outweighed by eighty pounds and on his back for almost the entire bout, still managed to pull it out with a miraculous triangle choke-hold with his legs applied to the neck of the gigantic Severn. Truth be told, up until the very end, the history-making match was a snoozefest. While judo, jiu-jitsu et al, are considered to be "combat effective" arts, their matches are comparatively boring to watch.

During most of his career, Chuck Norris has had the Midas touch - until recently. His World Combat League (WCL), a team-based kickboxing federation, has received only modest cable TV ratings. While UFC pay-per-view events and the like are generating millions, Norris' WCL is barely able to pay the bills. Advisors to Norris are telling him that the heyday of standup martial arts are long over and that he should be glad for the small amount of viewership that he's getting.

So what we may have here is a generation gap in fighting culture. Old school adherents like to stand on their feet and knock out their foes while the new wave proponents are becoming skilled strikers and ground technicians. There does exist certain styles that utilize joint locks in a standup fashion that are highly effective that are discussed in this post by Dojo Rat, but I digress. At any rate, the martial arts continue to evolve along with the public perception of what is most interesting and entertaining about them.

Different Ways, Same Path

The martial arts. There are few areas of interest available that offer such rich and diverse subject matter. This is one of the reasons I love writing about them, but ironically, this can become a pitfall. It's easy to delve into related areas such as psychology, ethics, and even esoterica and get so far removed from the original topic of the martial arts that they are no longer being addressed. A case in point is the problem of accurately defining what the martial arts are. The soaring popularity of tai chi and mixed martial arts (MMA) fighting contests, for example, make it clear that certain disciplines that are given the generic label of "martial arts" are neither martial nor artistic. Internal styles such as tai chi tend to draw a pacifistic following that want nothing to do with combative fighting methods or racking up a collection of tournament trophies. Equally, an MMA fighter has little or no interest in meditation, chi, or adopting a canon of philosophical tenets in accordance with bushido. The modern martial arts, as I see it, have as much to do with the ways of fighting as they do with certain concepts unrelated to fighting. Bujutsu (martial arts) and budo (the martial path) are two sides of the same coin. The problem arises when exponents from these camps see as what they do as being exclusive, and lines are drawn.

A similar schism that exists in the martial arts concerns the time-honored traditional ways versus the eclectic schools of mixed-martial arts. An Isshinryu karate school I once visited had a sign up that read "We Teach Traditional Karate". Isshinryu was systemized in the 1950s. Can something that's been around for just half a century be categorized as "traditional"? Actually, its founder, Shimabuku, wanted to do away with the stagnation of tradition in creating a progressive style of karate. The advent of mixed-martial arts were influenced by Asian combative systems and are seen as something new. Yet the ancient Greeks had developed a combative sport called pankration that documents training methods and techniques that bear a striking similarity to the current mixed-martial arts methods that are in vogue today.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Pushing The Boundaries of Competitive Martial Arts

Ever since the martial arts officially arrived in the US in the 50s it seems every decade since has had its own defining moment. The 60s gave us Bruce Lee. The 70s introduced the public to the TV series Kung Fu which greatly popularized that art in the West. The 80s saw perhaps the biggest wave of all with The Karate Kid movie series. The epic of Daniel-san and his karate mentor Mr. Miyagi is now a part of pop culture. The 90s, however, brought us to something that had controversy surrounding it in its shaky relationship to traditional martial arts: Mixed Martial Arts.

When Brazilian jiu-jitsu players introduced their version of Vale Tudo (lit. anything goes) as a mixed martial arts tournament in the US back in the early 90s, the idea was to pit exponents of various styles against one another to see which one would reign supreme. The first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) became the most heralded sporting event in martial arts history. To call these matches violent would be an understatement. Visions of Shaolin monks sitting in meditation on a secluded mountain began to quickly fade in the wake of these often brutal and bloody contests. Martial philosophy and spirituality were nowhere to be found in these outrageous spectacles. The UFC looked like a depraved video game come to life. Suddenly US politicians everywhere jumped on the bandwagon to protest the so-called savagery of no-holds-barred fighting. Some UFC fighters were actually arrested in Canada for competing in these events. While many viewed the UFC as reprehensible for what appeared to be gratuitous violence, others saw it as a necessary retrogression of sorts - a return to what the martial arts were originally intended for: uninhibited combat.