The Way of Least Resistance

Back in about 2007 I met a youngish man at a training seminar over East. He used to train with a particular kung fu school where they practised "deadly" and "invincible" martial arts. To demonstrate the effectiveness of his former art, during the break he directed some of the other participants and me to a Youtube video. I forget which one it was, but similar ones are featured in the video below (although I hasten to add that while the combination techniques might be similar, I am not suggesting that the persons in the video embedded here are making any of the assertions made by this particular fellow). Let me summarise what we saw: The video comprised a series of clips pasted together which revealed a speed and ferocity of response that was truly breathtaking; the sheer number of blows being rained down upon the hapless "attackers" seemed "insurmountable" and "irresistible". It was like being attacked by a hurricane (perhaps...

Introduction In my previous articles (eg. " Kata as a vital training tool " and " Applying forms in combat ") I discuss the function and usefulness of kata in general terms. But can a discussion about kata ever move from general statements to more specific examples? I will try: Kata as a comprehensive catalogue It is my view that kata provides a means of cataloguing the techniques and, more importantly, the principles of traditional martial arts like karate. In this regard, kata is (and I feel should be) the mainstay of karate. Your kata should comprise, as far as possible, a comprehensive catalogue of the techniques/principles of your art, providing a neat and efficient mnemonic for remembering (and practising) all your techniques or principles. This is to be contrasted with a system which might have hundreds, if not thousands, of “stray” techniques/drills that have no particular order or hierarchical structure. In this context, the desirability of having, say...

Introduction In my previous posts I have dwelled principally on deflection , evasion and generally on responding to threats. However traditional martial arts techniques aren't always responsive. Often they are proactive. In many martial schools this manifests in very fast combinations; attacks that are strung together in an impressive manner. Indeed, such "strings" are the mainstay of many traditional martial arts. The approach is to continue pressing an attack with such speed and ferocity that you overwhelm your opponent. In this respect I am reminded of a school here in Perth which used to advertise such a methodology on television with the slogan "Fight to the total destruction of your enemy"! Southern Chinese systems (in particular the Hakka school) place more emphasis on such a methodology (eg. the chain punching of Wing Chun and the fast hand exchanges of southern preying mantis). The fact that goju ryu karate also features such "strings...