The Way of Least Resistance

A while ago I wrote a lengthy treatise on timing your foot to land with your punch .  I called it a "secret".  And given the private mail I got on the subject arguing vehemently with me, it looks like for many it was a "secret" - or at least something totally unknown. But looking around I see the same technique used commonly in boxing/MMA.  So, surprise: another traditional technique turns out to be nothing more than common sense.  And common knowledge amongst people who actually bother to engage in some form of contact (and not against Michelin Man suited zombies ). Consider this guy's video.  Note his punch (standard kizami zuki, ie. karate " lunge punch ".  Note his stance (standard zenkutsu dachi) which is only transitional .  Note his follow up step (straight yori ashi).  Note his finishing stance (straight out of arnis). And note the timing of his foot - straight out of traditional martial arts as I previously discussed . Once yo...

So how often do you see traditional techniques in MMA?  Rarely is probably a common answer but it would be a wrong one. Noah Legel's recent recent essay on this topic on Ryan Parker's blog highlights just how many  traditional karate techniques are actually used in the Octagon.  I really can't improve on Noah's work so I'll simply give you the link  to his article.  After reading it, I'm sure you'll agree with me that traditional karate/gong fu techniques are everywhere in MMA - even if the practitioners are unaware that they are using " ancient knowledge ". But what if I told you that MMA would feature basic, formal karate of the kind you see in dojos throughout the world?  You know - the kind everyone lampoons: the stepping up and down the floor in forward stance using blocks and punches? What if I told you that these techniques would not only work well enough - they'd win the day?  And what if I told you that they'd be executed a...

Recently the subject of what is often called "bouncy tag" has reared its head at the Traditional Fighting Arts Forum . In particular comment was made about the Youtube footage of George Alexander undertaking a 50 person kumite in celebration of his achievement of his judan (10th dan) grade. I have embedded the video below: George Alexander undertaking a 50 person kumite At the outset I'll say that I think Mr Alexander's demonstration was reasonably impressive for a man of his age. I am not going to comment on the issues pertaining to his grade (for me the rank "judan" would surely be an honourary grade more than anything - a kind of "lifetime achievement award"). Rather I will simply observe that he shows skill at what he does in that video. So what is he doing? Is it karate? Or is it something else? Many on the Traditional Fighting Arts Forum argue that it is not traditional karate , and I would respectfully agree with this posit...

Lately I have become intrigued by the term "traditional". It is frequently used to distinguish martial arts such as karate or taijiquan from modern combat sports such as MMA. At this point it seems profitable to distinguish "traditional" from what many call "classical". My esteemed colleague Victor Smith defines the latter (for the purposes of karate) as pre-1920s, the "traditional" era as dating from the '20s to the '50s and the "modern" era as dating from then onwards. 1 While this is quite a useful "potted account", in this discussion I am not particularly interested in the "classical" era; there are few people who maintain that they are studying something that they know with reasonable certainty has a high fidelity to what was taught more than 80 years ago. Those who study such "classical" arts (eg. Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu - the oldest existent samurai arts school) are few and far...

Introduction It was in the late '80s in South Africa where I first heard my teacher Lao Tze Bob Davies describe what he taught as a "civilian defence system". At the time I paid little attention. It seemed nothing more than another variant on the term "self-defence", perhaps with some extra resonance because of its contrast with the military training undertaken by conscripts in the apartheid regime's armed forces. However over the intervening years I have had occasion to consider this term in greater detail and I am finally starting to understand its import. I now see that the significance of "civilian defence system" is two-fold. It serves to distinguish what we do from military methodology; that much is clear. But it also serves to distinguish our methodology from sports. The dynamics of sport or military fighting disciplines are significantly different to those of civilian defence. These differences have nothing short of a profound effe...