The Way of Least Resistance

Somewhat synchronously , I have recently had a number of different reminders of something that is fairly fundamental to martial arts study. First, I have only just discussed the importance of basic or fundamental skills, such as stepping in stances. Second, this excellent essay by Scott Sonnon reminded me of something I've said to my students for many years: "There's magic in the small things." By that I mean that the true essence of martial arts does not lie in being loosely familiar with hundreds of techniques, but in truly understanding all the subtleties of a few. And last, earlier today a beginner in the martial arts sent me a query directly relevant to these issues. Essentially his question was this: when, if at all, would it be appropriate for him to start cross-training in different disciplines? My answer to him was as follows: My first teacher, Bob Davies , told me that it was inadvisable to dabble until at least nidan - which in our case corresponded to...

Here's something I was told when I first started training in martial arts: You start with "no form" - ie. natural movement. However this movement is not necessarily productive and is almost certainly not efficient. You then learn " form "; this involves a basic, formal, structured type of movement being "imposed" upon you. Once you have absorbed or "internalised" this "form" you abandon it - and your movements become natural again. "Abandoning form" and "shrinking your art" seem to go hand in hand. By "shrinking your art" I'm referring to making your formal blocks/deflections etc. smaller, using finer and more efficient angles etc. until the basic "form" you were taught becomes almost unrecognisable. The " formality " of your technique (ie. the structure dictated by katas/forms etc.) disappears and in its place is just the smallest movement necessary to effect the principle or es...

Cross referring the internal arts and goju has helped me discern not only a possible historical and technical relationship, but more importantly it has helped me understand the function of "formal" training, such as kata. I think that seeing how someone else does the same thing can give you a great deal of insight into what it is you are doing and why. Ultimately we all want to effect a natural, "no-nonsense" technique. However it seems to me that many “modern” stylists have thrown the baby out with the bathwater by abandoning the "formal" aspects of traditional martial arts, not realising that these have a training purpose (not unlike the speedball might have a particular training purpose for a boxer, even though no boxer ever "hits someone like that"). I have found the Chen Pan Ling taijiquan movements generally correspond the most with minimalist, natural way of moving. Bagua and xingyi tend to have progressively greater elements of "form...