So how many martial arts techniques are there anyway? And how many do you have to know?
This is an age old question: the question of quality vs. quantity. Although many practitioners advocate learning many techniques, as many as one hundred or more, I don't agree with this idea. A martial artist is better off discarding the techniques that don't fit his or her physical make up and fighting mentality and instead, focus in on a few techniques that work well for that individual.
You will be able to tell very quickly which techniques work for you and which don't. I would recommend taking five or six techniques to start with and practice them until you have really become efficient with each one. Then, learn at least one or two combinations to use with each technique. Think of it as a one of those nine digit electronic locks for your car door. There are only nine digits but it is nearly impossible to break the code because of the incredible amount of combinations there are. Similarly, you may only have a few techniques but you can hit your opponent with many different combinations. And it doesn't stop there. There are multiple angles to fire each technique from as well as many ways to set up an opponent for each technique.
(I will write on this subject later in detail)
Don't be afraid to have a trade mark technique. This can work in your favor. Many times an opponent will be over anxiously looking for you to fire that one particular technique and this will leave them vulnerable to a sneak attack. Muhammad Ali would frequently establish his famous jab as his principle weapon and when his opponents started looking for him to throw it, he would switch up and hit them with a sneaky right hand or 45 punch.
Being known for a few techniques may also force an individual to continually increase the skill and deceptive methods with which they are delivered. This has made for some exceptional fighters.
I primarily use only ten striking techniques in sparring/competitive style matches. I have four hand techniques: a forward hand strike, straight right, hook, and uppercut. And I primarily use six kicking techniques: a side kick, round kick, hook kick, front kick, spin back kick, and spin hook kick. Early on when I began my only formal training (Tae Kwon Do), there were many more techniques I was made to try and learn. Out of respect for my instructor I practiced each one diligently. But many of them just didn't seem to work for me. For example, to this day I still hate using the ax kick and the crescent kick. I have never once scored on anybody with them. So I cut them out of my training regimen. I only use them today for theatrical purposes.
Many people believe this shows lack of dedication to the art. I believe it shows an effective training practice that prevents a waste of time. After all, as it was once said...
"I fear not the man who has practiced ten thousand kicks, but the man who has practiced one kick ten thousand times".
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Why I Reject The Belt Rank System
The way the belt rank system in martial arts works today, I think it would be best to discard it.
When Benny "The Jet" Urquidez earned his black bet in 1964, he was fourteen years old and the martial arts establishment was in awe of this feat. Today, it's common to see students in any school who are only ten or eleven but are wearing first, second, and even third degree black belts.
Some people claim it's an increase in average skill but I don't buy it. I think our standards over who can wear a black belt have changed dramatically. Dramatically in the wrong direction.
In older martial arts schools, there were usually three or four belt ranks between white and black. Today the average number of belt ranks is around ten and some schools even use colored bands between ranks, making it more like twenty! What happened?
You will hear lots of explanations such as "It motivates kids" but I believe it all comes down to two simple answers: Ego and money.
Everyone has an ego and some show it more than others, but if you really want to see someone with an insecure and carefully guarded ego, walk into a martial arts school. Everyone these days feels like they have to prove themselves better than the other guy. A student who has been training for two weeks longer than another will want to show it with a higher belt rank. Often, there is no real difference in skill between the two. Just a difference in pride.
The second reason is money. This is not the students fault, it is the instructor's.
Martial arts instructors know that a large amount of their total income is from their youngest students. And you have to keep these students enrolled to make your money. A young student who has been training for a long time will want to be promoted. And if the instructor doesn't think they are ready, odds are that they will quit and enroll in a school that will promote them. So how does an instructor keep students for several years and still satisfy their desire to constantly earn new belts? Make multiple belts with many bands, patches, and belt stripes between each rank.
Unfortunately, it gets worse. Many martial arts instructors will manipulate the teaching of patience in the martial arts to keep students in their school. They will tell their students that if they ask about when they might have their next belt test, they are showing a lack of patience, and now the time must be extended. All the while, the student's enrollment money keeps on coming in. It is a very sneaky trick to make students stay enrolled and paying as long as possible.
Ultimately, there is no true need for a belt system in martial arts. I don't want to be judged by someone's own personal idea of what my belt rank means. Because I don't wear a belt or hold a martial arts rank, people can only judge me based upon my performance.
After all, many fighting styles don't use ranking systems. In professional boxing there are no belt ranks except one (the world tittle belt). If someone wants to know how good you are, they have to watch you box. The same applies for wrestling. So why do we need the belt for other styles?
Very few martial arts schools and trainers today require the same expertise, mental toughness, and teaching ability that used to be required to don a black belt. There are exceptions of course. Organizations like the Joe Lewis Fighting System and the Ukidokan systems hold true to awarding black belts selectively and only to those who have the real qualifications.
But over all, I see the belt system as a problem. A problem that might best be discarded.
When Benny "The Jet" Urquidez earned his black bet in 1964, he was fourteen years old and the martial arts establishment was in awe of this feat. Today, it's common to see students in any school who are only ten or eleven but are wearing first, second, and even third degree black belts.
Some people claim it's an increase in average skill but I don't buy it. I think our standards over who can wear a black belt have changed dramatically. Dramatically in the wrong direction.
In older martial arts schools, there were usually three or four belt ranks between white and black. Today the average number of belt ranks is around ten and some schools even use colored bands between ranks, making it more like twenty! What happened?
You will hear lots of explanations such as "It motivates kids" but I believe it all comes down to two simple answers: Ego and money.
Everyone has an ego and some show it more than others, but if you really want to see someone with an insecure and carefully guarded ego, walk into a martial arts school. Everyone these days feels like they have to prove themselves better than the other guy. A student who has been training for two weeks longer than another will want to show it with a higher belt rank. Often, there is no real difference in skill between the two. Just a difference in pride.
The second reason is money. This is not the students fault, it is the instructor's.
Martial arts instructors know that a large amount of their total income is from their youngest students. And you have to keep these students enrolled to make your money. A young student who has been training for a long time will want to be promoted. And if the instructor doesn't think they are ready, odds are that they will quit and enroll in a school that will promote them. So how does an instructor keep students for several years and still satisfy their desire to constantly earn new belts? Make multiple belts with many bands, patches, and belt stripes between each rank.
Unfortunately, it gets worse. Many martial arts instructors will manipulate the teaching of patience in the martial arts to keep students in their school. They will tell their students that if they ask about when they might have their next belt test, they are showing a lack of patience, and now the time must be extended. All the while, the student's enrollment money keeps on coming in. It is a very sneaky trick to make students stay enrolled and paying as long as possible.
Ultimately, there is no true need for a belt system in martial arts. I don't want to be judged by someone's own personal idea of what my belt rank means. Because I don't wear a belt or hold a martial arts rank, people can only judge me based upon my performance.
After all, many fighting styles don't use ranking systems. In professional boxing there are no belt ranks except one (the world tittle belt). If someone wants to know how good you are, they have to watch you box. The same applies for wrestling. So why do we need the belt for other styles?
Very few martial arts schools and trainers today require the same expertise, mental toughness, and teaching ability that used to be required to don a black belt. There are exceptions of course. Organizations like the Joe Lewis Fighting System and the Ukidokan systems hold true to awarding black belts selectively and only to those who have the real qualifications.
But over all, I see the belt system as a problem. A problem that might best be discarded.
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