TRUTH OR DARE?

 By Phillip “Pete” Starr

It's an old story; a boxer/MMA fighter and a traditional martial artist are matched up in the competition ring and the traditionalist loses. Usually very badly. The result is more than a little predictable and amounts to little more than the old “My daddy can beat up your daddy” argument or what we all know otherwise as a “pissing contest.”

This happened in China where a rather mediocre Chinese MMA fighter readily bested a taijiquan exponent. No surprise there. Why do I say this? For the same reasons that I said it prior to the first-ever “boxing vs. karate” bout... There are two major problems.

The first boxing vs. karate match was between a boxer of pretty fair skill and a Chicago-based karateist who was known as “Monster Man.” His real name was Everett Eddy and he was a champion on the national circuit (many years later, I'd watch him handily defeat the legendary Joe Lewis). He was a very large, muscled man who moved with astonishing speed. “So how did he get beat?” you ask.

The main reason is that they had agreed to fight by boxing rules! No kicks at all, no groin strikes, no open-handed strikes to the face, no backfists, and both participants wore gloves. I knew Eddy didn't stand the chance of a snowball in a very warm place in the metaphysical cosmos of winning. No chance. Most of his (karate) weapons had been forbidden and he was limited severely by the rules. And that was the second problem.

When I ask a boxer or MMA practitioner, “What is the goal when you climb into the ring? What is the goal in a boxing/MMA match?”, virtually every one of them gives me the same answer...”To knock out the opponent.” Is that what you'd say? Think about it. Their answer has always been dead WRONG. The object is to WIN! And you don't have to knock anyone out to do that.

Boxing and MMA fighting are sports. And sports have to have rules. “Well, of course they do!”, you reply. “If there were no rules, somebody could get very badly hurt!” You're right. But martial arts were never developed as sports. They have always been intended for actual combat....no rules, no referees, no sexy ladies carrying signs around to announce the next round (because there aren't any “rounds”), and no trophies or prize money. The winner/survivor's prize is that he may get to go home afterwards although his injuries may eventually cost him his life.

It's akin to pitting a good fencer against a kendo practitioner and forcing the kendoist to use a fencing foil and fight by fencing rules! Guess who will win! The only realistic way to measure such arts when they are matched against each other would be to dispense with rules altogether and the match ends only when one fighter forfeits the bout, or is killed. Of course, such a thing is both illegal and immoral.

The second problem was that the traditionalist didn't train for such a fight (and remember, you can only fight as you train). And he knew little to nothing about boxing. He knew neither himself nor his opponent. Loss was pretty much guaranteed. The taijiquan fighter had never even engaged in what karate practitioners call “jyu-kumite” (free style sparring). Never. Sure, he'd done his share of “push-hands” and maybe if it had been a push-hands contest against the boxer he might have emerged victorious but... And anyway, much as many taiji stylists hate to hear me utter these words, I'll repeat them loud and clear; push-hands does NOT bestow fighting skill. None whatsoever. Nada. It's a simple sensitivity exercise and that's it. The sensitivity developed through its practice can be useful in fighting (if you know how to utilize it) but that's all it was ever intended to do.

So I don't feel particularly sorry for the traditionalist who had his backside handed to him in the boxing ring. He didn't train properly and he voluntarily entered into a game about which he knew very little.