CULTURE OR COMBAT?

 By Phillip Starr

I believe that in order to truly understand a given martial discipline and perform it correctly, one must have a firm grasp of the culture that gave it birth. This will necessarily involve some substantial study as well as introspection, which is something that many (perhaps most) martial arts devotees loathe. But just as the various punches, kicks, and/or throws belong to a given martial form, so the does culture from which it comes. And to truly understand the essence and spirit of that martial art, you must likewise understand its mother culture.

There are those who argue that understanding the culture isn't at all necessary, or even important. Most of them will assert that the purpose of the art is self-defense; it was/is intended for combat. Period. It's a rather shallow approach to such a deep subject (as martial arts) but nonetheless, it's the position taken by many practitioners (consciously or unconsciously). Such people can never truly understand the spirit of their chosen art and may very well be doing it incorrectly as a result.

I'm not necessarily inferring that you need to spend time living in the country/culture from which you art came, but you need to study and absorb the culture as best you can. This is something I realized when I lived in China for 3 years. I had spent more than 50 years training in Chinese martial arts and I figured I had it all sorted out. Not so. There was a lot more to Chinese culture than I had ever imagined and my exposure to it changed the way I practice my kung-fu.

As Westerners, we tend to “Americanize” (or “British-ize”, or whatever else) the manner in which we see, understand, and consequently practice, the martial disciplines of the East. It's only natural for us to do so and it's also true of Eastern folks who take up Western activities, whether it's baseball or anything else. And it actually changes the way in which we (and they) practice said activities.

Learning to speak some of the language of the culture in question is very helpful. You don't need to become fluent, but being able to converse on a very basic level with people who are native to that culture is very useful and conducive to really understanding the culture. Samuel Ichiye Hayakawa, a Canadian-born Japanese gentleman who served as president of San Francisco State University and later became a U.S. senator, was a linguist who made a statement that has stuck in my mind ever since I read it in his book,, “Language in Action.” He said that we cannot conceive of things for which our particular language does not have a word(s); we are, essentially, hindered in our mode of thinking by the language we speak! I have found this to be true. So, by learning other languages we not only enable ourselves to speak to foreigners; we expand our minds!

To really understand the culture of a country and why they do what they do, I think it's necessary to learn something of the language because then you'll learn how they think! And that will impact how you see and practice your chosen martial art.

ABSORB WHAT IS USEFUL...

 by Phillip Starr

One of the very worst pieces of advice ever given to the martial arts community at large came from the lips of Bruce Lee.

"Absorb what is useful,

Reject what is useless,

Add what is specifically your own."

Determining just what is useful and what isn't is quite a daunting task and one that should be examined closely. After all, a goodly number of today's so-called "mixed martial arts" crowd as well as followers of numerous eclectic martial ways state very clearly that traditional martial arts aren't entirely applicable to modern combat or combat at all. They believe that numerous techniques that are taught within the traditional martial arts either don't work very well or, in some cases, not at all. This, they say, is why they have chosen to follow their "own paths."

Executing a correct reverse punch, front snap kick, kotegaeshi, or o-soto-gari is a pretty daunting task for most raw beginners who have had little or no previous martial arts training. The new student can spend hours working on any one of these techniques for a whole month and it still is practically worthless in a real fight. The reason why is obvious; to develop any technique so that it is truly usable requires a great deal of practice over a period of time! There are no short cuts. My teacher said that developing effective technique is like making tea. It can't be hurried and any attempt to do so will only ruin the drink.

It would be easy but very premature and terribly foolish for the novice to simply dismiss these fundamental techniques as being "useless." The same holds true for other, more advanced techniques that he or she will eventually learn. I'm sure that you've encountered techniques that just didn't work at first. I know I have. Still do. But with patience, some introspection, and lots of practice you've been able to see how they should be done, where your mistakes were, and suddenly they become functional!

When you learn a technique that doesn't seem to work well for you, ask yourself, "why?" What are you doing wrong? Sometimes the error lies in the physical execution of the technique but sometimes it is hidden in a less obvious place. Maybe it's your timing that's off - and that can be indicative of a mental/psychological error or block of some kind, can't it? Perhaps it's your approach to the application of the technique or your approach (physical, mental, or even spiritual) towards your training "opponent." Regardless, the error is thine. Find it and correct it. Sometimes it's the finding of the error that corrects it.

To say that techniques of the traditional martial arts are not effective (in self-defense) is a blatant display of one's own ignorance, and perhaps, one's unwillingness to put in the required practice (which is a nice way of saying "lazy"). In days long since past, professional warriors (e.g., policemen, soldiers, bodyguards, and their teachers) relied on these arts for their very survival. Back then, it was pretty easy to determine if a given technique worked. If it didn't, you died. Those who developed techniques that didn't work took their failures with them to their graves. For the most part, we'll never know what they were.

The techniques that did work are still with us to this day. If they didn't work, they would have been buried long ago. So, to say that the surviving traditional techniques don't really work is, in my opinion, a statement made by someone who has never learned genuine traditional technique...or who is unwilling, for one reason or another, to put in the time and training required to develop effective technique.

Beginning piano students dare not say that the classics are worthless and no longer functional! The masters who contributed to the creation of the traditional martial disciplines are our Bachs, Beethovens, and Mozarts.

To truly understand a technique and how it should be performed correctly requires at least 10,000 repetitions. In karate or kung-fu this isn't terribly difficult, considering that you can easily practice 100 punches each day. In 100 days you should be able to perform the technique correctly, more or less. That doesn't mean it can't be improved, though.

But that's not the same as making it workable. To be able to perform a technique effectively in combat requires much more practice. You see, the effectiveness of a given technique, whether it's a punch, a kick, a joint twist or throw from aikido or judo...involves much more than just being able to perform the physical aspects of the technique correctly. Much. More.

Back when I trained in forms of Japanese karate, I could not, for the life of me, get a roundhouse kick to work. Actually, it took MONTHS before I figured out how to do it correctly. I guess I just had a mental block and I couldn't imagine how to do it...but once I was able to throw a roundhouse kick, I couldn't figure out how such a kick would ever be useful in fighting! I suppose Mr. Lee would have told me to reject it because, as far as I was concerned, it was pretty useless...

Then came Baguazhang. At first glance, this art seems to have about as much in common with combat as a fish does to a bicycle. It would have been all too easy to simply toss it away as being some sort of pointless, flowery, Chinese bilge water. But I didn't. I stuck with it and studied it...in depth. I examined it carefully, examined myself, examined its strange footwork and body movements...and I practiced and then when I was sick of it, I practiced some more. And when I had problems making it work (which was pretty much all the time, at first), I stayed with it and figured out WHY I was having problems.

In any given martial discipline, at least a decade (or more) is required if one wants to truly understand the art. The problem is that most Westerners don't want to spend that much time in training. They want "instant martial arts." We're accustomed to having "instant food" (which isn't really food), "instant entertainment", and now we want "instant martial arts." But there isn't such an animal...never was, and never will be.

So, rather than absorbing what you find immediately useful and rejecting what you think is useless, just ABSORB.

WUJI

 by Phillip Starr

At the beginning of a Taijiquan, Xingyiquan, or Baguazhang form, there is a time when the practitioner stands still, seemingly doing nothing. This is actually a posture known as “Wuji.” I consider it to be one of the most critical, if not THE most important posture of the set. Just what it and what does the word mean?

Wuji (無極)"limitless; infinite" is a compound of “wu”, which means "without; not have; there is not; nothing, nothingness" and “ji”, which translates as "ridgepole; roof ridge; highest/utmost point; extreme; earth's pole; reach the end; attain; exhaust". In analogy with the figurative meanings of English “pole", Chinese “ji” can mean "; geographic pole, direction" (e.g., four corners of the earth; the ends of the earth).

According to Taoist philosophy, wuji is what existed prior to the creation of yin and yang (negative and positive polarities, respectively). It gave birth to yin and yang (maybe this is referring to the “big bang”) and consequently, the 10,000 things (in old Chinese language, the term “10,000” refers to a number that is limitless).

But what does this have to do with practicing a martial discipline? In the beginning of each set the mind is to be calmed and the body must relax (the correct Chinese term is “song”). Tension is consciously released and allowed to (figuratively) pour out the soles of the feet and into the ground, This sets the tone for the remainder of the form, which is why I place such importance on it.

At this point, with the mind calmed, the breath dropped into the lower abdomen (dantien), and the body properly relaxed (remember, it is “song” as opposed to being what I call “damp rag” relaxed), there is (great) potential. And that's how I see Wuji; it contains POTENTIAL, which is something that cannot be weighed, measured, or held in the hand. And this potential gives birth to yin and yang (which also can't be seen or measured because they are not “things”; they are abstract constructs). Any unnecessary tension – mental or physical – will block much or all of the potential contained within the posture. Relax and let the form begin itself...

THE WORLD AS A DOJO

 by Phillip Starr

The young man knew a typhoon was imminent. The time was perfect. He had managed to drag a large sheet of wood with him onto the roof of his house. The wind was beginning to howl and the rain pelted him. Within seconds, he was soaked. He bent over and took hold of the wood panel. Standing in his best horse-riding stance, he lowered his breath and held the panel up, allowing the wind to catch it. What a perfect opportunity to test his stance and his breath!

The crazy youngster who did this would later gain international acclaim as the Father of Japanese Karate. His name was Gichin Funakoshi.

Numerous other well-known martial arts figures frequently used the outdoors as their natural training hall. Masutatsu Oyama, the legendary founder of Kyokushin karate, lived alone in the mountains for an extended period of time while he trained his body, mind, and spirit. Small trees served as his makiwara. Rocks served as weights for him to lift, and the ice-cold daggers of water from numerous waterfalls helped him learn to control his mind and develop an iron will. Even into his old age, Oyama was very fond of training outdoors and his followers continue this tradition today.

The revered founder of aikido, Morihei Uyeshiba, used to practice swordsmanship by swinging small logs when he lived in a small farming community in the northern province of Hokkaido, which is also quite cold... what is it with these martial arts types and COLD???. I once met a gentleman who had known O-Sensei Uyeshiba and he told me that the old man's forearms were the same thickness all the way down; they didn't narrow at the wrist and he had a grip that could crush bone!

Numerous Okinawan and Japanese karate practitioners would practice on the beaches and in the surf. Believe me, performing a kata in the sand is no easy task and it's even worse when you're being pounded by small incoming waves. I have actually done it and focusing your mind while sitting under a cold waterfall is extremely difficult. I tried that, too! I think it was a week before I could feel my toes again!

There's no need to restrict our practice to the dojo - a nice, clean place that is heated (or cooled, depending upon the season) and well-equipped. We can practice anywhere! The world can provide us with all of the training devices we require. Those of you who have read my first book, The Making Of A Butterfly , will recall the story about my teacher meditating in the snow in his backyard. I respectfully joined him and nearly froze!

However, one of the main points of this article is the fact that these people PRACTICED DAILY. They didn't do it just on the nights they attended class. They didn't wait until they could train inside a proper covered facility (and some didn't have much of a facility in which to train even when they attended class!). They took it upon themselves to find ways to use the world as their training halls and improve themselves with what nature provided. It is this kind of spirit that contributed to their marvelous success in the martial arts.

WHAT ARE YOU REALLY UP AGAINST?

 By Phillip Starr

Although we, as martial arts practitioners, constantly train to be able to effectively defend ourselves, very few of us truly understand what we could very easily be up against when it comes to the paved jungles in which we live and strive to survive. We hear and talk about “the street fighter” without necessarily knowing much of anything about these creatures.

To begin with, these animals aren't stupid or clumsy. They're smart and very tough s.o.b.'s. Many of them have a smattering of martial arts skill, just enough to make them really dangerous. They HAVE to be tough to survive on the streets. They're not compliant, foolhardy, dimwitted wimps. Not at all. And should you ever be accosted by one, you'll only get one shot. And it had better count...it must cause some serious damage because if it just causes a bit of pain, it'll just make him real unhappy with you.

For a time many years ago, I worked inside the walls of a state penitentiary. If you really want to know what a true “badass” is, this is the place to look! I remember one inmate nicknamed “Shorty” (you can guess how large he was). He looked like a human Coke machine and it was all muscle...no fat at all. He lifted weights daily and had a hair-trigger temper. If a guy like this ever got hold of you, you'd be looking at a real serious problem! It scared ME (none of us carried any weapons at all...nothing), so I trained extra hard every day to sharpen my skills.

And there many others like Shorty...not as big, but very strong and tough. The idea of fighting just a single assailant on the street is an error (a very serious one), Lone wolves don't survive for long and most thugs travel in packs. So the idea of spending a lot of time thumping just one guy is a bad mistake...let alone taking him to the ground and wrestling around with him in the mud and the blood and the beer...and gravel, broken glass, and whatever else is on the ground. You can bet that his buddies are in the wings and watching. They'll happily step forward and quickly turn you into a very icky wet spot on the concrete while you're engaged in your makeshift wrestling bout.

And anyway, the odds of a street thug who accosts you being armed with something is pretty close to 100% nowadays. If your defensive tactics/techniques against weapons aren't up to snuff, you'll quickly become a statistic.

Don't take your ability to effectively defend yourself for granted. Train hard, get fit. The bad guys are.

WEIGHT TRAINING FOR MARTIAL ARTS

 by Phillip Starr

No, this isn't a “how to” article; dozens and dozens of good books have already been written on the subject of weight lifting and more than a few on weight lifting for martial arts. It's actually about “resistance training”, which a large number of neijia stylists (those who practice taijiquan, baguazhang, or xingyiquan) firmly believe is counter-productive to acquiring real skill in their particular discipline.

Foo.

Past masters of these arts regularly used resistance exercises to toughen and strengthen certain muscles and muscle groups. There's no such animal as a martial art that requires NO STRENGTH to be used effectively. Most, if not all, of the neijia Masters of times past regularly practiced forms of resistance training, from weights to various other apparatuses. And anyway, stance training (standing in deep stances that stress the legs and hips) are actually forms of resistance training, right? Heck, push-ups, leg lifts, and the like are all forms of resistance training that make use of your body weight.

On the other hand, any so-called martial art that emphasizes the development of large muscles and requires the use of much strength in its application isn't what it claims to be. As Master Seiyu Oyata (10^th dan, dec.) told me, “Any martial art that requires a lot of strength to be effective is not really a martial art. Martial arts were developed so that the small and weak could overcome the large and strong.” And he was living proof of that.

In generations past, a wide array of devices were employed in resistance training. These included iron geta, “locks” (usually made of stone or concrete, they were quite similar to today's kettlebells), nigiri-gami (wide mouth jars that were filled with stones or sand, iron balls (usually quite large), and so on. Improvements in technology today enable practitioners to utilize modern ankle and wrist weights, dumbells and barbells, kettlebells, stretch-cords (surgical tubing works very well) and a wide variety of other such training aids. Different styles of gong-fu and karate seem to prefer different pieces of equipment. And most of them can be used into old age, I know; I use a number of them every day!

It's absolutely essential that one learns to train correctly and not hurry or over-do lest one injure oneself. Proper training enhances one's technique as speed and strength are very gradually increased. Such training is also excellent for overall health, including those of us who are now “senior citizens.” Resistance training comes in many forms; using one's own body weight is very common. For instance, push-ups, pull-ups, leg lifts, and holding a static horse-riding stance are a few such resistance exercises. A partner can be sometimes be used to assist with them (if the student is fit enough to handle such exercises). I remember standing in a horse-riding stance and having a partner holding onto my shoulders as he stood on my legs from behind. Then I'd have to squat down a bit...up and down for several reps. And with a classmate on our backs, we'd advance forward in a forward stance, being careful not to rise up (lest our teacher berate us) or stumble.

If you practice such exercises, it's important to train with them very regularly. Intermittent training pretty much guarantees injuries.

WEDDING VOWS

 by Phillip Starr

Taking up the study of martial arts is really very much like getting married. When I was a youngster there weren't too many young women available. That is, there weren't many martial arts available. The inscrutable Oriental fighting disciplines were things of mystery and awe. In fact, many people had no idea what "karate" was! There were no commercial schools at all and none of the clubs advertised. Most martial arts training was conducted in an instructor's backyard, basement, or garage.

It's very, very different nowadays; people shop around for martial arts schools much as they shop for fresh vegetables. All you have to do is open the phone book and scores of different schools and arts are listed. Some even offer special bargains (kind of like K-Mart specials). In the present world of martial arts there are a great many available "young ladies."

My teacher, Master W. C. Chen, used to compare the study of martial arts to being married. First you try to find the young lady/man of your dreams. When you think you have, you woo him/her and spend a lot of time together. If and when you finally decide that he or she is the one for you, you "get married", as it were, and devote yourself to her or him.

You cannot have two wives/husbands.

And why on earth would anyone want to?

Some of the Asian spouses can be a little tough to live with. For instance, some are fine when you're young but as you get older, it's pretty tough to carry on much of a relationship. Judo and jujutsu come to mind. When you step over the threshold of becoming a "senior citizen", they're a little tough on the body - breakfalls or not. And I don't see a lot of people in their sixties (or even fifties) and beyond doing kickboxing or muay thai.

Others are a little high maintenance. That is, they demand that you spend a lot of money on them. Anyone who's ever become deeply involved with kendo will be only too happy to tell you how terribly expensive bogu (kendo armor) can be.

So you want to pick one that you can live with. You have to get to know each other. Will her or his beliefs (philosophy) fit into your life? What is he/she about? You sure don't want to jump feet first into a relationship without really knowing the other person (art). Some so-called arts are actually pretty superficial. There's just not much to them. I guess they're the "Valley Girls" of martial arts. Very attractive when they're young but no breeding and they don't age well. There's no real depth to them, either. Do you want to spend your life with one of these?

No lady or man is entirely beautiful. At first you may think so but in time, you'll find aspects of her/him that you don't especially like. But in time, you understand that this thing that you dislike is an important part of who and what your spouse is. Don't try to surgically remove what you don't like just to suit yourself. No nose or boob jobs. You either take her as she is or walk away.

Then you have to make a lifetime commitment. No marriage was ever made in heaven; you have to work at them if they're to be successful and like any marriage, there will be times when you argue. What's important is that you resolve the problem and move forward. A marriage is not a 50/50 proposition. It's a 90/10 proposition with the 90% being on your end of the measuring stick.

Sadly, there are lots of divorces in the marriage of martial arts and people. Many more today than when I was young - probably because there are so many other attractive "ladies and men" with which to flirt.

I'm talking about other martial arts - for those of you who have no imagination.

After you've made the commitment, that's it. Unlike actual marriages between people, however, it's okay to "fool around" with other arts from time to time, once you've reached a certain level of comfort...but your primary commitment must remain firm. For instance, I am committed (married) to Yiliquan (the form of gong-fu that I teach). Sure, I like to practice iaido (Japanese art of drawing and cutting with a sword). In fact, I love it! But my commitment is to Yili. She comes first. I study her, listen to her, "talk" to her every day.

I cannot possibly be married to Yiliquan and iaido both. I can have only one wife. One spouse is very demanding - why or how could I possibly handle two (or more)?
A marriage deepens with the passing of years and the interaction between the two parties. You get to know each other better - you seem to become "one." You learn from and with each other. There's so much more to your spouse than you'd ever imagined and as you age and grow older with her/him, it causes certain changes to occur in you. It's the same with your marriage to your chosen martial discipline.

Unfortunately, many people leave their spouses before they really get to know them or they flirt with other arts so much that they never really get to know their primary art. In fact, some become so flirtatious that they never get to know a whole lot about any one art. Theirs is a very superficial relationship and it's going nowhere.

It's all about making a commitment and then sticking to it. There'll be tough times, sure. And there'll be good times. But by staying together the relationship only gets stronger, sweeter, and deeper.