WHAT IS THE TRADITIONAL WAY?

 By PhillipStarr

When I hear someone say that they were trained (in a particular martial art) “in the traditional way”, I wonder if they really understand what they're saying? I suspect that most of them have no idea.

The truly traditional martial ways retain much of the culture that spawned them. For a beginning student, this can seem like a form of “culture shock.” But it is necessary; acquiring a measure of understanding of the art's native culture is essential if one is to have any hope of acquiring a deep understanding of it. I have had prospective students tell me that they would not bow to anyone...I explained that this gesture has nothing to do with religious beliefs or admission of subservience in any way. It is simply being polite and respectful; those who refuse to adhere to this custom are in the wrong place.

Just learning how to execute a reverse punch and side thrust kick doesn't mean that the training is traditional. Not by a very long shot. If you've learned the original form(s) of your chosen style of martial art doesn't necessarily mean that your training was traditional. Wearing traditional uniforms also doesn't infer that the training done in them is traditional.

Authentic traditional training can be, and often is, just this side of brutal. After all, the martial ways were originally created as forms of self-defense and one's life, as well as the lives of one's family, might very well depend upon one's fighting prowess. They had little or no interest in a sporting aspect of their art (back in the day, the martial ways had virtually no sportified versions), and so on. Things that we now take for granted such as forgetting (a portion) of a form that we learned last week or a year ago and asking the teacher questions about exactly how to perform a technique or the applications of a movement in a form were unheard of because such things (and many more) are simply not a part of the culture and asking a question could very well result in a very painful experience. I know because I experienced it. More than once. I'm a slow learner...