NO MATTER WHAT STYLE OR ART

 by Yang Shuangxing

In a previous article, I stated that any given martial art is divided into two fundamental parts; development of the weapon(s), and the delivery system. Development of the weapons refers to learning the various techniques of your chosen art, acquiring a high level of skill with them (that is, learning how to use them), and making them strong. This is obviously a very important subject, but many martial arts devotees get stuck in it.

I call this the “stage of technique.” Sooo many martial arts practitioners, students and instructors alike, become so engrossed in learning new techniques that they forget about developing skill in the second fundamental aspect of their art...the delivery system. You may have a thunderbolt kick and a bone-crushing punch, but it's worthless if you're unable to strike the enemy with it.

It's essential to study and eventually master what I call the “Three Jewels” of combat; distance, timing, and rhythm. Those who don't do this are just using their martial discipline as a form of calisthenics because it is simply not usable.

I remember a young lady who competed in the Top Ten Tournament in St. Louis many years ago. The matches were such that whoever could score 3 points first would win the match...or whoever had the highest score at the end of 3 minutes. She was a well-seasoned competitor as was her worthy opponent. Relying solely on a textbook-perfect reverse punch, she scored 3 points within 90 seconds, and the match ended.

She had one fine weapon – a reverse punch – and her sense of distance was exceptional, enabling her to successfully deliver her weapon with razor-sharp timing. Every. time.

The problem with many of the schools of neijia (internal Chinese martial arts) as well as a great many other Chinese styles as well as some schools of taekwondo, and karate is that, although they assiduously practice and polish their forms and train with their applications, they completely lose sight of critical elements such as distance and timing. These are what make an effective fighter what he/she is. Without them, he/she is just dancing and waving his/her arms pointlessly.

These crucial elements and training routines for them are illustrated and discussed in my book, MARTIAL MANEUVERS. There's no magic to any given martial discipline; developing and tempering strong technique and strenuously practicing and refining one's sense of distance and timing are what's needed...

THE MOST DIFFICULT TIME TO PRACTICE

 by Phillip Starr

I am sometimes asked, “When is the most difficult time to practice?” The answer is actually pretty simple; it's when YOU DON'T WANT TO! And at such times, it's really pretty easy to come up with what seem to be really good excuses... You quickly convince yourself that your excuse is reasonable, and you forego practice for the day.

If you do it once, the second time is much easier. After that, the excuses just slide through. Some excuses I've hear were fairly creative; nobody is going to say, “I'm just too lazy today.” Mind you, I'm not saying that you can't take a day off now and then...just don't let it become a habit.

Of course, there will be times when your reason for not training is perfectly valid. We all experience times of ill health, injuries, and so on. But such times are not what I'm talking about in this short article.

There's a saying that states, “If you ignore your gong-fu for one day, your gong-fu will ignore you for two.” And another... “Martial arts is like making tea. You must keep heating it or it will get cold.” Sure, there are days for me – especially at my age now (71 at the time of this writing) when I just don't feel like practicing. But I get off my butt and do it anyway.

The only REAL discipline is self-discipline and practicing every day, even when you don't want to, is one of the main things that builds it. Training when you're enthused about it...anybody can do that. Only a person who is disciplined physically and mentally will do it when he/she is not so gung-ho about doing it....