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It makes no difference if you are a seasoned veteran of the martial arts or a novice beginner, every martial artist must learn to look beyond techniques to uncover the fundamental principles of martial science that lie underneath. A deep understanding of these principles will dramatically boost your martial art skills. More importantly, your survival on the street depends on it.
Fights in the ring and altercations on the street often last a long time. As both fighters maintain their balance this allows them to exchange back and forth with a variety of strikes and wrestling maneuvers. If you focus on disrupting the opponent's balance the moment the confrontation begins he will have a difficult time trying to defeat you while simultaneously struggling to regain his balance. That is arguably one of the most powerful yet overlooked principles of the martial arts.
You must focus on immediately unbalancing your attacker. If your assailant has his balance he can overpower you. If you quickly take his balance he cannot fight you and fight for his balance at the same time. Taking your opponent's balance is a quick and effective martial arts tactic for ending confrontations swiftly.
It is crucial that you adapt your martial art to suit your personality and body type. If your training consists of mimicking someone else's movements who may be bigger or smaller, stronger or weaker, or more athletic, you could be setting yourself up for failure. Trying to fight as though you are big when you are actually a small person is a dangerous way to train. You are most effective when you learn to accentuate your strengths by personalizing your martial art.
It is important not to rely on blocking to defend yourself in street combat. Blocking can work well in the dojo or in martial art tournaments, but when baseball bats are being swung or a 400 pound man is attacking a 160 pound man or a 90 pound women it no longer makes sense. Blocking a knife is a fast way to get cut or killed. It is usually wiser to learn to pass, redirect, and keep the attacker?s energy going to more efficiently counter him without subjecting yourself to harm.
It is crucial that you learn to be a creative and adaptive martial artist. If you only memorize techniques what will happen when someone attacks you in an unfamiliar way with a weapon that you never trained against? You can learn to nurture your mind's creative eye and your ability to instantly adapt to any situation once you learn to spot the underlying principles of martial science. Once you learn to see principles you will be able to create in the midst of combat by inventing your own techniques and counters.
It is critical that you learn to defend yourself from all possible scenarios. The majority of martial artists learn common techniques against strikes and grabs while standing or on the ground. What about learning to defend yourself while sitting in a chair or car, standing in a phone booth, elevator, or stairwell, or defending yourself while both your arms are held or bound? In the street there are no worst-case scenarios just realistic scenarios and you better be prepared.
Fights in the ring and altercations on the street often last a long time. As both fighters maintain their balance this allows them to exchange back and forth with a variety of strikes and wrestling maneuvers. If you focus on disrupting the opponent's balance the moment the confrontation begins he will have a difficult time trying to defeat you while simultaneously struggling to regain his balance. That is arguably one of the most powerful yet overlooked principles of the martial arts.
You must focus on immediately unbalancing your attacker. If your assailant has his balance he can overpower you. If you quickly take his balance he cannot fight you and fight for his balance at the same time. Taking your opponent's balance is a quick and effective martial arts tactic for ending confrontations swiftly.
It is crucial that you adapt your martial art to suit your personality and body type. If your training consists of mimicking someone else's movements who may be bigger or smaller, stronger or weaker, or more athletic, you could be setting yourself up for failure. Trying to fight as though you are big when you are actually a small person is a dangerous way to train. You are most effective when you learn to accentuate your strengths by personalizing your martial art.
It is important not to rely on blocking to defend yourself in street combat. Blocking can work well in the dojo or in martial art tournaments, but when baseball bats are being swung or a 400 pound man is attacking a 160 pound man or a 90 pound women it no longer makes sense. Blocking a knife is a fast way to get cut or killed. It is usually wiser to learn to pass, redirect, and keep the attacker?s energy going to more efficiently counter him without subjecting yourself to harm.
It is crucial that you learn to be a creative and adaptive martial artist. If you only memorize techniques what will happen when someone attacks you in an unfamiliar way with a weapon that you never trained against? You can learn to nurture your mind's creative eye and your ability to instantly adapt to any situation once you learn to spot the underlying principles of martial science. Once you learn to see principles you will be able to create in the midst of combat by inventing your own techniques and counters.
It is critical that you learn to defend yourself from all possible scenarios. The majority of martial artists learn common techniques against strikes and grabs while standing or on the ground. What about learning to defend yourself while sitting in a chair or car, standing in a phone booth, elevator, or stairwell, or defending yourself while both your arms are held or bound? In the street there are no worst-case scenarios just realistic scenarios and you better be prepared.
About the Author:
Sensei David Weinberg is a 3rd Degree Black Belt and Instructor of Freedman's Method Ketsugo Jujutsu, a Reiki Master, a Certified Personal Trainer, and an Integrative Flexibility Specialist. To learn more about Freedman's Method, visit the official jujitsu nh site or the official jujutsu nh blog.
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