I went to my first martial arts tournament back in the early 80s somewhere in Kentucky. I was a member of a kung fu school and one of the teachers was well-known in the tournament circuit for his forms competition. I had only been training for about a year, but this man took me under his wing and we drilled a kung fu form that, among other things, contained what is known as a “butterfly kick” (think Scott Hamilton) and a round-off followed by a crescent kick. I won first place for my rank in that competition. Not bad for a chubby kid.
I won in part because this was an “open” tournament, meaning all martial arts styles were allowed to participate. Kung fu was not huge in our neck of the woods and I was the only person performing a kung fu form. Nobody else had gymnastics in their routine like mine, so I stood out and won. I also won the sparring completion based on point strikes. My teacher was adept at point-sparring and taught me how to dart in, score and dart out.
Lots of pomp and flourish.
Years later after studying traditional karate and full-contact fighting, I went to another open tournament as a black belt. I placed third in the forms competition, beat out by two kung-fu guys who had all kinds of gymnastics in their routines. I performed a very traditional and apparently boring form. I lost in the second bout of point sparring because I had been used to going several rounds with opponents and taking hits. It was nothing for me to take a shot to the gut or the side of the head and counter. That’s not how point sparring works. “Point? What point? He barely hit me!” Don’t argue with the judge.
That was my last tournament. I realized that to win, I had to play by the rules of the game. In order to do that, I would have to train differently. In free style tournaments, winners stand out because of athleticism and highly technical routines. They practice speedy and agile punches and kicks designed to be delivered from a distance. This aspect of martial arts has evolved into its own sport.
I came to a similar realization many years later in terms of full-contact fighting. The short answer is simple: you fight the way you train.
Full-contact fighting and now MMA are combat sports. Tough sports. And you have to train that way if you’re going to survive, much less win. When I was much younger and going to karate class on the regular, I didn’t care for things like basics (kihon) or forms (kata) because I didn’t feel those aspects applied to what I really wanted to do…fight. I thought the other stuff was a waste of time and I spent most days (out of the dojo) working on fighting skills, e.g., the heavy bag, speed bag, etc. I worked on techniques that would help me overcome another skilled fighter, things like a spinning side-kick or a back fist lead-in. I learned some basic boxing skills and studied “bobbing and weaving” and footwork. I wasn’t great by any means but I could hold my own.
Then I went to Japan and all that changed. I studied aikido, a modern form based on ancient Japanese sword techniques and jujutsu. There was no sparring, no kicks and very limited strikes. The idea was self-perfection, the essence of Budo (martial way). The pursuit of a body, mind and spirit connection that results in a person who (typically) becomes more of an asset to society through self-discipline and ego suppression.
I applied the same mindset to karate and revisited all the old forms and techniques with new vigor. I also found a couple of folks who studied karate for it’s original purpose; self-defense and hand-hand combat. No spinning kicks, no aerial attacks. Simple and direct movement with no intent to score a point or tap someone out. Strikes and kicks to vital areas to end a confrontation. Train the body and mind to be a weapon using simple tools like a striking post. And lots of reps. And lots of forms (kata). And lots of practical application against a partner who, if they are worth their salt, attacks with full speed and power to provide you with the opportunity to block, evade and counter as close to a real confrontation as you can get.
In recent years, I’ve seen traditional martial artists pit themselves against MMA fighters. Bad idea. In the first place, you don’t train that way. If you are training hard and doing everything you need to do in terms of fitness and diet, your diligence will pay off when it needs to, if it needs to. We must remember that we train relentlessly to prepare for a fight that we hope never happens.
In the second place, what are you trying to prove? And why? It’s kind of like a soccer player who walks onto a football field thinking they can jump in and play. It’s a different game and you don’t play football. You play soccer. So be the best soccer player you can be.
Dave Magliano
Jissenkan Budo
Tatsu Dojo
Dojo Cho
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