With a martial arts school seemingly on every corner, and stiff competition for prospective students, it's easy to get lost in marketing hype. There are many claims made for martial arts training: it will improve your focus, lead to better physical fitness, improve your health and well-being, and so forth. One claim many martial arts schools make is that their training is excellent for building self-defense skills. But is this always the case?
The term "martial arts" is a broad concept, not easy to define. According to Mark MacYoung, martial arts can be roughly separated into five streams with different objectives and different training methods. The five streams are self-defense/professional use of force, tradition/physical art/self-discipline, spiritual/health, sport/tournament, and demonstration. According to MacYoung, each stream has its individual objective, and all streams are valid aspects of what we refer to as "martial arts." However, because of differences between the subtleties of each approach, it is difficult to master more than one stream, and impossible to become an expert in all five.
The sad fact, however, is that in the interest of marketing, most commercial martial arts studios claim their training builds expertise in the full spectrum of martial arts. By extension, their instructors claim expertise in all five streams, including self defense. When you really look at it critically, however, most schools who claim to teach "real" self defense are really experts in a different stream, usually sport or traditional. In these systems, whatever combat utility the original system has been gradually removed due to the techniques being stylized (made to look "pretty") and the intensity of the training watered down. The focus has shifted from the original intent: neutralizing a threat. The problem is, these schools are quick to cite the combative roots of their art in an effort to sell it as "self defense," when in reality their art has evolved into something else entirely. In MacYoung's words," It is nearly impossible to learn one focus [simply] by studying another."1
When evaluating a martial arts studio's claim to teach "real" self defense, ignore the marketing hype and look at what is actually taught. To be effective, self defense instruction must have the following attributes:
1. Full-Spectrum Training. Simply hitting with full contact in competition sparring may make you tougher (if you survive unscathed), but it will not teach you to protect yourself on the street, because you are still limited to the tactics and constraints of competition. Effective self defense instruction should actively cover the full spectrum of responses to violence, including awareness, avoidance, escape, and verbal self defense. Training must not be limited to just physical techniques.
2. Legal Aspects and Proper Use of Force. To legally claim self defense, a person's response to a perceived threat must match the level of aggression they experience. How you react to the threat, the verbal interaction between you and your attacker, the techniques you use, and even dropping into a particular stance can all determine whether your claim of self defense is justified or if you will be the one arrested instead of your attacker. Unfortunately, the typical martial arts school ignores all this, simply teaching students to respond with physical force. Such an approach leaves the students exposed to criminal or civil liability. Proper self defense training should always include the legal context.
3. Useful Techniques. Self defense techniques should be simple, direct, and powerful, and should be trained until they become second nature. The stylized moves and intricate footwork of many modern martial arts, even those claiming to be "traditional," are ineffective or downright dangerous for personal protection. In some cases, the claims made by some martial arts schools are downright misleading. For example, taekwondo studios love to include in their marketing materials that taekwondo is the Korean military's close quarter combat system. It is true that in the 1950s and 1960s, a subset of taekwondo techniques were used as combative training by certain Korean units. However, the modern Korean military treats taekwondo as an intramural sport, much like basketball in U. S. military units.
4. "Alive" Training. There is nothing wrong with training self defense in a safe, controlled studio environment. However, training that always takes place on pads with bare feet, traditional uniforms, and compliant partners will never be realistic. For training to be "alive" (that is, representative of any sort of real threat), students must train against uncooperative partners. They must be allowed to hit full contact in controlled conditions, either on a target or a trained, properly-padded instructor. Periodically, students must train in settings away from the traditional matted floor (e.g., outside). There should be plenty of role-playing in all areas of verbal and physical self-defense.
Even if the self defense context is not the focus of every martial arts class, such training must have these four attributes. Studios who claim their art is sufficient for self defense, but do not follow this instructional road map, are very likely not living up to their claim of providing their students useful personal protection skills. If the self defense aspect of the martial arts is important to you, use this discussion as a guide when choosing a studio. There are traditional schools that teach useful personal protection, if you know how and where to look.
1 http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com/four_focuses.html
Spotsylvania Martial Arts offers a free trial program for the following age groups:
? Tiny Tigers (Pre-Skill Program for Ages 4-6): Physical and Mental Agility, Focus, Awareness, Child Safety
? Children (Ages 6-12): Better Grades, Self-Discipline, Respect, Enhanced Focus, Child Safety
? Teens & Adults (Ages 13 and Up): Self-Discipline, Physical Fitness, Goal-Setting, Self Defense
Spotsylvania Martial Arts Training Facility
4100 Lafayette Blvd, Fredericksburg VA 22408
Commerce Center Plaza (across from Spotswood Baptist Church)
Phone: 540-891-9008
Website: http://spotsybba.com
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