I have come to understand that martial arts needs to be tailored to fit the individuals needs. When an instructor tells you to step forward or back or side to side do they mean my step or their step. I as a man of 5'5" am not going to have nearly as long a stride as a man who is 6'5", so why on earth would we follow that stride with the same strike. Doesn't it make sense that he would be closer to the opponent then I would be, which would naturally imply that he should use a closer range weapon, say an elbow when I would use a punch. But so many stick to doctrine and try to fit the individual into the mold of the system as opposed to tailoring the system to fit the individual. I always tell my students and training partners that while the numbers may change (in this case reach and distance) the equation stays the same, it is just like doing math. Really martial arts and self defense is math, you have a problem that must be solved and you need to employ calculated movements and equations to solve this problem. You have to take into account all the factors and then plug them into the equation to reach a desired outcome which is your solution. So instead of teaching doctrine why don't we teach equations? Instead of set techniques why don't we teach theory and idea's?
I would like you to consider for a moment what would fit better and suit of the rack from Walmart or a hand made tailored suit. Well if you said Walmart then stop reading and go back to the couch with you bag of Cheetos. Of course the tailored suit, it is designed for you! As a student or a teacher it is your job to either take stock of yourself and make the necessary adjustments or as a teacher be the tailor and measure your students as to make a good fit and the proper adjustments. I am not against tradition or conformity, I am against rigidity and ignorance. Even the great Miyamoto Musashi wrote that "A stiff hand is a dead hand, a pliable hand is a living hand". Don't be a stiff hand! I have encountered many stiff hands, and when questioned they either have no answer or an unsatisfactory one and often become angry by the question. When I was in college as some of you well know I studied martial arts ( actually that is what my B.A is in Martial Arts Studies, first westerner in the world to earn such a degree) I had asked my TKD instructor who was also an Olympic coach why would I ever practice high kicks for anything other than developing power and flexibility? His answer was "because that's what we do". THAT'S WHAT WE DO!!! " I am 5'5" with rather short legs, don't you think my time would be better spent practicing low kicks in my techniques then high kicks (by low kicks I mean from the stomach down)". His answer "NO! THAT'S WHAT WE DO"! Pompous and ignorant and probably never been in a real fight in his life, but I digress we must not develop training scars in our students or allow ourselves to be mislead and develop them ourselves. It is important to take stock, be practical, pressure test your techniques and make what you learn work for YOU. If you are a serious self defense enthusiast or professional then this is a must. I often roll my eyes when guys quote from Bruce Lee not because I dislike anything about the man on the contrary it is because he is a hero of mine, but he had said that I can teach you and you can learn but you can not learn my style you can only learn your style it is a matter of self expression so how can you fully express yourself by mimicking exactly what others are doing. I am not saying don't listen, or question everything what I am saying is do what works for you and not what works for someone else or worse what someone tells you works for you. Remember if you wanna stay clean you gotta fight dirty.
"REAL VIOLENCE NEEDS REAL SOLUTIONS"
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