My dream is to create a new martial art. I work very hard to diverse myself in my training to learn as much as possible from different martial arts, what works best in different situations and such; thus I don't think knowledge will be a problem in the future. But how do you actually go about founding a new style or martial art? Do you start a school, do you have to earn some sort of acceptance from different boards or something like that?
Most "new" styles evolve somewhat organically. Someone starts in an old style, but has a personal insight or adds some unique ideas that they begin to teach. They gather students, and, in time, they're approach gets recognized by others as a new style. Sometimes, a teacher breaks with their old teacher over something (personal, technical, both...) and creates a new style of teaching the old art. Typically, things that develop this way maintain a certain level of functionality and usefulness.
Some "new" arts are deliberate synthesis of existing arts, either to preserve them or to create a "common base" of that art. My own style of Bando is one such; the modern version of Bando that I train in was pulled together in Myanmar(Burma) out of numerous indigenous styles in order to preserve the functional aspects of them. The inherent genius, in my opinion, of those founders was finding a common base to underlie the whole, and cataloging it. There is also an iaido, that, as I understand it, collected basic techniques and kata from several more traditional Japanese sword styles.
Today, lots of people are "creating" their own style out of practically thin air, throwing a label on some personal amalgamation of experience in a few different things, or stripping things they feel are unnecessary out of a base style, adding other things. Lots of these are messes. At best. People with little experience trying to make things work they way they think they should...
A very few styles are the result of true, innovative insights and an ability to convey those insights. Ueshiba's shift in aikido, Ibi Lichtenfeld's krav maga... these are a couple of examples. One can make an argument either way for Jeet Kun Do... Why do I add the ability to convey it? Because there are martial artists out there who are geniuses, and can do incredible things -- but you look at their students, and it's not there. Sometimes what they came up with is too personalized, and just doesn't adapt to another person well. If it can't be passed on or conveyed... it's just a personal expression, in my opinion.
So... what makes you think you need to or should create a new art? What special insight do you have? What do you want to do that might not be already done, within your base style?
