Social Media Naysayers

To be clear, I liked the "show." I also liked the shows Lion King, The Godfather, and Fraiser. That doesn't mean they're MA.

Rewatching that bo video, I saw MAYBE 10% MA related moves that could conceivably be effectively applied in combat. That leaves a minimum 90% that has nothing to do with fighting. I think this disparity is more than enough to classify the show as something other than MA. An entertaining exhibition of dexterity and skill to be sure, but not MA. My "preferred" version of a kata is one that is related to "martial" art.
Iā€™m sure you believe all that to be true, and that what you do is totally different. I would guess your kata is like 110% MA related. Of course, youā€™re creating the evaluation using your own kata as the de facto standard, so how could it not?
 
To be clear, I liked the "show." I also liked the shows Lion King, The Godfather, and Fraiser. That doesn't mean they're MA.

Rewatching that bo video, I saw MAYBE 10% MA related moves that could conceivably be effectively applied in combat. That leaves a minimum 90% that has nothing to do with fighting. I think this disparity is more than enough to classify the show as something other than MA. An entertaining exhibition of dexterity and skill to be sure, but not MA. My "preferred" version of a kata is one that is related to "martial" art.
If it's 10% martial, 90% art, that still falls under martial art. It's just that most MA are closer to 90% martial, 10% art.
 
If it's 10% martial, 90% art, that still falls under martial art.
This is not logical at all. Why wouldn't it fall under the category that's the 90%? Leroy Neiman is a painter famous for his sport scenes. He did a painting of Ali the boxer. Is Neiman a martial artist because 10% of his work is related to MA?
 
Last edited:
If it's 10% martial, 90% art, that still falls under martial art. It's just that most MA are closer to 90% martial, 10% art.
I appreciate and agree with your sentiment, and superficially, this provides some room to discuss how much "martial" is enough for something to be considered a "martial art." What is and is not MA is a very subjective, moot point. That's really the entire crux of it.

People presume that what they're doing is "martial" and what other people do isn't "martial." Or in this case, there is a spectrum, and some things are "martial", and others are "martial-like". It's the very definition of moot.

But we don't tend to get that far. If I were a betting man, I'd guess that some people think I'm being critical of their style of martial arts (I'm not) or that I'm trashing TMA and/or kata (I'm not). In the same vein, some people are trashing XMA, but think it's entirely justified because... well, because they believe their opinion is obviously, objectively correct (it's not).
 
This is not logical at all. Why wouldn't it all under the catagory that's the 90%? Leroy Neiman is a painter famous for his sport scenes. He did a painting of Ali the boxer. Is Neiman a martial artist because 10% of his work is related to MA?
How martial is your kata?
 
How martial is your kata?
Good question. I'd like to say 100%.

1. Every stance is capable of supporting an effect attack, counterattack or defense.
2. Every move has effective combat applications and effect.
3. Every position facilitates an effective offensive or defensive technique.
4. If a weapons kata, the weapon is never out of my immediate control.

These are the ideals my kata and I strive for. Every instance that is counter to these ideals takes it further from MA. They are not subjective (for the most part). The value of each can be tested and demonstrated. The next time you're in a fight, try doing a flip and end up in the splits with your back to your assailant and let me know how that works for you :D.) Most traditional kata were designed by those whose vocation/survival was dependent on fighting ability and, for some strange reason, they left these kinds of moves out.

The reality is, IMO, 80-85%. There is likely some degradation in the kata over the past century or two that renders some moves not as effective as originally designed or now not fully understood.

But the intent of the kata was/is effective self-defense. Once that is lost in favor of entertainment it is no longer martial, only martial-like. Even in class drills, if you're not doing the technique with the above ideals in mind with intent, visualizing an opponent, your practice is less martial and more exercise.

You could call doing push-ups a martial art since they resemble (10% worth) a double punch-like movement. It depends on how absurd and loose your idea of martial arts is. What's your view of what something must be to be considered MA as opposed to exercise or performance art?
 
Good question. I'd like to say 100%.

1. Every stance is capable of supporting an effect attack, counterattack or defense.
2. Every move has effective combat applications and effect.
3. Every position facilitates an effective offensive or defensive technique.
4. If a weapons kata, the weapon is never out of my immediate control.

These are the ideals my kata and I strive for. Every instance that is counter to these ideals takes it further from MA. They are not subjective (for the most part). The value of each can be tested and demonstrated. The next time you're in a fight, try doing a flip and end up in the splits with your back to your assailant and let me know how that works for you :D.) Most traditional kata were designed by those whose vocation/survival was dependent on fighting ability and, for some strange reason, they left these kinds of moves out.

The reality is, IMO, 80-85%. There is likely some degradation in the kata over the past century or two that renders some moves not as effective as originally designed or now not fully understood.

But the intent of the kata was/is effective self-defense. Once that is lost in favor of entertainment it is no longer martial, only martial-like. Even in class drills, if you're not doing the technique with the above ideals in mind with intent, visualizing an opponent, your practice is less martial and more exercise.

You could call doing push-ups a martial art since they resemble (10% worth) a double punch-like movement. It depends on how absurd and loose your idea of martial arts is. What's your view of what something must be to be considered MA as opposed to exercise or performance art?
Oof... 85%... :)

A couple of thoughts. I think people define martial arts in different ways. It's possible your definition of martial arts is different than mine... likely even.

You say push ups are 10% martial. I have absolutely no clue where that number comes from. Actually, I do. It's made up. You made it up just like you're making up the 80-85% for your own kata and the 10% for the XMA kata. It's entirely a product of your imagination. So, you're once again making the point that this entire thing is subjective. I mean, being completely frank, I have absolutely no clue what you mean when you say "martial".

Some people don't think boxing is a martial art. Some do. Some don't think RBSD is martial arts. Some do. Some like to use phrases like "martial sport" to distinguish what they do from something they don't consider a "real" martial art.

Personally, I think they're all martial arts. I don't think Asian arts or "traditional" arts have cornered the market on "martial arts' any more than karate has cornered the market on kata. You obviously disagree, and that's just fine with me.

All that said, I could take the bait you're offering and make the easy and obvious arguments that traditional kata is "martial like" in exactly the same way XMA kata is "martial like". But I'm not interested in the hassle I'd get for offering specific, critical feedback about traditional kata. People will read it and conclude that I'm anti-kata and/or anti-TMA, get defensive and start telling me what I really mean, and I frankly don't have the energy for it. Hell, I'm sure some folks have already tuned me out and are thinking exactly this. So, I'll just quit while I'm behind, and hope that you'll give this some more thought... maybe lead to you being a little more open minded down the road. :)
 
Yes, there is a spectrum and gray area on how much "martial" one needs to call something an MA. Clearly, I view XMA often on the other side of the dividing point. However, I made it pretty clear what I base my thinking on.
You say push ups are 10% martial.
I did not. I said, "YOU could" (because they look a little like double punches) since you seem to have a very broad view of what MA is. While they are used by martial artists, by themselves they are 0% martial. I was basically offering you a gift by allowing 10% to accommodate your viewpoint a bit. I see my kindness has gone unrewarded :).
you're making up the 80-85% for your own kata and the 10% for the XMA kata. It's entirely a product of your imagination.
I watched the video 3 times, carefully viewing the techniques, and saying that just 10% of the moves are martial in nature is based on many years of bo practice (I've spent 3 hrs. this week on it for example) extensive karate experience and a large amount of common sense. Surely you don't think most of the moves in that XMA forms have any effective combat application. As I said, MANY, even most, of the moves in it I saw in the Olympic rhythmic dance event. My professional opinion is that 90% of those moves are worthless for combat, noting several examples. I also noted you've offered nothing to back up your position.
I have absolutely no clue what you mean when you say "martial".
This explains a lot, even though my post #67 lists a number of qualifiers (points 1-4 and elsewhere) to help define it in terms of MA. You seem to be the one making general statements without any support/examples to back them up. I even asked for your view on what make MA unique from entertainment or exercise but you offered no response.
easy and obvious arguments that traditional kata is "martial like" in exactly the same way XMA kata is "martial like"
This would be like equating Olympic wrestling or BJJ with TV wrestling. You can think I'm closed minded, but I do know that the "Dancing with the Stars" TV competition is a far cry from a karate tournament.
 
Last edited:
Yes, there is a spectrum and gray area on how much "martial" one needs to call something an MA. Clearly, I view XMA often on the other side of the dividing point. However, I made it pretty clear what I base my thinking on.

I did not. I said, "YOU could" (because they look a little like double punches) since you seem to have a very broad view of what MA is. While they are used by martial artists, by themselves they are 0% martial. I was basically offering you a gift by allowing 10% to accommodate your viewpoint a bit. I see my kindness has gone unrewarded :).

I watched the video 3 times, carefully viewing the techniques, and saying that just 10% of the moves are martial in nature is based on many years of bo practice (I've spent 3 hrs. this week on it for example) extensive karate experience and a large amount of common sense. Surely you don't think most of the moves in that XMA forms have any effective combat application. As I said, MANY, even most, of the moves in it I saw in the Olympic rhythmic dance event. My professional opinion is that 90% of those moves are worthless for combat, noting several examples. I also noted you've offered nothing to back up your position.

This explains a lot, even though my post #67 lists a number of qualifiers (points 1-4 and elsewhere) to help define it in terms of MA. You seem to be the one making general statements without any support/examples to back them up. I even asked for your view on what make MA unique from entertainment or exercise but you offered no response.

This would be like equating Olympic wrestling or BJJ with TV wrestling. You can think I'm closed minded, but I do know that the "Dancing with the Stars" TV competition is a far cry from a karate tournament.
Yeah. Youā€™re really good at seeing whatā€™s different. You just donā€™t see the stuff thatā€™s the same. šŸ™‚
 
Nothing gives someone more courage than total anonymity and freedom from repercussions. I've learned to ignore the obvious troll comments. One of the biggest issues is people can't separate their own experience and expectations from others. The belts and ranks mean different things at different schools. I would be delusional to think that a 1st degree black belt in my system means the same thing as a 1st degree black belt in bjj. They are 2 different arts with 2 different goals. A black belt in my school is not necessarily the same as a black belt at your school. This is a concept over most peoples heads. As long as the meaning of the rank is clearly defined and expectations are consistent then there is nothing wrong with someone being a black belt in X school and not being a black belt at Y school. My Blue belts (4th gup/kyu in our system) have the same level of expectations as many other TKD schools have for 1st dan, but our 1st dan is about the same as a brown belt in Kyokushin based on expectations. AND THATS OKAY! That doesn't mean that other TKD schools have worse expectations, they just have a different meaning for their rank and have different goals. It doens't mean Kyokushin is better, it just means there are different expectations. It's asinine to equate all black belts, especially if you compare to sport karate to something like a UFC fighter.
 
Nothing gives someone more courage than total anonymity and freedom from repercussions. I've learned to ignore the obvious troll comments. One of the biggest issues is people can't separate their own experience and expectations from others. The belts and ranks mean different things at different schools. I would be delusional to think that a 1st degree black belt in my system means the same thing as a 1st degree black belt in bjj. They are 2 different arts with 2 different goals. A black belt in my school is not necessarily the same as a black belt at your school. This is a concept over most peoples heads. As long as the meaning of the rank is clearly defined and expectations are consistent then there is nothing wrong with someone being a black belt in X school and not being a black belt at Y school. My Blue belts (4th gup/kyu in our system) have the same level of expectations as many other TKD schools have for 1st dan, but our 1st dan is about the same as a brown belt in Kyokushin based on expectations. AND THATS OKAY! That doesn't mean that other TKD schools have worse expectations, they just have a different meaning for their rank and have different goals. It doens't mean Kyokushin is better, it just means there are different expectations. It's asinine to equate all black belts, especially if you compare to sport karate to something like a UFC fighter.
THANK YOU. Very well said mate :)
 
I think people define martial arts in different ways. :)

Yes, we do. I don't even use the term much, because for my art bits I play the guitar and make music. :)

To me, "martial" means that a skill has at least a combat intent, as opposite to possible application (because in the right setting, almost everything has possible combat application, so it would be too wide).

Whereas "art" to me means that there's a strong emphasis on creativity and/or aesthetics and/or spiritual/philosophical, as a distinct and separate addition to the functional aspect.

That's why, for example, I don't regard boxing as a martial art. It's certainly martial, but the aesthetic aspect is, from what I see, not particularly in focus for most people. Should that change - and people starting winning bouts depending on how good their left hook looks, it would become one. Of course, there's someone for which a well executed left hook is a thing of beauty, and boxing will be an art to them. But the definition kinda applies to the statistical majority.

Then of course the term can be used loosely and like any term it can change meaning depending on the context. The MMA sport for example is not much "art" even if it's in the name - because it emphasizes the combative aspect and disregards the artistic one. And one can certainly do karate without too much regard for the artistic aspect (like I do).

But while this is my definition of "martial art", it seems to me a reasonable one which kinda works in most situations (but what do I know :))
 
Yeah. I donā€™t know what the purpose is. But then again, we donā€™t do that kata, so we canā€™t possibly understand the bunkai. It takes a long time to develop that kind of deep understanding.
Well, "don't know" and "cannot possibly understand" are very different things. Otherwise we would still live in caverns. :)

The entire concept of "bunkai" (which btw seems much more a western term than an oriental one) is misleading, I think. There's not much to analyze - no more that there's much to analyze if I give u a screw, a screwdriver, show you how to use it and then ask you to join a piece of wood to another.

In may (obviously individual) assumption, each movement in a kata has one intent. To understand that intent, we need to look at the context of application, not in a vacuum. A lot of "bunkai" miss that context by a mile (not for ill will, but because we are biased by a century of misinformation that has become a "truth" by sheer amount of repetition).

But once you change the context, katas become really easy.

For the video, I just can't find a (combative) context where that jump would make sense, hence my puzzlement.
 
Nothing gives someone more courage than total anonymity and freedom from repercussions.

Yes, because if the same discussion were happening in person, the person insulting the performer would be asked show how much better their own kata is.

The laugh react on facebook is a lifeline for those who are called out in such a way that they are backed into a corner. Ask them to post a video of themselves posting a kata, and they leave a laugh react.
 
Yes, because if the same discussion were happening in person, the person insulting the performer would be asked show how much better their own kata is.

The laugh react on facebook is a lifeline for those who are called out in such a way that they are backed into a corner. Ask them to post a video of themselves posting a kata, and they leave a laugh react.
I think you just need to stop getting so upset at strangers on the internet at the end of the day itā€™s really not that big a deal people can say what they want. It only matters if you let it matter which it seems you are so you are just giving them more power than they need to have
 
To me, "martial" means that a skill has at least a combat intent,
Not limited to the "skill" part, though, as one can have a martial frame of mind as well, which leads to the "intent" part. A baseball player has skill in swinging a bat. If his intent is to hit a ball, there is no "martial." If he uses it to hit a person (hopefully in self-defense) it now becomes martial in intent and application.

Many moves in XMA show skill but are done with the intent to entertain or merely show off that skill. Since there is no combat intent, the martial component is missing and as a result, there is no incentive for the techniques performed to be effective in combat (or perhaps the cause and effect can be reversed). This is why I say that XMA is MA only in the very broadest terms.
Whereas "art" to me means that there's a strong emphasis on creativity and/or aesthetics and/or spiritual/philosophical, as a distinct and separate addition to the functional aspect.
You have hit many of the bases of what "art" is. But I think you are leaving out a major part - technique. IMO, art is infusing one's skillful technique with these qualities you listed. The technique is the vehicle thru which these qualities are expressed. Whether brushstrokes, usage of light and color, picking guitar strings, or spinning a long stick, one's technique must blend with the creative/spiritual side. Together they create "art."

XMA, I think fits the bill here. It is art - but just barely a "martial art."
 
Not limited to the "skill" part, though, as one can have a martial frame of mind as well, which leads to the "intent" part. A baseball player has skill in swinging a bat. If his intent is to hit a ball, there is no "martial." If he uses it to hit a person (hopefully in self-defense) it now becomes martial in intent and application.

Many moves in XMA show skill but are done with the intent to entertain or merely show off that skill. Since there is no combat intent, the martial component is missing and as a result, there is no incentive for the techniques performed to be effective in combat (or perhaps the cause and effect can be reversed). This is why I say that XMA is MA only in the very broadest terms.

You have hit many of the bases of what "art" is. But I think you are leaving out a major part - technique. IMO, art is infusing one's skillful technique with these qualities you listed. The technique is the vehicle thru which these qualities are expressed. Whether brushstrokes, usage of light and color, picking guitar strings, or spinning a long stick, one's technique must blend with the creative/spiritual side. Together they create "art."

XMA, I think fits the bill here. It is art - but just barely a "martial art."
Have you trained XMA? šŸ™‚
 
Have you trained XMA? šŸ™‚
Interesting idea on top of the other idea that the naysayers can't produce their own work.

Because a XMA guy is more likely to be able to do a traditional kata, than a traditional kata guy able to do a XMA kata.
 

Latest Discussions

Back
Top