What MA cliches wind you up?

[chrispillertkd]

Martial arts clichés, thy name is Legion.

A few of my "favorites" include:

Any mention of "aliveness" training.

Saying that "rank is meaningless," usually coupled with a bitter complaint about how some child just got promoted to black belt (or higher dan rank). You can't have it both ways, people.

"That technique just doesn't work," after trying it maybe 3 times.

"My style got rid of all the extraneous/unneeded techniques," usually coupled with complaining about the "watering down" of martial arts and a complete lack of a sense of irony.

This one doesn't fit, exactly, but the use of faux "oriental" lettering on things such as a school's logo, rank certificates, or - perhaps worst of all - the embroidery on a black belt. Why? Do you think it's a requirement to have bad taste to be in martial arts?

Pax,

Chris

 

[Touch Of Death]

Martial arts clichés, thy name is Legion.

A few of my "favorites" include:

Any mention of "aliveness" training.

Saying that "rank is meaningless," usually coupled with a bitter complaint about how some child just got promoted to black belt (or higher dan rank). You can't have it both ways, people.

"That technique just doesn't work," after trying it maybe 3 times.

"My style got rid of all the extraneous/unneeded techniques," usually coupled with complaining about the "watering down" of martial arts and a complete lack of a sense of irony.

This one doesn't fit, exactly, but the use of faux "oriental" lettering on things such as a school's logo, rank certificates, or - perhaps worst of all - the embroidery on a black belt. Why? Do you think it's a requirement to have bad taste to be in martial arts?

Pax,

Chris

Who cares about the embroidery? It looks better than the bricks.

 

[Mephisto]

Martial arts clichés, thy name is Legion.

A few of my "favorites" include:

Any mention of "aliveness" training.

Saying that "rank is meaningless," usually coupled with a bitter complaint about how some child just got promoted to black belt (or higher dan rank). You can't have it both ways, people.

"That technique just doesn't work," after trying it maybe 3 times.

"My style got rid of all the extraneous/unneeded techniques," usually coupled with complaining about the "watering down" of martial arts and a complete lack of a sense of irony.

This one doesn't fit, exactly, but the use of faux "oriental" lettering on things such as a school's logo, rank certificates, or - perhaps worst of all - the embroidery on a black belt. Why? Do you think it's a requirement to have bad taste to be in martial arts?

Pax,

Chris

Lol, good points. I'm curious what you don't like about the term aliveness? Perhaps a better word could be developed but I think it's a good concept to describe effective training. Of course aliveness is only one component and an effective program IMO which needs a certain amount compliant or "dead" training also.

 

[Touch Of Death]

Lol, good points. I'm curious what you don't like about the term aliveness? Perhaps a better word could be developed but I think it's a good concept to describe effective training. Of course aliveness is only one component and an effective program IMO which needs a certain amount compliant or "dead" training also.

Exactly! Aliveness describes an infusion of attitude, plus some actual physical changes you can make to the program, such as, don't stand flat footed, keep you hands up, keep the foot forward you want forward. What is the replacement term?

 

[drop bear]

Exactly! Aliveness describes an infusion of attitude, plus some actual physical changes you can make to the program, such as, don't stand flat footed, keep you hands up, keep the foot forward you want forward. What is the replacement term?

Alive training generally refers to resisted training.

 

[Mephisto]

Alive training generally refers to resisted training.

That's I context I use the term in. But I have heard it used to denote hand position, in Marc Tedeachi's book "Hapkido". But I think drop bear's definition is more common. Resistance training = alive, compliant training/drill = dead.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

Alive training generally refers to resisted training.

The term "resisted" may not be enough. I will say alive training is someone who runs toward you with full speed and tried to knock your head off. In other words, your opponent tries to hurt you and not just resists against you.

 

[Tez3]

The term "resisted" may not be enough. I will say alive training is someone who runs toward you with full speed and tried to knock your head off. In other words, your opponent tries to hurt you and not just resists against you.

My club knows that as 'training'

 

[drop bear]

The term "resisted" may not be enough. I will say alive training is someone who runs toward you with full speed and tried to knock your head off. In other words, your opponent tries to hurt you and not just resists against you.

yeah that works. I use the term intent. So I could train alive or resisted but if i really want a piece of the guy it would be alive with intent.

but it is much of a muchness.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

My club knows that as 'training'

If you let your opponent runs toward you like this 100 times and see how many times that he can knock/take you down vs. how many times that you can knock/take him down, your "self-defense" training will become "sport" training.

Since "take down" is much safer than "knock down", grapplers have much safer environment to test their skill.

 

[Tez3]

If you let your opponent runs toward you like this 100 times and see how many times that he can knock/take you down vs. how many times that you can knock/take him down, your "self-defense" training will become "sport" training.

Since "take down" is much safer than "knock down", grapplers have much safer environment to test their skill.

Our students tend to test their skills on that other martial arts cliché 'the street', I said 'tend to', they actually do fight quite a bit, sometimes they start it, sometimes they are defending themselves and sometimes it's even sanctioned by authorities. They will knock each other down quite happily, and knock others down even more gleefully. I'm afraid they regard all fighting as a sport, they are aggressive though despite what it sounds like they are also very disciplined.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

Every Sunday morning, there is an open mat that we have in my city (Austin, Tx). People just go there to test their skill against other MA styles. They then come back and discuss the experience that they had learned from there. IMO, it's an excellent idea.

 

[drop bear]

If you let your opponent runs toward you like this 100 times and see how many times that he can knock/take you down vs. how many times that you can knock/take him down, your "self-defense" training will become "sport" training.

Since "take down" is much safer than "knock down", grapplers have much safer environment to test their skill.

there is a happy medium there a bit. But as a rule of thumb if you are practicing a technique alive. You shouldn't be able to make it work all the time.

 

[drop bear]

Every Sunday morning, there is an open mat that we have in my city (Austin, Tx). People just go there to test their skill against other MA styles. They then come back and discuss the experience that they had learned from there. IMO, it's an excellent idea.

we do one as well.

 

[Tez3]

Every Sunday morning, there is an open mat that we have in my city (Austin, Tx). People just go there to test their skill against other MA styles. They then come back and discuss the experience that they had learned from there. IMO, it's an excellent idea.

Ours go out on Thursdays and weekend nights quite often ending up in fights. They know whether their stuff works or not, usually it does.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

there is a happy medium there a bit. But as a rule of thumb if you are practicing a technique alive. You shouldn't be able to make it work all the time.

One of my favor training is my opponent holds a shield and runs toward me with full speed. I then try to stop his forward momentum with my kick.

If

- my kick can stop his forward momentum, I get a point.
- my opponent's forward momentum runs me backward, he get a point.

After 100 rounds of testing, I will get a final score. That score can tell me what's the chance that my kick can stop an aggressive attacker. I like to use the same pattern to test many different skills as well.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Ours go out on Thursdays and weekend nights quite often ending up in fights.

I was going to say that the cliche about MMA attracting thugs was an irritating cliche, but the fact that you find this habit of getting into illegal street fights something to be happy about has prevented me.

 

[Tez3]

I was going to say that the cliche about MMA attracting thugs was an irritating cliche, but the fact that you find this habit of getting into illegal street fights something to be happy about has prevented me.

The fights have nothing to do with MMA and all to do with the fact that the British infantry soldier is someone who has a talent for getting into fights, as I said before they are not always of their making, often civvies full of beer and bravado like to pick on them which will cause a fight. Often fights will break out among different regiments ( the regimental system means that soldiers are actually related to each other as much as they are brothers in arms metaphorically) and often they will fight among themselves. You have to think the old Western bar room brawl where they fight then drink together, this has been going on for a thousand years or so, it won't stop anytime soon. This in on the biggest Garrison in Europe we have thousands of soldiers, most battle proven and battle weary. The British soldier has always been a hard man, that doesn't change either. Remember the old wartime warning for GIs? don't drink, play cards of fight with the Tommies.......
Am I happy about it? No, I've had to break up to many fights to be happy but the truth is they know about 'aliveness' training than most martial arts instructors, the older soldiers know what it's like to stand facing riots in Northern Ireland, having bricks and Molotov cocktails thrown at you testing your nerve, others have faced situations in the Balkans, two Iraq wars and Afghanistan, they know all about fighting both in the street and in a war. So when a civvie comes up to them full of vitriol and swinging at them you tell them not to punch his lights out because I'm not going to. Before people judge them, take a walk in their boots.

 

[Dirty Dog]

I am not judging them. I am judging your apparent attitude towards this behavior. I might have said the same thing about a group that gets into a lot of fights. I wouldn't have given any indication that I find this a good thing. can pretty much only be interpreted as approval.

 

[Tez3]

I am not judging them. I am judging your apparent attitude towards this behavior. I might have said the same thing about a group that gets into a lot of fights. I wouldn't have given any indication that I find this a good thing. can pretty much only be interpreted as approval.

Then you are completely wrong , at not time did I say I approved and I can see nothing in my posts that indicates I approve. Where did I say this was a good thing, I said that they are well trained in fighting in the streets after a comment that a certain type of training was actually turning into sport training. I was pointing out that our students consider fighting to be a sport anyway, there was no approval there. I was also pointing out that to them 'aliveness' training is actually going out and fighting. I think you are seeing what you want to see in my post which is, as always disapproval of me. If you cannot take a tongue in check comment as being exactly that ...hence the smiley face...then I'm afraid I can only assume you are making a personal attack on me. You certainly have no right to judge me....again.