When Your Old Art Becomes New

[isshinryuronin]

Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn books are (or were when literature was taught in school) read by younger students as humorous and adventurous coming of age stories. Then in high school or maybe college, are revisited as more serious social commentary, revealing truths of human nature. Reading them in this light they become "new" books altogether. A similar phenomenon occurs in TMA.

We learn the basic blocks, punches, kicks, footwork, breathing, power generation, etc. We learn our forms and our particular style. After several years we get faster, stronger, tactically smarter, smoother, and even learn the "hidden" applications of our forms. But it's still the same old art.

But there comes a point that very few get to where a new paradigm takes hold. Like when quantum theory was discovered and the whole subject of physics had to be re-examined in a new light. Physicists were forced to go back to step #1 and rethink their perceptions and conceptions of their field. There are still particles, but now they can be in two places at once or their place is only a statistical possibility.

In TMA, when such a thing happens, one's view of the art changes. Internal/external become just different ways of explaining execution. Offense/defense become simply relative, situationally based terms. Some things we spent a lot of time practicing become irrelevant. Some things we took for granted are seen as quite valuable. Some things we were taught as being important are discovered not to be essential. Even our style becomes less unique as similarities to all the others become evident. Our art is still the same art, but we can go back to step #1 and re-read the book from the beginning all over again. The cover and title may be the same, but it's a new story this time around.

Depending on your experience, you may be aware of such things and possibly have internalized some of them. How has this changed your study/execution/view of your art?

 

[skribs]

This is a journey I've been on. It's one I've been heavily criticized on this forum for (that I have such an ego I'm trying to change what has been). But I stand by it.

TMA tends itself towards cult-like training more than modern arts do. For the purposes of this thread, I'm defining cult-like training as essentially: Sensei is the messiah of the art, don't question the sensei, just do what he says. It's normally presented more along the lines that you don't want to disrespect your teacher, so you don't doubt him. But what ends up happening a lot of the time is what you see in any organization where the person at the top can't be questioned: quality control is suspect and everything stagnates.

I've spoken numerous times over the years of my frustrations with my experiences of TKD and HKD as primarily "memorize the curriculum" martial arts. There have been pieces I've really liked, and some I haven't really understood or connected with. I had thought there was a better way to do it. Now I'm training other martial arts, and I do see how some things about their culture address the specific issues I had with my main art.

These past two weeks in BJJ, I've been blessed with a ton of "aha!" moments. The move-of-the-week last week was a submission we learned as a response to our opponent trying to establish a bear hug from under mount. This fit perfectly into my game plan of butterfly sweeping into top mount with an overhook. I also was able to apply the principles related to sweeps to help me pull guard more effectively, and I discovered a new submission (new to me, I figured it out without being taught) that started from doing a normal Americana "wrong" and then finding a new grip that worked. It's actually very tight and it's becoming my new go-to from that position.

None of this would be possible the way I learned Taekwondo, which was very much: "here's your techniques, do them in this order, exactly this way, or else it's wrong." It wasn't said in those words specifically, but that was the general message. I learned a lot of the what's, but none of the why's and how's, which is something that I'm learning a ton of in BJJ. But...I still like the TKD style of kicking, I still like having a curriculum that distills the art into bite-size pieces at each level. There's a reason I stuck with TKD for over a decade despite some minor reservations.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

People online criticizing what works for you is irrelevant to your journey. Do you, you know yourself, they don’t.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn books are (or were when literature was taught in school) read by younger students as humorous and adventurous coming of age stories. Then in high school or maybe college, are revisited as more serious social commentary, revealing truths of human nature. Reading them in this light they become "new" books altogether. A similar phenomenon occurs in TMA.

We learn the basic blocks, punches, kicks, footwork, breathing, power generation, etc. We learn our forms and our particular style. After several years we get faster, stronger, tactically smarter, smoother, and even learn the "hidden" applications of our forms. But it's still the same old art.

But there comes a point that very few get to where a new paradigm takes hold. Like when quantum theory was discovered and the whole subject of physics had to be re-examined in a new light. Physicists were forced to go back to step #1 and rethink their perceptions and conceptions of their field. There are still particles, but now they can be in two places at once or their place is only a statistical possibility.

In TMA, when such a thing happens, one's view of the art changes. Internal/external become just different ways of explaining execution. Offense/defense become simply relative, situationally based terms. Some things we spent a lot of time practicing become irrelevant. Some things we took for granted are seen as quite valuable. Some things we were taught as being important are discovered not to be essential. Even our style becomes less unique as similarities to all the others become evident. Our art is still the same art, but we can go back to step #1 and re-read the book from the beginning all over again. The cover and title may be the same, but it's a new story this time around.

Depending on your experience, you may be aware of such things and possibly have internalized some of them. How has this changed your study/execution/view of your art?

This was always the goal our Sifu talked about. “Do it more than you don’t do it and you will become it.” Intrinsically, it’s just how I move after all these years, I don’t “do it” anymore, I am the expression of it. Teaching was a huge revelation about how to do the basic foundational exercises. I’ve learned more by teaching than I ever expected.

 

[Prince_Alarming]

Perhaps at that point you're 'made a master'?

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

Perhaps at that point you're 'made a master'?

Certainly not me. I’m a student, a hobbyist, and a no rank martial arts enthusiast. I’ve known a couple of people I think of as master level, but they would never call themselves that.

 

[Prince_Alarming]

Certainly not me. I’m a student, a hobbyist, and a no rank martial arts enthusiast. I’ve known a couple of people I think of as master level, but they would never call themselves that.

Me either. I don't really set a lot of store by titles anyway.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

Me either. I don't really set a lot of store by titles anyway.

I have no issues with what people call themselves or rank titles. I'm interested in how well they move.

 

[Prince_Alarming]

I have no issues with what people call themselves or rank titles. I'm interested in how well they move.

Me, I'm more interested in going through their pockets for money so I can buy more crack

....sorry, sorry I'll behave. Thing is though, there kind of is more to self defence than 'all or nothing'. After all, you're not justified in seriously hurting everyone who makes a rude remark that you took exception to. It's important to learn to give people a way to back down without losing face.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

Me, I'm more interested in going through their pockets for money so I can buy more crack

....sorry, sorry I'll behave. Thing is though, there kind of is more to self defence than 'all or nothing'. After all, you're not justified in seriously hurting everyone who makes a rude remark that you took exception to. It's important to learn to give people a way to back down without losing face.

Talk is not something I would fight over. I have stabbed someone in a crowded restaurant for putting their hand in my plate twice. I warned him that I would stab him if he took food off my plate. He played a stupid game and won a stupid prize. We are very good friends now. He knows me as a man of my word and respects me for it.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

Me, I'm more interested in going through their pockets for money so I can buy more crack

....sorry, sorry I'll behave. Thing is though, there kind of is more to self defence than 'all or nothing'. After all, you're not justified in seriously hurting everyone who makes a rude remark that you took exception to. It's important to learn to give people a way to back down without losing face.

No need to behave on my account.

 

[Holmejr]

People online criticizing what works for you is irrelevant to your journey. Do you, you know yourself, they don’t.

Unless they’re correct. I have been sincerely wrong many times in my life. Wise council shouldn’t be overlooked.

 

[Holmejr]

Talk is not something I would fight over. I have stabbed someone in a crowded restaurant for putting their hand in my plate twice. I warned him that I would stab him if he took food off my plate. He played a stupid game and won a stupid prize. We are very good friends now. He knows me as a man of my word and respects me for it.

You stabbed someone over food? Seems medieval to me. You must have been in a really uncivilized environment and mindset. Wow.

 

[Prince_Alarming]

Unless they’re correct. I have been sincerely wrong many times in my life. Wise council shouldn’t be overlooked.

Absolutely. I freely admit I've been wrong about loads of things in my life. It scares me sometimes how much stuff I might still be wrong about. I think the crucial point though is that when you're wrong you should acknowledge your mistake, correct what can be corrected and move on- rather than engage in some convoluted, pretentious attempt to pretend that there exist multiple categories of truth or produce length arguments about specifics to try and excuse your error.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

Unless they’re correct. I have been sincerely wrong many times in my life. Wise council shouldn’t be overlooked.

Sure, if it’s wise, that’s the rub.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

You stabbed someone over food? Seems medieval to me. You must have been in a really uncivilized environment and mindset. Wow.

You have obviously never gone hungry. I’m happy for you. I had to steal and eat from trash cans as a teenager. Believe it man. Don’t put your hand in someone’s plate. EVER. I said “ if you ever put your hand in my plate again I will f***** stab you.” He chose to ignore my warning, looked me in the eye, and did it again. I am completely serious when I warn, I mean exactly what I say. It’s uncivilized to put your hand in someone else’s plate. What kind of mindset ignores a warning to stab you over something you shouldn’t be doing with something that doesn’t belong to you. Maybe you see it as extreme, I see it as being honest, forthright, and being true to my word. As I said, we are good friends now.