I've heard of some people who are good athletes but who are not good in the martial arts. Why would that be the case? There are some people who excel in just about any sport they do, examples would be people such as Joe Montana who was the quarterback for the 49ers or Jim Eisenreich who played first base and was also an outfielder and a designated hitter for multiple teams in MLB or Bo Jackson whose famous for playing many sports. You would think such people would be good in the martial arts if they chose to do it.
Why Wouldn't A Good Athlete Be Good In The Martial Arts
- Thread starter PhotonGuy
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Prince_Alarming
Master Black Belt
If you could play, say, rugby, professionally, would you bother with martial arts? I see no reason why somebody couldn't though.
SahBumNimRush
Master of Arts
When talking about cross platform performance, you want to look at the overall individual as it pertains to the "fitness pyramid"
The foundation is body symmetry, and body control. Not every sport requires the control through extreme ranges of motion like martial arts does. The middle portion of the pyramid is what most folks consider, when thinking of general training. The top is important, as some sports have good cross over skills, as others do not. A wide receiver may be able to play an outfielder in baseball, but may not be able to compete on the pommel horse. The skills are too different.
That said, I think any athlete should be able to train in martial arts, they may just not be a "'natural" as they are in sports that have a higher cross-over.
The foundation is body symmetry, and body control. Not every sport requires the control through extreme ranges of motion like martial arts does. The middle portion of the pyramid is what most folks consider, when thinking of general training. The top is important, as some sports have good cross over skills, as others do not. A wide receiver may be able to play an outfielder in baseball, but may not be able to compete on the pommel horse. The skills are too different.
That said, I think any athlete should be able to train in martial arts, they may just not be a "'natural" as they are in sports that have a higher cross-over.
Prince_Alarming
Master Black Belt
So many people get this wrong. Rippetoe, for instance, places strength at the bottom of the pyramid, while crossfit folks go with 'work capacity', whatever that turns out to actually mean. But without good mobility, none of that is important, he says with aching knees. Nice info.When talking about cross platform performance, you want to look at the overall individual as it pertains to the "fitness pyramid"
The foundation is body symmetry, and body control. Not every sport requires the control through extreme ranges of motion like martial arts does. The middle portion of the pyramid is what most folks consider, when thinking of general training. The top is important, as some sports have good cross over skills, as others do not. A wide receiver may be able to play an outfielder in baseball, but may not be able to compete on the pommel horse. The skills are too different.
That said, I think any athlete should be able to train in martial arts, they may just not be a "'natural" as they are in sports that have a higher cross-over.
SahBumNimRush
Master of Arts
You can also consider it like this: The foundation is movement and postural control; Movement Competency, the middle of the pyramid is performance under load; Movement Capacity, and the top represents sport specific activity; Movement Skill. When professionally assessing each of these tiers, the Competency is measured through something like a Functional Movement Screen (FMS), the middle tier is evaluated through a Functional Capacity Screen (FCS), and the top tier would be evaluated at a sport combine, or targeted screen.
Xue Sheng
All weight is underside
It would depend on the athlete and the martial arts. 6 foot 4 inch football player may be horrible at Shaolin long fist or karate, but might excel at BJJ or Judo. A Gymnast may be great at Capoeira but horrible at MMA.
Bruce Lee thought dancers would do well in martial arts
Bruce Lee thought dancers would do well in martial arts
Hyoho
2nd Black Belt
Being a good athlete doesn't make you a fighter.
Prince_Alarming
Master Black Belt
Well no, but being a crap one can certainly make you a bad fighter
Sammy Naur
Blue Belt
I think it goes without saying, most people are not physically or mentally capable of dominating and/or hurting others, which is the whole point of martial arts.
This is something the "I only do martial arts for defense" crowd (and who never fight) often miss. If you ever have to defend yourself with your own body, you're going to have to cross the line into harming (or at least forcibly controlling) another person.
And most people are just not comfortable with that at all. They will claim they are but it's often a sort of self delusion. You see it in boxing and grappling arts and especially MMA all the time. Especially kids.
One and done. They find out real martial arts requires hitting, kicking, choking..puking, bleeding, passing out. Kids will go right back to video games, adults will go right back to safe workouts like lifting and pilates.
isshinryuronin
Senior Master
Maybe not MA material, but at least they have common sense.
Sammy Naur
Blue Belt
I chalk it up to the same phenomena as riding motorcycles, shooting guns, rock climbing, or base jumping.
All of those look really cool on TV or on movies (because it's dangerous), but reality is the fastest teacher, and it's awesome when people put themselves "outside the comfort zone" but let's face it, most people can't sustain that without serious levels of dedication and discipline.
Taiji Rebel
Black Belt
We used to get tons of wannabe warriors in the gym. All talk until things got physical. Your previous post made me chuckle. Physical fitness and combat sports appeal to many, but only the few will actually tolerate the pain and have the discipline to continue when things get tough. Once the gloves are on and they've taken a few hits, been dropped with a body-shot, secured themselves a black-eye or busted lip etc. well, then the sofa and a games console suddenly become more a hell of lot more appealing.
Prince_Alarming
Master Black Belt
Well, that's a bit of a downer. What's wrong with everyone today?
ap Oweyn
Black Belt
Are you talking about specific athletes who have tried (and failed) to excel in martial arts?
Prince_Alarming
Master Black Belt
They probably would. I know a lot of dancers through my parents, and you could even say that some forms of martial arts are like a dance in which each partner is attempting to harm the other. I also know of one who did a marathon on the basis of very little training apart from his regular dance training and finished ahead of the field.
Xue Sheng
All weight is underside
He was impressed with their flexibility and strength.
As to the marathon, my wife did something similar, just a shorter race 5K. She would run on her treadmill in the morning a few days a week, then decided to join a 5K race in my area. She finished in the top 10 for her age group.
Now she runs on her treadmill 5k everyday
Prince_Alarming
Master Black Belt
Awesome! Good for her
Prince_Alarming
Master Black Belt
It's also another discipline where quality of movement really does count
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