Your system is unique?

[Hudson69]

Was searching the web for Defensive Tactics related information and some how ended up on a Bando(?) site with this quote.
"No system is completely unique. No system is completely independent from external and internal influences. Every system evolves over time by integration, modification and restructuring, resulting in what we then call "uniqueness." Overtime, this unique system will also change."
[His Holiness the Venerable Amaraqura Sayadaw, 1910]

I don't know who Mr. Sayadaw is but I like the statement. Not trying to say that everybody's martial art is unique to them but I wonder how much a system changes over the years, especially the ones reputed to be hundreds of years old; would MA recognize techniques that are the "same" practiced by another MA from the past?

 

[MJS]

Was searching the web for Defensive Tactics related information and some how ended up on a Bando(?) site with this quote.
"No system is completely unique. No system is completely independent from external and internal influences. Every system evolves over time by integration, modification and restructuring, resulting in what we then call "uniqueness." Overtime, this unique system will also change."
[His Holiness the Venerable Amaraqura Sayadaw, 1910]

I don't know who Mr. Sayadaw is but I like the statement. Not trying to say that everybody's martial art is unique to them but I wonder how much a system changes over the years, especially the ones reputed to be hundreds of years old; would MA recognize techniques that are the "same" practiced by another MA from the past?

I dont know who this person is either, but for the most part, I also agree with what was said. OTOH, there've been many times when I've talked about changes. Interestingly enough, some have said that things dont change, that change isn't good, etc, etc. Personally, I disagree....everything changes.

Now, as for things being unique....well, I suppose it depends on how we look at things. Kenpo and TKD both have straight punches, and front kicks, yet the terminology and application is probably different. So in that sense, no its not unique. Now, how Kenpo deals with a punch defense, vs. how TKD may deal with it, yes, thats probably unique. I'm sure there are subtle things in each art that other arts dont have.

 

[Kong Soo Do]

Was searching the web for Defensive Tactics related information and some how ended up on a Bando(?) site with this quote.
"No system is completely unique. No system is completely independent from external and internal influences. Every system evolves over time by integration, modification and restructuring, resulting in what we then call "uniqueness." Overtime, this unique system will also change."
[His Holiness the Venerable Amaraqura Sayadaw, 1910]

I don't know who Mr. Sayadaw is but I like the statement. Not trying to say that everybody's martial art is unique to them but I wonder how much a system changes over the years, especially the ones reputed to be hundreds of years old; would MA recognize techniques that are the "same" practiced by another MA from the past?

I like it, lots of truth to the statement.

 

[Buka]

"The only constant in life is change." François de la Rochefoucauld

I think he had something there.

 

[Cyriacus]

Well, i wouldnt say Unique. Perhaps not entirely.
Different Places Focus on Different Things.

Ill just call where I Train perhaps Uncommon, for Teaching the Majority of the Art as High Speed Powerstriking.

 

[jks9199]

Was searching the web for Defensive Tactics related information and some how ended up on a Bando(?) site with this quote.
"No system is completely unique. No system is completely independent from external and internal influences. Every system evolves over time by integration, modification and restructuring, resulting in what we then call "uniqueness." Overtime, this unique system will also change."
[His Holiness the Venerable Amaraqura Sayadaw, 1910]

I don't know who Mr. Sayadaw is but I like the statement. Not trying to say that everybody's martial art is unique to them but I wonder how much a system changes over the years, especially the ones reputed to be hundreds of years old; would MA recognize techniques that are the "same" practiced by another MA from the past?

I don't know a lot about him specifically, but His Holiness the Venerable Amarapura Sayadaw was one of Bando grandmaster Dr. Maung Gyi's teachers regarding the Bando Monk System and Min Zin (internal energy). One of Bando's central tenets, as Dr. Gyi has taught it in the US, is that there is no "best" martial art, but that each art has its own strengths and weaknesses and possesses its own truth. Bando is a Burmese martial art. As taught by the ABA, it is a synthesis of numerous indigenous martial art systems from the area of Burma. Training begins with a core of basic striking, blocking, kicking, stepping, throwing, and so on. Students eventually have the opportunity to train within one or more of the 9 Animal Systems (Boar, Bull, Cobra, Python, Viper, Tiger, Panther, Eagle, and Scorpion), which emulate the fighting tactics and survival strategies of the animals. The Boar and Bull are hard, powerful, charging systems, while the Eagle and Cobra make use of evasive strategies and speed, as brief examples. Each Animal System is truly a martial art in and of itself. The Monk System is a nonviolent martial art system, utilizing great evasion, careful noninjurious strikes, and masterful patience and self control to protect the practitioner.

In the 25 or so years I've trained in Bando, the system has undergone many, many changes. Just like Tae Kwon Do, Jeet Kune Do, BJJ, and many other arts have. I know that Bando was influenced by Japanese, Chinese, and Indian systems -- as well as by what Dr. Gyi has seen happen to many of the greats from the 50s and 60s. So many great martial artists from that era are virtual cripples today, and in response, Dr. Gyi has really pushed the balance of healing with hurting over the last decade or so.

 

[OKenpo942]

"The only constant in life is change." François de la Rochefoucauld

I think he had something there.

I agree. You must rain in self defense for the most common types of attacks in our time. The old stuff is good as well because these situations are so dynamic and variable. If you are not thinking about new ways to defend yourself against new types of attacks, you are setting yourself up for failure. Like the old saying goes, "failure to prepare is preparation for failure". Something like that.

James