One of the aspects of modern martial arts training that has fascinated me is that so many people who train in various martial art forms. will likely never actually use what they have been taught for it’s intended purpose- that of self-preservation!
As a side note to this observation, a cursory search on the internet, will show that the vast majority of the ‘extreme’ versions of reality based self-defense type schools, tend to be in the middle to upmarket neighborhoods of the Western world. You don’t find these schools in the ghetto’s or the barrios, places where the real need to defend oneself on a daily basis is a reality.
Proponents of the Crazy Monkey Defense Program (CMD) assert that the program is effectively used to “train champions in the ring, in the field and most importantly in life”. Its pretty easy to understand how the physical skills, strategies and tactics trained in the program will result in success in the ring or field, after all CMD is a program of martial or combat skills and one would hope that at the very least these would be applicable to sport or real world combat situations. But what about that “champions in life” claim? How is it possible that training in the CMD Program can help someone be a champion whose life does not regularly involve the imposition of physical force on another person?
By Professor Gordon Marino
“Know thyself” was the Socratic dictum, but Tyler Durden, the protagonist in the movie “Fight Club,” asks, “How much can you know about yourself if you’ve never been in a fight?” Although trainers of the bruising art wince at the notion that boxing equals fighting, there can be no doubt that boxing throws you up against yourself in revealing ways. Take a left hook to the body or a trip to the canvas, and you soon find out whether you are the kind of person who will ever get up.
We Still Have Not Shaken Our Evolutionary Heritage (& It Won’t Be Happening Anytime Soon!)
Why do so many men, especially young men (18-24) hook into the extreme reality based and competitively based martial art schools?
Even though, most will never find themselves in a position to use what they have been taught in saving their lives outside of the Dojo?
The answer I believe is evolution.
Why Many Martial Art Instructors Are Missing The Mark & How We Can Really Make A Difference
Martial arts in the 21st Century is a interesting phenomena. I would suggest that out of all the people who participate in some form of martial art training 99% are most likely men. If the statistics on our YouTube channel are anything to go by, then this is a very accurate figure.
The Way Is Not The Path
The term ‘The Way Of The Warrior’ is thrown around in conversations in many martial art schools around the world. But when pressed on what that exactly means, most people have little in the way of a substantial answer.
What is the way?
Which way allows one to become a warrior instead of something else?
Just because you may understand the ‘way’ does that truly make you a warrior?
In a society where we are frequently disappointed by over-hyped marketing and undelivered promises, it is easy to become cynical about anyone trying to promote their ideas, organisations and products.
Having met Rodney King at a number of seminars, clinics and retreats over the past four years, I was more than convinced that he was the real deal when it came to delivering and coaching functional modern martial arts.
But what about the other side of the coin?
Just by chance the other night, while flipping through the TV channels, I came across a local mixed martial art competition that is held in Johannesburg. I knew one of the guys that was fighting. He had trained with us a few years back. In a subsequent interview when asked why he competes, he replied, “It’s about testing yourself. What is the point of training so hard and never seeing if your training is working?” With almost no exception I hear most competitive guys reply with the same reasoning.
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