Recently, a video of a ten-year-old Irish girl performing a series of sword techniques has been circulating on Facebook. This was the best way I could find to link it to this blog, since the video I'm specifically referring to doesn't seem to be on YouTube.
Then my martial arts friends got a hold of it. I saw this still from the video (shared from a sword arts page I am unfamiliar with) featuring this added caption.
It led to a discussion with Brian about the snobbery we've noticed in martial arts circles. A sort of "pooh pooh" attitude toward any art that is not the one that particular individual practices.
Brian and I have both been playing in tomiki aikido for almost four years. Before this, I had played with a college judo club and Brian grew up with Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Both of us spent time in competition-focused environments before joining the aiki crowd, which does not generally compete.
While there are a lot of egos in the mixed martial arts crowds -- at least in some that spill in to visit our dojo from time to time -- neither of us feel that there is anything inherently wrong with practicing a martial art in order to demonstrate it or compete with it. We seem to be the minority in this thought process.
Over and over we hear martial arts veterans saying things like "Oh, jiu-jitsu is good if you want to lay down as soon as a fight starts," or "Aikikai is too fluffy to be useful," or "judo guys train to let go if you tap, what if a street attacker taps? They'll just let go."
If there's one thing to understand from doing martial arts for any considerable length of time, it's that every system has holes in it. Period. If there was one perfect martial art, everyone would do it. There are different systems because they evolved for different situations, cultures and goals. The United States, in general, is not a feudal society. But we've always loved a good fight (ex: boxing). Thus the rise in MMA's popularity (my issue with MMA is unrelated to the fact that it is a sport, but that's another blog topic all together).
Judo and jiu-jitsu stemmed from the fighting styles of warriors who used swords, staffs and their own hands to take down enemy soldiers. Aikido and aikikai stemmed from judo (I'm sure there are similar lineage connections in the "kick-punch" arts of karate, tae kwon do and others, but having not practiced them, I cannot list them off the top of my head). But no one art was ever intended to be all-inclusive. Certainly principles can be taken from one art to the next and applied successfully; aikido principles of keeping centered, oscillating your opponent and moving yourself, for example, are very applicable on the ground, where most aikidoka do not frequently go.
Aikido is largely a standing art, so my weakness was groundwork. So I started playing with Brian, practicing how to move so I wouldn't get scared should I ever end up on the ground. His BJJ background helps me with the hole in my understanding, and it helps me practice principles like keeping my hands centered in alternative environments. I'm not a fan of the joint locks that he favors, but I've learned where they can be useful, though they don't creep into my randori much.
But what's with all the hate for training to get points? Or training to demonstrate? Just because someone has spent their energy focused on submitting opponents or maneuvering out of unfavorable positions means they aren't as much a martial artist as someone who focuses on "being the water" and moving around an attackers force? Or a person who practices beautiful katas with non-obstinate partners can't be taken seriously because "Well if I do this, that won't work."
Yes, martial arts are generally studied to be some sort of defense system for the practitioner. Yes, martial arts training can save lives and even de-escalate intense situations. But you can not tell me, assuming that ten-year-old Irish girl continues training, that if someone tries to grab her while she's holding a broom or pole or other stick-like object she wouldn't walk away unscathed. Or if a "points-fighter" jiu-jitsu guy or boxer gets tackled by someone fleeing cops he wouldn't be able to at least daze the assailant until the authorities can catch up.
I just wish the attitudes of superiority could take a back seat sometimes. Sure, there are a lot of problems with MMA. There are also a lot of problems in judo, aikido, karate, jiu-jitsu and any other system of martial art under the sun. The point is not not argue about which art is better. The point is to pick one that works from you and explore the others to fill in holes you find as you go. Keep an open mind.
It's okay to disagree with the approaches of other arts. It's fine to try it and conclude "this won't work for me." It's great to try it and think "this approach would work really well with how I do this." It's not okay to flippantly say "This art sucks."
Martial arts is a personal journey for each practitioner. Some do it for exercise, others to learn to defend themselves. Some love the art side and others love the people. Most I've met do it for some combination of things. Let's not take away from another person's journey by belittling the path they chose.
(Hell yeah this is going toward my word count)
Word Count: 980
Total Word Count: 4,009
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