Artes marciales?

jueves, 15 de septiembre de 2011

Las artes marciales han sido sistemas de defensa personal y tecnicas de combate, paz interna y condicion fisica, lamentablemente, el dinero parece tener el efecto de corroer o disolver las cosas.

Cuando las artes marciales se hicieron populares, estas empezaron a perder los enfoques y valores. Mi critica de hoy es debido a que en febrero me retire de mi anterior estilo (estaba dispuesto a regresar mis cinturones) que era un estilo hibrido, pues cada vez empeze a sentir que el sistema estaba corrompido: Grados por "lealtad", el perdonar muchos errores en examenes y no enseñar realmente nada de la historia de los estilos que lo componen. Realmente eso fue el 50% de las razones para salirme, el resto fue un instructor que tiene mucho conocimiento del estilo, pero presume de conocer otras cosas que realmente no sabe y habla mal de los demas estilos. Como confiar en un artista marcial que no tiene humildad ni honestidad?

Me dedique unos meses al entrenamiento por mi cuenta, repasando la teoria y acondicionando los huesos de la mano y espinilla, pero sabia que tarde o temprano debia tener "competencia" o alguien con quien compararme y siempre he sabido que mi tecnica de pateo es muy debil, asi que me meti en una escuela de TaeKwonDo.

Como sabran, el TaeKwonDo es un estilo con multiples organizaciones y torneos a nivel mundial, ademas de ser deporte olimpico. Este estilo tiene estandares hasta por los dientes: Poses, torneos, pateos, golpes, guardias, grados, instructores, etc. Para mi eso era casi el paraiso, pues aunque no creo en la estandarizacion, creo que era esto lo que diferenciaria este estilo de mi anterior estilo. Al menos sabria que serian mas exigentes en cuanto grados y respeto historico.

Pero aunque es una mejoria, estoy muy decepcionado: Un curriculum completo de TaeKwonDo debe incluir defensa personal (el estilo era originalmente con enfoque militar), pero lo unico que veo es pateo, forma, combate ligero, forma de vestir el traje y pose. Eso quiere decir, lo necesario para pasar de grado y pelear en torneos... cualquier cosa que traiga respeto, prestigio y potencialmente ingresos economicos a la escuela. No nos enseñan los valores, la historia y lo mas que nos enseñan en cultura es el nombre de las poses, formas y patadas en Coreano.

Este TaeKwonDo es como los examenes para la licencia de conducir en Mexico. Ojala fuera el unico problema, pero las organizaciones se han vuelto muy poco exigentes. Veo chicos de cinturon verde, azul, rojinegra y negra de 12 años que hacen formas de manera pobre, tienen poca diciplina y no tienen ni idea de la historia del arte marcial.

(Parece que tienen cintas "Poom" o rojinegra que son las cintas negras cuando los estudiantes aun no alcanzan los 16 años de edad... Pero aun asi yo veo cintas negras muy jovenes...)

El cinturon negro tiene un significado especial: Antes era un cinturon blanco que habia sido ensuciado, ensangrentado y maltratado por el entrenamiento al punto de que se volvia negro... tanto asi de significado deberia tener el cinturon negro... ahora veo niños con cero diciplina, conocimiento debil y nada de respeto.

Creo que aunque no seria el mejor artista marcial, siempre me gusto esa diciplina. Lamentablemente parece que esto ya no existe en este continente. Estoy haciendo mi primer Poomse y no creo que lo hago nada mal, no es perfecto, pero acabo de iniciar... Aun asi odio que no me corrijan nada. Hay 2 cinturones negros y me dicen "tu ya no tienes problemas"... Me hacen pensar que voy bien en la forma, pero despues me di cuenta que aunque soy el que mejor lo hace, aun asi tengo problemas y si no es por el instructor principal, no me corrigen nada... y eso solo me corrigio para mostrarle a un "cinta negra".

Entre en este Dojang (nisiquiera saben que asi se llama un gimnasio de artes marciales coreanas) para aprender artes marciales, no un deporte, el deporte deberia venir con el arte marcial. A mi no me importa ganar torneos, no me importa volverme famoso. Quiero mejorar, quiero aprender, quiero que me exijan, quiero saber de la historia, significado del estilo... Hay chicos con cinta negra que no saben nada del TaeKwonDo mas alla de que se patea. No saben que:

-El TKD debe tener defensa personal.

-El TKD es de Corea.

-Hay dos federaciones mayores (ITF y WTF) y no son estilos, son solo regidores de torneos y grados.

-TKD es un termino sombrilla para cubrir muchos estilos como los son el Kung Fu y el Karate.

-Muchas de las tecnicas de pateo provienen del Taekkyon.

-Los torneos de WTF deberian permitir cualquier estilo de pelea, mientras el peleador sea miembro de la organizacion (nisiquiera tener grado) lo cual es gratuito.

Y estoy casi seguro que casi TODAS las escuelas de TODOS los estilos de aqui son asi.

No tengo ningun titulo merecedor (al menos ya no), pero he aprendido varias cosas de otros estilos. Y sinceramente busco una escuela donde tengan un nivel de respeto, estandarizacion y exigencia decente con respecto a la tradicion del estilo. A mi no me importa el estilo y trato de aprender de todos los que pueda... pero sinceramente esto es lo mejor que he encontrado y aprender por mi cuenta no sirve si no tengo con quien compararme.

No soy tan idiota como para creer que no tienen nada que enseñarme. Saben MUCHISIMO mas que yo sobre pateo, el estilo y velocidad, pero lamentablemente no es lo que esperaba y me dio una idea de como se estan denigrando las artes marciales y bajando sus estandares... es incluso triste.

Tengo el sueño de practicar varios estilos para aprender lo mas que pueda (aunque probablemente no es ni probable): TaeKwonDo, Karate, Judo, Hapkido (este sera mas dificil), Aikido, Wing Chun y tal vez Choy Li Fut y Mixed Martial Arts. Espero alguna vez encontrar una escuela que me de ese extra, por que aunque me he peleado en la calle y he sobrevivido... se que no se pelear, no se defenderme, no se artes marciales como tal... necesito ese extra. Esa exigencia, una escuela que me obligue a pelear full contact sin reglas (excepto no matar o dañar permanentemente) para aprender defensa personal... por que no es mucho, pero para mi es necesario.

-FF-

Tomando: Nada
Comiendo: Nada
Leyendo: Nada

  • link
  • link
  • link
  • link
  • link

Ignorance Blinds Us

miércoles, 1 de junio de 2011

I'm not a great fighter, or a great budoka, or Martial artist. But I know about discrimination, or talking trash... I've been through all that all my life.

Mexico (and I suppose all the world, knowing that people on the internet) is a place where everyone thinks they know best. Example:

Here in Mexico; Most of the people think they know the best football team, think they know how to coach a team, think they could make Mexico a better place.


Over Youtube; everyone think they know about music, everyone think they know about guns, everyone think they know how physics works (yes, yes... wait, I'm getting to the point), AND everyone think they know about martial arts.

People think that because they defeated somebody in a parking lot and see the UFC everyday, that they know about fighting. I'm gonna review some of these close-minded "truths":

-----------------------------

1.- (The well known "fact" that) that MMA is the most realistic style to learn self defense.

Nothing against MMA, I love it (even when the fight gets boring when it gets to ground fight), but in streets, if somebody attacks you with a knife and you go straight to a punch, bites you, pop your eyeball or kicks you in the testicles, you are out (and they will if they can). So don't tell me you fight realistically if you get too close and I kick you in the groin because you weren't expecting that, and complain that wasn't fair.

Another thing, don't know about you, but I've been in fights in the streets, and most of the guys that fight with you, do it because they don't come alone. Sometimes they are even hiding in the crowd or watching from a far distance (gang style) so if you defeat him, they'll come to help. So doing ground fight is not that... let's say: safe, because if you manage to get on top and punch him, they will come and kick you in the face, the back or the neck while you are on the floor... And that's not really the best way to fight multiple, potential attackers.

Don't misunderstand me: I still believe it is useful in real situations, you just gotta know how to use the style.


2.-Martial Arts only work on a competitive environment

This is partially true... but I say partially because it's for a very good reason: They only fight other martial artists from the competitive environment.

You might say "that doesn't give you any points", but let me finish. I knew a TaeKwonDo practitioner (one of the most underestimated styles) who could fight multiple attackers in the street. I saw him once, defeating 3 gang guys (one of them with a metal chain) and was just hit once. I thought that was incredible... he did tons of kicks and some punches and defeated those guys. I asked him how could he do it, he said "Oh, that's because the teacher did two kinds of sparring: For tournaments and realistically. He attacked us and the firsts times was hard and we got hit pretty hard... was painful, but the time passed by and we could defend ourselves using TaeKwonDo, with the difference that those sparrings had no rules, so we could use the kicks and punches differently and we learned the hard way".

So, as you can see; the style doesn't create the winner, the winner is made by himself. The training and the goal for what you train is the key. If you train for competition, you will be batter for competition, if you train for self defense you will be unbeatable on the street.

The same thing applies for everything you do... Many martial arts have been stigmatized with the cross of "not-realistic" (TaeKwonDo, Aikido, Judo, Chinese Martial Arts, etc), but I think that every martial art has the potential to be effective on the streets, you just gotta train in a different way (realistic street-based attacks) with that goal in mind and remembering that in the streets there are not rules.



3.- Martial Arts should always be for fighting, combat sports or self-defense.

Do anybody knew that Tai Chi Chuan is a Martial Art?...

Martial arts can be more than just competitive or real fighting. Martial arts can be practiced for harmony to one-self. Can be practiced for physical conditioning. Can be practiced for body strength therapy. Can be practiced as a hobby. Can be practiced as a complementary activity for other sports... The reasons to practice martial arts can be so much more than "learn to fight".




---------------------------------

Martial arts are something that cannot be enclosed, something that cannot be judged without practice them with a serious mind.

Many people can put ideas in your head that are not yours. Once a person says a "serious fact" and wants you to learn it as it is without you being able to think about it, you are in danger of stop thinking.

Don take anybody's "facts" as real until you experience it: Not from Jason "Mayhem" Miller (MMA fighter), not from Morihei Ueshiba (founder of Aikido), not from your Martial Arts instructor, not even from Bruce Lee (founder of Jeet Kune Do)... Not even from yourself (and ironically... not from me). Experience is what matters... and each of us, have our own truths: Don't put your truths on other minds and don't let other minds to influence you.

I just wrote this so I can create tolerance between styles... Because I see lots of ignorance, discrimination and hate between different styles, countries and individuals. We must unite.

NOTE: When I say "Don take anybody's 'facts' as real until you experience it", I don't mean that you should be disrespectful. Always respect your elders and instructors...

NOTE 2: I apologize for my bad English.

  • link
  • link
  • link
  • link
  • link

Searching For Something That Doesn't Exists... Yet

lunes, 2 de mayo de 2011

Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū is the fictional fighting style created in the manga and anime "Ranma 1/2". It has the philosophy to take techniques from all kind of styles to use them in all kind of situations.


The difference with Jeet Kune Do, developed by Bruce Lee to use it in real street fights, is that Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū believes in the use of different techniques that you need in all kind of combat situations like Tae Kwon Do tournaments, Kickboxing, Boxing, Karate, Real street fights, Self Defense, etc. Even can be used in exhibitions.


This system doesn't need the fighter to dedicate himself to this system only, more than a system, this is a philosophy. The objective of this system is to be prepared to almost any kind of challenge.


"Victory doesn't matter, enjoy the fight itself (as long as your life is not in danger)"... Sounds... edgy, but is the most pure way of thinking a fighter can have. Feel the fight, Learn from the fight.


Do not confuse it with starting fights... Do not start real fights, defend yourself from them if necessary... Enjoy the sporty fights, the sparrings, the practice... Enjoy the techniques and mistakes you make.


The Objective

This is a way of thinking, a way of training, a way to enjoy challenges.


You can train techniques from many styles so you can use them in any kind of situation. One day you do a Boxing spar, the next day you are invited to a Tae Kwon Do spar and in the night you can make an all around match. You are prepared to spar decently according to the match rules. Victory doesn't matter, what matters is to be at the height of the challenge.


Those moves can be used on the previous sporty, friendly matches or in case you have to defend yourself, be prepared to use everything you've learned on the real situation (then victory IS necessary)... and if you don't get hurt, maybe make an exhibition the next day.


What we are trying to do is an all around martial arts training philosophy BUT, you don't have to learn something that doesn't interest you. You will learn what you need and if somebody ask you for knowledge, the best thing to do is to teach it. There are no ranks, just martial artists.

A Question... Is This Serious?


For me, at least it is... I like to train in Dojos and Gyms. But I hate a Master, Sensei, Sifu or Teacher that thinks his methods are the undeniable truth and no other style has something to teach him.

For me, humbleness or humility is a big part of being a martial artist and shared knowledge is the base of any modern martial art. Most of the martial arts are derived from another style and being closed minded should not be part of the martial arts.

Inspiration For The Name

I hate to confess the origins of the name. Yes, I took it from a manga/anime called "Ranma 1/2". The idea of the "Anything-Goes Martial Arts" is pretty much the same. I had that kind of idea long before I had the name, but I was too... let's say coward-respectful to express it.

If you watch the story, you can see Ranma learning techniques from other styles to use them in a match, many times with limited rules. Not only to defend himself, but for the challenge.

"Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū" translates roughly to "Indiscriminative Fighting Technique". Which pretty much describes the philosophy.

Who are we?

Nobody important, martial artists from different styles and ways of thinking, Each one with different objectives.

Don't expect people with great knowledge. We are just people that love martial arts and love learning.

PD: Welcome to this cheaply made blog about martial arts. I hope you feel like home.

  • link
  • link
  • link
  • link
  • link