The martial arts have collectively undergone a metamorphosis of philosophy and practice over the past several years. Much of what has been done has been the result of a combination of soul-searching on the part of practitioners and of potential consumers as to, “what works?”; that is, which style/combination of techniques is the most effective under the most circumstances, when utilized by the most diverse pool of practitioners? Jiu Jitsu (Brazilian, small circle, etc.), Boxing, Karate , and Sambo have all been touted, at times, as “the” most comprehensive of the martial arts by its legion of supporters. Which art really IS the most effective? Which art is the most “practical”? This article will seek to address these questions, as well as to propose to respectfully encourage discourse among the many martial artists in an effort to solicit a vast array of opinions, supported through both empirical and anecdotal data with regard to the ever prevalent questions: which martial art is the best one, and how can one prove that a given martial art is the best one?
When comparing the martial arts, the researcher/practitioner should first consider the motivation behind the practicing of a martial art:
*Self defense?
*Street fighting?
*Military applications?
Military situations tend to lend themselves towards a greater variety of options with regard to lethality, weapons, aggressor scenarios, etc. Is the mission one which necessitates the taking of prisoners? A “peace keeping” mission? All out aggression?
Which weapons are at the combatants’ disposal? Rifles? Pistols? Knives? Hands/feet/etc.?
There is certainly more to military, “hand-to-hand” techniques than L.I.N.E., jiu jitsu, or karate techniques. Which styles/techniques can be most efficiently taught and maintained over the broadest spectrum of combatants which is also the most effective in ensuring the victory of the combatant?
In the US military, comparatively few members are actually assigned to combat specialties (i.e., infantry, etc.;), yet even those members tend to have very little time allocated to the honing of even the most rudimentary of these hand-to-hand combatant skills. How many hours per day are allocated to actual training in these arts? The bayonet?
It’s been told to me that most of the special forces soldiers of the world are pretty much the same, as far as individual ability (i.e., fitness, intelligence, motivation/patriotism, aptitude for the rating, etc.), and barring multipliers in the form of technology, operational parameter options (peripheral force options, such as air/satellite support, etc.). (Interview: 2004) In determining the difference between the standing armies of the world, one should compare the difference between the operational effectiveness of an army’s infantryman and their special forces. A larger discrepancy between the operational abilities between a given country’s army and their special forces denotes an overall lower rating of that army’s operational capabilities. (ibid)
I therefore ask:
*Which system of martial arts training is the most lethal for a combat scenario?
*Which system of martial arts can be most readily taught to, and its skills maintained by the largest pool of potential combatants?
My father was a USAF sergeant stationed in Thailand during the Vietnam War. Although he had the rank to avoid the assignment, he volunteered to act as an augmentee in the patrolling of his military base. His patrol was finally jumped a few miles from base, after he had been on several patrols without incident. In retrospect, he remembered that he pondered if he had permission to fire (this was not a free-fire zone, as most Vietnam-era vets can attest), and that the assailants were using knives, machetes, and hatchets.
He noticed that everyone on the patrol was using Tae kwon Do during the melee (these airmen were all in the same Tae kwon Do class he was in). He eventually had his scalp split open by a machete, and ended up using a rear kick to knock out who he thought was an assailant rushing up to attack him. This person turned out to be a fellow airman, and his face was literally shattered from just below the eyes down through the jaw.
My questions to the reader, here, are:
*Is Tae kwon Do practical for the battlefield? My father was tall (6’4”), and quite well-trained (his instructor was a transplanted South Korean Marine who had settled in Thailand after his service during his own country’s involvement in the war). My father did get his scalp split open (something which was inadvertently divulged just prior to his hip surgery last year …) during the action.
*How does modern day military hand-to-hand combat training stack up to my father’s impromptu (albeit effective) Tae kwon Do training experience (he was a brown belt at the time)? In which ways is contemporary training more effective?
With regard to self defense, one must consider several variables entailed in a self defense situation:
*The type of aggressor (male/female, age, size, fitness level, armed/unarmed, and motivation).
*The characteristics of the defender (male/female, age, size, fitness level, armed/unarmed, attack scenario).
According to the latest United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) statistics (fbi.gov/2008) , most rapes of females tend to occur in their own homes and tend to be perpetrated by acquaintances between 29-35 yrs. of age (ibid). The attackers tend to be unarmed, and about half of the victims who resisted (70%, in all) found that outright physical resistance was effective in thwarting an attack. While most rapists tend not to be large men (under 160 lbs, and under 5’8’’ tall), they tend to be larger than their female victims, and tend to have “the jump” on their victims; as the victims tend not to be aware of any forewarning of an impending attack.
Conversely, however, according to the latest United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) statistics (fbi.gov/2008), most aggravated assaults tend to be between strangers, who may or may not be armed. The motivation varies between drunken brawling to physical intimidation (i.e., aggravated physical bullying) to strong arm types of criminal motivations. (ibid).
While most male-on-male confrontations tend to be face-to-face, most attacks on females in the United States tends to come from behind the victim. Given this phenomenon, and the interesting characteristic profile differentiation between the aggressors in rape vs. aggravated assault scenarios, the potential practitioner of a given martial art must certainly weigh each of these factors when engaged in the selection of a style of martial art to pursue.
The motivation to prepare one’s self for a street fight scenario is quite varied. In addition to the street patrol law enforcement officer, one might also find a need to acquire and hone street fighting skills as a private security guard (no, the job doesn’t always lend itself to the standard, “observe and report” scenario …), student, or academic. As distasteful as it may seem, the street thug might also be motivated to hone their street fighting skills; something all martial artists should be aware of (both potential instructors and potential victims).
Common sense would dictate that grappling arts which emphasize lay-down, joint-bar types of techniques might find themselves inappropriate in a multiple attacker scenario. Those grappling arts which utilize throws as well as grappling techniques might find themselves more useful in street fighting situations, but unduly cumbersome (and potentially ineffectual) if the practitioner is substantially smaller, frailer, or on unstable footing (i.e., snow, mud, gravel, sand, etc.). Should females be given instruction in face-to-face self defense techniques, given most attackers (in the U.S.A., at least) to attack their victims from behind? Are high kicks ineffective against “real life”, street situations?
I am reminded of three incidents which might tend to lend fuel to the fires of those of you who are reading this brief treatise; the first of which involves my father back in 1971 Bangkok, Thailand. He was a 30-ish sergeant in the USAF, on his way back to the U.S. when he was attacked by two street thugs. He briefly heard a woman scream behind him, turned his head, and planted his foot into the chest of a knife-wielding assailant. He had earned his first degree black belt just months prior to this incident (Song mu Kwon Tae kwon Do). The art has certainly changed quite a bit since 1971, but the chest high, spinning back kick served him well in this one situation. The fact that he was tall (6’4”), and athletic certainly lent itself to the successful execution of this technique, as did the apparently inept execution of the knife attack by his assailant. Was this just a, “lucky shot” by my dad? Is this technique practical in all “street” situations, given an opportunity to execute it?
The second incident of which I am quite acutely aware of involves my youngest daughter. She was in second grade at the time of this incident. She was chased across the playground of her school by five “wannabe” gang members (yes, there are gangs in grade school, according to her school’s administration …), and surrounded. She was attacked by them, whereupon she dispatched each of them with a series of kicks and hand techniques (ushiro-geri, yoko-geri, moroto-uki, and a series of straight punches). I was certainly incredulous of this story until her mother confirmed it after visiting with the administration of my daughter’s elementary school. My daughter had been training in Fudokan Karate for about three years, at this time, and sparring for about one year.
Were these young thugs just collectively inept in the pursuit of their endeavor? Was my daughter’s athleticism (she was also a budding gymnast at this time), and superior physical development a factor in her ability to decisively beat down five boys who were her age and who were simultaneously attacking her? Did her sensei’s decision to have the boys spar with the girls enable my daughter to aggressively triumph in this situation? Yes, her clothes were mussed up, as was her hair.
What was the bottom line in each of these scenarios? If my father had “gone to the ground”, would he have been able to triumph against his attackers (the second one just stopped in his tracks, and ran away)? Would my daughter have been able to defend herself against these attackers, had they been able to get her to the ground?
The third scenario involves a former high school student of mine where I teach. He showed up to my class (the second of three two-hour sessions per day), just a bit agitated. I took him aside and asked him if he was alright. He shared that he was attacked by an adult from a passing car as my student was walking to school a few hours earlier. My student is a black belt in Tae kwon Do (something which he was reluctant to share with me until after I had notified our administration team about this incident), and was able to use a jumping roundhouse kick to his assailant’s head as the assailant rushed out of his car to attack my student. Yes, the assailant was knocked unconscious. The ensuing police report confirmed my student’s account of these events.
Jumping and spinning kicks are normally dismissed as too “showy”, or “tournament fodder”, and yet both my father and my former student -both of whom are Tae kwon Do practitioners- were able to successfully employ such techniques in real-world, street situations. I’ve tried these techniques in point-sparring tournaments, but with absolutely NO success ( I now fake as if I’m going to jump/spin, and use my opponent’s reaction against them, but this is the grist for yet another article …). Again, what is the purpose/motivation of the practitioner of martial arts to study a given style of the martial arts? Is any one style, “the best”? Should all styles incorporate parts of other styles (stand-up/grappling, grappling/stand-up, etc.), or should the martial artist, “shop around”; learning what he/she can, and incorporating what they can to best facilitate their personal needs?
The next article in this series will explore the differences between ring, tournament, and street fighting techniques; their utility, and which crossover -if any- there is between their applications.
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