It can be argued that the most important part of learning any martial art, no matter what the style, is properly learning the basics, and by basics I mean the basic techniques that go to make up the framework of the art- stances, footwork, striking, timing and distance etc., the bare bones of any fighting art.
I often look around and deplore the fact that too many people try to run before they can walk. I see it in my own students on a regular basis when I’m training them in Ju Jitsu- they often want to learn advanced techniques when they have yet to even master the more basic ones. Such a desire is quite prevalent amongst students who practice styles that have a great number of different techniques in them. It sometimes feels, when training students, like putting a kid in front of a huge table full of sweets and other tasty goodies and the kid doesn’t know what to grab first so they end up sampling a bit of everything on the table, never really savouring the taste of any particular sweet.
MMA And Modern Training Methods
A similar predilection also exists in the MMA scene. Because MMA is all about cross-training and trying to become a well-rounded fighter, a lot of practitioners end up just skimping over the different disciplines- BJJ, Wrestling, Thai Boxing, Western Boxing, Ju Jitsu- in an effort to learn them all. Consequently we see fighters in the cage who can barely strike properly and do so with sloppy technique. The best cage fighters I have seen, in terms of strikers anyway, are the ones who have come from a traditional background and have therefore practiced their strikes over and over again for years before they ever entered the cage. Too many MMA fighters enter the cage with not enough training behind them, simply because they can’t wait to “go for glory” and consequently we witness not a fight, but a brawl and then they wonder why they come under so much criticism for lacking in skill and proper technique.
It takes more than just practicing a punch on a bag to master it. I think a lot of martial artist’s mistakenly believe that if they can adequately strike a bag with either a kick or a punch and do so with a bit of power, then they must be good at that technique, but that obviously is not the case. To really master a punch or kick takes years of not just bag practice but drilling it in the traditional manner of going up and down the mats striking the air and also constant supervision from an instructor and continual self-appraisal to make sure that you are doing the every thing correctly.
Anyone can lash out and punch a bag with a bit of force but this does not mean that that person is an expert in punching. You only have to watch someone who has mastered their punching technique to see the difference and the difference is massive- the punch just looks so much better and more fluent and more powerful. An expert puncher is awe-inspiring to watch because they look like an expert when they do it, not like an amateur, which is how a great many people come across when you see them punching.
There is an effortless power and movement in techniques that have been mastered by the person doing them, a fluidity of movement that just doesn’t exist in techniques that have been performed by someone who hasn’t practiced
Probably the best thing any martial artist can do for themselves is to take the time to master the basics, really master them, for the following main reasons:
1. Practicing basic technique will give you a solid grounding on which to build the more advanced techniques upon. All those seemingly pointless stances for instance, that we all have to learn in the beginning, come into play later on when we have to learn the more difficult techniques. Kiba-dachi is one. Students often wonder why the hell they have to sit in a horse-riding stance for ages. What possible use could such a stance be? they ask. Kiba-dachi comes into it’s own in many techniques, not least when you perform a throw. When you throw an opponent with Seoi-Nage for instance, it is Kiba-dachi that you end up in because it is a strong, supporting stance and the best one for maintaining balance.
It is up to the instructor to explain these applications so that students are not training in a vacuum and they can see the point of what they are doing. It is also down to the student to ask questions as well, so they are right in their own mind about why they are doing certain things.
2. The process of learning the basics will also serve to condition your body and prepare it for the many years of training to come. Probably the first five or six years of my training was spent doing only basics, moving up and down the floor, punching, kicking, blocking over and over again. In between I did a lot of free-sparring to work on timing and distance. Not only did this help me learn the techniques, such training also left me with a highly conditioned body that has allowed be to withstand the many hard training sessions I’ve done since.
3. Learning proper technique will also aid greatly in your ability to generate power and hit with maximum impact. Body mechanics have a lot to do with whether or not your techniques are effective or not. If you can’t generate enough power or impact in your strikes for instance, then you should look at how you do them. Power and impact hinge on you being able to move your body in the correct manner, to use the natural movement of the hips to generate power. The only way to make sure that your body mechanics are correct is to practice the movements over and over until they become right.
4. As I’ve continually mentioned here on this blog, effective self-defense lies with the basics. Difficult and overly-complicated techniques are not suitable for live combat because they just don’t work out the way you want them too in reality. In real combat we use the basic techniques because it is the basic techniques that work and that have been proven many times over to work. It is therefore in your best interests to perfect those basics. The more you know about footwork and balance, the more versed you are in distance and timing, the better and harder you can strike then the better you will be able to defend yourself against any potential attacker. Learn to hit hard in the dojo by putting in the hours of practice and you will hit hard in the street when it counts.
5. Training in the basics is excellent for cultivating self-discipline also. If you can withstand the sometimes hard to take repetitiveness and bodily punishment that comes along with such practice then you can withstand whatever else your training throws at you. This is the point of basics work. It teaches you to persevere and hang in there until you get it right and it also teaches you the value of hard work and what can be gained by just sticking with something. There is no room in martial arts for fickleness or lack of diligence and you won’t learn anything properly by displaying either of these traits.
Basics For Proper Martial Arts Development
Proper basics training is essential to the development of any martial artist. If you’re an instructor, don’t kid your students into believing that their basics are fine when they are not, for you won’t be doing them any favours. Yes, basics work can be boring and repetitive, but it has to be done. I know some instructors who shy away from basics training for fear of loosing students for those reasons, but if you don’t school students enough in this area you are just bringing up ineffective martial artists.
In my club, basics training is a vital part of the curriculum and it is practiced in the traditional manner of moving up and down the mats and by doing things like “block and blow” routines. It’s hard training at times but you can see the difference it makes to the students overall training and performance. They begin to look like proper martial artists rather than amateur ones because their technique is tight and controlled, not sloppy and all over the place.
It honestly wouldn’t bother me to train in just the basics for the rest of my career. I enjoy it and it makes me an effective martial artist. I also find it very satisfying. I’d rather do that than become a jack-of- all-trades but a master of none. Flashy and complicated techniques are all well and good, they add variety and keep your interest up but in the end, real martial arts training is about training in the basics because it is the basics and the mastery of the basics that makes one powerful and effective. It is substance over style, not the other way round and that, as far as I’m concerned, is how it should be.
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