“Traditional versus Modern Martial Arts”
"As Seen in Living Well Magazine"
By:
Sukh S. Sandhu
Kancho The Gi Yu Dojo
Often I am asked about the
“effectiveness” of the classical
Japanese jujutsu we teach and study. My
answer is always the same…”any martial art is as effective
as the time and
effort the individual martial artist has put in to it.
Like any endeavor we delve in to in our
lives…if we want to be proficient…we must first study and
work hard at
understanding the basics of it…whether it is painting, wood
working, athletics
etc. From that effort we will be on our
own path to mastery of said subject. As
of late, with the many fly by martial arts and publication of fighting
systems
that promise to teach you how to fight and kill an opponent in a few
days (for
a hefty fee) I find it interesting that the folks who teach these ideas
have
black belts and backgrounds in the very same traditional art forms they
say are
outdated.
After all, the idea of “fighting” has
not changed since the
beginning of mankind. The human body has
not evolved any different today than 1000 years ago.
We have one head, 2 arms, 2 legs, a torso
etc. So the very art forms from yester
year are still the foundation for
today’s “modern” fight systems. Our
art
forms of the “KoRyu”, or old ways, of fighting were combat
tested, tested in
real life or death situations, they worked, because their lives
depended on
it. Granted, in today’s society we
do
not carry swords on our hips or 6 foot bo staffs in our everyday lives. However the ideas that these ancient weapons
represent can be seen in everything we do today. The
focus and awareness it takes to
concentrate on using a real Japanese sword is quite challenging. To put our effort and mind 100% in to some
thing is surely transferable to our everyday lives.
Use of the longer weapons, the 6 foot staff,
can teach you distancing, strategy, and focused intent….the very
things that
are applicable to unarmed fighting today.
If you don’t look in to the depth of what is being taught
and figure out
how to apply to your life today, whether a physical confrontation, a
mental
challenge at work or a spiritual challenge to overcome some disease,
you have
fooled yourself for your own lack of understanding.
I am by no means discounting any form of martial
arts, I
myself have trained in quite a few of them, though I think there is a
misconception of the “one finger death touch” or learn to
kill anyone by
attending my seminar for some high priced weekend.
If you fool yourself in to thinking there is
only one way, you will ultimately be proven wrong.
One of the benefits that a “traditional”
martial such as the one taught at the Gi Yu Dojo, is the character
development
that our society seems to be lacking in this day and age.
Along with the discipline it takes to
constantly try to improve yourself and humility that comes with
training in an
ancient form. Old does not mean
outdated. As my teacher use to always say
to me…”study something old to learn something new”.
Learning how to “fight” is pretty easy
in my opinion,
learning character and being disciplined takes effort.
Effort that is put in and humbleness that is
learned by good mentorship and support of the training partners that
have come
before you. That is what I see as
lacking for the “new” martial arts.
Martial arts is not just about fighting, it is also about
community
responsibility. Create a very strong
warrior and even better servant to those around him/her.
Ultimately, a person on the path of
“budo”, must decide why
they are pursuing the path of a warrior.
They then must challenge themselves to find which
“form” of martial arts
is best for them and pursue it with utmost dedication.
All fighting styles have many benefits and
similar ideas, so all martial arts have the ability to help a person
become
better. I always tell our new students,
: you are not here to compete with anyone other than
yourself….you should
always strive to be better today than you were yesterday…that
will equal
consistent growth as warriors and as productive members of our
communities.”