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I have come up with a useful analogy that works quite well, at least when the questioner is willing to listen:<\/p>\nAs a traditional martial artist who insists on everything I study passing the test of combat, I spend a lot of time around full-contact fighters who don\u2019t understand the point of the traditional arts. I field a lot of questions and statements like \u201cWhy can\u2019t any of you fight?\u201d or \u201cWhy don\u2019t you have jabs?\u201d
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\nI have come up with a useful analogy that works quite well, at least when the questioner is willing to listen:<\/p>\n
Compare the martial arts with the U.S. educational system, particularly in the learning of English.<\/p>\n
First, you go to elementary school. Here you learn the ABC\u2019s of fighting: Punch, kick, throw, etc.<\/p>\n
Then you graduate to high school, where you learn the grammar of fighting: The different ranges, for example, and how to move between them.<\/p>\n
After this, you should have a solid understanding of the basics of fighting. If you spend enough time studying these skills, you will have everything you need to fight, at least as long as you have an athletic build.<\/p>\n
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If you choose to, you can then go on to get your bachelor\u2019s degree. This is where you begin to learn your clever tricks, which allow you to stack the fight in your favor. This could be compared to learning superior techniques of argument.<\/p>\n
You may even go on to earn your master\u2019s degree or doctorate. Each adds another layer of sophistication to your knowledge of English\/fighting.<\/p>\n
Once we have established this analogy, we can talk about why most martial artists \u201ccan\u2019t fight\u201d, and why you don\u2019t see any jabs in the forms.<\/p>\n
The traditional martial arts start further up the educational system. They assume you already have your elementary education, and some assume you have more than that before you begin to learn. In other words, the traditional martial artist should know how to\u00a0 jab, throw, etc., but it isn\u2019t the purpose of the art to teach them.<\/p>\n
As an aficionado of the internal arts, most of the systems that I study are master\u2019s or doctorate arts. They offer an amazing set of skills that I couldn\u2019t use in self-defense if I didn\u2019t have a background in the basics.<\/p>\n
You could define Taijiquan as \u201cA doctoral degree in using your opponent\u2019s power against them\u201d:<\/p>\n
Baguazhang as \u201cA doctoral degree in generating power without a fixed base\u201d:<\/p>\n
Xingyiquan as \u201cA doctoral degree in generating power by stamping\u201d:<\/p>\n
Wudang as “A master’s degree in structural manipulation”, and so forth.<\/p>\n
I have found that full-contact fighters are quite happy to accept the traditional martial arts when you explain that they “build upon” the skills that they already know and don’t ignore them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As a traditional martial artist who insists on everything I study passing the test of combat, I spend a lot of time around full-contact fighters who don\u2019t understand the point of the traditional arts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[19],"tags":[472,470,471,170,136,50],"class_list":["post-3151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-baguazhang","tag-mixed-martial-arts","tag-mma","tag-taijiquan","tag-wudang","tag-xing-yi"],"yoast_head":"\n