The Future

[now disabled]

The Future of MA (regardless of Art, Style, System, country of origin)

Yes a big question

Where do other folks see the Arts going? What paths would they like to see them taking? Who is the future of the Arts (not specific people as such)

Just questions I have been pondering on and would like to hear others views

 

[CB Jones]

We really enjoy it. Hopefully it grows and I think competition helps it grow.

Enjoying watching the young Martial artists coming up and developing.

 

[Headhunter]

We really enjoy it. Hopefully it grows and I think competition helps it grow.

Enjoying watching the young Martial artists coming up and developing.

Those kind of competitions are making it worse more than growing it in my opinion

 

[Martial D]

The Future of MA (regardless of Art, Style, System, country of origin)

Yes a big question

Where do other folks see the Arts going? What paths would they like to see them taking? Who is the future of the Arts (not specific people as such)

Just questions I have been pondering on and would like to hear others views

Honestly these days I could not care less about 'the state of martial arts'.

I care only for the state of my style of martial art, which I endevour to advance every day by advancing myself.

 

[jobo]

Those kind of competitions are making it worse more than growing it in my opinion

Why do you think that l?

 

[marques]

Current trends:

-Interest in martial arts in general is decreasing (and most schools focusing in kids or fun fitness side... to survive)
- Interest in MMA is increasing.

The easy guess is these trends will continue.

My view is the sport side will hold some interest in martial for the coming years. The art side will struggle and perhaps become even more scarce.

 

[Headhunter]

Why do you think that l?

Because most of them are purely focused on trophys and end up breaking their own rules to win. I've seen styles that use low stances in forms have really high ones just so they can impress the judges.

The fighting is worse you must've seen these guys who leap through the air trying a back fist with their feet off the ground or sprinting at the opponent. Those are things theyd never use in self defence and they'd never learn it in class but they do it for a trophy. So they're breaking the rules of everything they've learnt for a bit of cheap metal

 

[jobo]

Because most of them are purely focused on trophys and end up breaking their own rules to win. I've seen styles that use low stances in forms have really high ones just so they can impress the judges.

The fighting is worse you must've seen these guys who leap through the air trying a back fist with their feet off the ground or sprinting at the opponent. Those are things theyd never use in self defence and they'd never learn it in class but they do it for a trophy. So they're breaking the rules of everything they've learnt for a bit of cheap metal

But if they are changing to make it more likely to " win" certainly at the fighting elliment, then they are improving it, I make no comment on the Kata,s competition, other than the judges should score them according to the forms they are expected to learn

 

[pdg]

Because most of them are purely focused on trophys and end up breaking their own rules to win. I've seen styles that use low stances in forms have really high ones just so they can impress the judges.

The fighting is worse you must've seen these guys who leap through the air trying a back fist with their feet off the ground or sprinting at the opponent. Those are things theyd never use in self defence and they'd never learn it in class but they do it for a trophy. So they're breaking the rules of everything they've learnt for a bit of cheap metal

That only means they've not got the same goals as you.

I don't do MA for self defence - it wasn't why I started and it's not why I continue. Saying that I'm only allowed to do things that are 'street lethal' or some such other nonsense is just not on.

So, what gives you the inalienable right to say that me playing a game (within the ever changing rules of that game) is so wrong and destroying MA in general?

If the rules are broken points are lost - a jumping backfist is within the rules if it scores, deep stances are within the rules if the judges say so.

Same goes with demo type tricking and stuff. It's fun and entertaining. I know some people don't like it so I'll happily respond with a resounding "so what?"

 

[pgsmith]

The Future of MA (regardless of Art, Style, System, country of origin)

Yes a big question

Where do other folks see the Arts going? What paths would they like to see them taking? Who is the future of the Arts (not specific people as such)

Just questions I have been pondering on and would like to hear others views

I only care about the future of the school in which I train. I attempt to understand the deeper implications of the training, and pass on my training as I was taught, within my understanding. What others do, or what the future of their schools hold, is outside my area of concern so I don't generally waste any time worrying or wondering about it. I have way too many things that impact me directly that need my attention to worry about what others are planning.

Just my view on it.

 

[JR 137]

My biggest concerns are the long-term future of the dojo I train at and the organization. No one’s getting any younger, and when people retire, changes occur. Sometimes they’re much needed changes, sometimes they’re detrimental changes, and everything in between.

 

[Danny T]

The Future of MA (regardless of Art, Style, System, country of origin)

Yes a big question

Where do other folks see the Arts going? What paths would they like to see them taking? Who is the future of the Arts (not specific people as such)

Just questions I have been pondering on and would like to hear others views

I think the martial arts are quite strong. At least in the circles I'm associated with.
We have youth classes but they aren't our strongest attended classes. We also have a Fitness Kickboxing Workout class. Both do help the bottom line but aren't the real money makers for us. Our Wing Chun, Muay Thai, and Combat Submission Wrestling classes are our strongest. Kali and BJJ are also well attended but not as well as WC and CSW. Overall we are doing well and the associations I am affiliated with have all had strong growth over the past 5 years. All of the schools in my area that are multi martial arts facilities are doing well. Especially the ones that have real contact training. I.E. Muay Thai, BJJ, Submission Wrestling. I have been told numerous times by people with previous wing chun training that my wing chun is far more combative than what they have experienced elsewhere.
IF the instructors take their training seriously (not themselves but the training) make it realistic and without BS techniques or applications their martial arts will grow.

 

[JR 137]

I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

The Future of MA (regardless of Art, Style, System, country of origin)

Yes a big question

Where do other folks see the Arts going? What paths would they like to see them taking? Who is the future of the Arts (not specific people as such)

Just questions I have been pondering on and would like to hear others views

I'll start with the last question. The future of any art is the practitioners of today. In some cases that includes current instructors, but it's not limited to them. Students and practitioners are the ones who have the most ability to evolve and improve an art, and that's where the long-term health of an art lives.

I don't know that there's a collective answer to where they are going. Most will evolve, but not necessarily in a common direction. I think BJJ has brought more of a spirit of innovation to MA than seemed to be common before BJJ become so well known, and I think that mindset will affect a lot of arts in the future. Some arts will chose to hold to tradition rather than necessarily seeking better function. Others will do the opposite. I think most arts will get a little more "mixed" than they used to be.

 

[JR 137]

I'll start with the last question. The future of any art is the practitioners of today. In some cases that includes current instructors, but it's not limited to them. Students and practitioners are the ones who have the most ability to evolve and improve an art, and that's where the long-term health of an art lives.

I don't know that there's a collective answer to where they are going. Most will evolve, but not necessarily in a common direction. I think BJJ has brought more of a spirit of innovation to MA than seemed to be common before BJJ become so well known, and I think that mindset will affect a lot of arts in the future. Some arts will chose to hold to tradition rather than necessarily seeking better function. Others will do the opposite. I think most arts will get a little more "mixed" than they used to be.

I think most arts were quite “mixed” in their beginning days. Look at the pioneers of karate. They blended Okinawan methods with Chinese methods.

Chojun Miyagi of Goju Ryu took indigenous Okinawan arts and blended them with what he learned from his teacher (who learned from Chinese teachers). Miyagi went to China after his teacher’s death, learned more stuff, and incorporated it further into his own art. Miyagi died in 1953, so it wasn’t that long ago. All of the founders of today’s well known Okinawan schools did similar.

It was after this generation where everyone became purists, of sorts. Mas Oyama blended his Goju Ryu and Shotokan learning. He then incorporated some Muay Thai principles into his art after sending his top students to compete there. Then the purists came and were afraid of any change.

Then several of the Kyokushin big name teachers left in the late 70s-80s, incorporating changes into their systems. Some said they were bringing back the old was, others said they were evolving; either way they were paradigm shifts.

If there’s one constant in anything, it’s change. I think you get a founder of an art who changes and evolves the art in general, then a generation or 3 is afraid to change anything, then someone new comes along and makes everyone assess what they’re doing. The latest is the Gracies IMO. Give it a generation or two, and you’ll see another paradigm shift in the arts as a whole. History has a strong tendency to repeat itself in some not so immediately obvious ways.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I think most arts were quite “mixed” in their beginning days. Look at the pioneers of karate. They blended Okinawan methods with Chinese methods.

Chojun Miyagi of Goju Ryu took indigenous Okinawan arts and blended them with what he learned from his teacher (who learned from Chinese teachers). Miyagi went to China after his teacher’s death, learned more stuff, and incorporated it further into his own art. Miyagi died in 1953, so it wasn’t that long ago. All of the founders of today’s well known Okinawan schools did similar.

It was after this generation where everyone became purists, of sorts. Mas Oyama blended his Goju Ryu and Shotokan learning. He then incorporated some Muay Thai principles into his art after sending his top students to compete there. Then the purists came and were afraid of any change.

Then several of the Kyokushin big name teachers left in the late 70s-80s, incorporating changes into their systems. Some said they were bringing back the old was, others said they were evolving; either way they were paradigm shifts.

If there’s one constant in anything, it’s change. I think you get a founder of an art who changes and evolves the art in general, then a generation or 3 is afraid to change anything, then someone new comes along and makes everyone assess what they’re doing. The latest is the Gracies IMO. Give it a generation or two, and you’ll see another paradigm shift in the arts as a whole. History has a strong tendency to repeat itself in some not so immediately obvious ways.

Regression to the mean.

 

[Ironbear24]

Because most of them are purely focused on trophys and end up breaking their own rules to win. I've seen styles that use low stances in forms have really high ones just so they can impress the judges.

The fighting is worse you must've seen these guys who leap through the air trying a back fist with their feet off the ground or sprinting at the opponent. Those are things theyd never use in self defence and they'd never learn it in class but they do it for a trophy. So they're breaking the rules of everything they've learnt for a bit of cheap metal

It's called having fun. Sports are never going to be an exact recreation of real self defense for safety reasons.

 

[skribs]

I'm hopeful that technology will help preserve and evolve the arts. It's easy not just to document the static positions in picture, but to show the entire technique. It's much easier to travel across the world to get together and share ideas. Look at this website. It didn't exist a hundred years ago.

I'm hopeful that the easier exchange of ideas will be beneficial to the arts.

 

[Buka]

I think the future of Martial Arts is strong and rocking. It's come so far since I started, I couldn't be happier.

 

[JR 137]

I think the future of Martial Arts is strong and rocking. It's come so far since I started, I couldn't be happier.

Great song.