How is a new Martial Art created?

[IvanTheBrick]

My dream is to create a new martial art. I work very hard to diverse myself in my training to learn as much as possible from different martial arts, what works best in different situations and such; thus I don't think knowledge will be a problem in the future. But how do you actually go about founding a new style or martial art? Do you start a school, do you have to earn some sort of acceptance from different boards or something like that?

 

[now disabled]

If your age on your profile is correct then many more years of study are required before you think about starting your own style or think of doing so, At 16 you cannot have gained the knowledge and at that tender age I would have a doubt anyone would give you the credit of being skilled enough but that my opinion.

 

[IvanTheBrick]

If your age on your profile is correct then many more years of study are required before you think about starting your own style or think of doing so, At 16 you cannot have gained the knowledge and at that tender age I would have a doubt anyone would give you the credit of being skilled enough but that my opinion.

I am not saying I am experienced enough. Hell, not even close. I want to be 5th Dan in TKD with more experiences in other arts before I even consider proceeding with this. It's just a thought. Can you please answer the question, rather than feeling the need to point out my age which, indubitably, is not relevant to this question? Thanks.

 

[now disabled]

sorry didn't mean to offend

 

[wab25]

My dream is to create a new martial art.

Why?

Seriously... why do you want to create a new martial art?

1. Do you want to be famous, and looked up to or at least remembered like the founders of other arts?
2. Do you want to create a franchise to license out, and get royalties from all the schools teaching your art?
3. Have you identified a hole in all the existing martial arts systems? And have you identified the fix?
4. Have you found a faster or better way to teach martial arts?

The answer will vary depending on the "why." Why do you want to create a new system? What are you trying to accomplish? I don't know how to answer, until I know what you are trying to do.

 

[Martial D]

My dream is to create a new martial art. I work very hard to diverse myself in my training to learn as much as possible from different martial arts, what works best in different situations and such; thus I don't think knowledge will be a problem in the future. But how do you actually go about founding a new style or martial art? Do you start a school, do you have to earn some sort of acceptance from different boards or something like that?

I am doing just that actually by synthesizing Dutch Mui Thai, boxing and jui jitsu into Wing Chun. Right now I have something I can do well in sparring with against trained pure boxers and kickboxers. Still have a ways to go, slowly adding my own flavour.

 

[IvanTheBrick]

I am doing just that actually by synthesizing Dutch Mui Thai, boxing and jui jitsu into Wing Chun. Right now I have something I can do well in sparring with against trained pure boxers and kickboxers. Still have a ways to go, slowly adding my own flavour.

It will be interesting to see what you come up with. Would very much appreciate if you would PM me your progress, and perhaps send videos and such. If you eventually open your own dojo, I could also make a website for you.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

But how do you actually go about founding a new style or martial art?

You will need to test your new MA style in the ring or on the map. Test yourself to see if you can stand in front of a

- boxer for 15 minutes and not been knock down.
- wrestler for 15 minutes and not been taken down.

 

[Martial D]

I was actually thinking of making some training vids for myself to remember some of the drills and techniques I'm working on. One in particular I'm doing is to try to perfect the three lines of straight punch attack, ie three different ways of throwing the jab and cross so they follow inside, outside, or center lines respectively.

 

[skribs]

My dream is to create a new martial art. I work very hard to diverse myself in my training to learn as much as possible from different martial arts, what works best in different situations and such; thus I don't think knowledge will be a problem in the future. But how do you actually go about founding a new style or martial art? Do you start a school, do you have to earn some sort of acceptance from different boards or something like that?

My suggestion is to learn a few arts first, and learn them to a great depth. You might find there's an art out there that encompasses most of what you want, in which case you can open up a school under that organization and supplement the curriculum with small bits you've learned from other arts. You might find one that has everything you want already, and creating a "new" art would be solely for the sake of ego.

If your style is different enough from what the organization wants to do, but you still are pretty close to that art or want it to be easy to trace your lineage to that art, maybe you could start your own unaffiliated school.

Alternatively, if your style is a combination of two arts, then maybe instead of coming up with your own style, you can teach both arts separately and then cross-train a bit in class, or even have a cross-training class for advanced students. For example, if you want to do both Shotokan Karate and Judo, then rather than try to make Jurate or Kajudo, you can have a Karate class and a Judo class. This might get more name recognition and show you know two arts, instead of your own.

And last, but not least, in order to create your own art you need...a place to train that you can name your art. Honestly, anyone can make one, even someone with no martial arts experience at all. All you need is a group of people to train with who agree you are the founder of the art, or a physical building with a sign on it, or a website dedicated to your art.

One thing to consider is that people can only learn so much so fast. If your art includes every type of technique under the sun, it will probably take longer for people to excel than if it is very specialized.

 

[Headhunter]

All you can do is take some moves throw them together and invent a name...there's nothing much more you can do that's new...its all been done...

 

[skribs]

All you can do is take some moves throw them together and invent a name...there's nothing much more you can do that's new...its all been done...

I shall take this as a challenge.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

You can create some new strategies. But you will need to test those strategies in the ring and on the map.

Can you find "1 size fits all" solution? Can you use

- foot sweep only to deal with a boxer?
- hook and uppercut only to deal with a wrestler?
- ...

 

[Buka]

Creating a new Martial....every Martial Art was thought up by somebody. No two ways about that.

I imagine their experience and understanding dictated how well that particular art worked. Or developed.

And for you young guys thinking about using filming for your training - by all means go for it. Use technology to the best of your ability to help what you do.

 

[skribs]

Creating a new Martial....every Martial Art was thought up by somebody. No two ways about that.

I imagine their experience and understanding dictated how well that particular art worked. Or developed.

And for you young guys thinking about using filming for your training - by all means go for it. Use technology to the best of your ability to help what you do.

I think if done and organized well, it could be a video manual.

In a thread in the TKD section, I was looking at a lot of the motions and how there doesn't seem to be a practical use of that motion, at least in the way the technique is named. But there are situations where you might have completely different motion end up in the same place. I can't help but wonder if part of that is that the manual shows the static position, but not the movement, and the movement was made to meet the position.

 

[marques]

My dream is to create a new martial art. I work very hard to diverse myself in my training to learn as much as possible from different martial arts, what works best in different situations and such; thus I don't think knowledge will be a problem in the future. But how do you actually go about founding a new style or martial art? Do you start a school, do you have to earn some sort of acceptance from different boards or something like that?

Trying to find an answer from the very basic...

If the new style is your style and only yours, it is nothing new. Everyone has is own personal style, more or less. So you need followers to make it relevant and to make it survive to the next generations.

So you need excellent marketing to grab the people’s attention AND great teachers/artists (or at least one - yourself) to keep people training your new style.

Other things to consider... Are you going to create an art that suits you, or that suits short and fat guys as well as tall and skinny guys? For smart or dumb guys? What for? What to include or exclude?

Many people have formulated is own curriculum/programme and these new things have often disappeared with the creator. Bon courage.

 

[IvanTheBrick]

Why?

Seriously... why do you want to create a new martial art?

1. Do you want to be famous, and looked up to or at least remembered like the founders of other arts?
2. Do you want to create a franchise to license out, and get royalties from all the schools teaching your art?
3. Have you identified a hole in all the existing martial arts systems? And have you identified the fix?
4. Have you found a faster or better way to teach martial arts?

The answer will vary depending on the "why." Why do you want to create a new system? What are you trying to accomplish? I don't know how to answer, until I know what you are trying to do.

To answer your question: I am not sure. But when I first got into the world of martial arts, I was (and still am) perplexed by all the ways that the human body and its mechanisms can be used for the sole purpose to protect yourself and others, or to cause others harm. The Art of Eight Limbs, Muay Thai, was the one that got me thinking about this. I want to create a martial art that allows you to defend yourself with every single part of the body imaginable, and also allows you to exploit those parts. I am not just talking the knees and elbows which I had first seen to be used in Muay Thai. I speak of the idea that you could find a way to strike with the wrists, though it hardly seems plausible considering the structural weakness they are known for.
I was also inspired by Ving Tsun, that the martial art I want to create would allow a "maximum flow" that allows multiple strikes to be made from one movement. For example, go in for a hook punch, and after it connects, bend your elbow and use the momentum to further the slashing motion and strike with the elbow in the same place you did with the knuckles.

 

[hoshin1600]

how do you actually go about founding a new style or martial art?

this has a simple answer, declare what you do as a new art and find people to follow you and train with you. the hard part is getting people to buy into what you are doing. that being said what you create will have to be better than what is currently available.

so the bigger question is, how do you create a martial art? people have already answered this a few times in different ways but basically the advise was, learn an existing art or arts with a great amount of depth. then then mix and match idea's and call it something new. the problem with this approach is that its been done a million times and it is really nothing new. the chances of you creating something better than the original is not very likely. most often people invent crap.
every martial art throws punches, kicks and does throws or joint locks. every art has techniques. this is superficial knowledge and it is not really what defines a martial art. to just rearrange techniques or add more strikes is going to give you a catalog/ pile of crap.
if your want to create something better than a pile of crap, your going to have to find the answers to some really deep and difficult questions.

• what is a style?
• what is a system?
• what is a system predicated on?
• what makes a good system?
• what are my core beliefs?
• what makes something effective?
• define effective...?
• how do you tell good from bad?
• do my concepts work in tandem with the the physical, mental and emotional aspects of what i am trying to achieve?

well thats a start anyway.

punches. kicks and techniques are really just frosting on the cake. you need to have a solid framework to hold everything together. this frame work is comprised of core beliefs, fighting concepts, a deep understanding of the human being as both the delivery system and the receiver within combat, body mechanics, strategy and tactics, you need a working framework, then you build on that frame with all the other stuff. there is also the human spirit if you are going to address that aspect. you also have to start with a reason for the arts existence. is it combat, competition, sport, personal development or a mix of something in between.
your art also has to have value/ meaning and be consistent over time. what you think is important today will not reflect your attitudes 10 years from now. the value of an art has to be distilled across people and across time. so if you took 100 people today, is the art relevant to them, how about next week, next year,, ten years from now? you then look at the results and then condense the value to something that applies to many people though out a period of time. that time period could be an entire life time or it could be the active time frame of a competitive athlete. the time depends on the scope and purpose.

something to think about.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I am not saying I am experienced enough. Hell, not even close. I want to be 5th Dan in TKD with more experiences in other arts before I even consider proceeding with this. It's just a thought. Can you please answer the question, rather than feeling the need to point out my age which, indubitably, is not relevant to this question? Thanks.

I gather age is a touchy subject for you? That's understandable. But you're right...age isn't relevant to creating your own style.

The answer to that question is nothing is needed to create a style. As proof, I will create one now, bukado, which is based on the teachings of the great and honorable @Buka (so I say, I haven't trained with him yet).

If instead, you want to know how to create a good new martial art, age is a factor. You probably can't create a good one until you have a lot more experience and understanding, that you don't have at 16. You also will need to know what the core values of the art are, have students (if you want the art to continue), create a curriculum, know what works and what doesn't, have a background in different training techniques, and figure out which ones you wish to integrate, and a good many other things (Hoshin's post above mine is pretty good for that). But, age is a factor since it helps with martial experience, real world experience, and maturity. Not an insult, or anyone saying you won't be able to create one, but it is a factor.

 

[Deleted member 39746]

Dont think someone posted this here but "there are only so many ways you can reinvent the wheel" I think thats the quote.

(i personally dont have a issue, its just a good quote for this)