Arnisador said
With other arts, when I see people doing locks, throws, takedowns, etc., I need to have them do it for me before I buy that they have it! Mr. Hartman and I have many stories about pressure point techniques that worked on the instructor's students but inexplicably failed on the two of us.
I canÂ’t agree more. So many locking and throwing techniques are practiced in the dojo against cooperative partners, and often with partners that are the same size or smaller. Try them on bigger partners (attackers are likely to be bigger), especially uncooperative bigger partners, and the techniques often fail. For example, many techniques might catch an attacking arm, which might work against a full power thrust, but not a jab. And many wrist locks donÂ’t work well against an opponent with very strong wrists. Has anyone ever tried some basic locks against a middle-aged stone mason or bricklayer. If he outweighs you by thirty or more pounds, many can fail. This is not to say they are impossible to do. There are masters who have also developed remarkable wrist strength, and can use their bodies effectively in these techniques. And softening up techniques such as a groin kick, can help set up these techniques as well.
Just last week I taught some locking techniques to a class that had a 5'9" 225lb power lifter. Not only were his forearms massive, but I came to realize that his years of lifting resulted in wrists that did not rotate or bend nearly as far as those of a normal person. Of the techniques I taught, about a third worked well on him, a third worked passably, and one third had no chance, especially if he was resisting.
I think that in the whole issue of "frauds" at least regarding "frauds" on MT, we have several definitions. On this thread we are at what many might consider the true issue, perhaps the only meaningful issue. Is the person in question a serious, long-term student of the art that has achieved the knowledge and skill level one would expect from his years of study?
Arnisador has refrained from judgment here since he has not had the opportunity to assess A.R.K.'s skill in person. From this, I interpret his remarks to mean that a fraud would be someone who claims a certain skill level, but canÂ’t use techniques effectively against uncooperative attackers. One would expect a student with 30 years in the art to have a broad repertoire of effective combinations and the only way to really judge is to be on the receiving end.
It is my view that this kind of “proof” is a very high bar for many practitioners. It is relatively easy to test with locks and throws. But what about all the striking/kicking in martial arts systems that might be equally as ineffective as the locks and throws that we have seen fail.
For example, many reputable karateka, some with 20+ years in traditional arts, have the bizarre notion that a single strike to the solar plexus is the appropriate defense against a large aggressive attacker. This is what they have been taught, and what they teach to gullible students who havenÂ’t a prayer of making this work. Against a large aggressive attacker, the solar plexus can be very difficult to hit, and therefore such a fighting strategy can be a good way to get seriously hurt. Does this mean these serious students of the arts are frauds? If so, there are many, many frauds out there.
I think the real issue here gets back to using this board to challenge posters as frauds. Many of us see the merit of warning others against wasting their time
training with newbie 10th dans and assorted charlatans. We go to a bad seminar, or train in a McDojo and we like to share the bad experience with others so that they can better spend their time.
But we all know that MT is an Internet forum, and therefore it is so easy for posters to flame here simply because they like flaming, regardless of first-hand experience in a school. MT strives for “friendly” discussion. But in the name of “exposing frauds” some posters have been pretty liberal with their notion of term “friendly”.
I think the issue that A.R.K raises is this: How does a poster achieve closure after being challenged as being a fraud? How does he get to the point where he can come here and share, without the endless character assaults? If the true test for being a fraud comes down to skill, how does a poster prove that he is skilled in his art?
One method I think useful is to put together a videotape of representative portions of your art and send it to unbiased moderators for their own evaluation. I agree with Arnisador that it is not compelling proof that every technique works. But it is my opinion that most skilled martial artists would be able to evaluate many aspects of the level of skill, even if it were in a completely different art.
I also recommend that a poster consider not just demonstrating his art, but also use the video to teach his art. It is my opinion that there is no better way for a reviewer to learn how well a person knows his art than to get good instruction in it. To me this is what it all really comes down to. Senior rank should be reserved for those that make a contribution to the art. They donÂ’t just practice the art. They develop it and share it. This is where video can be used effectively. If a poster is very skilled in an effective art, and also can teach it well, then some on this board just might argue that endless accusations of fraud are unwarranted.
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) This way, if the area for disagreement is technical, they can clear the air that way. If its based on philophy, perhaps they can talk it to a polite resolution.
