Question about new art

tntma12

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I have studied Aikido, JuiJitsu, and TKD for about 20 years. I have been teaching for the past 5 years. Lately, I have been experimenting with mixing these styles together, and creating a new style. I realize this will require a lot of work and time and dedication, but looking forward to trying. My question is, does anyone see any moral issues with this, and if so what are they. I have worked hard in my training and dont want to give a bad impression or look like a McDojo. Any thoughts or feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your comments
 

qi-tah

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I have studied Aikido, JuiJitsu, and TKD for about 20 years. I have been teaching for the past 5 years. Lately, I have been experimenting with mixing these styles together, and creating a new style. I realize this will require a lot of work and time and dedication, but looking forward to trying. My question is, does anyone see any moral issues with this, and if so what are they. I have worked hard in my training and dont want to give a bad impression or look like a McDojo. Any thoughts or feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your comments

I don't know much about the politics/ethics etc of creating new MA styles, but I guess what you are basically doing is physical research and experimentation, and the key to all credible research is to: a) make sure yr data is rigorously tested, b) make sure yr data is capable of being reproduced, and c) always (correctly and in context) quote your sources. So, as long as you know yr new art works at least as well as it's parent arts, you are capable of making it work with yr students and you give credit where it's due, then yr experiment should deserve the serious consideration of yr students and peers. Mind you, there is always politics... but i'm not going there!!
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tntma12

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thanks for the imput qi-tah, it has given me much to consider. Any other input or thoughts would be much appreciated.
 

MJS

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I have studied Aikido, JuiJitsu, and TKD for about 20 years. I have been teaching for the past 5 years. Lately, I have been experimenting with mixing these styles together, and creating a new style. I realize this will require a lot of work and time and dedication, but looking forward to trying. My question is, does anyone see any moral issues with this, and if so what are they. I have worked hard in my training and dont want to give a bad impression or look like a McDojo. Any thoughts or feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your comments

IMHO, I think its a bad idea. In all honesty, if you've worked as hard as you say and don't want to look bad, just continue to do what you're doing...teaching the arts as a seperate entity. Now, I will say that I too, study a few different arts. There have been many times while doing a Kenpo technique, I come across a good spot to add in a joint lock from Arnis. Am I mixing? Yes, but I'm not creating a new style. I'm not running out, promoting myself to 10th degree, printing off a bunch of fake certificates, opening a school and promoting some "new" art.

If you haven't already, I suggest you take a look at some threads in The Great Debate. There are quite a few threads on people who have gone out and done what you're thinking of doing. Also take note of the replies to those people. That should speak louder than anything I could say.

Mike
 

Drac

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Are you going to have ranks??? How easily can it be broken down and taught to a novice?? Are you alone in this venture, meaning are you going to be the only one qualified to teach???
 

Tez3

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We use all those styles in MMA so certainly they can be mixed but I'm not sure if they can be mixed in a formal way. It would be a huge undertaking to decide what would be left in and what would have to be discarded. It would be a very personal selection I think. Good luck!
 
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tntma12

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Let me just say I am by no means promoting myself as a 10th degree anything, or having "fake" certificates printed, or claiming to be someone or something im not. Also, I havent started teaching this yet, and would not be anywhere near ready to do so for quite some time.

Drac, yes, I have thought about implementing a ranking system, and am still in the phase of breaking it down to be able to teach to novices. As I said, its still in very early stages, just been experimenting with it, and seeing if and how it can be done. I feel that there are strong and weak points to each of these arts, and have just been looking at ways to make them stronger by working them together. Also, yes, I would be alone in this venture, being the only instructor.

This is not something that I want to just jump into and play with, if its going to be done, then I realize it would take years to get to the point of it being a complete style. Im just in the begining phases and looking for some feed back.

Again, thanks for all the input so far, it is greatly appreciated.
 

Tez3

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Do keep us posted on how you are getting on!
 

CuongNhuka

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I don't see where there would be any problems. The only thing I would say is use ONE language for the name. Meaning, don't mix Japanese and Korean. That will make you look bad. Outside that, go with what Drac and Qi-Tah said.
 

Yari

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I can see the temptation to "build" an art, but I would opt for taking your main art and "adding" in the things I think are good. Even taking out things that are "bad". And see weret his carries you.

/Yari
 

Drac

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The best of luck to you..Keep us posted...
 

Kacey

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I have studied Aikido, JuiJitsu, and TKD for about 20 years. I have been teaching for the past 5 years. Lately, I have been experimenting with mixing these styles together, and creating a new style. I realize this will require a lot of work and time and dedication, but looking forward to trying. My question is, does anyone see any moral issues with this, and if so what are they. I have worked hard in my training and dont want to give a bad impression or look like a McDojo. Any thoughts or feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your comments
I have to wonder why you want to do this. I don't see a moral issue, necessarily - although I would suggest that, if you can, you should sit down with several senior masters (say, VI Dan or higher, if you can find them) and ask them about it. Sure, I use techniques from other styles - but after 20 years in TKD, there's still so much for me to learn, so much that I could do better, because of the time constraints of having a life... trying to mix styles at this point (cross-training, is, I think, different - because the different styles are kept mostly separate) with the intent of creating a new style is not something I would endorse.

Too many schools (I'm not saying you would do this, just that others have) create new styles to meet the fad of the moment - and while it doesn't sound like that's what you're intending, that's what it's going to look like to a lot of people. MMA is just that - a mix of multiple arts - and I have trouble seeing how what you are thinking of is really any different.

I agree with MJS - look around the Great Debate section of this forum for threads about similar ideas; there are some really good discussions there that discuss the pros and cons.
 

jks9199

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I have studied Aikido, JuiJitsu, and TKD for about 20 years. I have been teaching for the past 5 years. Lately, I have been experimenting with mixing these styles together, and creating a new style. I realize this will require a lot of work and time and dedication, but looking forward to trying. My question is, does anyone see any moral issues with this, and if so what are they. I have worked hard in my training and dont want to give a bad impression or look like a McDojo. Any thoughts or feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your comments
The truth is that we all create our own style in our training and practice. Some of us do so within one art's framework, some combine experiences from several arts, and some jumble and mix so much that it bears little relation to any single previous art.

We share our own art with our students as we teach. I do my best to stay true to what I was taught -- but I know that I teach a few things differently and do things a little differently than my teacher. Just not so differently that there's ever been any doubt about who my teacher was, just as there was no doubt who his teacher was.

And that's also how a new style evolves, rather than is created. Someone takes what they know, teaches it, and it works well enough that their student teach it -- but it's also different enough to be recognizable as new.

Jeet Kun Do is a good example of another way that a "new" art is created. Bruce Lee brought a new take, and a new attitude to martial arts training -- or at least at the time of his teaching, and at the point in student's training.

So... My question to you is simple. WHY do you feel that you should create a "new art?" Is what you're wanting to teach unique and different -- or are you just looking for a kind of status and bragging right? How is what you're wanting to teach so different? If you answer these basic questions -- you may find your own answer.
 

tad2bad

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I've studied jui jitsu for around 6 years and have been wondering myself if there were any way to combine another art with it. Good luck. keep us posted
 

Flying Crane

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I have posted this elsewhere, but I think this is a good place to reiterate.

I think it is often not a good idea to cherrypick techs from several arts and mix them together into a new "superart".

Different arts are often built upon a very different foundation, and their techniques are designed to work on that specific foundation. If the foundation is removed, or a different foundation is substituted, then those techniques just do not work.

So if you mix techs from several arts, what is the foundation you are using as your base? If you decide that you want to use the TKD foundation as your base, I suspect your aikido techs won't work well.

It takes an understanding of the complete art, beginning with the proper foundation, in order for the techs in the art to be effective. Without that complete understanding, the techs and the art don't work.

I suggest you continue training and even teaching the different arts that you are already doing, but don't try to mix them. Keep them distinct and separate, so that you and your students build the proper foundation and context for each art. When it comes time to use your skills for real, you can flow from one to the other as appropriate, but don't mix them in training.
 

Shotochem

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I can see the temptation to "build" an art, but I would opt for taking your main art and "adding" in the things I think are good. Even taking out things that are "bad". And see weret his carries you.

/Yari

I'm from the same school of thought. Expanding upon your core foundation to enhance and improve is an admirable goal. Though I have studied mostly Shotokan and now Kempo, I have also dabbled in BJJ, Chin na, Aikido, & Wrestling and have trained and swapped techniques with friends who have studied various arts.

While training in my current art of Kempo, I use Kempo techniques. When We go freestyle with sparring or no mind drills, I use everything I have learned. I don't know if I will ever look textbook Kempo as I still have alot of my other art in me and I have been influenced by others I have trained with.

We all have our own unique style and way of moving and doing things. IMO, we should do more to improve our respective arts and be a little more open-mined or be condemned to mediocrity and stagnation.

-Marc-
 

Monadnock

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I have studied Aikido, JuiJitsu, and TKD for about 20 years. I have been teaching for the past 5 years. Lately, I have been experimenting with mixing these styles together, and creating a new style. I realize this will require a lot of work and time and dedication, but looking forward to trying. My question is, does anyone see any moral issues with this, and if so what are they. I have worked hard in my training and dont want to give a bad impression or look like a McDojo. Any thoughts or feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your comments

Going off on your own can be an exciting thing to do. Just a few questions though. You said you've been training about 20 years. Does that mean 18? 22? Has it been consecutive? And what ranks do you hold in each of your respective styles that you've studied already. (You don't have to answer that publicly, but you get my point).

As for the system, I'd just call it yours. You would be teaching YOUR style of fighting. Maybe one of the three styles would show up more, but you have to decide on what to all it. Just don't call it anything that it is not.

Good luck though,
Mike
 

stoneheart

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I study karate and aikido simultaneously. I find the two complement each other, but I have no desire to combine them and create a new style. That I'll leave for others, but I will say it's almost necessary to cross-train if you want to approach the same level of knowledge the old masters had. As I understand it, virtually all the Okinawan karate masters had a good grasp of wrestling basics prior to studying karate. So with their existing knowlege, it became obvious where a certain sequence of moves could flow into a takedown for them. Guys like me aren't so lucky, so we need exposure to a style like aikido or jujutsu to fill in the gaps so to speak.
 

KempoGuy06

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I think its a cool idea and give you much respect for trying to do something new. I will leave it at that because Ive not been in the MA's long enough to make a sound judgement. Listen to some of the people in here that know what they are talking about

B
 

shesulsa

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I recommend you look at some arts which already exist that have the best of those three as standard syllabus - like BBT or HRD (suggestions for others, folks?) first and would also recommend that you MASTER at least one art and wait until you're quite a bit older before you take this endeavor on. Like it or not, life experience is VITAL to mastering your art.
 

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