Standardisation of Martial Arts

[KangTsai]

By this I mean the creation of universal curriculum and/or branding of martial arts; no school teaches different content outside of what is put in the curriculum.

A successful example is the Gracie family and the Gracie Brazilian jujitsu academies— a set of 'official' schools teaching based on universal curriculum and defined ranking.

Pros of standardisation—
1)Very clear qualifications of practitioners
2)McDojos cease to exist without instructors blatantly lying about qualifications
3)Self-teaching becomes viable
4)Can generate more income based on the appeal of such curriculum/brand
5)Stronger representation of martial art in question

Cons—
1)Predictability
2)Possible loss of authenticity
3)Loss of spiritual integrity
4)Digressions of said standardised martial arts are more difficult to develop

Can you think of any more pros, cons, anything?

 

[Touch Of Death]

This ship already sailed. You are just being nostalgic.

 

[RTKDCMB]

And whilst we are doing that we can also start building some perpetual motion machines.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

By this I mean the creation of universal curriculum and/or branding of martial arts; no school teaches different content outside of what is put in the curriculum.

A successful example is the Gracie family and the Gracie Brazilian jujitsu academies— a set of 'official' schools teaching based on universal curriculum and defined ranking.

Pros of standardisation—
1)Very clear qualifications of practitioners
2)McDojos cease to exist without instructors blatantly lying about qualifications
3)Self-teaching becomes viable
4)Can generate more income based on the appeal of such curriculum/brand
5)Stronger representation of martial art in question

Cons—
1)Predictability
2)Possible loss of authenticity
3)Loss of spiritual integrity
4)Digressions of said standardised martial arts are more difficult to develop

Can you think of any more pros, cons, anything?

In NGA, there is a fair amount of standardization, but every school teaches content outside the curriculum (even within the NGAA). I think that's fairly common for most arts/organizations. Most instructors have knowledge that isn't strictly part of the curriculum. Most arts actually contain bits that don't end up being part of the official curriculum you'd be tested on, but which are fairly core to the practice of the art.

 

[hoshin1600]

By this I mean the creation of universal curriculum and/or branding of martial arts; no school teaches different content outside of what is put in the curriculum.

dumb idea. its been tried ,,,,over and over for hundreds of years.
and when your standard curriculum sucks ..some one will break off and start their own system. this is why we have so many styles and systems already. because someone at one point thought it sucked and they could do better.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

dumb idea. its been tried ,,,,over and over for hundreds of years.
and when your standard curriculum sucks ..some one will break off and start their own system. this is why we have so many styles and systems already. because someone at one point thought it sucked and they could do better.

Actually, most branchings don't happen because the original sucks, nor because someone thought it did.

 

[hoshin1600]

Actually, most branchings don't happen because the original sucks, nor because someone thought it did.

yeah most splits occur due to politics, but its still the same reason and result , someone thought they could do better.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

yeah most splits occur due to politics, but its still the same reason and result , someone thought they could do better.

Most of the ones I saw weren't a result of politics, either. About a third were because someone though they had a slightly better idea. Another third were simply because they thought they had an idea that was a better fit for them, or just an idea they wanted to explore that didn't fit the organization they were in. The last third were either politics or personality issues, and not about thinking they had a better (or even different) idea, at all. Most of the folks in that latter group changed nothing (or very little) after leaving the organization.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Standardization of Martial Arts.... perish the thought.... IMHO that would be the end of it

 

[Touch Of Death]

dumb idea. its been tried ,,,,over and over for hundreds of years.
and when your standard curriculum sucks ..some one will break off and start their own system. this is why we have so many styles and systems already. because someone at one point thought it sucked and they could do better.

More likely, new concerns cause the changes.

 

[Steve]

Gracie Barra is a good example. It seems to work.

 

[Xue Sheng]

But is the question simply about a specific martial art like BJJ or is it talking about the standardization of all martial arts into one.

And even though Gracie Barra appears to work I seriously doubt the Gracie Barra idea would work well, if it worked at all, on the majority of Chinese Martial and Japanese Arts. Gracie Barra standardized BJJ which is only one style . Try applying that to Taiji, XIngyi, Bagua, White Crane, Wing Chun, Changquan, Sanda, Shaolinquan, Wudangquan, Hakka styles and bajiquan (to name only a few)

 

[marques]

Cons: Loss of diversity.
Pros: The intention of assuring quality, which is hard to measure. Competition helps, but also reduces the scope of the art... Competition also helps standardization (Judo, Boxing...).

 

[Steve]

But is the question simply about a specific martial art like BJJ or is it talking about the standardization of all martial arts into one.

And even though Gracie Barra appears to work I seriously doubt the Gracie Barra idea would work well, if it worked at all, on the majority of Chinese Martial and Japanese Arts. Gracie Barra standardized BJJ which is only one style . Try applying that to Taiji, XIngyi, Bagua, White Crane, Wing Chun, Changquan, Sanda, Shaolinquan, Wudangquan, Hakka styles and bajiquan (to name only a few)

To be clear, Gracie Barra has not standardized Bjj at large. It has created a standardized curriculum within its own affiliation, which is working rather well.

I think there is a lot to be said for developing a standardized curriculum. I have said before that people aren't teaching "self defense" or even the new buzzwords "self protection." You're teaching a system, which may or may not translate to self protection, but will certainly help you become more proficient in the specific system you're learning. You're becoming a taijutsu, karate, or bagua expert. Not a self defense expert.

But that can only happen if the instruction is either taught by one dude, or standardized.

As for standardized MA across the board, I agree, it makes absolutely no sense. Impossible even within a style.

 

[Buka]

By this I mean the creation of universal curriculum and/or branding of martial arts; no school teaches different content outside of what is put in the curriculum.

A successful example is the Gracie family and the Gracie Brazilian jujitsu academies— a set of 'official' schools teaching based on universal curriculum and defined ranking.

Pros of standardisation—
1)Very clear qualifications of practitioners
2)McDojos cease to exist without instructors blatantly lying about qualifications
3)Self-teaching becomes viable
4)Can generate more income based on the appeal of such curriculum/brand
5)Stronger representation of martial art in question

Cons—
1)Predictability
2)Possible loss of authenticity
3)Loss of spiritual integrity
4)Digressions of said standardised martial arts are more difficult to develop

Can you think of any more pros, cons, anything?

Sounds like you got yourself a project. You're young, plenty of time - get to it. Good luck.

What are you going to call it?

 

[KangTsai]

Sounds like you got yourself a project. You're young, plenty of time - get to it. Good luck.

What are you going to call it?

I could write about it more. Don't know any for a title c:.

 

[Tez3]

Does it upset the more OCD types that it's all so different?

 

[Touch Of Death]

Does it upset the more OCD types that it's all so different?

Sounds like a control freak thing.

 

[kuniggety]

Con: Standardization can inhibit creativity and development.

Some BJJ schools were brought up... Gracie University/Torrence Academy by OP and then Gracie Barra by Steve. Folks can only control what's in their span of control. Who says their curriculum is better than say what Rickson Gracie is teaching? Or the Frada lineage?

 

[Hanzou]

The reason BJJ has a very tiny amount of frauds is because of the high level of competitiveness within the art itself. In short, if you know Bjj you're expected to have a certain level of fighting ability, and people are going to expect you to demonstrate that level of fighting ability on a fairly consistent basis. You simply aren't going to be able to maintain a charade in Bjj without someone coming along and testing out your skills.