A recurring theme in my articles is the interaction between traditional martial arts, combat sports, and self-defence. Questions I recently discussed here include:
- Are they interchangeable? (an emphatic ’no’ is my answer)
- Can and should they overlap and if so to what degree?
- How does the public perceives this overlap and how do martial artists present it?
- Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I question how it affects our own understanding of our respective arts and their true applications.
The thing I find hardest to discuss in this context is tradition.
What is ‘tradition’? Who decides what it is? Who has it, how do you get one, and who decides if you don’t have one?!
As I discuss this with people I keep circling back to the same problem – defining traditional martial arts. I am primarily a Krav Maga practitioner, who comes from a background of traditional martial arts and combat sports, and still engages actively in all three. This discussion on tradition is something I (and other self defence practitioners) have to face almost daily. Train with someone who is a traditional martial artist, and if they find out you do Krav Maga they’ll try and explain why it’s not really an art (a valid point, but what is art? Here are some thoughts on this). Speak about it with combat sports practitioners, and the reaction I get, almost every single time, is “Krav Maga? You mean you just kick guys in the balls a lot ha ha”. Well, I think there’s a bit more to it than that. But what we see here is that combat sports and self-defence are easier to fit into neat little boxes as they have clear goals and outcomes, which they can be defined by.
Traditional martial arts are not as clear as people participate in them for a variety of reasons, some of which are reasons that should be taking them, in my opinion, down the path of combat sports or self-defence. In short, if you want to be the next UFC champion, then Aikido is probably not the best choice of system for you. This is not a slight against Aikido in any way (I’m a big fan), but the training is not meant to reflect the outcomes sought out by those training for combat sports. Self-defence is a little more vague because most systems do advertise that their style is a form of self-defence. And the style may have developed out of an authentic need for self-defence at the time, though the way to practice self-defence has changed significantly since the system was codified… and turned into tradition.
So maybe a good place to start is to understand the meaning of the word ‘tradition’.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines tradition as follows:
- “a: An inherited, established or customary pattern of thought, action or behaviour”
“b: A belief or story or a body of beliefs or stories relating to the past that are commonly accepted as historical though not verifiable”
Talk about opening a can of worms! This doesn’t help us too much in establishing what traditional martial arts are. Why? Because every style, from MMA to Krav Maga to Karate to Silat and everything in between includes both of these. How you bow, what you wear to training, how you greet your seniors and, of course, the techniques themselves and the thought processes behind them are all established or customary patterns of thoughts, actions, and behaviors.Furthermore, every style has its own stories that are passed down. This is often about the founder of the system or other notable practitioners, or about how certain techniques were used in ages past, or how the system came to be. Some of these stories have been passed down for centuries or more, while others much less. But the common thread is that there are stories that are generally accepted as truth without much questioning, with limited or no way to verify their authenticity other than ‘my Sensei told me’. This sometimes turns into what I refer to as ‘martial arts fairy tales’, which you can read about here. - “The handing down of information, belief, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction”
Again, not a lot of help in defining traditional martial arts. Why? Because it’s not specific enough. How many generations does it take for something to be accepted as tradition? Krav Maga has been around for about 80 years – some of the original practitioners of the style still actively teach – and already has its own body of stories (and fairly tales!), beliefs and information that is passed on. MMA has been around, as a distinct style, for only 2 decades or so, with many of the original practitioners still actively competing, but already also has its own customs, stories and information. Furthermore, with globalisation and technology it has become easy to access previously unheard of systems, and written instruction is now common in all styles of martial arts, combat sports and self-defence. Add social media, YouTube and Kindle to the mix and tradition becomes hard to define in this modern context. - “Cultural continuity in social attitudes, customs and institutions”
Closer, but no cigar. Older styles do help us understand a piece of history. The techniques, the behaviour in the Dojo, the ceremonies, the dress, the weapons we may be using, the lineage – all of these help us understand where the system comes from and helps us preserve a unique part of a rich cultural heritage. That being said, this also applies to more modern styles as well.
Based on these definitions, maybe a place to start is whether the described patterns of behavior, actions, customs, and attitudes have changed over time to reflect changes in combative behavior. In other words, if we still practice the system exactly as it was practiced 300 years ago, or even 80 years ago, we do it more for the sake of preserving tradition than for an authentic combative need. As Bruce Lee – perhaps the most famous martial artist of the past couple of centuries, yet one who made his claim to fame by breaking from tradition – famously said ‘absorb what is useful, reject what is not’.
Does this mean that tradition is, in a sense, the lack of evolution? That’s an unpleasant thought and perhaps means looking at the glass half-empty, as there certainly are many wonderful benefits to tradition.
So where does this leave us?
Unfortunately, without a clear definition yet. The interesting thing is that most people I have asked struggle to clearly define traditional martial arts but can usually recognise it when they see it.
If asked ‘what is a cat’, we can all answer – but in our mind’s eye we will not be seeing the same cat. Some will see a big, ginger tomcat a-la Garfield, some will see a cute little tabby kitten, and others will see those weird, furless, evil-looking Egyptian cats.
In much the same way, when asked ‘what is a traditional martial art’, each of us will see what we experienced as a martial art. That experience is not limited to training and includes stories, popular culture, media, the experiences of those close to us, etc. But most of the time, people will reply with something that we know is ‘traditional’ – Karate, Aikido, Jujutsu, Taekwondo, etc. Very rarely will somebody reply with ‘traditional martial arts? Oh, you mean like Boxing?’
Maybe tradition escapes clear definition because it is something as individual as you or I. We all develop our own traditions and inherit some that have been handed down to us.
Whether it’s your grandmother’s recipes, stories surrounding your great grandfather’s antique furniture, or the way you throw a mean left hook, there are as many traditions as there are people in the world. It’s in those traditions that we define who we are, as they give us a foundation and a base to develop and grow from and something safe to come back to when things around us change.
When looked at in this way, whether we recognise it ourselves or whether what we do is recognised by others, we are all traditional martial artists.
Stay tuned, stay safe.
Osu/Oss
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- Fairy Tales: Even MORE Statements To Be Careful Of! - February 21, 2019
- Don’t be That Person! Thoughts on Giving Feedback in Class - January 30, 2019
I find this article about traditions very thought-provoking. It’s weird to think that somebody has to define tradition and that everyone thinks of one tradition a tiny bit differently. There’s so much the above criteria leaves up to the imagination! I will definitely be thinking about this.