Hidden Secrets of Martial Arts

VIDEO: See This Awesome Video Showing The First Training sequence in the movie “The Karate Kid” (Kung Fu Kid)

This is a controversial topic. So in order not to offend anyone let me say this. Everything in the Martial Arts realm is good in its own context, but when people preach that Judo is a realistic form of self defence or that a 1500 year old Karate system is the ultimate self defence then I have problem with it. If you love the martial arts and your instructor makes sure you know that it is an art or sport and you are aware of the limitations, great. If you like speaking Japanese, Chinese etc and the way of the ancient great, for that is the place for you. If you want to defend yourself as quickly as possible then you are in the wrong place because these people are sucking your money away and exposing you to great harm in a real life situation.

Unfortunately everything in the self defence world works on faith. You put your faith in an instructor because you assume he knows more than you do and after all let’s face it, you have no idea about combat at all. The instructors are often painted with special names such as Sensei, Sempai, Sifu, and Master. Immediately placing them on a higher plane. Respect for their teachings is often demanded and no questions can be asked. After they are an expert aren’t they?

Originally there were no belts, which doesn’t mean there were no ranks.

Gichin Funakoshi introduced belts which, I believe, came from the a method used by swimming teams.

The first two belt ranks were white and black. This expanded to white, green, brown and black.

Since the dawn of time, physical combat has played a role in nearly every culture and civilization across the world. Differences in cultures and societies bring many different combat disciplines, commonly called martial arts, to the forefront.

What is meant by “soft” and “hard” martial arts?

Soft and hard refer to the striking and blocking style utilized by such an art. A soft style focuses on redirecting energy, especially your opponent’s energy, to throw or put them off balance to strike or move into a better position. Soft styles teach students moves that require little energy and are easy to recover from or regain balance if they’re blocked. Examples include aikido and ninjitsu.

Hard fighting styles, on the other hand, are centered more on offensive moves, rather than redirecting an opponent’s energy or weight. The striking techniques in hard styles deliver a lot of power and some painful blocks. Hard striking means that a person can be knocked off-balance much easier, in comparison to soft styles. A few hard fighting styles are karate, tae kwon do, and muay thai.