Affliction Entertainment Spoiled Child of Ultimate Fighting?

Affliction matchmaking is really curious. They got into MMA expending jillion of dollars hiring high-performance mixed martial arts champions producing a crisis in MMA fighter wage. They were paying much more that what they were really worth, inducing a massive departure from the UFC.

Affliction professed to be the greatest opponent to the UFC, but they never answered to the Dana White attacks. They never tried to counter the Ultimate Fighting Championship tactics when they were ousted off Las Vegas for their second show, Affliction: Day of Reckoning on October 11, 2008. They just postponed the event to a later date.

They were contrived to change the card of the event and to do what the UFC worshipped. They never tried to keep the date and the lineup and to find different emplacement to hold the show. They just bent over and accepted without defending. Strange for a fighting promotion.

Right after, for their third and last event, after Josh Barnett got taken juicing, they scratched the show after picking Vitor Belfort, a middleweight fighter, to face a heavyweight. They could pick out Brett Rogers or event better Jeff Monson to confront Fedor Emelianenko, but no…

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MmaBrawl.com Launches the Ultimate Search Engine - Web’s First MMA Search Engine

-Press Release -

‘The Ultimate Search Engine’, the World’s First MMA Gateway, Google powered.

MmaBrawl.com has released ‘The Ultimate Search Engine’ to assist and ease online enquiry on Mixed Martial Arts merchandises and info. The Ultimate Search Engine makes inquiring and receiving MMA exclusive information faster than a regular web crawler.

The Ultimate Search Engine can be found at: http://www.mmabrawl.com/search/

Utilising Google technology, The USE (Ultimate Search Engine) hunt exclusively on chosen recognised MMA web site publishing MMA news and merchandises. Regular seeks about Mixed Martial Arts finish up fouled by unwanted answers and must be enlightened to find the wanted outcome. The Ultimate Search Engine have only MMA websites in the data base. No unrelated internet sites are included in the inquiry.

Top web sites included in The Ultimate Search Engine include sites such as sherdog.com, mmanews.com, bloodyelbow.com and mmamania.com as well as some other major web sites. Web Site owners who want to have their websites involved in The Ultimate Search Engine should contact MmaBrawl.com.

Typical search engines are now confronting too much data, and it become more and more hard to find targeted results fast. The niche search engine is the response to that problem. These search engine supply an amended online seek by blending niche knowledge with Google’s technology.

As Zdot from Mmabrawl states, “Category search engine functions well with a targeted niche like MMA. On a regular Basis, seeks in major gateways give unwanted answers, MMA getting frequently confused with the insurance company. As Well, the outcome is most of the time drowned under crappy blog links posting the same MMA videos over and over again. The niche search engine is the key for superior search”

About Mmabrawl

Mmabrawl (http://www.mmabrawl.com/) is an online magazines discussing MMMA merchandises and news established in December 2007. Mmabrawl has been updated day-by-day ever since and has new articles daily covering up each facet of MMA. Mmabrawl gives access to Tickets to MMA events, Instructional DVDs, Fight Gear, Fightwear, Diet Supplements and MMA clothing while covering Female Fighers, Street fights and Catfights along usual MMA information.

Arrogant MMA Beefcakes Trash Talk Their Way to an Ass Kicking

Lots of fighter consider trash talk the only way to sell a fight to the crowd!

It’s the same story since the beginning of time… Well at least since the beginning of pro-fighting!

We all remember the irritating fight promos from Muhammad Ali or Mike Tyson in the old days.

It’s the same thing in Mixed Martial Arts. Most of the fighters plug their upcoming fights calling death wishes and making a fool of their future adversaries to get headlines! It’s so obvious and overdone that no one even pay attention to them anymore!

Nevertheless, what I like best about trash talk promo is when fighters look like morons when the fight goes the other way. I just love it, thinking about the spoofs they made hours earlier while watching their new aspects or watching the ass whooping replay!

Simply because I love laughing out loud, I decided to make a top ten list of the most ridiculous trash talk promo succeeded by the most mortifying and painful outcome for the big talker!

Check Out:

Arrogant MMA Beefcakes Trash Talk Their Way to an Ass Kicking

The MMA Fights That Made 2008

The best Mixed Martial Arts fights that made 2008

2008 was a tremendous year in MMA. Lots of drama, great battles and great organisations matchmaking tremendous events through 2008. Nevertheless, The year was also marked by tragedy.

The most significant fighters who made 2008 were without a question Brock Lesnar and Kimbo Slice. Kimbo was employed and exploited by the now defunct EliteXc society as the only instrument they could find to compete against the Ultimate Fighting Championship…, and they almost did it!

Nevertheless, it was too large, too quick, too soon. The most renowned Youtube street fighter couldn’t face the music as soon as he was exposed to challenging opponent. EliteXc managed everything right from contracting up the really popular brawler, to developing his career against popular tuckered out fighters and signing up a CBS TV deal that the UFC still can’t get… It was without Ken Shamrock and his strange injury the day of the fight.

Brock Lesnar was the second big name of 2008. The ex pro-wrestler was used exactly like Kimbo Slice, and campaigned heavily too, (That explains why Liddell only fought once) but with much more talent.  He succeeded where Kimbo failed and became UFC heavyweight champion after four fights only!!!

The MMA Fights That Made 2008

The Most Pain Grinding Styles of Mixed Martial Arts

From MMABrawl comes a great article on the Most Pain Grinding Styles of Mixed Martial Arts.

Here are the MMA styles that are guaranteed to result in the most blood and face mashing carnage..

At the beginning, UFC was created to find the best martial art of all by opposing styles against each other.

To find out what are the most Pain Grinding Styles in Mixed Martial Arts, we are going to list, in an increasing order, the most crushing fighting styles involved in MMA and outline the type of damage each method can inflict… Yummy!!!

The Seek for Maximum Pain

Among years, fighters from all around the world were going to the UFC octagon to prove that their form of fighting was the most lethal one. We could see various styles facing each other in a gruesome fashion.

Some of them were pure farce, some were unadapted to the Octagon or represented by weak athletes, but after many attempts, fighters could find the answer to: What is the better way to demolish someone?

How We Rated Each Style of Fighting

We decided to order each style of fighting by the amount of pain and horrific injuries it can inflict to an opponent. It doesn’t mean those styles, specific strikes or submission holds are the best, but because they are particularly violent and impressive. We ordered them in increasing order, from the less effective to the best one.

Read the list here.

The Shamanic Origins of Tai Chi

Tai Chi

“Only the multi-disciplined warrior, the techno-shaman, can scale the walls of ignorance and shed light over the prevailing darkness. The warrior spirit must guide this process.”

The Warrior’s Edge, Alexander, Groller, Morriss

Under the moonlight, in a village somewhere in the Golden Triangle, the Ka-ren Shaman moved slowly and methodically. He was showing us the movements taught him by his Shaman, which had been passed down through the tribe for generations. The Shaman moved strikingly similar to a Tai Chi master.

The Golden Triangle is a roughly drawn geographic area that overlaps the borders of three countries: Myanmar in the west, Laos in the east, and Thailand in the south. This area gets its soubrette from its most profitable export, the golden excretions of the poppy - opium. The terrain of small brown mountains and narrow forested valleys is ideally suited to guerilla tactics. In the past this incomprehensible landscape acted as a barrier against the encroachments of the Burmese, Chinese, and Cambodian empires, allowing the area’s idigeonous hill tribes to maintain their own autonomy. More recently, the triangle’s remoteness continues to keep much of civilization at bay. Both Buddhist and Christian missionaries have failed to convert but a small number of the people away from their ancient animist beliefs. The Shaman or medicine man still plays an important role in the life of the isolated villages. In 1987 the author visited with the Ka-ren in one of the more remote areas of the Triangle. There he was fortunate enough to spend an evening with a Shaman and witness his Spirit Dance. It was there that the connection between this tradition and that of the Chinese martial arts seemed to meld.

Tai Chi has often been described and written about as form of meditation, a moving meditation. The purpose of meditation is to alter one’s consciousness in order to achieve a variety of goals from relaxation and healing, to extending one’s lifespan and many believe, developing supernatural abilities. The picture that most often comes to mind when we consider meditation is that of the Yogi, the Buddhist, and the Taoist, sitting cross-legged in a temple. The key ingredients are silence, stillness, and solitude. Contrast this image with one of continually flowing, and sometimes explosive movements of Tai Chi, and it would appear to be the antithesis of the conditions needed for meditation. From where then did this unique concept, the linking of physical movement with an altered state of consciousness, originate?

The five elements and their associated heraldic animals represent an ancient knowledge of how heavenly forces could be manipulated to affect earthly destinies. The central ritual of Taoist magic consists in the ability to call up the forces of these Spirit-Generals and indicates that the heraldic Animals are indeed the essence of supernatural powers.

The Chinese PauKua, Ong Hean-Tatt,

In the older martial arts traditions of China, Burma, the Philippines, and Malaysia, there are systems of self-defense that are based upon the combat movements of either real or mythical animals. The better known styles originated in China and include; Tiger, Leopard, Lion, Crane, Eagle, Phoenix, Snake, Dragon, White Ape, Monkey, and Praying Mantis to name a few. Most of the movements of these styles are more complex and vigorous than their passive cousin Tai Chi, and are thus even further removed from the traditional requirements of silence and stillness. Yet it is in the grand ballet of the animal styles that the connection is closest to the ancient origin of moving meditation. That connection can be seen in the oral traditions.

Every style has its own folklore regarding its origins. Often they are like parables that teach moral and philosophical lessons as well as the style’s origins. But there is also a pattern to many of the tales. The following story is typical of these and contains classic story elements that point to an even older origin

In 15th century China, Wang Lang was a young bully who had studied martial arts from a young age. He would strut and intimidate the locals with displays of Kung Fu, but the older men in the village were unimpressed. “Pah! Who do you think you are?” They would mutter, “Your skills are nothing compared to even a Shaolin novice.” Stinging from such rebukes, Wang vowed to find this Shaolin Temple, and defeat its master. After an arduous journey, Wang reached the Temple and challenged the monks to a duel. Initially the monks ignored him, but day after day Wang issued his challenge and finally the monks accepted. Expecting to duel with the master, Wang was chagrined to find himself faced with the lowest ranking monk. Even more humiliating was his quick defeat at the novice’s hands. Wang sulked off to the nearby mountains where he trained for months. After his confidence was restored, Wang returned to Shaolin and defeated the novice monk that had beaten him earlier. But his next opponent was a senior monk who flounced him effortlessly.

Wang again retreated to the mountains to contemplate his failure. Then one day, while sitting in meditation, Wang was distracted by sounds coming from some bushes nearby. Investigating the source of the commotion he discovered a struggle between a praying mantis and a cicada. As he watched, Wang was fascinated by the mantis’s martial techniques. He captured the mantis and kept it in a cage built from sticks. He used a straw to poke and attack the insect in order to study its fighting strategy. Wang incorporated the strategies of the mantis into his martial arts and returned to the Temple. He defeated every one of the monks sent against him. The Abbott finally ordered a stop to the contest conceding victory to Wang. The Abbot was curious about his unique style of fighting and asked Wang how he came about it. Wang told the story of his encounter with the Mantis. Having also learned humility from the insect, Wang Lang became a Shaolin monk and his Praying Mantis style became famous throughout China.

As a parable this tale illustrates three of the most important strategies of warfare; deception, speed, and surprise. There are also the moral lessons: persevering in the face of failure, learning humility, and the benefits of learning to be in harmony with nature.

But from the perspective of cultural anthropology such folktales may contain an ancient memory of an even older tradition, that of the “Vision Quest”. Common to Shamanism, the Vision Quest is a ritual whereby a young warrior first undergoes a period of training after which he sets off alone into the wilderness. He must bear the hardships of isolation while fasting and meditating until he has a vision. The vision usually takes the form of an animal that reveals certain secrets. This animal then becomes the warrior’s kindred or guardian spirit and will share his powers with the warrior. For example, if the visionary animal was a fox, the warrior would take on the qualities of cunning, an eagle would bestow far sight, a bear - strength, and so on. Compare the elements of the Vision Quest to the story of Wang Lang: his training and initial defeat, his departure into the wilderness to contemplate his failure, the encounter with the Mantis who reveals secrets of strategy and tactics, and finally, Wang’s triumphant return possessed with the powers of the Mantis, as well as a newfound humility.

The conditions that induce these (altered) States include such common experiences as isolation, fatigue, hunger, and rhythmic sound and thus are likely to be re-discovered by different generations and cultures. Since these states may be pleasurable, meaningful, and healing, they are likely to be actively sought and methods of inducing them remembered and transmitted across generations.

The Spirit of Shamanism, Roger Walsh

The folktales surrounding the origins of other martial arts styles also follow the same plot. A Tibetan monk by the name of Ordator was wandering alone in the mountains when he encountered a battle between a crane and an ape. Thinking that the spindly and fragile Crane would soon succumb to the superior brawn and strength of the ape he was surprised when the crane defeated the ape. He studied the movements of the crane and learned that evasion, distraction, and attacking the enemy’s weak points was the strategy a smaller person could use to overcome a larger opponent. The crane’s graceful hoping and turning movements became the basis for the White Crane style, now famous throughout China.

The folklore surrounding Tai Chi’s origins also reflect the same pattern. The legendary founder of Tai Chi is said to have been a mountain hermit by the name of Chang San Feng who lived during the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368). He wandered throughout the mountains and learned secret Taoist breathing techniques that made him nearly immortal (legend has him living well past 200) In addition, he learned Shaolin Temple fighting from other wandering monks.

One day while living on Wu Tang Mountain, Chang heard a hawk[1] screeching and went to see what was happening. What he discovered was a hawk attacking and doing battle with a snake. Although the hawk was stronger, faster, and had superior weapons in the form of a beak and talons, the snake was successful in driving off the hawk’s attacks. The snake’s soft and circular movements evaded the hawk’s attacks. Chang realized that by adopting the gentle and yielding aspects of the snake’s defense, the soft could neutralize the hard, the weak defeat the strong, and slow overcome the fast, and thus Tai Chi was born.

These folk tales share a common plot theme with the Vision Quest. Each includes a challenge or test, followed by isolation and hardship, then a revelation in the form of a vision of a wild animal that acts as a catalyst for the transformation of body and mind, finally, each takes on the attributes of the visionary animal.

In the fifth century BC there is described the ritual whereby the “inspector of the Region’ would dress in a bear’s skin and accompanied by twelve other attendants each dressed as a different animal, they would perform the “Bear Dance” which was meant to drive away evil spirits.

Bird Deities in China, Waterbury, F.

According to his book, Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, Eliade recounts that a Shaman must from time to time perform a ritual known as The Spirit Dance. Well known among Native Americans, accounts of this practice also date back 4,000 years in Chinese records. During the Spirit Dance, the Shaman moves in imitation of his animal spirit to call on its powers. It is said that the animal spirit actually takes possession of the Shaman’s body and imbues the Shaman with superhuman strength. This is principle is also mirrored in the martial arts. Performing the movements of Tai Chi is said to generate a spiritual energy – Chi. Like the shaman’s infusion from his animal spirit, Chi also bestows superhuman strength. Could it be that performing the stylized movements of a Tai Chi form, is based on the ancient Shaman’s practice of dancing the spirit?

The Ka-ren belong to the Thai linguistic group whose origins lie in southwest China, possibly Yunnan or Szechwan. In the twelfth century the Mongols drove whole populations in China southwards. The social upheaval this caused helped to bring to an end fabled empires of Pagan and Angkor. The Thai tribes that had been displaced southwards initially settled in the wilderness hill country that bounded these two empires, but when Mongol incursions and civil wars finally destroyed the kingdoms, the Thai came down from the hills and established their own kingdom on the ruins. But not all the tribes came down from the hills. While their cousins went on to found the Thai kingdom, others chose instead to remain in the uplands living a lifestyle little changed over time. Could the practices of the Ka-ren Shaman be a time capsule of an archaic Chinese martial arts system as it existed a thousand years ago? If so would this mean that the connection between martial arts and Shamanism was closer and much older than we thought?

While there are several similarities between the origins of martial arts systems and the Shamanic tradition of the Vision Quest it does not imply that practicing Tai Chi is a form of spirit possession. What it does is suggest is that some of China’s most ancient traditions may be the source, inspiration, or template from which the more refined disciplines such as Tai Chi evolved.

So the next time you go out and practice your Snake Creeps Down, and Crane Opens Wings, in the moonlight, know that not only are you continuing a millennia old tradition of martial arts, but a tradition that quite possibly goes back through the mists of prehistory to the dawn of mankind itself.

Tags: chinese martial arts, martial art, martial arts, tai chi

Russian Martial Arts and Kettlebell Training

Russian martial art training and kettlebell training involves elements of strength, flexibility and relaxation. Many would argue that speed and technique should also be included, but given that you have trained in all three of these disciplines, then speed will come naturally. Technique is immaterial: it is related to what you do, not how you do it.

Training, on the other hand, is how you do what you do. The what is irrelevant. It is the how that matters. A boxer cares not what a karate student does, but only what he himself does. A man or woman facing opponents is not concerned with what others can do, but only with they do themselves. It is not the ‘what’ but the ‘how’ that matters, and the ‘how’ is related to training, practice and knowledge.

The training of Russian martial artists is designed to improved the ‘how’. Russian martial art has no need of pre-orchestrated movements or katas as Japanese and Chinese martial arts have. Much has been written about Russian martial arts and their means of attack and self defence, a lot of which is based on the popular view of the Russian Special Forces. Most Special Forces can employ the techniques used by their Russian counterparts, but it is the Russian methods of training that make the difference.

Pavel Tsatsouline, trainer to the Russian military and then the American Special Forces and other military personnel, teaches you the secrets of the super-strong and of attaining supreme martial arts power. He does this through use of Russian kettlebells and the tension and relaxation techniques used by the Cossacks who could slice a man from shoulder to buttocks with only a light one handed sabre.

The Cossacks trained by standing in a lake or river up to their waist and then slicing into the water with their sabres for hours on end. The secret was to be in total relaxation until the moment of strike when all the power of the body was concentrated in the one blow, and then reverting to total bodily relaxation immediately after. In that way, strength and stamina were maintained while the blow itself was imparted with the maximum possible strength of the whole body.

Flexibility is the true secret behind supreme martial art power, and the one bodily attribute that is most ignored and misunderstood by the majority of martial art exponents. Russian martial art techniques make best use of supreme strength and absolute power through the understanding of how to properly relax between blows. The supreme power of a martial art punch is used through a total understanding of the levers of the body, the muscles that move them and the relaxation that allows these muscles to exert maximum power to the levers.

A powerful punch is a rapid snap with maximum power and then total relaxation until the next punch. Russians are trained in dynamic relaxation exercises in all athletic training, and the fast and loose techniques they use are ideal for the rigors of absolute mastery in martial arts.

Russian martial art training and kettlebell training is not the theatrically disciplined art of the Chinese and Japanese, but a technique designed for maximum power and effect in attack and not just self defence. The use of the power of the human body can be maximized only by developing the supreme strength possible through kettlebell exercise, and the flexibility and relaxation techniques as taught by the master of the Russian martial art, Pavel Tsatsouline, master teacher of Russian and American Special Forces personnel.

Tags: Karate, martial arts, MMA, Techniques, training

An Introduction to Bokator

Bokator/Boxkator, or more formally, Labokator (to fight (like a) lion) is a Khmer martial art that may be a predecessor of southeast Asian kickboxing styles. History indicates that Bokator or an early form thereof was the close quarter combat system used by the ancient armies of Angkor.

Bokator

Without rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes or other symbols instead of Indic characters; or irregular vowel positioning and a lack of conjuncts.

Angkorian warriors were a key factor in enabling a succession of Angkorian kings to dominate southeast Asia for more than 600 years beginning in 800 AD. Popular belief is that Jayavarman VII, the ruler of the Khmer Empire, was a practitioner of Bokator.

Unlike kick boxing, which is a sport fighting art, Bokator was a soldier’s art, designed to be used on the battlefield. It uses a diverse array of elbow and knee strikes, shin kicks, submissions and ground fighting. Bokator practitioners are trained to strike with knees, hands, elbows, feet, shins, and head. Even the shoulders, hip, jaw, and fingers can be used to fight an opponent to submission or death.

When fighting, Bokator practitioners still wear the uniforms of ancient Khmer armies. A kroma (scarf) is folded around their waist and blue and red silk cords called sangvar day, are tied around the combatants head and biceps. In the past it is said that the cords were enchanted to increase strength, although now they are just ceremonial.

The kroma (a cotton scarf worn around the waist) shows the fighter’s level of expertise. The first grade is white, followed by green, blue, red, brown, and finally black, which has 10 degrees. After completing their initial training, fighters wear a black kroma (scarf) for at least another ten years. To attain the gold kroma one must be a true master and must have done something great for Bokator. Becoming a “true master” is most certainly a time-consuming and possibly life-long endeavor: in the unarmed portion of the art alone there are between 8,000 and 10,000 different techniques, only 1,000 of which must be learned to attain the black kroma.

The art contains 341 different styles based on the study of life in nature. As examples, there are horse, bird, dragon, eagle, and crane styles, each containing several techniques. Because of its visually similar style, Bokator (Boxkator) is commonly wrongly described as a variant of modern kick boxing. Bokator has many forms based on traditional animal-based styles as well as straight practical fighting techniques. Pradal Serey is a more simplified freestyle fighting system which uses a few of the basic (white kroma) punching, elbow, kicking and kneeing techniques

Angkor was a wealthy empire that dominated southeast Asia from 800 AD to 1400 AD. It was a monarchy which ruled a vast hierarchy of officials, elite, peasants and slaves and built some of the most spectacular buildings in the ancient world such as the famous Angkor Wat. The Angkorians were often at war, and often with their Cham neighbours from what is now the area surrounding Saigon in South Vietnam. Warriors fought hand to hand, thus out of necessity giving rise to a highly-developed martial art.

The name Bokator is itself possibly an indicator of the age of Bokator. Pronounced bok - u -tau, ‘tau’ translates as ‘lion.’ Lions have never been found in southeast Asia, although lions were found in western India. Indian culture and philosophy were the major influences in Angkor culture. All the great buildings of Angkor are inscribed in Sanskrit and are devoted to Hindu gods, notably Vishnu and Shiva. Religious life was dominated by Brahmins. The concept of the lion and of a martial art named ’striking like a lion’ most likely emerged during the reign of the Angkorean kings and this concurrent Indian influence. The influence of the Brahmins diminished with the rise of Buddhism almost a thousand years ago.

Tags: bokator, Boxing, close quarter combat, combat system, fighting art, kick boxing, Kickboxing, kroma, martial art, submission, Techniques, training

What You Are Really Learning in Forms Training

It’s an argument we have all heard before, ‘Since you would never fight in a sequence like a form, what is the use of practicing forms?’ This argument is valid to the extent that if all you want to learn is how to fight then forms are not necessary. But if you want to improve your overall physical, emotional, and sensory health then forms training is the key. Form are not designed to merely teach combat techniques, there are three other levels and skill sets inherent in forms training that you are learning whether or not you know it.

Karate Forms Training

A therapy which encourages expressive movement increases the motility of the organism, improves its aggression and creates a feeling of strength on both the physical and psychic levels.

Alexander Lowen, The Language of the Body

The Functions of Form

The obvious reason for learning forms is that they teach combat techniques, but in addition there are three purposes behind the practice of forms, they are: as a mnemonic device, to develop the muscular/skeletal system, and to improve psycho?motor skills.

Mnemonic Technique

A form is a mnemonic technique that trains the muscles to remember the many complex techniques of hand-to-hand combat of which a martial art is composed. Let’s make an analogy between a learning martial arts and learning the piano. A single technique such as a punch or a kick could be likened to a single musical note. In the beginning you learn the notes of a piano individually and then in scales. Martial arts first teach the techniques individually and then in drills which is similar to practicing scales. Once proficient in notes and scales the next progression is to songs and melodies. In martial arts combat techniques are combined into routines that correspond to songs and are combined differently in each routine, from simple progressions to complex ones.

So how does this work as mnemonic device?

Well one of the first uses of music and possibly even the cause of its invention was as a mnemonic device. Ancient bards knew the words to dozens of stories because the stories were sung rather than spoken. This principle is easily demonstrated. If I were to ask you to memorize six notes, C, A, F, A, C, F, in order and I would only tell you once and you were not allowed to write it down. What are your chances of remembering those notes in an hour, or the next day, or next week or when you were 80 years old? Slim to none. But if I were to sing the first six notes of the American national anthem, ‘Oh-say-can-you-see….’ you would be able to remember those notes until the day you died. Music has the ability to encode, and allows the mind to recall, complex packets of information.

Forms then are the physical equivalent of music. A form contains packets of kinesthetic information such as posture, balance, center of gravity, movement, fluidity, and the transmission of kinetic energy. By learning forms one also memorizes the dozens of combat techniques of which it is comprised. And like the tales sung by bards, martial arts forms have also transmitted this information down through dozens and perhaps hundreds of generations.

Development of the Muscular/Skeletal System

Forms also work to exercise different areas of the body simultaneously. Practicing forms quickly will develop the cardiovascular system, improve flexibility and anaerobic capacity, and increase the body’s metabolic rate. But in addition, forms also work the often overlooked stabilizer muscle groups. We all know that the body’s large muscles groups such as the quadriceps, gluteus, and abdominals are responsible for strength, and speed. However, posture and balance is achieved through the actions of hundreds of small muscles known collectively as stabilizer muscles. These muscles help to direct the movement of the larger muscles that are essential in executing techniques that require refinement and grace. These stabilizer muscles don’t develop very much through traditional weight exercises that are aimed at isolating and developing the large muscles which is why body builders often appear stiff and wooden. Conversely figure skaters, dancers, and gymnasts are renowned for their poise a result of training that requires superb balance and posture. Because form training requires similar attention to posture and balance they also help to develop grace and fluidity.

Psycho-Motor Skills

Psycho motor skills are those that involve the movement of the body in space, generally referred to as hand-to-eye coordination. Forms teach a complex set of positions and movements that require more attention than we normally have. For example, when you first learn a form you must practice very slowly, stopping after each posture to look and check on the position of your hands, arms, feet, legs, shoulders, hips, head and back. As you progress you develop your sense of proprioception which enables you to sense your posture rather than checking it visually. This frees the use of your eyes and attention which can then be used to concentrate on other aspects such as breathing, visualization, or an opponent. The nervous system is trained to monitor and perform a far broader range of bodily expressions, without the need for conscious direction.

This is why someone with a background is gymnastics or ballet tends to learn martial arts forms faster than say someone who only played soccer. There are simply many more postures and positions to learn in dance and gymnastics than soccer, which increases the body’s repertoire of movements.

Finally, forms require movements be done both right and left handed. As you know the brain is divided into a right and left hemisphere, and that the left brain controls the right side of the body and vice versa. Cat Scan studies show that when both the left and right hemispheres of the brain are stimulated in synchronization that people often experience peak mental acuity and alertness. One way to trigger both sides of the brain is what’s called cross lateral exercises, simply put, something that is done both by the right side of the body and then by the left side. This is exactly what occurs during the performance of a form. In effect then, practicing forms will make you smarter!

We tend to stop learning when we have mastered sufficient skills to attain our immediate objective. Thus for instance, we improve our speech until we can make ourselves understood. But any person who wishes to speak with the clarity of an actor discovers that he must study speech for several years in order to achieve anything approaching his maximum potential. An intricate process of limiting ability accustoms us to make do with a small part of our potential.

Moshe Feldenkrais, Body Awareness As Healing Therapy: The Case of Nora

Chinese Tips for Training in Form

As you can see forms are a great way to improve both mind and body but keep forms alive and interesting you should occasionally change the way they are performed or add other outside elements. The following are some tips on getting the most out of your forms training.

Varied Terrain

In China and rural Japan, much time is spent training outdoors, in the parks, along beaches, and in the mountains. These varied conditions improve balance and stability to deeper levels than the uniform flat surfaces we usually train and spend our working days on. All martial artists should train under different terrains and conditions. By expanding one’s experience with varied conditions, one is better able to react and move under a greater number of combat situations. Practice your forms on hills, along the beach, on rocky ground, in the snow, and during a rainstorm. Practice at night in candlelight or moonlight. The first thing you will notice is the incredible strain this puts on the legs spurring the development of stronger leg muscles. One also learns to move more perfectly balanced since the ground is often unreliable being either to slippery or too entangled to allow any degree of error.

Increased Difficulty

In earlier times brass or steel rings were worn around the wrists and ankles to add weight during the performance of the form. Special wrist and ankle weights can help in the development of muscles, and endurance. Light dumb bells can also be substituted. Most important, be careful not to perform the movements too quickly since the weights tend to make you overextend your techniques which can cause injury to the joints.

Varied Speed

Practice the form as slowly as possible, as though a tree gently swaying in the wind. It doesn’t matter what style you practice, the method of practicing slowly will provide the same benefits as Tai Chi. The form will have to be adapted to suit the slower speed, kicks become slow steps, requiring not only excellent muscle control but balance as well.

Conclusion

The heart and soul of any martial art is in the way you move. Following precise directions for moving the body does more that simply train you for combat, it improves concentration, self awareness, coordination, versatility, balance, rhythm, and harmony - it teaches you to be alive.

The difference between FAST and QUICK in martial arts

Before I began to write this article I was searching for the differences in meaning between fast and quick. To my amazement, the dictionary says that they are synonymous in meaning. In the martial arts or combat sports, they are not the same, especially quickness. Being quick means delivering a technique with explosive speed. Fast is speed without the explosiveness. The former should be the goal of any combat sport devotee. There is a recipe to cook explosiveness and these are the ingredients: learning the movement or technique thoroughly. The second ingredient: the components of speed, like relaxation, timing, perceived speed, delivery speed and of course strength.

At the beginning stages of learning any new technique, the teacher must emphasize the importance of how the body moves before, during and after the technique. A very keen eye is necessary to see both internal and external mistakes the student makes. If these are not corrected early, speed can be hampered because unnecessary movements tend to be added that are not part of the original technique. In my case, once my students know the steps involved I highly recommend performing according to their own physiology, therefore, they move more efficiently.

Before performing the task at hand, you must relax the muscles involved in its execution. If you are throwing a reverse punch or a cross as in boxing, the shoulders, hips and rear leg need to work together creating one single force going forward. If any or all the muscles are too tense, you end up being smacked in the middle of throwing your right. That’s why it’s good idea to combine relaxation and timing together. Once you’ve committed yourself to attack, make sure that you are not too far or too close to strike. Your timing determines just that. Another thing that you can do to make your delivery faster is to improve your perception speed. In other words, how fast you see the opening and how fast you take advantage of that moment.

Lastly, let’s talk about strength in relation to being fast and quick. Once the student learns the mechanics of the technique, the timing is beautiful, your perception speed is marvelous, and your delivery is impeccable. You are only fast, but you are not quick yet. You need to add strength to the strike. Through resistance training the muscles involved in the movements become stronger. This means stronger contraction of muscles which adds to the take off of the limb being used, so to speak. A word of caution, resistance training can add tension to muscles, tendons and ligaments, so always stretch before and after working out. When I talk about resistance training, I’m speaking about weight training, calisthenics, plyometrics, water training and any other type of training which adds resistance to muscles. Always consult a physician before embarking in strenuous exercise and experiment with the suggestions above to see where they take you.

Tags: Boxing, martial art, martial arts, training