Conserve your energy


In the martial arts world there are many things that we may find ourselves concerned with. Training, teaching and research are vital parts of developing our understanding or purpose in the art. In the process of our development we will most certainly come across different fighting ideas, concepts and strategies. The evolution of both ourselves and our styles requires a degree of understanding of the differences between styles. Is it better for me to use a roundhouse kick from Taekwondo or a roundhouse kick from Muay Thai?

The correct answer of course is that there is no correct answer. If you favor speed and accuracy then you will like to use the Taekwondo kick. Good for setting up a combination, fighting multiple opponents and controlling your environment. If you want to over power your opponent and break through his defense then you are certainly a Muay Thai kicker. Both of the techniques are correct, the question is can you do either of the techniques correctly?

This is a more obvious example but these types of differences between styles and movements have kept martial artists literally butting heads with each other since the beginning of time. Today if you look at the comments of any youtube video you can find remarks that are long drawn out arguments between self proclaimed martial artists. This master isn't legit, he isn't using fajin correctly, this is a bad technique etc. etc.

If you are really seeking to find truth about your style or movement the answer is always the same....train it. Only through training it will you have a full understanding about what the technique means. Time spent arguing and debating about the differences will lead you to a dark room of doubt and frustration. This dark energy will eventually take the joy away from you and hinder your growth all together. If your style is so effective, then why are you unhappy?

Remember that all styles and skills that we may achieve in life are merely a mirror we use to understand our world. In the very finite details of everything you will find the same truth. The only real truth that we can gather in this lifetime is that we can not know everything. When we attempt to prove others wrong our energy will darken regardless of the circumstances. In short, shut up and train!

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