The Nature of Your Discipline

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It came to mind today, like many other days, that there are many iterations of practice under the generic title of martial arts. I prefer to refer to them all as martial disciplines simply because most must exercise discipline to enter into and practice continuously those same disciplines. One obstacle to understanding it all is “Labeling,” where labels are mistaken, misunderstood and misused by all the proponents. Acceptance of those who have come before tends to propagate the mistakes, misunderstandings and misuse of such things.

I have written time and again about the, “Distinctions,” involving the practice and study of martial disciplines. We have the following distinctions, as to my perceptions, of martial disciplines:

Main Categories are, “Japanese, Chinese, Okinawan, Korean.” There are others but like some systems and styles they are lumped under these four categories for martial disciplines. The rub comes from a “Fact” that martial disciplines go way beyond the Asian connections that seem to dominate the martial arts communities. Some are even lumped under and thought of as those same martial arts, i.e., Krav Maga, Brazilian Jujutsu (some believe a direct descendent of Japanese Jujutsu) and many others. Of course this adds a lot of confusion to the whole concept.

Under the main categories we have many, many, many systems and styles that are, simply put, renditions of one system or style that presents a unique perspective of an individual Sensei that ended up being named and declared as a style. Remember, in essence all martial disciplines are actually and simply demonstration of perception and application of principles of martial disciplines, i.e., principles that transcend attempts to cubby hole said principle applications toward systems and styles that on the surface appear different but underneath exposing those principles are all the same. 

Using my own form of martial discipline as an example, “Isshinryu, an Okinawan form of practice of karate or empty hand,” where Isshinryu, by some, is perceived as a child to the style or system of “Shorin-ryu,” that is also perceived, by some, as a child of the three main communities of Te or Ti in Okinawan dialect, as Tomari, Shuri and Naha “Te.” Those three are also children of the indigenous single, or one wholehearted, system of simply, “Ti or Te,” that was Okinawa’a empty handed or hand-to-hand form of self-protection and self-survival system when weapons are not available or lost. 

Now, with that slightly more clarity of martial disciplines or principles we come to the real meat of this article, “The nature of your discipline,” in that you train, practice and apply your studies and practices for, “Sport or Combat or Self-defense or Self-enlightenment or Business (using one or more of these distinctions or nature of practice).” 

Let me say that when distinctions and practices are discernible, distinct and drive your intent you can practice, train and apply more than one way of martial discipline. It is difficult if for no other reason that one who practices a long time can become complacent in their effort to discern and separate that training. In essence, for me, making the primary nature of your discipline your main focus of study and practice becomes critical when it involves fighting, combatives and self-defense dependent on how you perceive and distinguish one or all three. My entire life in martial practice was for its applications as a professional, a Marine, then became about self-defense as a civilian. The way as for self-enlightenment and self-improvement naturally came to being as I progressed over the years if for no other reasons that my focus on the underlying fundamental principles of martial disciplines applications in self-defense where, “Theory and Philosophy,” became critical to the practice and application of, “Physiokinetics, Technique, Self-defense and the Chemical Cocktail,” for self-defense. 

The very nature of your discipline truly matters if you want it to work. It matters even more to have such distinctions when it involves conflict and violence in self-defense or more importantly in your work if you are that type of professional, i.e., police, corrections, military, etc. Getting trapped and caught up in a tidal wave of commercialism, meme’s and other monkey dancing ego self-soothing type behaviors and beliefs may just expose such a person to things like grave bodily harm of self and others let along death of self or others. 

The nature of your discipline, “Matters!”

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