Words of Thought

(Traditional Techniques)

Def........Traditional Technique: A technique which is broken and the practitioner still teaches.

In combat martial arts we do not practice techniques because they are "traditional". We practice them because they work. There seems to be a large number of martial artists who look for someone to train them the "traditional" way. It is as if a great secret was discovered long ago and the whole goal is to not lose it. This is not the case.

Martial arts continues to evolve to meet the needs of its society. There are some techniques that are discarded for a reason and others added. We have no use for defense against a samurai sword on the street. As a combat martial artist, my goal is to learn to defend myself the best way possible to survive my surroundings. If a technique does not work for you, IT IS BROKEN. It doesn't matter if you have not understood the technique taught, or if it was broken before it was taught to you. Do not teach this technique "the way that it was shown to me". If you don't get it, you can't teach it. Do not continue to teach this technique under the guise of "tradition". Fix it or throw it away.

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