Achieving Martial Synthesis

Mixing of the martial arts, and “Mixed Martial Arts”, as a fighting style in and of itself is all the rage right now.  Hardly anyone wants to train in a single art anymore and even fewer want to train in any singular “traditional” martial style.

The excitement and brutality offered for consumer/viewer consumption, on a regular basis, has convinced many both within and outside of the martial arts world that “Mixed Martial Arts” (MMA) and mixing martial styles is THE WAY TO GO, no matter your goals and desires in training.  This article in not necessarily written as a discussion of the problems inherent in MMA, or to expound on the wonderful qualities of traditional martial arts (TMA) training.

Instead this article will discuss how to achieve synthesis, or true unification of the martial arts, instead of the disjointed, conflicted, choppy, and compartmentalized martial arts often exhibited in MMA rings, and amongst those who mix their training and martial styles.

There are steps that must be taken if one is to successfully integrate/synthesize the martial arts they train in or wish to train in.  The first step in this process is academic in nature.  In order to achieve martial synthesis, one must fully understand the history of the all the arts in which they train.  Further, in understanding an arts history, one must not only understand where, when and how, the art was developed, but also why.

The why in this part of the equation refers to the reasoning behind the arts creation and movements; the part of the world it was created in (terrain, weather, social structure, etc. all play a role in an arts creation and history) the perspective of what was occurring in the part of the world that the art was created when it was created; and the conceptual thinking that went into the creation of a particular martial art (the context).

Take Wing Chun as an example.  This art is noted for it’s close quarter striking and trapping, highly effective low-line kicks, and practical (for the time) weapons training.  This art was developed during a time of continuous and fierce warfare, and the legendary Shaolin monks needed to create a relatively simple yet deadly effective martial art, that guards/fighting units could learn and “master” relatively quickly; as these soldiers were often newer monks/students that would not have the requisite years necessary to learn the intricate and advanced techniques involved in “traditional” Shaolin training.

The differences between Wing Chun, and traditional Shaolin martial training, are so distinct that most Westerners have no idea, that Wing Chun is actually, originally, a Shaolin art.  Further, whereas Wing Chun practitioners, even today, still exhibit a military or more military/combative/reality-type mentality, “traditional Shaolin-style martial arts practitioners still exhibit more of what is recognized as a TMA way of thinking.  This is a mentality where the art is more of an art than a military way, and is often entwined with spirituality/spiritualism in some way.

These examples of understanding a particular arts history can be exampled in any martial art, but these historical understandings, lead us to true and accurate historical context and perspective.  This in turn leads us in developing the proper fighting attitude, for each individual art.

For example, Muay Thai, developed from Muay Boran, which was an art created for specialized/elite Royal Guards, protecting the Thai emperor/king.  Being an elite combative/military and protective art, gave Muay Boran, and thereby Muay Thai, and aggressive mentality/attitude.  This aggressiveness to the style is still extremely evident amongst Muay Thai practitioners/fighters, and instructors today (as it is evident in all arts with a military/combative/reality-based background/history), marking this as an extremely brutal style.

This brutality can be combat effective, but today’s practitioners often forget (if they ever knew) that Muay Thai was developed as a sport, to preserve the original Muay Boran, but also to allow the Royal Guard to practice and eliminate all but the best from their ranks, without killing one another.  However, since it is a sport (though it can be effective for self-defense), it has many limitations/liabilities that actually limit it as a practical self-defense/military art.

So here again we see the importance of understanding an arts history, context, perspective, and attitude, in order to truly and accurately practice correct form and application of that art.  The point is that in order to correctly apply an art and use it to its’ greatest possible effect, this historical foundation/base, understanding, and attitude is crucial.

So how does this understanding lead to martial synthesis.  To begin with, by having an accurate and full historical understanding of each art that one desires to practice and the core principles and these arts (principles are far more important than specific techniques), one will know how, when, and where to blend the arts they practice to make them as effective as possible, and instinctively which arts to blend.  This art mixing will then be a true blend, where arts compliment and strengthen one another, not interfere with and thereby weaken one another.

Boxing and Muay Thai/Boran absolutely can be trained to be complementary to and a source of strength for one another, instead of seemingly conflicting with each other; where practitioners of MMA are often seen only using specific arts at specific ranges, instead of learning to blend them spontaneously and fluidly at any range.  This lack of blend and flow leads to the choppy, disjointed fighting often seen in MMA rings today, and amongst practitioners of a hodge-podge of martial arts.

Too often, fights on the ground turn into wrestling and Jujitsu matches, or ground and pound displays, instead of all of these skills being utilized simultaneously together.  Strikes should open submissions, and submission attempts should open up striking opportunities.  Outside of MMA, boxing and its’ wonderful footwork and hand-skills should absolutely compliment all of the other amazing attributes of traditional karate and kung-fu practitioners.

In fact karate’s straight-ahead unyielding, samurai mentality, can perfectly blend with and compliment kung-fu’s more circular, and yielding/flowing attributes.  Wrestling and Jujitsu (Japanese and Brazilian) go hand-in-hand wonderfully, but so do Muay Thai/Boran and Jujitsu, and Muay Thai/Boran and both Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling.

In conclusion, taking the time to learn about and train for depth in the arts that you’ve decided  to practice, can go a very long way toward making you not only a better martial artist, but actually that very rare species; a complete martial artist.  When blending arts to achieve martial synthesis, one must remember that to blend and flow, you must understand the creators purpose by studying the history, context, perspective, and the accompanying attitude and core principles.

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Grant Bacon is Head Instructor and Co-Founder of The Truth in Combat Method and Delaware Combat University. He is a Certified Level II PFS Jeet Kune Do Concepts and Filipino Kali Instructor. Grant has many years of grappling, weapons & amature MMA fighting experience.

Tagged as: mixed martial arts, MMA, power, self-defense