On the Unimprovable and Perfected Nature of Martial Arts

[Chris McKinley]

Mostly to avoid cognitive dissonance, martial artists, including to no less measure those living and practicing today, have romanticized the development and creation of various codified methods of combat. As with the development of folklore, myth, legend, and tall tales in all cultures worldwide throughout human history, this idealization has occurred to the extent that many have romanticized the developers of these arts as nothing but purely objective empiricists, conducting exhaustive and ruthlessly unbiased, objective research into the absolute optimum of human combat, pursuing empirical truth with relentless zeal, devoid of compassion for anything less than the combatively perfect.

These larger-than-life idols are seen as somehow immune to the artistic expression, symbolism, cultural and spiritual beliefs, collectivism, predilection for tradition, popular philosophies, social morays and personal physical biases that affect all the rest of humanity in their creation of these arts. One can almost envision their portraits showing these heroic figures poised triumphantly over their foes, a white labcoat over monk's robes, a staff in one hand and a clipboard in the other, scions of logic and experimental method before the Age of Reason, ahead of their time by generations.

We also tend to romanticize the arts themselves as somehow arriving in the current generation already perfected, devoid of the taint of any arbitrary or subjective bias whatsoever, objectively optimized to the Nth degree of functional tactical perfection. "These arts are incapable of any further improvement or innovation," say the romantics. "After all, they've survived intact for this many generations and that must mean that all tactical possibilities have been systematically explored, all material mercilessly pressure-tested, anything less than the most perfectly robust and combat-realistic content already having been distilled, culled and removed, and the system fully optimized to reflect that exhaustive and remorseless optimization."

The only problem is, that's bullshit.

These arts, like almost all human endeavors, are a stew of functionality, empirical observation, cultural bias, social practices, philosophical/spiritual beliefs, superstition, artistic expression, personal subjective choice and random arbitrary inclusion. Welcome to earth...that's how we do things around here.

[Doc Stier]

"....many have romanticized the developers of these arts as nothing but purely objective empiricists, conducting exhaustive and ruthlessly unbiased, objective research into the absolute optimum of human combat, pursuing empirical truth with relentless zeal, devoid of compassion for anything less than the combatively perfect."

Oh, please! Only you have thought to employ such methods, right?

What a hoot! Give it a rest, man!

[Chris McKinley]

Get over yourself, Doc. It's pathetic to even suggest that I have claimed even to have done so, nevermind further claim to be the only one. You're pulling that old bullshit again. The dishonesty of such an accusation and the frequency with which you use it can't help but make me suspect that something I've said has hit a little close to home. Now, assuming you disagree with something actually stated in the post, do you care to provide either a refutation or even an alternative viewpoint to consider? I'm open for either. If you want to try and twist it to be about me again, just save your breath.

[Chris Fleming]

[Strange]

muah ha ha ha ha

[GrahamB]

Damnit Chris! Stop using such big words all the time. I have no idea what this thread is even about!

[Dmitri]

Damnit Chris! Stop using such big words all the time. I have no idea what this thread is even about!

"Most MAs suck, 'cause they're, like, all stupid and not for realz."
Better?

It's amusing actually that even though the post neither asks a question nor suggests that there's even a need for a discussion -- it's just a statement, so at best one could just ignore it -- but instead people choose to reply with thinly-veiled borderline personal attacks.
Oh well. 'Tis the internets after all.

[Strange]

muah ha ha ha

[Alexander]

Damnit Chris! Stop using such big words all the time. I have no idea what this thread is even about!

"Most MAs suck, 'cause they're, like, all stupid and not for realz."
Better?

It's amusing actually that even though the post neither asks a question nor suggests that there's even a need for a discussion -- it's just a statement, so at best one could just ignore it -- but instead people choose to reply with thinly-veiled borderline personal attacks.
Oh well. 'Tis the internets after all.

Well.. a forum afterall is a place to discuss. A statement is something to discuss; thus, posting a statement and not expecting a response on a forum doesn't quite make sense

[Chris Fleming]

"nor suggests that there's even a need for a discussion"


muah ha ha ha

[GrahamB]

Is that Part Wild Horse's Mane or Diagonal Flying? Ah, the debate continues....

[mrtoes]

Where's Bas Rutten when you need him?

What you need is "GRAB HIS LEG AND SNAP!!!! THEN BANG BANG BANG BANG GROIN KICK! SMASH YOUR ELBOW INTO HIS FACE BOUNCE HIS HEAD OFF THE BAR AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN!!!!!!!!!"

Then sit down and finish your drink

Matthew.

[strawdog]

A lot of people think they can improve on works of past masters. IMO, that's only to avoid facing the truth that they're not competent enough to replicate it.

It's simply easier to appoint yourself an expert of your own creation.

[GrahamB]

A lot of people think they can improve on works of past masters. IMO, that's only to avoid facing the truth that they're not competent enough to replicate it.

It's simply easier to appoint yourself an expert of your own creation.

I wonder about that too. The old Bruce Lee quote of "absorb what is useful, reject what is useless" springs to mind..... what qualifies you to know what is useful? Just because you can't get something to work right now, because it's too difficult to make work, doesn't mean it's useless..... it could just mean that you suck donkey droppings.

[Josealb]

Bound in a nutshell, I count myself a king of infinite space...and also i suck a bit and cant do that one move so ill change it.