Well I have been spending some time on stand-up this last week or so, and ground and pound, and of course judo. I'm about to give one of my famous little "Ryu's ponderings" so those of you who wince at the thought press the backspace button on your browser now. :)

I have come to somewhat of a conclusion about myself and my training. LOL, and I'm not sure if NHB fighters or traditionalists alike will like the idea. Though I am always one to say exactly what's on my mind, regardless.

Well first off, I am someone that really wants to find realistic ways of self-defense and protection of other people. And ....well I do not mean this as a flame, nor do I want to start a flame war in any way (and yes, it's only my personal opinion based on my experience).. but in my opinion real life fighting and self-defense holds the exact same body mechanics, ferocity, and unpredictability as you find in NHB matches.
That is my personal experience. Bodies violently collide, fists are swung crazily, and people grab hold of each other punching, kneeing, wrestling, etc.
(yes there are sometimes multiple opponents, yes there are knives, etc. you have to understand and deal with that as well)
But I feel that in order to prepare for the shock and violence of a high level fight, you have to train at least in some way the concepts of NHB.
That means cross-training, sparring with resistent opponents, and doing realistic drills, heavy bag, ground and pound dummies, etc.
That does not mean traditional arts do not work, it just means that I am looking for a very efficient and quick way to defend myself...and I also think technique is nothing without attribute that is why I lift weights, work on endurance (which I need more of) and do push ups, pulls, etc. Speed drills, etc.

Now that the traditionalists are mad at me, it's time to slow the cheers of the NHB enthusiasts and make them mad at me as well :D

I have come to a conclusion about my inner person. I am not a violent person, nor do I like violence. In fact, I am not a very competitive person (except with myself) :) Being an NHB fighter (even a champion) would be a living hell for me. I can't really think of something I'd hate more. Not saying that it is bad, but I am saying that it's just not me. You'll never see me fight in a cage, you'll never see me drop all else just to train fighting my entire life. (I could just buy a gun) NHB fighters are possibly some of the most dedicated trainers I have ever seen. It's amazing to me how much they work, and kill themselves to do what they do. There is nothing wrong with that.
However I know this about myself. I do not like the rather "un-budo" emphasis placed in a lot of NHB environments. Now before you yell, yes I know everyone is an individual, and I can't make generalizations. :) I'm not trying to. However the one thing I have loved more than anything else about martial art is the "philosophy" behind the traditional arts. Whether or not it's really because of martial arts is irrelevant. I really enjoy the bushido aspect of the arts. So much in fact that it really has shaped a great deal of my spiritual and physical life.
I hate the thought of blooding someone up unless I have to, I hate big lights, loud crazy crowds, ring girls just a bit too scanty for me, and a lot of the egoism that I have seen with a lot (but definately not all) NHB people. Now that's a pretty bad statement, so let me be the first to say that I am not calling the people in this sport bad. Not in the least! But I do see some aspects of the sport these days that I don't agree with. :) I'll just leave it at that.

So here's the kicker...
I will continue and hopefully delve deeper into training NHB style as a "self-defense" or maybe even a "traditional art". Don't all throw tomatos at once now :D When I say "traditional" I am not fooling myself. I am not going to make absurd excuses to keep me from testing myself, etc. I will still spar hard with uncooperative opponents (who try to beat me), I will train hard with my physical body (i.e. weight lifting, calistenics, etc) I will continue to practice judo and spar often. I will drill on heavy bags, grappling dummies, etc. I will train ground and pound with friends, range familiarization, etc.

But I want to hold a very "budo" like mentality with my training. I DO want to mix philosophy with my training, and I want to contribute to society, cultivate compassion, empathy, morality, bravery, wisdom, and inner peace. And even though I train with other people quite a bit, I want to really appreciate the feeling of training just by myself...

I have a pretty open mind to things, however I arm myself with reality before I go looking for fantasy. I may dabble in more esoteric things like Ki meditation, etc. But I feel NHB "styled" training is what will really cut it in the real world. At least for me at this day and time.

Well that is my post.
Hope you enjoyed reading it. Send all hate mail to "Ryu_is_only_expressing_himself@hotmail.com" ;)

Take care,
and tell me what you think,

Ryu



judo legend, Masahiko Kimura


"One who takes pride in shallow knowledge or understanding is like a monkey who delights in adorning itself with garbage."