Attackers Fill the Void. Why does self defense training fail?
Attackers Fill the Void: Nature will not tolerate a void. Not in any way shape or form. Natural Laws cannot be ignored.
And this is something every martial artists should reflex upon. Society often tries to pretend these laws do not exist.
Attackers Fill the Void
In the case in point I am referring to self defense training. And today, unlike a century ago, martial artist, and martial arts Black Belts are not self defense experts. But many think they are.
Attackers Fill the Void and this truth has caused a lot of issue within the martial arts world. Sport has taken over, and these people believe they have the answers when they have none. That is dangerous! A champion believing he or she are self defense experts is like a teenager believing he understands warfare from playing a video game.
Attackers fill the void. An attacker, a real attacker wants something. They wish to fill a void. And they will succeed if the defender presents a void to be filled. There is a false belief that speed or strength training will fix this. Wrong!
Attackers Fill the Void
The reason this is true is because martial arts training has become about "style." And it was never intended to be a style. Rather martial arts training is a STUDY. A study is infinite, a style in finite.
The example I am going to use in this article is one tenth of one percent of the equation. But we must begin somewhere. Let's look at Waza or technique training.
An attacker and defender (Uke) in training. The Uke steps forward and punches. At this point he stops. The defender steps back and performs a middle block, and then immediately counter punches the Uke's body.
Attackers Fill the Void
I teach this to beginners in my art of Hapkido. But the issue is this is not evolved in most systems. I teach wrong on purpose, but I correct this once motion is understood.
What is the issues here? Nothing, as long as it is corrected. First understand this is a reactionary training. What do I mean? Movement of the defender comes AFTER the attack, in this case a punch it seen coming in. Stepping backwards is always problematic, however it can be done. The block to the arm will occur at the wrist, which will cause the attackers arm to be pushed violently to the right, if the punch was a right hand.
This creates a VOID on the defender, and the motion of the attackers arm will cause the second attack to be launched with greater force. The left fist will fill the VOID, because natural laws are in play, and as the attacker fills the void the second strike will land with great force! The counter attack will not happen.
Attackers Fill the Void - Natural Laws.
Also, the attackers motion will NOT STOP. No one punches ONCE. And the action of stepping back will cause the Uke's brain to recalculate distance and therefore cover more ground during the attack. In other words speed up.
Techniques like this are fine to teach beginners. But in the wild, in all "styles" I see this still in use at Black Belt levels. The techniques become more complex, but the concept is never evolved.
In order to deal with real life, and this was understood deeply by the masters of old, but not taught, is to understand motion. What an attack is, how is happens, what controls movement, and with this knowledge how to counter.
Martial Arts taught today for many, many reasons are very incomplete. But they do not have to stay that way. And sorry the free sparring 99% of Dojos do today is a game of tag. This training is worthless in real life.
Attackers Fill the Void - How did this happen?
The reasons for the watering down of the arts are many. For the purpose of this article I will look at one example. Today, the people of the western culture are relatively safe. Most people do not face death on a day to day basic like many of the previous martial arts masters did. Men like Mitose and Ueshiba had hard violence lives. This understanding of violence allowed them to evolve in their seniors years to great men of peace.
In today's world we lie to ourselves of our experiences and knowledge. Pacifism is a great example. This is a lie of man, and men who do not understand violence. I have known 2 pacifists in my life. Both we angry violent men pretending to be peaceful. Train and understand how Attackers Fill the Void.
Attackers Fill the Void in Conclusion
There are solutions. Expand your learning, and learning is the key word. As martial arts seniors today we have to stop lying to ourselves that we know ANYTHING because we do not!
I am surprised each day of my personal study how much there is still for me to learn.
And I genuinely wish to share this with the right people. That is of itself a task. Real students are hard to find today!
And when learning continues age becomes irrelevant. Natural Laws when learned make the arts timeless. Today the martial arts are a "game" for the young. It was never meant to be this way. The average life expediency for a student today is less than a year.
Martial Art training should be a lifetime Journey. And knowing that attackers fill the void. And knowledge is a void, once filled will defeat any attacker.
Study Natural Laws
Free Kosho Ryu Basics Video
Fill out the form below, and confirm your email address and receive a FREE video on Kosho Ryu basics.
You MUST confirm your email to receive the video! Read my Privacy Policy Here
Thank you for taking time to read this article Attackers Fill the Void. There is some excellent content here. An example it the History of the WBA and also the 3 Friends of Winter.
Thank you for your time and have a wonderful day! Keep Learning!
Vă mulțumesc pentru timpul acordat și o zi minunată! Continua sa inveti!
Al vostru în arte,
Mare Maestru Art Mason
