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thelenian · 06-09-2002, 06:05 PM

re: Mason

What you say is definitely true. Westernized versions of martial arts (JKD, BJJ, "westernized" karate) are all optimized for fighting in tournaments and sparring.

In eastern training, not only must you defeat your opponent, you must defeat him/her "correctly", performing the techniques with grace and precision. If you knock your opponent out with a sloppy off-balance axe kick, you're more likely to receive criticism than praise. While most eastern arts prepare their followers for raw combat to a certain degree, actually fighting in a real combat situation while correctly employing the techniques of the art typically becomes possible only when one has mastered the art.

Westernized martial arts tend to be completely focused on physical combat. Eastern arts tend to focus on discipline of mind and precise physical control through exercises that, if necessary, can be used to neutralize an opponent (while some arts, such as Karate, were originally developed specifically for combat, they have since matured and become broader in scope). Just as Aikido is less intuitively applicable to combat than just about any other eastern martial art, eastern arts tend to be less intuitively applicable than western arts, as combat is not the sole focus.

To say that, assuming equal levels of proficiency, a person trained in JKD will defeat a person trained in Karate 7 times out of 10 is almost certainly true in all cases where the combatants are not masters of their respective arts, but it is mostly meaningless. The sole purpose of JKD is excellence in physical combat, whereas that is only partially the purpose of Karate.

In short, if you're looking simply for the most effective way to beat a person up, westernized arts are what you're looking for.

06-09-2002, 06:05 PM	#60
thelenian Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 122	re: Mason What you say is definitely true. Westernized versions of martial arts (JKD, BJJ, "westernized" karate) are all optimized for fighting in tournaments and sparring. In eastern training, not only must you defeat your opponent, you must defeat him/her "correctly", performing the techniques with grace and precision. If you knock your opponent out with a sloppy off-balance axe kick, you're more likely to receive criticism than praise. While most eastern arts prepare their followers for raw combat to a certain degree, actually fighting in a real combat situation while correctly employing the techniques of the art typically becomes possible only when one has mastered the art. Westernized martial arts tend to be completely focused on physical combat. Eastern arts tend to focus on discipline of mind and precise physical control through exercises that, if necessary, can be used to neutralize an opponent (while some arts, such as Karate, were originally developed specifically for combat, they have since matured and become broader in scope). Just as Aikido is less intuitively applicable to combat than just about any other eastern martial art, eastern arts tend to be less intuitively applicable than western arts, as combat is not the sole focus. To say that, assuming equal levels of proficiency, a person trained in JKD will defeat a person trained in Karate 7 times out of 10 is almost certainly true in all cases where the combatants are not masters of their respective arts, but it is mostly meaningless. The sole purpose of JKD is excellence in physical combat, whereas that is only partially the purpose of Karate. In short, if you're looking simply for the most effective way to beat a person up, westernized arts are what you're looking for.