Style vs. Style

Martial arts has always had a very broad meaning. Martial arts may refer to karate, aikido, judo, ju jitsu, kung fu, tai chi, tae kwon do, hapkido, kendo — in fact, there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of styles of martial arts.
Some are well-developed, well known styles taught in schools internationally, while many styles are indigeneous to a specific rural village, taught and practiced only there for centuries and unknown to the rest of the world. Some arts specialize in kicking, while other focus on hand strikes and trapping. Some are throwing arts and others grapple — concentrating primarily on ground fighting.
Although these styles and systems vary in origin — coming from China, Okinawa, Japan, Korea, as well as from other countries throughout Asia and elsewhere — they all teach martial technique, either empty handed or with a weapon.

Only a small number of these styles have successfully migrated to America, and only a fraction of those have come to the general public’s awareness. A particular style gains popularity almost exclusively through the media — specifically movies and TV — quickly gains a small following and grows in popularity only when it is successfully marketed or championed by a Hollywood star or professional athlete.

Modern History
The popularity of martial arts in the West over the past 50 years has its roots in the experiences of military servicemen returning to the U.S. at the end of the Korean War in the early 1950’s. Exposed for the first time to traditional Asian forms of empty-handed fighting and self defense, these combat-trained soldiers were as facinated by its efficiency and effectiveneess as they were by its grace. Returning servicemen were among the first westerners in the U.S. to open martial arts schools. The relative popularity of various martial arts styles has risen and fallen with the times. Throughout the 1950s and 60s, the Judo craze mesmerized audiences with throws and locks. By the late 1960s and 70s, we saw the rise of Karate, a powerful striking art, and Kung Fu, popularized by Bruce Lee and, later, by the American TV series of the same name.
Hundreds of thousands of students throughout the U.S. flocked to dojos to learn these mysterious new fighting arts. Words like ninja and sensei entered the general English vocabulary.
In the 1980s, a Korean art – Tae Kwon Do — burst upon the scene. One master was asked, “How did Tae Kwon Do become so popular?” His reply? “If I break a brick with my hand, it looks good, but if I throw a brick in the air and break it with a kick – that looks more impressive. Americans want to be able to defend themselves, but they also want to look good doing it.” Martial arts-inspired fight scenes became more and more prevalent in mainstream Hollywood movies.
A whole generation of kids grew up watching the animated TV show, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

No-Holds-Bared Competition
In the 1990s, the popularity of Brazilian Ju Jitsu coincided with the introduction of Ultimate Fighting, a contest that claimed to settle the age-old question, “Which martial art is the best?” Ultimate Fighting promised to end speculation, conjecture and arguments; it would all be settled in a cage. And, after winning match after match, Brazilian Ju-Jitsu, as practiced by the Gracie family, consistantly came out on top, appearing to be the style to beat. Ten years later, UltimateFighting has become an international sport, watched by millions around the world. Top competitors train hard, and Brazilian Ju Jitsu is just one successful style among many.
Today, there are as many knock-outs as tap-outs. Grapplers are punching and strikers are grappling. It can be said that the lasting legacy of the Gracie family was to make the martial arts world address the issue of what to do when you are taken to the ground. Ultimate Fighting has become much less a contest of style vs. style, and much more a test of one particular fighter’s ability vs. another’s.
Given this history, it is easy to understand that people who have never studied martial arts see the entire practice as fighting. It’s only natural. Martial arts were introduced to the West in general and to the U.S. in particular by former soldiers who viewed the art as an effective mean of selfdefense. And, if you view these as fighting arts, then it’s no surprise that the question arises, “If one style fought another, which would win?” If you think about it, you’ll see that the question itself is beside the point. All authentic styles and systems teach self defense skills necessary to take a confrontational situation under control or allow you to defend yourself if attacked. But people are rarely attacked in everyday life by professional fighters, or by trained martial artists. Most attacks are perpetrated by a punk or thug with a quick temper, often under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. So, which style is the most effective? From a self-defense perspective, virtually all authentic styles will work.

Sport, Science or Art
Of course, the longer you study martial arts — any style of martial arts — the longer you practice, the more apparent it becomes that it is so much more than fighting. In fact, the ability to fight effectively is a mere consequence. Let’s analyze it. If the objective of martial arts was just to successfully compete in contests of skill, then wouldn’t it be called martial sport? If the objective was to hone an efficient means of fighting technique, then shouldn’t it be called martial science? Wouldn’t we be martial technicians? But no, this has always been designated and refered to as an art. What does it mean to be an artist? While mastery of technique is necessary; and desire, will and execution are expected, ultimately, artists act to express themselves, to produce or arrange sound, color, form, movement, or other elements in a creative manner. It may not make for an exciting action movie, but martial arts is about creating something of unique aesthetic value, not about destroying your enemy. Look at the names of several traditional styles. Judo is translated as the gentle way. Kung Fu means achievement through effort or wisdom through skill. Karate translates as empty hand, although some masters say that the original characters meant using the hand or body to empty the self.
Aikido means the way of harmony. All of the great masters, from Tamo Bodidharma (founder of Kung Fu) in the 6th century on, have stressed that martial arts is a path of personal transformation that ultimately leads to self-realization.

Ego Enhancement is the Antithesis of Martial Arts From this perspective, the question, which style is the most effective? is meaningless. What reason would two martial artists — serious martial artists who practice their art diligently and passionately — have for fighting with one another? Through practice, they develop the discipline and self-control to be able to deal with most situations without resorting to blows. The thrill of competition? If the essence of martial arts is personal transformation that ultimately leads to self-realization, then practice is designed to minimize and ultimately destroy the ego. Entertaining concepts of victory and defeat is counter-productive. Unfortunately, today there are far too many people claiming to be martial artists who are perpetually training for the enhancement of their egos, for the pride of victory, boasting that they are the toughest or that their style is the best, ready to fight anyone that challenges them.Although these people may be great fighters, they have not yet realized that, in martial arts as in life itself, the real battle is within.

Never compare yourself with others. If you must compaare yourself with someone, compare yourself with yourself yesterday.

Challenging your Child to Success

Parents have the job of challenging their children.

Unlike criticizing them when they make a mistake, challenging them will help motivate them to improve and will introduce them to the concept of “cause and effect.”

When the bedroom is clean (cause), there’s time for an extra hour of TV (effect). When a child misbehaves, the effect should be a learned lesson, not a prolonged punishment.

When I started teaching, my standard procedure was to condemn children who did not satisfy my expectations or execute their moves perfectly.

I thought that by pointing out their flaws, they would focus their efforts on fixing them; however, pointing out their flaws did not motivate anyone to fix anything, but created a negative focus on the situation.

Instead of focusing on the errors, focus on what is right and use that as a launching pad to suggest potential improvements.

Everyone has heard of the saying ‘If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.’

Instead of just focusing on what your child has done wrong, choose a specific goal and challenge them to meet that goal.

If your children have trouble with a homework assignment, patiently go over it with them. Before pointing out flaws, find something positive to say.

Some Facts About Nutrition

Calcium’s Friend

We all know that calcium makes bones strong and healthy. But, unfortunately, drinking lots of milk may not be enough. The body cannot absorb calcium without the presence of vitamin D. Finding vitamin D from food sources is difficult. The body can make vitamin D itself during its exposure to the sun. But these days we are concerned about going out in the sun because of the dangers of UV rays. So taking a daily supplement of vitamin D is a sensible idea.


What is an Antioxidant?

Antioxidants are chemicals that exist in foods that reduce our chances of catching diseases. Berries such as blackberries, strawberries and cranberries are a great source of antioxidants. Other yummy sources of antioxidants are pepper, spinach, mushroom, pecan, pistachio, almond, and, the yummiest of all, the cocoa in chocolate! Tea and coffee also contain antioxidants, but be mindful of the caffeine which can interfere with your sleep cycle.


Cutting Down on Sugary Drinks

When you drink sodas or other sugary drinks, you are drinking lots of empty calories that have no nutritive value. These drinks are a major reason for the obesity problem in America today. Also, sugary drinks often contain high quantities of caffeine which can make you restless. Drinking water is way better than drinking soda.


Learning From Nutrition Labels

Nutrition labels are a great service provided to us. We can find out a lot about the food we are about to eat through nutrition labels. For example, eating something with a high percentage of trans fat is not a good idea. A food that has both carbohydrate and fiber is more nutritious than something with no fiber. Foods rich in vitamins, calcium and iron are nutritious.

The New Way to Eat Healthy.......
Sick of counting carbs? You’ll love eating by the glycemic index. Pure glucose (sugar) rates a 100 on the GI index and is the base against which all the other foods are measured.
Other foods high on the index include ice cream and dried fruit, where foods low on the index include apples and beans. Although diets tend to emphasize foods that are low on the GI, a food’s GI rating isn’t the only thing you need to consider. For example, brown rice actually ranks higher on the index than a Mars Bar. Does this mean that a gooey convenience food will fit better into a healthy diet plan than fiber-filled grains? Dream on!
Remember that the glycemic index only measures the blood glucose response to a food. If the food is also high in fat and protein, it will have a lower GI rating but won’t necessarily be healthy. Because the candy bar contains fat (even though it’s the saturated, artery- clogging kind), the body’s insulin response is slower, placing the bar lower on the index than foods without fat, like brown rice. Confused?
Use this basic rule of thumb for following the glycemic index: Nutritious foods can be high on the index, so just pair it with another nutritious food that contains lean protein and healthy, unsaturated fats to give it a better GI rating.
For example, if you’re having brown rice, drizzle some olive oil on a grilled chicken breast and eat that as well. Using the glycemic index as a guideline for healthy eating can help alleviate mood swings, fatigue, depression, and energy crashes.
So although it may be hard initially to swap that donut for an apple, your body will thank you in the end.

We’d like to remind everyone
that Friday ---27 APR 2007
We will be holding our next belt exam.
Please review the testing schedule, exam roster, and upcoming events to see how it may affect you by visiting our website
@ http://www.americanblackbelt.org/ABBA.html and clicking on the “Student Corner” icon.

April’s password is --- spring.