What are the keys to mastering the martial arts? Regular training, dedication to improvement, and real competition. By real I mean as close to actual combat as possible, without risking serious and life-threatening injuries. I think that is an Achilles heel with many of the martial arts today, there is sometimes a disconnect between the techniques that are taught and practiced and what will actually work in a real fight. The nature of fighting at its core is about taking out your opponent, through effective and efficient techniques. It is an art and a science, and it can be serious business. So in training, one of the aims for practitioners should be to put themselves in as close a situation as feasible to the real thing, in as much varieties and combinations as they might encounter in street situations and what have you. One interesting area that hardly any martial arts seem to include is the prospect of fighting multiple opponenets at the same time. I remember I had an Ashihara Karate book that maybe had something in there about fighting multiple guys, but that is the only reference that I have come across from a reputable practitioner that had suggestions on that situation. I wonder why there isn't more instruction on how to deal with that scenario when it arises.
Developing one's fighting capabilities is clearly a necessary and advantageous thing to do, at least from my perspective. There are certain martial arts that seem to be much more reliable in generating that ability, such as muay thai and brazilian jiu-jitsu. As of present times though, there is a great deal of experimentation among the best practitioners to try out new techniques or to improve existing approaches.
The athletic aspect cannot be ignored. You can be physically weaker and slower than someone else and still dominate a fight if you know what you are doing and have superior training, but nonetheless you do want to strengthen your athletic capabilities in order to carry that power into your fighting.
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