Is it the Man, or the Method?
In the martial arts, people are very concerned with being effective. The reason is obvious. If that time comes that you really need to get away from an encounter alive...let's just say that it would really make your day if you knew something that worked, that you could depend on to save your behind. So people are very concerned with what works.
However, in the martial arts, there is not one method. No. There are several methods. And they all claim the same thing: that they work.
Now comes the problem. If you have two methods, one that works and one that doesn't, it's obvious that the one that works will prevail. However, if you have two methods that both work, this begs the question...which will prevail? Well, it's obvious...the better method will prevail. Now, extend that to all methods...now you have a battle royale...all styles claiming to work, and all now claiming to be the best method.
..or at least, that's how one school of thought thinks.
The other school of thought thinks otherwise. This other school of thought didn't come out until Bruce Lee came out with his Jeet Kune Do and its singlemost difference from the other methods...the idea that the martial art does not reside in ways or methods, but in the soul of each individual.
So it's obvious...the alternative thought pattern is that whether you survive an encounter is not in the style you use, but it's in you. And the common conclusion is that therefore you don't need style. Because, hey, whatever works, right?
And yet, the same school of thought is using that same exact reasoning to effectively claim that they're the ultimate school...the ultimate method...so in the very end, it reverts back right to a question of method...
And we cannot deny that there are just some phonies out there in the martial arts world who teach things that just don't work, stuff that will just get you killed, methods that are just no good, methods that prove that there are superior methods.
So, is it the man or the method?
To this question, I propose the analogy of a race. There are good drivers, and there are good cars, and there's such a thing as fine tuning. These three factors all have an effect towards the victory of a particular entry. Why? Because a race is not just the cars and the drivers, but also the track. Let's say you had a Lambourghini Gallardo, driven by an average rac car driver, and then you have the world's best race car driver in a Honda Civic. Who will win?
Depends on the track.
If the track is just a straight path, then no matter how good you are, the Gallardo will always beat the Civic.
But if you had a winding path, then the Civic could win, given the better driver. And it's been known to happen that Civics beat higher powered cars simply because of its handling.
Depending on the track or the event, the world's best driver can do nothing against a faster car. Or the fastest car can do nothing against a superior driver. It all depends on the track.
So it's neither man nor method, but rather the successful combination of both to the situation at hand. If you're an average Joe with a superior system, then you can handle yourself pretty well in civilian encounters. But don't dream you can take yourself to war. Same thing, if you're a Navy SEAL, with your superior conditioning simple methods will serve you well, but don't dream that you can just use it in civilian territory like it was WW3, or the justice system will put you behind bars.
That is the Way.
However, in the martial arts, there is not one method. No. There are several methods. And they all claim the same thing: that they work.
Now comes the problem. If you have two methods, one that works and one that doesn't, it's obvious that the one that works will prevail. However, if you have two methods that both work, this begs the question...which will prevail? Well, it's obvious...the better method will prevail. Now, extend that to all methods...now you have a battle royale...all styles claiming to work, and all now claiming to be the best method.
..or at least, that's how one school of thought thinks.
The other school of thought thinks otherwise. This other school of thought didn't come out until Bruce Lee came out with his Jeet Kune Do and its singlemost difference from the other methods...the idea that the martial art does not reside in ways or methods, but in the soul of each individual.
So it's obvious...the alternative thought pattern is that whether you survive an encounter is not in the style you use, but it's in you. And the common conclusion is that therefore you don't need style. Because, hey, whatever works, right?
And yet, the same school of thought is using that same exact reasoning to effectively claim that they're the ultimate school...the ultimate method...so in the very end, it reverts back right to a question of method...
And we cannot deny that there are just some phonies out there in the martial arts world who teach things that just don't work, stuff that will just get you killed, methods that are just no good, methods that prove that there are superior methods.
So, is it the man or the method?
To this question, I propose the analogy of a race. There are good drivers, and there are good cars, and there's such a thing as fine tuning. These three factors all have an effect towards the victory of a particular entry. Why? Because a race is not just the cars and the drivers, but also the track. Let's say you had a Lambourghini Gallardo, driven by an average rac car driver, and then you have the world's best race car driver in a Honda Civic. Who will win?
Depends on the track.
If the track is just a straight path, then no matter how good you are, the Gallardo will always beat the Civic.
But if you had a winding path, then the Civic could win, given the better driver. And it's been known to happen that Civics beat higher powered cars simply because of its handling.
Depending on the track or the event, the world's best driver can do nothing against a faster car. Or the fastest car can do nothing against a superior driver. It all depends on the track.
So it's neither man nor method, but rather the successful combination of both to the situation at hand. If you're an average Joe with a superior system, then you can handle yourself pretty well in civilian encounters. But don't dream you can take yourself to war. Same thing, if you're a Navy SEAL, with your superior conditioning simple methods will serve you well, but don't dream that you can just use it in civilian territory like it was WW3, or the justice system will put you behind bars.
That is the Way.