I grew up with movies like The Karate Kid. I remember offering to wax my brother’s car to practice my “moves.” I’m sure he loved it. And the rest of my family liked the fact that he was interested in something that wasn’t just about fighting. Karate, according to Mr. Miyagi, had a lot more to teach than just how to hit someone.
Contrast that with the current fashion for MMA. Now the pinnacle of martial arts mastery is the ability to take on any opponent, with any set of rules, and overcome any obstacle to defeat them. And often the more brutally the better. Tenacity and determination are considered the highest of virtues.
Now, I have a deep respect for both the Classical Arts and MMA. I think they have a lot to teach us about life and struggle. I also believe that each has potential potholes to watch out for.
As for the Classical Arts, I am a black belt in Shotokan Karate, so I have some space to speak. Classical Martial Arts were designed for battles to the death in real life. There were no rules to keep in mind. It was simply kill or be killed. So there are techniques that would make anyone cringe if applied to a real person. The Classical Arts also took into account crowds of opponents and even changing environments in some cases. And they weren’t always about self-defense. One of the things I have admired about the ancient arts is that they were often used to protect others. There are even some “sacrificial” moves, moves that were designed to put you in the heart of danger long enough to give someone else a chance to escape, even if it means almost certain suicide on your part. There is also a strong philosophical side to most martial arts (although it has often been lost due to westernization). They enriched the soul of the individual, teaching principles that would strengthen every aspect of his life. This made sense, since these arts were often passed down from father to son or through other close teacher-student relationships. Often there was a Code of Honor or Virtues to live by as a disciple of a particular martial art.
As for weaknesses, many of these Classical Arts have no way to test their arts except through live combat, which isn’t much of a concern for most martial arts schools these days. Many schools have opted for the flashier and more sophisticated techniques instead of the more effective ones. And some of the most effective techniques have been lost to these styles. Also, since the deadlier moves are hard to practice (you can’t keep killing your sparring partners or you burn out fast), it’s hard to know if you could use them effectively in a real fight. Another pothole is the lack of adaptation to our modern global environment. Originally, these ancient arts were designed to deal with the actual conditions of their time. Nowadays, many of the techniques are impractical and can put you in a world of trouble if you use them on the street.
MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) comes out and says, “How do we know which techniques work and which ones don’t? Let’s get in the cage and try.” Many of the redundant and flashy techniques have fallen out of use and only what has been proven to be most effective has been retained. Also, the importance of athletic training has been placed prominently in MMA. Physical conditioning is considered as much a part of martial arts training as learning techniques. Then there’s the holistic approach that MMA takes to fighting. No more training in isolated fighting ranges. No more “A boxer can beat a wrestler” or “Kicking is better than punching.” It has been well proven in the cage that while it is good to specialize in a specific arena of the fight, the most effective fighters are comfortable and skilled in all ranges of a fight, from kicking range to punching range, right through through the clinch and passing. down. And finally, the techniques that the MMA fighter trains and KNOWS how to use. He applies them at full speed against completely resisting opponents, so there’s no question whether he could use them or not.
On the downside, being a sport, MMA has had to eliminate the most effective techniques for a street fight. Because? For the same reason they are so effective. In a street fight, punches to the eyes, blows to the muzzle, bites, manipulation of small joints, blows to pressure points, etc. they all work VERY well and can wreak serious havoc on an adversary. So obviously they have to be outlaws in sports fights. Also, the imposition of weight classes changes some of the emphasis in training. On the lane, the guy attacking you is likely to assume he has the upper hand.
This may be due to his size, having friends around to help him attack him, or he may have a weapon. None of these are accounted for in the cage. Against a much larger opponent, there should be a greater emphasis on techniques based heavily on leverage. Also, what happens if you take someone to the ground and subdue them (assuming you didn’t hit your head on the curb when you knocked them over, since there’s no padded mat to fall on) and 10 other friends decide to put their boots on with steel toe in the head? Or what if you lock him in your guard and instead of trying to escape the guard and grab the mount, he reaches for his belt and pulls out a knife? Or does he just punch you in the muzzle? So there are some realities of combat that are not addressed in MMA fights.
What I love about Jeet Kune Do is that there is a strong emphasis on training the most effective and deadly techniques, preparing for various situations AND training in controlled but full contact conditions. It’s kind of the “best of both worlds”. The only bump I really see is that JKD can easily go the way of many Classical Arts. That in the JKD role it is about training in reality and evolving to adapt to the current environment. But in actual practice there may be a neglect of actual evolution. For example, whether we like it or not, today ground fighting has become so popular that even people who have never trained in any martial art understand the basics of guarding, mounting, and a submission or two. So being able to at least defend against these when brought to the ground should be a natural evolution of JKD training.