What is a martial art?
A martial art can be defined as any skill that can be
applied in warfare. The word martial means "military." So
traditionally, a martial art is a military art. The first things that usually
come to mind when discussing modern martial arts are leaping, kicking,
punching, blocking, inverting elbows, twisting necks, throwing, and weapon
fighting. But also, horsemanship, javelin throwing, archery, spear fighting,
halberd fighting, wrestling, knife fighting, rifle, shotgun and pistol
shooting, demolitions, logistics, and battle strategy can all be described as
the field of martial arts. Anything that a soldier might do in battle is a
martial art. By martial art usually it is meant aikido, arnis, boxing, capoeira,
chow gar, choy la fut, hapkido, hsing'i, hun gar, jeet kune do, jow gar, judo,
jujitsu, karate, kempo, kick boxing, krav maga, kung fu, pa kua, penjak silat,
praying mantis, savate, shaolin, tae kwon do, tai chi, white crane, wing chun,
wu shu and more! As you can see the list is quite long and it is actually quite
amazing how many martial arts systems there are and how many methods of self-defence
can be formulated. Often within a martial arts school, it is taught that 'this
particular system is the best system and it was created to beat all the
others'. Of course, every martial artist would have the viewpoint their style
is the best because that is the style they have chosen to do, but in reality,
what they are saying is 'this is the best style for me as it suits my temperament
and I like the teaching environment'.
The changing of the arts
Throughout this history and development of the martial arts
and all the combat systems of man our training tools have played a vital part
in evolving and perfecting these systems and techniques. All the martial arts
have been affected by the role that mechanical devices play whether it be
weapons, dojo mats, breaking boards or even the uniforms we wear - all these paraphernalia
identify the martial arts into their systems and style. The main players in
shaping our new martial arts would be the traditional wooden dummy, wing chun
rings, iron palm ointments and even the system of using forms and karta have
developed the martial arts into their current form. Even today modern training
tools are common and again the martial arts are under development with new
training products such as the Wavemaster, the BOB training dummy, the Focus
Master. All with one thing in common, to create a well-rounded combat system.
Ideally a martial arts solo training tool should be workable for all and based
on sound theory and through constant practice develop into sound physical
application. The ideology and theory would have to take into account all the
history of the combat technology of man and give this competition and street
application.
The Martialarm Combat Training Partner
In a martial arts career, you can occasionally find yourself
with no school to go to or no one to train with and so out of necessity the
martialarm solo training partner was born. The Martialarm is a Martial Arts
training machine used to develop the entry and trapping skills of any martial
arts system. It is designed to actually test any techniques so to improve the
ability to trap and control your opponent’s hands and arms. This can be done
because the Martialarm moves and reacts like a real opponent. The Martialarm
moves and twists up, down, left and right just like a real opponent would - so
it can spring forward and it does strike back! The Martialarm Combat Training
Partner was designed and developed on the following theories
Martialarm Theory
#1) Safety - You must maintain 100% safety when entering
into the opponents attack range, this means to limit any variables that could
occur by covering them. (Methods of entry must be sophisticated yet simple,
fast as well as safe!)
#2) Attack - You must have the ability to attack at will,
with no concern or hesitation. The attack should incorporate a total control of
the opponent’s weapons. (Attacks must be structured to have within them a 100% defence!)
#3) Adaptability - Techniques, attacks and defences must
flow but not necessarily at a constant pace. Adaptability to choose what's next
is key! Whatever martial arts you choose just be sure you do look at a few
before you decide and enquire with the school what martial arts equipment they
utilize to get the best from your training.
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