Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Turning sacred cows into cheeseburgers



Every martial art makes presuppositions and every martial art is based on principles that practitioners say make the art work.
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In aikido, it's things like ma-ai, kuzushi, get offline, unbendable arm, etc...
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In judo, it's things like get proper grips to facilitate your tokuiwaza and nullify the opponent's, kuzushi, forward-backward combinations, don't try sacrifices against larger or higher ranked opponents, etc...
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In karate, it might be things like "don't hit first but never hit soft," ideas about what parts of the anatomy are weakest, or axioms like "never kick above the waist, never punch below the waist."
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How about one of my favorites...

"All rules are made to be broken."

In your martial art, what are the 1-2 most fundamental assumptions or inviolable principles?
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What if you slaughtered those sacred cows? What if you built the system up from a different fundamental assumption? What if you made the inviolable laws into flexible guidelines?
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How can you break your own rules in order to achieve more effect, better effect, or more artistic effect?



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