I decided that since people get very excited about martial arts that I would start by talking about martial arts and then making a segue into isometric exercise, and yes - the two are more than related. I want to do a bit of my own martial arts biography, re-visit some self-defense questions a bit more in-depth, and then we'll make the segue that will lead to our first official isometrics article. I want to be careful about how I approach this, and I'm not giving any instructions as to how things will be done, but I will offer some introductory thoughts and some books you might read, and we'll just have to see how your own yellow-brick road goes.
When I was young I was a student at a Seibukan Karate school for maybe six or seven years. Very young, maybe 7 to 14. Seibukan has a reputation for being very traditional and also very reputable, although checking a school carefully is a necessity. My Sensei was very good with kids, and he taught a traditional style of Okinawan Karate with no fluff or glam, and the workouts were very tough for someone my age to endure, but I loved the school.
The humor of it all is that I learned left/right orientation, how to keep my shoes and athletic bag tidy, some discipline with exercise, how to pay attention - and I had a basic idea of how to fight. This was no big deal in almost any way! I obtained a 3rd degree green belt, and was held back from a junior brown-belt, although my next three months would probably have seen me achieve one. However, we moved at the time, and there was no such school where we moved next, and I didn't take martial arts for quite a long time.
Here is the next thing. I wanted to take Wing Chun. I knew that Bruce Lee was no good idol, but I had read some about the actual martial art and was attracted to it. Wing Chun can be taught ethically in the states, but the Bruce Lee-mystique and the fact that Wing Chun is a very harsh martial art mean that 8 or 9 out of 10 schools must be avoided entirely.
I made a mistake with one of those 8 out of 10 schools, and it cost my Dad and I a lot of money getting out of the mess of that mistake. Dad loves me, even though he gets very unhappy with me - and this was a good reason to be quite unhappy with me. I love my Dad as well, and we had a frank discussion yesterday that hurt him quite a bit, but he was frank with me and I was frank with him, and that was a good thing for us both to go through.
We will get back to Wing Chun in just a moment, and we will say "Hello, yellow brick road!" However, let us talk about self-defense now. There are semester or quarter term courses in self-defense at a local University or community college nearly everywhere in the states today. They generally teach some very basic techniques in case someone makes a grab for you in some way.
Further, you can carry that very small buck-knife - remember very small, for your own good! - and a can of pepper spray if you feel you need it. John "Leatherface" Gacy would be screaming on the blocks of a parking garage after a good shot of pepper-spray in the face, so don't scoff at the idea. It is legal and can be a big help if you need it.
Alright, so we'll make our way to our segue. In general - whether in self-defense or in combat - your body knows exactly what to do to defend itself, and that is the place to train yourself. In the NAMA taught in the military, that is the basic idea, for both special-ops and standard military. The special-ops are taught more, but the idea behind NAMA (its techniques are guarded information, but this isn't) is simplicity, efficiency, and something that can be taught in a very short period of time. Time is money, and even special-ops doesn't have need for much more in terms of such training. Think about what that says!
So we arrive at Wing Chun. The tale goes that a Buddhist convent in North China was undergoing a persecution, and that the martial art was developed by a nun named Ng Mui during that period. I know Wing Chun pretty well, and it does seem like it would be a fit for almost any female anatomy. So - this tale may be true - or at least partially true. Further, Wing Chun is a combat-art, and it is a very strikingly efficient and deadly martial-art. It can be taught legally and ethically, but you are not likely to find such a school.
The other characteristic of Wing Chun, is that unlike any other martial art I have ever studied, it is incredibly counter-intuitive. You are training the body to do things it would prefer not to do in an emergency situation, and both self-defense and combat are emergency situations. You are hyped on your own adrenaline, and in a moment of dangerous crisis.
So normally I would say - just toss the whole bag - as it is too counter-intuitive to be practical. However, there are some things I learned in my Wing Chun mistake that I believe are worth saving. However, I really don't have any urge to start a true martial-arts form. There are three reasons why. First, those who don't serve in the military can get by on a self-defense class, a very small buck-knife and pepper spray, and second, I am not in military service and will never see combat.
The third is that by getting in my pink leotard - LOL! (not a good mental image) - and hitting the yoga mat, practicing hatha yoga and Pilates, I learned more about martial arts than in 7 years of Seibukan and by watching and training Wing Chun - in my expensive Wing Chun mistake. I also spent some time watching videos of Wing Chun forms, and hath yoga and Pilates were still better.
If I had someone ask me about martial arts, I would tell them "Get a yoga mat, and hit the mat." What happens to the body in isometrics is that it develops an awareness of itself, and when a crisis occurs, your body responds simply and efficiently because of this awareness. Other than a self-defense class, I would tell you - very radically - that if you want to know how to fight, you hit a true isometrics routine and forget about any martial arts school in the country. People shouldn't have to fight, but when they do - an isometrics program is an unbelievable motivator to the human body.
This isn't to say that ethical boxing or wrestling isn't amazing, or that there aren't benefits to going to a reputable martial arts school - where they teach a martial art with no glitz and glam and you pay your fees. However, it is the isometrics that will change it all. I would love to teach what I know to students about isometrics directly, but I would have to consult a lawyer first, and that isn't reasonable in my life at this point.
Last thing on this issue: Isometrics are meant to strengthen, develop flexibility and endurance, and increase muscle control and develop body awareness - not turn you into a killer. I have decided that a couple of pieces of Wing Chun that go against the grain of our normal reactions are worth training the muscle and nerve fibers in as part of an isometrics program. However, I'm including them as part of achieving those goals of isometrics I listed above, and not to train Wing Chun - or even further - to make someone a killer.
Remember, inevitably any work requires some fees, and you have your own yellow-brick road to pave. We move on to the next article, and I wish I didn't have to be such a wet-blanket. However, life is not about being the biggest harda--. They wash those types of guys out of special-ops, because they are dangerous. Think about what that says!
