"There are no superior styles, just superior fighters."

Many in the martial arts community have paraphrased the above quote over the years. At the outset, I would have to say that the quote is largely on target. However, a closer examination of this quote reveals a more nuanced understanding of just what that quote is talking about.

Let's take this quote at face value. If you assume that all styles of martial arts are all equally well designed, then the phrase "there are no superior styles" may very well be true. But what if some martial arts styles are better designed than others ? To phrase this another way, what if some styles are just badly designed or have poorly constructed curricula ? If that is the case, then the assumption that "there are no superior styles" is incorrect.

I can speak from experience that (setting aside the quality of instruction...which will be addressed later), some martial arts styles are just poorly designed. For example, I know of one that requires you to learn 30 discrete self defense techniques per belt level. The curriculum was designed in a way that you had to know approximately 300 different self defense techniques by the time you tested for shodan. Very few of these techniques connected with others. How is the average student expected to call up the right technique at the right time in a self defense situation ? I don't think that's realistic. This is an example of a poorly designed martial art style.

On the other hand, a well designed martial art style is one where the techniques and the concepts are broken down into easily digestible components and where the material is easy for students to remember. Easily remembered techniques tend to become instinctual responses and therefore gives the person a greater chance of success in a self defense situation.

So, I would argue that the idea that there are no superior styles is just bunk. Naturally, it comes down to who designed the system and wrote the curriculum for that particular martial art style. That brings up the topic of the quality of teaching.

For the purposes of this post, I will separate out the designer of the curriculum versus those who teach the curriculum.

As noted above, I believe that some styles are inferior to others largely because the curriculum for that style was poorly designed. So, even if you had a superior instructor, you are still stuck with a systemic problem; i.e. the poorly designed curriculum. To be sure, the superior instructor can sort out and break down the curriculum and alleviate the systemic problem. The optimal situation is when you have a superior instructor coupled with a well designed martial art curriculum.

In any case, let's set aside the issue of the poorly designed curriculum or inferior martial art style. What do we look for then ? We look for quality of instruction. Note that the above quote does not explicitly say anything about instruction....only about styles and fighters. I think that it is overlooking the role of good instruction. What if you have a person with average ability coupled with superior instruction ? What if you have a person with exceptional physical abilities paired up with a poor instructor ? We can speculate about who would prevail in such a confrontation. One thing for sure.....the person with exceptional physical abilities would fare much better under superior instruction. I think that we can all agree on that.

So that means the "superior fighter" part of the quote may not be entirely true.

So what are we talking about here ? I think that the real key to becoming a good martial artist is having a good instructor, regardless of style (for the most part). Naturally the optimal situation is when you pair up a well designed martial art style/curriculum with an excellent instructor. But that does not always happen. You may end up with a good instructor in a bad systemic situation. Or you can end up with a poor instructor in a well designed system.

My personal preference is that I would look to see how good the instructor is. What makes a good instructor ? My opinion is the following:

(1) The instructor has a deep understanding of what he/she is teaching. Beware of instructors who have only a surface understanding of what is being taught.

(2) The instructor emphasizes the basics/fundamentals of the art. Beware of instructors who teach immediate/advanced materials to beginners.

(3) The instructor breaks down the concepts/techniques of the art into simple easily digestible components. Martial arts is a lot like food. If you feed them small bites, they will be able to retain the material much more readily than if you were to stuff their mouths with food, leading to indigestion !

(4) The instructor emphasizes constant repetition of what is being taught. This would encourage a feeling of competency among the students. This would also serve as building blocks for the next level.

(5) When correcting a student's technique, the instructor should focus only one thing at a time. If the instructor stops a student and gives them 5 corrections to work on, that will be counter productive as the student will become confused trying to correct 5 things at once.

(6) The instructor should focus on two or three themes/concepts/techniques per class. Make it as easy as you can for the students to be able to walk out of the dojo and remember what they worked on in class. I have seen instructors engage in a blitzkrieg style of instruction such that the student would remember very little the next day.

(7) Lastly, there must be a progression from one class to the next. Very often, I would repeat the same material or some variation thereof in the next class so that the students can remember the techniques and gain a feeling of competency. Unfortunately, I have seen instructors teach entirely different things from one class to the next. This leads to confusion and a weakening of their martial arts foundation.

In closing, I believe that the first part of the quote "there are no superior styles" is just plain old bunk. The fact that there are superior fighters rests on a shaky foundation. It may well be true if that fighter has superior instruction. Conversely, it may not be true in the case of where the fighter is paired up with a poor instructor.

I have had many conversations with many martial artists regarding the issue of instruction and I keep hearing the same assessment over and over.....most instructors do not know how to teach. Many assume that because they are good at martial arts means that they are good teachers. Nothing could be further from the truth. Teaching is an entirely different skill set and takes years to learn. I have seen 8th degree black belts who could not teach their way out of a wet bag. I have seen 2nd degree black belts who are incredible instructors. One would be better off with that incredible 2nd degree black belt instructor. Unfortunately, there is the unspoken assumption among many that the higher rank the person is, the better teacher he/she is. Not true.

My martial arts biography

(A note: this bio has been substantially revised in order to give a more full account of my entire martial arts background; it has been brought to my attention that this bio was too truncated and correctly so. No offense was intended toward anyone. My sincere apologies to those who were offended).

I know that it's been awhile since I posted last......I've been quite busy getting settled into Canada, starting a job search and networking. In addition, I have been working with two eager Modern Arnis students in Mike and David. In addition, I have been teaching my wife, Mary-Anne, Modern Arnis as well and she loves it, especially the tapi tapi !

My journey in the martial arts started in December of 1982 with my introduction into Kwan Ying Do Gung Fu in my hometown of Barberton, Ohio. This system was taught by Grandmaster Feeman Ong, who traveled frequently to Taiwan for additional training. I was introduced to this martial art through one of my high school friends, Mike Fleming, and by Steve Ong (son of the grandmaster), who was a year ahead of me. I trained in this martial art from December of 1982 through August, 1983, when I left Barberton in order to attend the University of Notre Dame. I also trained in the summer of 1984 and 1985. My two main instructors were Bob Keen and David Jacobs, two tough gentlement. Lots of emphasis was put on stances, conditioning and forms. There is a description of this martial art style on this website:

Kwan Ying Do

After I entered the University of Notre Dame in the fall of 1983, I joined the Notre Dame Martial Arts Institute (NDMAI) under the instructorship of G. Rogers Cooper and Sang D. Kim. Under these two phenomenal martial artists, I learned a blend of Vee Jiu Jitsu '65 and Chung Do Kwan Tae Kwon Do. G. Rogers Cooper is the son of Grandmaster Robert J. Cooper whose ingenuity led to the blending of the aforementioned two martial arts systems. Through this blended system, I gained a tremendous grounding in foundational techniques and an appreciation for cross training in different martial art styles. Sang Kim was a Korean warrior and served as an assistant instructor to G. Rogers. About G. Rogers (who we knew as Gary back then), what can I say ? He is an absolutely phenomenal martial artist and one of the best I have ever seen. His talent was just out of this world and it's a reflection of the superb training he received from his father, Professor Cooper. I eventually earned the rank of Rokudan (6th degree) as a result of my studies with the NDMAI. While with the NDMAI, I formed many friendships (such as Drew Sandler, Brian Weidmann, Brian McCarthy, Billy Curran, Jim Hoff, Paul Novak, Brookes Ebetsch, Kate Noll, Dan Westmeyer, Jason Thomas and many others) that last to this day and hope to maintain now that I'm in Canada. I also met incredible martial artists such as Thurman Miller, Jose Velez, David Rivera, and Mike Medina.

Also, while at Notre Dame, I also joined the Aikido club, which was taught by Brian Weidman and Brian McCarthy. I was part of this club for three semesters and enjoyed a seminar by Irving Faust, who came out from Albany NY. Brian McCarthy lived in Japan for four years, training in Aikido and Shorinjin Kempo. Brian Weidmann still trains in Aikido and has had the opportunity of training at the Hombu Dojo and considers Aikido to be his true passion.

After graduating from Notre Dame Law School and moving to Columbus, Ohio, I bounced around in different martial art styles for a number of years. I studied Tracy Kenpo Karate under Herb "Superb" Lamprecht at his school on West 5th Ave in Columbus from 1990 through December of 1996, achieving Shodan at that time. I learned the value of the defensive aspects of kenpo sparring (many hours of this!). The kenpo folks are very very tough when it comes to sparring. Herb is a great Kenpo stylist and a phenomenal human being.

During this time frame, I was introduced to pressure points by my ND friend Brian McCarthy when he invited me to attend a Rick Clark seminar in Albany, NY. Rick had a very varied background in the martial arts having studied Modern Arnis, Judo, Chung Do Kwan TKD, and pressure points. As a result, I attended a number of his seminars and went to two camps where I learned the basics of kata breakdown and bunkai. I have not seen Rick for quite some time but I can tell you that he's a very good martial artist and has a seminar following in Europe. I'd like to get back into this since the kata of Chung Do Kwan TKD basically comes from Shotokan karate, which has its origins in Okinawa. Long story short, much of the pressure point stuff being taught is based largely on Okinawan karate forms. So, I'd like to investigate this stuff further but it's on the backburner.

Around 1996, a co worker of mine (Sterling Gill) introduced me to Gracie Jiu Jitsu and I started attending classes at the House of the Rock on the east side of Columbus. All told, I was in Gracie JJ for a total of 6 to 8 months under Jeff Hudson, a very skilled player. While there, I attended a seminar with Relson Gracie. Talk about unbelievable !! However, a number of considerations caused me to stop training in Gracie JJ.....first and foremost was that it was too expensive to study Gracie JJ and Tracy Kenpo Karate at the same time. Having just moved into a house in northwest Columbus, the money was a bit tight. The second consideration was the feeling on my part that my stand up game was not satisfactory to me. I had resolved to leave Kenpo behind after getting shodan in that art and move in another direction. Since my stand up game was not satisfactory, that meant that I needed to put Gracie JJ on hold and investigate other possibilities. I'd like to get back into Gracie or Machado JJ someday as this martial art is breathtaking and beautiful.

In the meantime, I had privately trained with various members of the NDMAI (such as Laurie McNeilly, Kate Noll, Stuart Tyner, Jennifer Kovass, Drew Sandler, Brookes Ebetsch, Paul Novak, Brendan Burns, and Dan Westmeyer) over the years in the basement of my house....nearly all of them coming to Columbus to attend graduate or law school at Ohio State, or just visiting Columbus. This gave me the chance to hone my Vee JJ and Chung Do Kwan TKD background.

I have to admit that, after I got out of Kenpo Karate, I was bouncing around and trying to fill this undefinable gap in my martial arts. I knew that it had something to do with my stand up game. But I couldn't quite clearly define it. That would change when I met Dan McConnell through the Filipino art of Modern Arnis.

I came to Modern Arnis in 1998 in Columbus, Ohio (where I previously lived before moving to Canada). I had noticed a posting on the Escrima Digest announcing the first annual Remy Presas seminar in Hilliard (a suburb of Columbus). The seminar was being hosted by Guro Dan McConnell (now Master McConnell) in April of 1998. I e-mailed him and he invited me to his Arnis class in the first week of February 1998 at the Hilliard Martial Arts Center (referred to as HMAC) and the rest is history. I fell in love with this art. I was introduced to it by Dan and through his friendship and guidance, I attended many Modern Arnis classes at the HMAC, camps, and seminars over the years, steadily accumulating knowledge in this fantastic art. As a result of Dan's and others' guidance, I was eventually promoted to Lakan Tatlo. Also, Dan was instrumental in getting me on the IMAF Board of Directors, for which I am grateful. I also was fortunate enough to have attended a number of seminars and camps with Professor Remy Presas (the founder of the art of Modern Arnis) with Master Dan (where we had great times). In my opinion, Professor is one of the all time great martial artists.

It should be mentioned that I met many martial artists through Master Dan such as the current Masters of Tapi Tapi, Tony Marcial, Lynn Carper, Will Higginbotham, Frank Hreha, Herman and Shannon Suwanda, and Kelly Worden. I have fond memories at having attended seminars by Herman Suwanda in Dayton along with Dan. I'll never forget the shock when I learned of Herman and Shannon's death, particularly in light of the fact that Dan was arranging to bring them to Columbus for a seminar. And the Kelly Worden weekends ? Talk about rocking and rolling !! I'm sure that there are others that I have forgotten to mention. Needless to say, I met a lot of people through Dan !

Since the untimely death of Professor Presas in August of 2001, I have continued to attend many Modern Arnis seminars and camps over the years. Instructors have included the IMAF Masters of Tapi Tapi and Master Dan. In addition, Dan has had Datu Kelly Worden in Columbus from Seattle for a number of weekend camps. In addition, I will be seeing Master Chuck Gauss in Michigan as often as I can for additional training, driving to Detroit from Toronto on the weekends. In addition, I have been training a couple of guys up here and hope to expand this into a training group.

How did I end up in Canada ? I met my wife, Mary-Anne, through e-harmony and we got married in May of 2006. She is a life long resident of the Toronto area. We decided to move to the Toronto, Canada area after weighing many factors, the most important which was the family factor. I was fortunate enough to be introducted to two great guys, Mike and David, through Brian Zawilinski. Mike and David had had Master Zawilinski up for a couple of seminars after contacting him through the IMAF website. After hearing that Mary-Anne was from the same area, Master Brian arranged to introduce me to Mike and David. Since I moved here, I have been working with them and sharing our mutual enthusiasm for Modern Arnis.

In future postings, I will talk about the history, philosophy, concepts and techniques of Modern Arnis.

Till later !!