Book Review: "Martial Power" by Steven J. Pearlman

I just finished reading a terrific scholarly book on martial power by the aforementioned author, published this year. A synopsis of this book, located on the back binder, states:

“Different stylesof martial arts offer contradictory information, philosophies, and techniques for the body in combat. A practitioner of Judo might advocate grappling. reasoning that most fights converge into close range after a short time, while an advocate of Tae Kwon Do might argue that one should strive to maintain one’s distance in an encounter that would allow one to use the legs, the most powerful weapon on the human body. A lifelong student and teacher of multiple styles of martial arts, Steven Pearlman has sought to distill from these disciplines not a fusion of techniques, but rather a compilation of fundamental principles that can guide the individual martial artist to the ideal action. Through his exploration of a set of basic principles that range from the physical (spinal alignment, the triangular guard, breathing) to the spiritual (the void, the body-mind, the character, Pearlman arrives at a system open to all martial artists without bastardizing the techniques of the original disciplines.”

Some thought provoking topics covered in this book include breathing, posture, the triangle guard, the centerline, the primary gate, spinal alignment, axis, minor axes, structure, heaviness, relaxation, wave energy, convergence, triangulation point, centrifugal force, centripetal force, live energy, dead energy, natural and unnatural motion, weak link and many other martial topics. The author has done considerable thinking with respect to these topics and has done a terrific job in explaining some of the aforementioned topics. This book does not tout any particular martial style/system but instead explores what makes for effective martial technique by exploring various bio-mechanical principles underlying common self defense techniques. These are accompanied by graphics illustrating the bio mechanical principles, thus rendering the text easily understood. In short, this is one of the best martial arts books I have read and intend to read over and over in order to deepen my understanding of my martial arts studies, particularly in the area of Filipino Martial Arts.

I highly recommend this book for your martial arts library !!

The Impact of MMA on the Martial Arts Industry

This was briefly discussed on the Animal List as well. The consensus seems to be that while MMA will remain popular as a form of entertainment/spectacle, its’ presence in martial arts schools may be somewhat limited. I have to agree with this consensus for the reason that the appeal of MMA is limited to a certain demographic group and that is the 18 to 35 year old males. I don’t see the desk jockeys, professionals, soccer moms, or children joining schools that teach primarily MMAs. Again, MMA will primarily draw in the aforementioned demographic.

This entry is limited to discussing the impact of MMA on the martial arts industry, not about what they teach or some of the problems inherent in what they teach.

However, the presence of MMA shows on TV may help create more informed consumers. When one hears announcers talking about a “well rounded game” in terms of punching, kicking and the ground game, the fan/consumer is going to say to himself/herself, “anybody getting into the ring better have all three elements lined up or he’ll lose.” Pretty soon, the fan/consumer will start hearing terms like “reality based martial arts” and start assuming that these are more effective than what is being taught in a lot of martial arts schools such as the McDojos.

Let’s think about the potential impact of MMAs on the martial arts business based programs. Let’s face it, there is a lot of bullshit being taught in a lot of martial arts schools. Sorry for the strong language folks but it’s reality. Like a lot of martial artists who have figured it out, I have seen my share of this bs. And it’s bs on several levels.

First, alot of what is being taught will not work in real self defense situations. Many of them assume a compliant opponent in order for a technique to work. Sorry folks, but life ain’t like that out there. The impact of MMA and other “reality based” systems such as Krav Maga, Muay Thai, brazilian jiu jitsu, Filipino Martial Arts etc have opened a lot of people’s eyes and have caused a lot of rethinking of how martial arts/self defense is taught. Many of these martial arts assume that they are working with non compliant partners/opponents.

So when someone, familiar with MMA but not wanting to practice it, walks into a martial arts school, he or she may want practical self defense skills, not the kind of stuff that is taught in a lot of McDojos. I have seen TKD students who couldn’t defend themselves against a wrist grab or a knife attack. I have seen schools teach students to use a high/rising block against stick attacks. Ugh. That may have seem realistic back in the 1950’s and 1960’s but the bullshit meter of the average Joe and Jane Sixpack will go way off the chart. Oh yes, take a look at a typical karate book from the 1950’s and 1960’s and see their depictions of “effective” self defense scenarios. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the effectiveness of these techniques are extremely questionable.

According to some on the Animal list and, also in my opinion, the impact of MMA on the martial arts industry is to force many schools to address realistic self defense situations or start losing business. An example might be the traditional karate school that does not know the bunkai (applications) of traditional Okinawan/Japanese kata, thereby reducing kata to a meaningless dance. I’ve seen a fair share of those types of schools. Unless this kind of school starts addressing this deficiency, the savvy consumer may move onto something else that will address their needs.

While there may be more savvy and aware consumers in today’s environment, there will be probably be a large number of those who will unfortunately be hookwinked by some of the schools out there. I would think that it’s up to the responsible martial arts instructor to ensure that effective self defense is taught and not go the way of the McDojos. Whether he wants to or not, the martial arts instructor may have to respond to the presence, popularity, and impact of “reality based” self defense systems such as MMA, Krav Maga, Muay Thai, BJJ, JKD and Filipino Martial Arts by instituting some element of the above in his school.

The Future of the Martial Arts Industry

I have been thinking about various issues relating to the future of the martial arts industry. I will focus on two topics: the economy and its effect on the martial arts industry. The second topic will be the impact of the MMA phenomenon on this industry as well. These two topics have recently been discussed on Marc "Animal" MacYoung's e-mail forum (The Animal List....a great forum)

The price of oil hit $127 per barrel a couple of days ago, continuing a rise in the price of energy supplies, leading to record highs in gas prices. The price of food has been going up as well due to increased transportation costs as well as other factors. It appears that the US is in a recession and some have stated that the structural and financial problems in the US are the worst since the Great Depression. Probably a bit of an exaggeration but it’s clear that a lot of policy advisors/wonks are worried on both sides of the border.

With regard to the price of oil, the price may fluctuate up and down but long term, I think that it will continue to rise due to several factors. The first is the inscrutable law of supply and demand. Demand for oil is going up due to growing middle classes in China, India, Indonesia, Russia, and Brazil. There is an increasingly fierce competition among various countries to secure a steady supply of oil to statiate the demand for this commodity. For example, China has been aggressively pursuing oil contracts worldwide in order to feed their growing economic engine. An example of Chinese aggressiveness is the construction of an oil refinery to refine Venezuelan oil. Why is this significant ? From what I understand, Venezuelan oil is of a certain viscosity that the only refinery in the world capable of refining it is located in the US. Pretty ironic considering the anti- US stance Hugo Chavez has taken over the last few years. Such competition can only contribute to a rise in the cost of oil.

Another factor with regard to the rising price of oil is that oil is increasingly getting more and more difficult and expensive to extract and in more inhospitable conditions.

Another factor is the instability of the Middle East, which contributes to the uncertainty surrounding oil prices. Yet another factor is that many of the major oil producing countries are either authoritarian or totalitarian and is using oil revenues to prop up their regimes and are only happy with the current prices of oil. Look at Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Nigeria, Iran, to name a few and will do what they can to inflate the price of oil.

What effect will this have on the martial arts business ? I have thought about this for awhile and this was recently mentioned on the Animal List, an e-mail list moderated by Marc “Animal” MacYoung and his wife, Dianna. Many experts agree that while the price of oil may spike up and down in the short term, it will continue to rise in the long term. Some have forecast a rise to $200 per barrel. I don’t know....we shall see. In any case, one would have to consider the effects of this on the martial arts industry (and I include school owners, suppliers, seminar instructors, camp hosts etc). Marc "Animal" MacYoung theorizes that the economy will have an effect on the martial arts industry in that folks are going to demand more value for their buck when it comes to martial arts schools. He further postulates that martial arts schools will have to change their ways in order to survive and one of the changes will be moving away from the McDojo version of martial arts in response to more demanding consumers. I don't know if this will, in fact, happen. But I have to say that there is a lot to what Animal is saying.

First, driving habits may change in response to the rising price of gas at the pump. One would have to consider the overall impact of the rise in the price of oil on Joe and Jane SixPack. The price of food and consumer items will likely increase due to transportation costs which will be passed down to the consumer, thereby making Joe and Jane’s budget a bit tighter. In addition, the overall expenses of a martial arts school may go up and in which case, the school owner may have to pass along the costs to his students in order to keep a school afloat. Martial arts supplies may become more expensive due to increased shipping costs. For example, I ordered a new batch of rattan canes and the shipping was $10 more expensive than the last batch, which was 6 months ago. $10 may not be a big deal but a little bit here and a little bit there can add up pretty quickly.

The martial arts school owner will also have to consider the increased cost of traveling to seminars and camps. For example, I recently heard from a friend of mine, who usually attends most of the IMAF camps, lament the cost of plane tickets to Detroit for this year’s Michigan camp which led him to say that he may have to rule out attending other camps this year. Ditto for driving to martial arts seminars due to gas prices. The martial arts school owner will have three choices: (1) skip seminars: (2) go to seminars and eat the price of gas; (3) or go to seminars and pass along the cost of his martial arts education to his students.

The same is equally true for bringing in guest instructors for a martial arts camp or seminar. Typically, in addition to paying a seminar/camp fee, the instructor’s travel expenses may be covered, which is more expensive in today’s world. Does the instructor eat it or pass along the cost in the form of increased seminar fees ?

We don’t know what the future holds in terms of energy prices but I would think that it would be prudent for a martial arts instructor/owner to consider the aforementioned factors in developing business/marketing and financial strategy. The same holds true for martial arts governing bodies who regularly hold camps. While there are many factors that determine the size of the student enrollment of a martial arts school, one would have to consider the potential effect of today’s energy reality on a school’s enrollment and plan accordingly. In any case, Joe and Jane may scrutinize their budget a bit closer and decide to reduce or cut out various activities, such as martial arts for their children, or demand better value for their expenditure.

Whether Animal's prediction of this trend comes true remains to be seen but the fact that he brought it up says something as I have been thinking about this issue. Will this be a temporary downturn or are we looking at a long term trend ? That remains to be seen.

Next up is the effect of the MMA phenomenon on the martial arts industry.

Master Chuck Gauss Seminar on June 28th

I'm excited to announce that Master Chuck Gauss will be coming to Oshawa on Saturday June 28th to teach a 4 hour Modern Arnis seminar. This will be his first time here in Oshawa and I'm looking forward to having all of you meet and experience Chuck's powerful Modern Arnis ! The seminar will be at the Legends Community Centre. More details to follow !!

Pictured here is Chuck demonstrating a technique called a "cane takedown" on yours truly at last year's Michigan camp.