Beyond the walls of the gym

I had a quick and interesting conversation with one of my new gym members tonight. It sort of went along the lines of what made up the KDT boxing program that I coach and its genesis and its overall objectives. I think it may be worthwhile to share some of the main points with you here.

To preface, much of my recent (past 3-4 years) influence stems from the people whom I've met, trained with and experienced via conversation and or direct or indirect instruction. I feel priviledge to have been considered part of their sphere and had some opportunity to tap into their collective wealth of experience and knowledge. In no lesser part, they have been the members of KDT and the impetus they have impressed on me to constantly strive for improvement and knowledge has resulted in more than just that and for that I am grateful for the reciprocal, and probably unintentional motivation, otherwise I would most likely be another lazy, fat guy sitting in front of the computer or TV all day and night.

Back to the point, for most people (and that's 99.9% of people who walk into the gym) what is their intention behind training in martial arts (of any kind)? While its true for many functional martial arts to provide the skills and knowledge for personal safety and physical hand-to-hand combat, that there are many more martial arts whose sole purpose is to help the practitioner achieve "enlightenment" of sorts.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of martial arts whose metaphysical focus outweighs the functional aspects. I've had disappointing experiences with such activities mainly because the people who promote such also throw in the "also excellent for self defense" which simply is very hard to do. That's a totally different story so I won't delve into that for sake of ruffling your virtual feathers.

I enjoy the physical challenge and how a combative sport like boxing or BJJ can push my psychophysical limits. Competition like this is a healthy recreational hobby for many. It is a fantastic stress reliever and it stresses the importance of maintaining concentration, focus and physical preparedness. I mean you can't grab a pair of boxing gloves and get on the mats, completely out of shape, no clue or preparation going in without expecting not to be injured (OK, you can but it would be nuts to do that).

Wait a minute, all the "reality-based self defense" supporters would vomit on reading the words "combat sport". Sure, I'm not the sort of person who gets into punch ups in biker bars, give stranger the evil eye because he glanced in my direction the wrong way, or get into a road rage fight because I'm pissed off with my crappy job, life, favourite team loss and other issues. I'm not prepared to strap 100 knives all over my body and talk about the endless possible permutations of how to maim, dismember and disembowel a would-be attacker while underwater or while I'm under my car while changing the oil filter. What is the likelihood of that ever happening and I have the appropriate 0.000001% correct response for that situation. Nor am I going to arm myself to the teeth with all manners of firearms, hidden and prepared in strategic locations all over my home and office "just in case" my main firearm that I carry 24/7 on me fails to fire. Seriously, if I was living in such a dangerous place I would relocate. Problem solved! Could it be that such extreme groups are attracted to each other because this is the only way they can feel "alive"?

Fortunately, the kind of culture I want to maintain at KDT is one of support. I've been trying hard to maintain this culture over the past 4 years. We're pretty laid back as a group and enjoy what we do and recommend the program to our families and friends. Ok, you may be thinking that this sounds sappy and that's not how a gym with a "tough guy" reputation should be, well, to clarify, I don't think any of the members here are "tough guys". Without exception all are well-educated, professional, well-read, have world-exposure and have great attitudes, the type of person you will most likely meet at the gym is either a singer/performer, lawyer, IT consultant, architect, doctor, writer, artisan, environmental engineer, entrepeneur or the like. Does that sound like a "tough guy" to you? Hardly.

While its true that for many who join KDT with the intention to learn how to "take care of themselves" if a fight breaks out, in reality, most would likely be aware of any such situation or places and simply avoid going such venues or rapidly remove themselves from that situation.

How about for the situations when you can't run away, if by doing so you abandon your spouse and kids to the perils of a drunken, brawling gang of thugs. Taking physical action is always the last resort. Think about it.

For every culture in the world, from our ancestral cavemen days, picking up a weapon was the optimal choice of combat. Be it a rock or stick, club or sword, and nowadays, a knife or firearm. If you really want to fight, as they say, don't bring a knife to a gun fight. However, there's much left to be said of people who live in paranoia, of their insecurities and living in constant fear.

Why do most of the world's armies invest so heavily on better and more advanced armament at all ranges? Contrastingly, with all that high-tech armaments, why do most military schools require their soldiers to learn unarmed, hand-to-hand combat?

Surely, in a battlefield the soldiers would not throw down their guns and slip on boxing gloves to take on the enemy? Perhaps on battlefields in ages gone by but I would imagine that the martial arts are used for more internal reasons; at the base level for physical development (timing, sensitivity, reaction, balance, etc.), learning about the body's strengths and weaknesses and how to exploit each to their advantage, from which self-confidence will grow, self esteem will be increased, stress management and anger management is permitted to be released in a safe, controlled environment that simulates real situations, physical appearance improves (due to all the physical activity) and so on.

In very much a similar manner, if we train in the martial arts for the internal benefits, the lessons learnt while wearing boxing gloves or in a BJJ uniform will carry us far beyond the confines of the gym. It positively affects how we interact with the people around us. For most of us, we spend many, many hours with people who provide us with employment, care, love and support in all their forms. We don't have to deal with the dregs of society and we are keenly aware of the boundaries that separate us and this is a good thing. We have been conditioned by our parents, schools and friends. Our most immediate circles of influence indicate what is good and bad in our societies and how we should conduct ourselves for self preservation.

The self preservation lessons that we learn as children are reinforced and augmented in the gym environment. Positive training via physical training is the objective. Learning lessons that transcend the walls of the gym will last a much longer time than developing a fantastic lead hook but it could be the one and the same principle. Learning about human nature in all its extremities and that of your own can be revealed on the mats.

What if push comes to shove? What if you need to take physical action? The beauty of training in a functional martial art is just that, it works! If the strategies and tactics work in the gym against trained, skilled opponents, by the same logic the same will work on unskilled, untrained opponents. However you want to interpret this, a jab-cross-hook combination will knock people unconscious (broken fist or not). An expertly applied choke will render someone unconscious, skilled or not. The fact that a punch is still a punch, moreso a skilled punch will knock out someone that much sooner. Defending against such is equally important. Learning to defend effectively against someone skilled and whose sole intent is to punch and kick you in the gym will be a much simpler task against someone unskilled. See the pattern developing here?

Unfortunately for some, they never progress beyond the physical. They look to others to feed their own insecurities and fear and never realising that they hold the solution to their worries in their own hands. All it takes is a little more time to ask yourself, why you are doing what you are doing and remember to look at the forest when you are inspecting the trees.

Best training to you!

Photo of happy man is provided from www.friedmanarchives.com