The Deadliest Martial Art

Friday Night News

This week I had the water company's repair crew digging up my front lawn to repair a leak in the main water line. After the backhoe had cleared away the mud, slate, and clay they took turns clearing out the debris along the water line. They had spotted a sign in the yard that I had brought with me from my last dojo. They immediately begin talking about my background, and they had expressed how they had always wanted to study the martial arts.

We talked about Krav Maga, and other military combative's, and finished with jujutsu.  None of these men, ranging in age from their mid-twenties to their late thirties had any direct experience with the martial arts. This was primarily due to the region of the country that they had grown up in, and the distance they would have had to travel to find a dojo.



What impressed me was their understanding how life-changing the study the martial arts can be, and this appeared to be their primary area of interest.  Actual hand-to-hand self-defense seem to be only a secondary focus of study.  They had pointed out that they were conservatives, and would rely on their Second Amendment rights to protect themselves.  They held no Hollywood fantasies about ever putting down their firearm finish off the bad guy. They understood what real combat was about but by what measure do we martial artist judge the deadly effectiveness of our martial arts. Does our linage show that our art comes from a combat system or a sporting style?

The reality of modern combat especially in self defense situations reveals the need for the ability to maintain control of our weapon. It is very apparent that the deadliness of a hand to hand martial art, and even an unarmed martial art must be judged by it's effectiveness in no holds barred, no rules combat. That being said I believe there are a few simple rules or guidelines you can follow that will help you determine where you and your martial art of choices stands. I think that two points will be enough for this purpose.

The first point to consider is your art is practical to use when you are either tired, injured, unarmed or out of ammo, alone, and possible out numbered. In other words is it easily adaptable to makeshift weapons, and are the theories of practice applicable to blunt, edged, flexible, and projectile weapons as well as unarmed combat. The second point to consider is does your training your art required a high level of physical fitness to perform?

Don't get me wrong, physical fitness is important for every human being, and especially martial artist but if the art requires a Olympian level of fitness to perform you might just be training in a martial sport. After all you can not say, "Sorry Mr. Mugger let me warm up and stretch out first." Martial sport styles were often derived from combat arts but became specialized, and more rule restrictive with their application for safety reasons. A rule of thumb is if you can spar full out without risking serious bodily injury or death then you are deluding yourself and your students.



"You can only fight the way you practice." Miyamoto Musashi

These men I spoke with were practical men that operated heavy machinery as well as shovels, and spades with skill, and precision.  They understood that it wasn't necessarily what martial art you studied that made it deadly.  They knew it was the work, and practice, as well as the knowledge of the subject that determined how effective the practitioner would be.  It seems appropriate since the words work, and practice are the English translation of the term kung fu. I believe that we as martial artist often get wrapped up in our close-knit communities, and sometimes get locked into a prejudice about which style is the most effective.

There will be always a variance of opinion depending upon the person, purpose, and application of the art in question but that is what arm chair quarterbacking is about. It was good to hear the views from average non-martial artist. Again I want to emphasize that elements of culture, and cuisine was completely unknown to them. The scope of their experience dealing with eating with chopsticks or sushi was nil, but they understood what was necessary for combat, and they were familiar with the mind-body connection that is the glue of many martial art systems.  This confirmed in my mind how much as a society we have grown and how information and knowledge has saturated society at large.  Is a far cry from what people in general knew of the martial arts from when I was a youth. You can read more about my thoughts on using a few simple principles to aid you in self defense on the link below.

Principle Based Warrior Arts

My stories are about martial arts adventures that are intertwined with paranormal or supernatural events. The following links are to the Kindle version books from the "Dream Walker” series. Our adventurers find themselves on a quest where they are confronted with both conspiracy and mystery. Their challenge is to unite their mind and body skills together utilizing what they have learned in the martial arts with the transcendental power of dream mediation. They attempt to do this while they are trying to make a life for themselves and elude those that seek to use and control them.

Conversations with a Sage (Book 1 of the Dream-Walker)

Conversations with a Sage: This explores Xander Davidson's early encounters with the mysterious fog like Dream Walking martial art sages. He ponders if they are real or if they are only remnants of his dreams. He mainly keeps this secret world to himself as he tries to copes with abuse, growing up without support or guidance and the mystery of his family's past. 

Xander and the Assassins Gift (Book 2 of the Dream-Walker)

The Assassins Gift: Xander Davidson struggles with the conspiracy of his family and the group that is actively trying to manipulate him to join them or die. The young Dream Walkers learns an early lesson to be careful about whom they let into their circle.


Warriors of Perception (Book 3 of the Dream-Walker)

Warriors of Perception: Xander Davidson and his band of friends embark on a mission to free themselves from their oppressors. They bravely face the challenge all the while vying for the right moment to turn the tables.

Jace Lee The Shift (Book 4 of the Dream-Walker)

Jace Lee The Shift: We find a new apprentice, Adam, that is fighting for his life. He is struggling to understand the amazing skills of his mentor, Jace Lee; a younger man that has trained under Xander Davidson. All the while his mentor attempts to reconcile the fact that his skills do not match up with the other Dream Walkers.


Jace Lee No Agenda (Dream Walker Book 5)

Jace Lee No Agenda: Jace Lee attempts to find himself on a self-imposed vision quest of sorts. Instead he finds himself being stalked by the same group that had previously sought after his teacher, (Xander Davidson). Instead of mastering his odd Dream Walking skills he finds love and the potential loss of his powers.

Jace Lee and the Tutelage of Ming Wu: Dream Walker 6 

Jace Lee The Tutelage of Ming Wu: Jace Lee rejoins his teacher Xander Davidson as they cope with a possible combined threat (the mysterious), Ming Wu and the Council that has continuously monitored the Dream Walkers.