Why martial arts do not work: 5 reasons

Self-defense: when the problem occurs, it is too late to understand

In most self-defense situations, 90% of martial arts (both traditional and modern), do not work as we expect.

Note – This article has been asked by one of our Core Course practitioners on Patreon (see how to attend our home study classes hereĀ Learn Kung Fu online: a beginner-to-expert course).

Unfortunately, when someone attacks / threatens us it is too late to understand that:

  1. The aggressionsĀ are always different – No one attacks as it happens in the classical collaborative gym simulations (read Self-defense: why 90% of martial arts does not work); no one will passively wait to be beaten by our preconfigured techniques; people react violently and their blows are not caresses (read How to use martial arts in a real fight)
  2. The street is not the gym – Fighting on the street we always risk our life and the adversaries are just 1 of the threats we inevitably face; even if we tap on our opponent’s shoulder he / she does not stop to strangle us (read The 6 types of martial clash) and there is no soft mattress on the ground to cushion our falls (read What are breakfalls and how to learn them)
  3. Titles, prizes, and participation in seminars have no value on the street – As Bruce Lee teaches (read The real Bruce Lee’s legacy), a belt, of whatever color it is, only serves to hold up the trousers (read When a belt becomes a blindfold); if the mind is not prepared to face the stress level of an unexpected clash and if the body is not conditioned by pain (read for example Conditioning check for the impact) and daily fatigue, our possibilities are near to zero (read Self-Defense: is it possible to always be ready to fight?)
  4. Real skills require real deep study – Spatial intelligence, timing and cunning are worth a hundred times speed, strength and technique (read also The most important skill in combat); a skill truly acquired is the one who comes at the right moment, spontaneously like breathing (read How to acquire special abilities)
  5. In a real scenario, to fight is the last option – If we attack first, we are the aggressors and not the victims (with all the legal consequences that it involves read Best martial arts for self-defense); in terms of personal safety, prevention, escaping and negotiation are 100 times more effective than any combat-related “solution” (read Personal defense: the S.A.F.E. method)

Martial preparation and the impact of the truth

It is at that exact moment, the one when we understand that we are miles and miles far away from the level of preparation needed, that we catch the difference between:

What does the ineffectiveness of a martial preparation depend on?

The limit lies in us.

In front of the failure, the illusion fades immediately and instead of blaming ourselves for our superficiality (lack of reasoning in choosing our self-defense path, concentration on training quality, etc.), we unload the responsibility for our errors on the martial art, which,Ā in a lot of cases (directly or indirectly):

  • Has been adopted in life vs death battlefields for thousands of years (eg. traditional styles)
  • Is employed by special military forces of half of the world (eg. modern warfare fighting systems)
  • Is used at the highest levels of athletic competitionĀ (eg. UFC)

The fact is that in 75-80% of cases, the guilt is ours and the most common reasons are:

If we seek effectiveness, in terms of self-defense, there are no shortcuts

It is foolish to wait to jeopardize our safety (or that of those around us) to open our eyes and draw a furrow between:

  • Reality and fantasy
  • Serious training and waste of time
  • The instructors that increase our capabilities and those that limit it
  • The teachings that endanger our lives and those that could save them

Real self-defense preparation requires dedication, sacrifice, focus and this is not for everyone.

Anyone who thinks to be smarter than others aiming at shortcuts, effortless tricks (etc.), soon or later will find himself / herself having to deal with the tough reality:

  • People become good at what they do most – For example, an exquisite pastry chef is likely to be, at least, a discreet cook but it is equally unlikely that he could compete with an expert who has devoted his / her whole life to cooking fish; the same reasoning applies to martial arts, if we have spent our lives doing sublime acrobatics (or cool moves), how can we hope to resist to those who (for the same amount of time) have done nothing but fighting (even at a rough level)?
  • The only working techniques and tactics are the ones we have completely masteredĀ – While, on the one hand, it is true that a good knowledge of combat technique gives us a remarkable advantage over an inexperienced opponent, it is equally true that an average knowledge puts us below his / her level (read A scheme to quickly learn any kind of technique); everything that does not comes simple and spontaneous as walking should never be used in real combat (read How to learn faster)
  • Forms, sequences, drills, techniques and fighting sets are useless without sparring and conditioning – While, on one hand, it is true that forms (eg. from Karate or Kung Fu) help us to train precision, balance, trajectories (etc.) is just as true that they do not give us any rudiment for a real clash (read Are Karate’s Kata, Kung Fu’s form (etc.) useless?); the struggle is something live, unpredictable and always different; forms have not been studied for this, they were born as a method of transmission (without conditioning and sparring they are useless, read /// Subscribe (it's free!) or Login to see this content ///)
  • Even if our body is athletically prepared, we are only at 50% of the work – If our mind is weak we will probably fail; prevention, negotiation, planning, stress management (etc.) are fundamental abilities that no one who is seriously interested in self-defense can ignore; if we think that things like muscles and aggressivity can solve any kind of situation we are simply foolish

Self-defense: have a wide range of possibilities

To gain good results, we must carry out all that is fundamental to our goal (not necessarily linked only to the struggle):

Let’s be clear, no one can excel in everything (mental aspects, strength, etc.) but we must, at the same time:

  • Privilege what we are good at
  • Improve what we are lacking

On the street, it’s only by maintaining a broad vision that we can get (at least) a possibility to prevail: this way we can always count on a small advantage (eg. good use of legs, advanced flexibility, deception capability, speed of execution, etc.) in front of eventual opponents with overwhelming skills.

A note by master Kongling – Even for the combat techniques, we always need to have more than one choice available: let’s beware of those who offer us a single possibility of liberation, attack, defense, counterattack (etc.). We are all different from each other, as are our adversaries, weapons, environments of struggle, present mental dispositions (etc.); all this causes an entropy that is completely unpredictable and impossible to solve with (ridiculous) generic answers.

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Questions

Reply in the comments and share your experience:

  • Have you ever faced a fighter stronger than you?

Author: Master Kongling

Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu.

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