'Demilitarization of the Martial Arts'. by Andrew Soldier.

    The contemporary martial arts today as we know them have descended from systems of ancient battle field close combat and military hand to hand combat. Over the centuries, however, they have been modified for civil, legal, or humanitarian reasons with the result being the 'de-militarization' of most contemporary martial art systems as we know them today.
    Some of the original systems still exist, though it is rare, in their original or close to original system of technique and training. For example, Muy Thai Chaiya still exists as the grandfather to the combat sport of Muy Thai Boran (Thai kickboxing). Daito Ryu Aiki-Jujutsu, Chinese Chin Na, and Shui Jiao still exists as the ancestors to the demilitarized Japanese arts of Aikido, Judo and even Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. But also many of the forefather systems that survived until present day have somewhat been modified for civilian self-defense in their application thus making them to a greater or lesser degree 'de-militarized'.
    What do we mean by 'de-militarized' exactly? When totality of technique and / or intent has been changed from strictly crippling or killing our attackers in combat to that of civilian self defense, which shall have legal ramifications for one's actions, or a combat sporting arena where maiming, crippling, or killing one's opponent is uncalled for. This constitutes de-militarizing the system and art into something other than it's original nature and practice. To do such renders it into something other than it's original military close combat or hand to hand combat purpose and applications. This completely changes 'everything' about the art or system. Which is also why we see, much to their surprise some contemporary martial artists perform less than expected in a real world hand to hand combat or self-defense situation. Because the art to which they've devoted sometimes years of their time, effort, and resources was quite often modified for the sporting arena and is no longer meant for the frantic, lethal, and often overwhelming odds of real world violence.
       I have seen an angry kid on a school yard beat up a tae kwon do black belt simply by means of a pre-emptive, frantic, and highly aggressive flurry of punches. Sometimes speed, surprise, and violence of action is all that is required to prevail. This is why it's propagated so much in military tactical training. Never the less, this does not make this 'flurrying fists of fury' technique a system of reliable hand to hand combat because it served well in that particular instance. Neither does it mean that a sports based, de-militarized, martial art is an effective hand to hand combat / self defense system because a practitioner is able to utilize a strike or throw to deter a single, unarmed, less fit, or undetermined aggressor. Should the average contemporary martial artist find him or herself in many real-world, violent, altercations they would discover they are at some point unequipped by their training for the dynamics of real-world violence which often means facing multiple, usually armed, attackers whom are probably larger and stronger with a high tolerance to pain or physical abuse. This is when a contemporary martial artist becomes disillusioned with all of their training, presuming they survived their attack.
     Today across the globe we often see and think of empty hand fighting as being a 'fist' fight where one or both parties attempt to knock down their opponent or attacker with a closed hand punch, quite often to the head or face. The intent is that punching the chin, temple, jaw, or tempro-mandibular joint with the conditioned fist will result in knock out.
    Well this is very risky to the structural integrity of the hands, even with conditioning, and it's risks outweigh it's reward. Also, this is less effective and usually less lethal than alternative empty hand strikes. Particularly when one is facing multiple and/or armed attackers in a possible life or death situation. Unless one succeeds at being lucky enough to catch every attacker on the chin, solar plexus, or liver with proper impact to knock out every attacker before they take you down, stab, or club you than one might beat at their attackers for what seems like eternity. While succeeding at little more than enraging one's attackers and trying to survive a brawl without self inflicted mechanical injury to one's hands. If one's attackers have knives than it's a matter of trading punches with your fists vs. their knife stabs or slashes. We need not think very hard to imagine who comes out of that alive.          
    We have all read stories of martial art black belts or skilled boxers getting stabbed to death. Even trained police officers armed with pistols have succumbed to the grave due to a knife attack from an unskilled aggressor. We've all seen the boxing matches and mixed martial arts' cage fights where two men of equal weight class fight 'one against one' (unarmed) and they beat each other's heads in for what can sometimes seem like eternity without signs of either being deterred by the abuse.
    Now imagine if it were one man against four (or more) in that ring, or cage, and now we can imagine that even with all of his training he'd be in trouble if he relied upon using his fists, legs, and feet as percussion weapons to beat his attackers into submission. Or even more foolishly if he tried to go to the ground to grapple multiple attackers in the cage or ring. Now imagine if one of these men is armed with a dagger, knife, or machete! Would boxing with the fists and/or kicking with the legs be most effective in any of those proposed situations against larger and stronger multiple attackers?
    Centuries ago when the old martial arts were predominately military combat systems none of the martial arts utilized closed hand, bare knuckle, striking to the hard bony targets of the head and facial targets. First of all in a frantic combat situation, perhaps against armed enemies, the chin is a hard target to catch every time and to miss would leave one's enemy still able to harm or kill. One had to take down their enemy quickly, decisively, and with minimal risk of mechanical injury to one's much needed hands.
    We have all seen fights, professional or amateur, where a man can take a great deal of pummeling to the face and head while still continuing to attack or counter attack. And many of us have seen a strong man accidentally catch a finger poke to the eye during a basket ball game and it has an immediate effect upon his ability to continue or do 'anything'. The reaction is immediate and dramatic, as opposed to the reaction of getting clocked in the face or head with a fist. Although some exceptions do exist the finger jab is more efficient and effective.
    Some of us have also seen the swift effects of how an open palm slap to the ear drum can cause a man to react very dramatically. Or the effect of an open hand or wrist strike to the neck nerve plexi, or even the throat, when compared to a punch to the face. And most will agree that at close range a sharp elbow can deliver more devastating power and damage than a fist with very little risk of mechanical injury to one's self. This is still utilized in the Filipino, Malaysian, Thai, and Cambodian combat arts quite extensively. Also we see it adapted to the recent Keysi fighting method being propagated as a self defense system. The elbow is both a defensive and offensive  weapon capable of much destruction in unarmed combat and much stronger than the metacarpals within the hand.
    If one examines the ancient art of Okinawan Toudi, the forefather of what was later de-militarized and renamed as Kara te do by the Japanese, one would see that no fist strikes were ever directed towards the human head or face. Open hand and forearm/wrist strikes were delivered to targets above the shoulders while fists were delivered to the softer targets of the torso. Finger jabs to the eyes were meant to set up more powerful strikes while distracting and maiming. Open palms to ear drums or heel-palms delivered to chin, tmj, steno-mastoid or nose bridge were meant to discombobulate or possible knock out an enemy. The forearm bone strikes could snap necks or create knockout. The knife hand chop to neck would cause knockout. Open ridge hand or knife hand chop to the hyoid bone meant death. Elbow strikes to chin, temple, TMJ, or steno-mastoid would create knock out. The fists were conditioned to break ribs and dig deep into the torso targets rupturing internal organs and causing either a knock out or death.
    If one closely examines the old katas of Okinawan Kara Te with an open mind one can see the true intentions of the strikes and movements. They have been hidden and the Bunkai perverted by the old masters for various reasons. Often the true Bunkai was revealed to only the most trusted student and heir to the master's art while the de-militarized form was taught to all of the other students. And then these students went on to open their own schools and so on & on until the world is full of 'masters' of  de-militarized arts.
    Also, it has happened that because of government decree or for civil laws a master was forbidden to teach the true art and so was forced to de-militarize it (making it less lethal and less effective for real world combat) in order to continue to teach. This is why the old masters use to say that all of the secrets reside in the forms or the katas. They have been hidden there and that is why the old masters placed such high value upon these forms and katas. They were the keys to unlocking the true purpose and application of the arts.
       The very little of traditional Hawaiian Lua martial art that exist today incorporates open hand strikes to vital targets above the torso and closed hand strikes below the neck with heavy emphasis upon grappling, redirection of force, and attacking joints & nerves. Much like old style Japanese Jujitsu practiced by the samurai as their hand to hand combat system designed for the battlefield where they were fighting armored and armed enemy in a life or death struggle.
    In original Japanese Jujitsu all strikes were delivered to eyes, throat, neck, ears, and limbs for destruction on the battle field. Off the battle field, where opponents were not wearing armor over their torso targets, the samurai utilized punches and kicks to the vital torso targets to disable or knock out an individual they were arresting. But never did they use fists against the hard bony facial targets or head for to do so would mean possible mechanical injury thereby preventing them from properly utilizing their weapons in the future. A samurai whom lost his ability to grip would then be less combat effective and thereby unemployed.
    If we compare the history of modern sport boxing, as well as ancient Greek Olympic sport boxing, and even the American colonial blood sport of Fisticuffs with the ancient European empty hand self defense art of Fist y Cuffs we can see the evolution from a very efficient, effective, martial art into a self destructive blood sport for competition and entertainment.
    In the original martial art of Fist y Cuffs the practitioner operated much like modern day boxers in evasive movement, blocking, parrying, etc. with the strikes being open handed 'cuffs' to the hard head targets and 'fists' to the softer torso targets.
    The jab was utilized as fingers to the eyes followed by palm strikes (cuffs) to the ear drums or chin to discombobulate or possibly knock out an attacker or enemy. Once the finger jab and cuffs were used to close distance and distract or injure an attacker then the hard fist would be delivered to the soft targets of the torso, such as the liver sack, solar plexus, kidneys, ribs, and testes. This was more efficient and effective than the de-militarized blood sport, but left permanent injuries to the eyes and eardrums thus often maiming the defeated.
  So for the sake of 'sport' the closed hand was adopted to strike both facial and torso targets, which resulted in less maiming injuries to the receiver but more mechanical injuries to the hands of the striker. So in the ancient Greek Olympic boxing matches they wrapped their hands similar to how they do today in boxing sports over the world. The colonial American fisticuffs matches did not utilize hand wraps because the spectators and gamblers wanted to see more blood and superficial damage caused by the hardened bare knuckles of the fighters. It satisfied their blood lust while extending the length of the fight between two men. This made it very common for professional fisticuffs brawlers to develop very badly damaged hands leaving them almost useless in working a skilled trade. Many were left seriously handicapped after retiring from the fight game and unable to work.
    As opposed to bare knuckle fisticuffs boxing for sport, where the fight was meant to last as long as possible for the entertainment of the gambling crowds of spectators, the original self defense art of Fist y Cuffs' purpose was to end a fight as quickly as possible with as little self inflicted injury as possible. In fact this was and is the goal of all hand to hand combat arts.
   De-militarizing the martial arts almost always came about for the purpose of modifying the combat arts for 'sport' or to modify them within the parameters of civilian self defense laws. This often happens after a society leaves it's feudal period and enters into it's age of enlightenment and considers itself to be a more 'civilized' society of law and order.
    It is understandable that the arts would either have to be outlawed and become entirely extinct or that they would have to be de-militarized in order to still exist in some form lest they be lost completely forever. However in doing so we give up knowledge of great importance in order to maintain a similitude of knowledge. And we have in essence defanged the snake.
    For example, all of the open ridge hand strikes to the hyoid bone became closed fist punches to the chin. The finishing technique of an open hand chop to the throat became a hammer fist to the nose bridge. The open left hand finger jab became the closed fist left jab punch. The open palm cuff to rupture the eardrum became a cross punch. We could go on but this is not meant to be an instructional manual but rather an informative dissertation.
    The great tragedy is that so many today invest so much time, energy, and money into building up false expectations or developing habits that may not save their life in a real-world violent situation against armed, often multiple, attackers of superior strength. And if experience is the best teacher, quite often the bad guys are very experienced in violence. In the urban areas gangsters and thugs grow up on street violence and fighting until they go to prison and get equivalent to a master's degree in crime, violence, and hand to hand combat facing multiple
(often armed) attackers.
    In the military we have a saying, 'Train how we fight'. That applies to all training and no where else more so than self defense. Israeli Commando Krav Maga and Kapap actually do this and they have revolutionized martial art/ hand to hand combat by going back to what 'all' martial arts once were in application of technique. Particularly in striking and hand defense techniques. But there are many other 'civilian' Krav Maga schools teaching a de-militarized form believed to be modified for civilian parameters. If you train to always attack the eyes and throat than you may accidentally find yourself in prison for manslaughter charges as opposed to if you train yourself to 'punch' at your attacker's facial targets with fists. You may break and seriously injure your hands or catch a simple assault charge (maybe aggravated assault) but you're less likely to face manslaughter or second degree murder charges.
    Also as an instructor teaching commercialized martial art one must always consider how the training will be used and the character of the individuals whom this training may fall into the hands of, so it's wise to not teach the true military applications of any martial art indiscriminately.  
    When one is teaching commercially it's a lot more difficult to assess the character of each and every single student. This is why traditional martial arts masters had an outer circle of students, an inner circle, and a close circle before they finally got down to the one single student whom earned the teacher's deepest trust and confidence. That one student would be given the keys to the true art and applications as the master's legacy. Individuals with this knowledge are a dying breed today and most often do not teach commercially.
    Much debate today within the martial arts community is about MMA verses TMA. Well, in truth they are not really talking about traditional martial arts because almost all of what we refer to as traditional martial arts is still 'de-militarized' martial arts. And MMA is merely the mixing of these de-militarized contemporary martial arts. In the sporting arena it's better to be cross trained in a variety of de-militarized martial arts as opposed to only one that focuses more heavily upon a single set of skills. However, once you leave the sporting arena the MMA practitioner fares little better than the TMA practitioner in real-world violence against multiple, possibly armed, experienced attackers.
    To give my readers a real life example I encourage you to view the video episode of Human Weapon Military Hand To Hand Combat: Israeli Krav Maga. (It's on YouTube) It's not my purpose to promote Israeli martial arts over all others. In fact a few schools of Silat, Kali, Okinawan Kara Te Jitsu, Gung fu, Jujitsu, Aiki Jujutsu, and others still teach efficient, effective, and prudent application of technique for real-world combat. But this particular episode of Human Weapon demonstrates a situation where a champion MMA fighter and a pro NFL football player trained in wrestling and karate are attacked by a single (not multiple) attacker, in a real world scenario with full contact protective gear, and the result are quite sobering for the both of them. They discover that although they are great ring fighters and athletes they don't know anything about self defense.
    If you train in TMA or MMA for sport, exercise, and stress relief than you're not missing out on anything and I encourage you to continue. But if you train in these arts with the belief that you're preparing for real-world violence and are training in the same art that the ancient warriors of long ago executed upon the battlefield to survive frantic, lethal, close combat, against multiple and armed attackers than I hope that this has given you much to consider. If it wasn't successful on the battlefield they wouldn't have trained in it but what has happened to that knowledge over the centuries of
de-militarization and cultural revolutions has often left behind only a vague expression of the true combat applications.
    Many modern day 'masters' would disagree with much of this because they have too much ego invested into their de-militarized and often commercialized martial art. Again all arts can be useful in a fight, just as playing basket ball regularly will increase ones fitness level and give a distinct advantage over a non-fit attacker in a fight. But to claim that many of the arts are being taught in the last century just as they were trained for and applied originally for real-world combat would be a prevarication. This is the reason why traditional martial arts has lost much of it's respect and on the other end of the spectrum why so many black belts report disillusionment after encountering much experience with the realities of combat in the streets, military, prison, or wherever else.
    If you train for tournaments, point fighting, brawling, or de-militarized civil defense than you weaken the integrity of an art and change it's effectiveness for real-world combat defense.
    Repetition creates habit and habit dictates character. The character of a warrior preparing for worst case scenarios should be rooted in proper habit reinforced by correct repetition. Because what one programs into muscle memory is what one will do during the stress of combat. And what one practices under stress of simulated combat is how one will respond in actual combat.
    So train how you fight and fight efficiently, effectively, and economically. Any instructor of any art that tells their student that a certain technique can cause self destruction to one's hand but not to worry about it because if you're fighting for your life it wont matter, that instructor is not teaching self defense. And that style, system, or art is not self defense.
    What good is it to give the attacker a black eye or knock him out only to receive a critical mechanical injury to one's hand and perhaps preventing one from using their phone, accessing their side arm, or driving away in a standard transmission vehicle? What good is it to fight off an attacker or attackers only to receive a life changing self inflicted injury? In the old days just as today, warriors needed to maintain the structural integrity of their hands in order to use their weapons, tools, and perform duties. And if you stop one attacker but cripple your hands then what about the second, third, or fourth attacker. How will you prevail if you've rendered your hands operational ineffective early in the battle? This applies to the defender in the streets, urban battle fields, prisons, jails, or kidnap capitals today as well. What you simulate in training is how you'll react in combat.
    Si vi pacem para bellum.