A Philosophy of the Fist The Making of “Cross Training in the Martial Arts 2: The Anatomy of Hand Strikes”
Peter had already been a part of a revolutionary concept in martial arts body mechanics within his chosen style of Shukukai Karate. Working against the norm of the Karate at the time, Shukukai applied sports physics to create a stronger ballistic effect to its striking. Peter and Geoff also broke the accepted moral code of the time with their pre-emptive strike. Geoff was a very enthusiastic cross trainer who immediately began looking outside of his Karate training experiences when he encountered real violence on a regular basis when working as a doorman for nine years. In the 1990s the Bruce Lee view of looking outside of the proverbial box had suddenly become a mainstream idea some twenty or so years after the man’s death. People like Rick Young led by example and fully embraced many different arts, proving a harmony could exist between and showing how different arts could fill the gaps in each other’s systems. Many still question Bruce Lee’s abilities, but there are little doubts about those who continue his legacy. Rick Young (a student of Bruce Lee’s only appointed instructor, Dan Innosanto) showed the UK martial arts scene exactly what could be achieved by an individual who devotes his life to cross training.
Almost a decade after the “Reality Revolution” and Iain Abernethy, a respected traditional Karateka, began changing the mainstream view again. The arrival of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) and the now almost institutionalised cult of R.B.S.D. (Reality-Based Self-Defence) led to a huge amount of disillusionment in the “white suit” martial arts world. With the exception of Judo, Muay Thai and the hugely popular Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, traditional martial arts seemed destined to only court the very young, the very academic, the very dogmatic and the very naïve. Within the marital arts culture and industry, “traditional” was becoming stigmatized as a place for those enjoyed playing dress-up, indulging in a game of tag (semi-contact sparring) and faking pseudo-historical violence – perhaps akin to hobbyists who enjoyed participating in the re-enactment of historical battles. Then, thanks to the likes of Iain and the pragmatic Wing Chun sifu, Alan Gibson, another question was put to the masses: were all the fighters who founded and utilised traditional martial arts complete idiots or was it more of a case of there being something wrong in the way the arts were being taught today? What they promoted is perhaps what the business philosophy academics would call a paradigm shift; a change not of styles or techniques, but rather a fundamental change of the way mainstream traditional martial arts was thought about.
Iain looked back at many martial arts and discovered how they all seemed to belong to far more comprehensive methods. Western Boxing, for example, had throws and wrestling techniques and he even found that the father of modern pugilism, James Figg, was an able swordsman and a deft wielder of the quarterstaff. Iain found that he had not very far to look to find the throws and grappling applications in Karate. They were written about and demonstrated by such masters as Mabuni and Funakoshi. He brought Tegumi the Okinawan grappling art to public attention and explained how it was integral to traditional Karate. Iain promoted the views of Peter Consterdine and Geoff Thompson in his exploration on perhaps the most maligned and misunderstood area of Karate practice, the kata. Through his method of Bunkai-Jutsu he encouraged traditionalists to cross train in Western Boxing, Kickboxing, Wrestling, Judo and various other disciplines to condition the different aspects of a kata’s practical application. Furthermore Iain took out the sporting element (an area he had been very keen on before) and devised flow and resistant drills that were geared towards Karate’s original purpose, as a method of civilian self-protection.
Alan Gibson trained with boxers and put his system under constant pressure to see, where Wing Chun worked and how it could be applied efficiently. Like Iain he also found historical sources that were in direct contrast to the passive Chi-Sau (sticky hands) obsessed and non-resistant methods of Wing Chun practiced by the mainstream. He also devised scenario-based pressure-testing drills that reinforced the principles of this close-quarter fighting method. In 1990 Alan founded the Wing Chun Federation, a body that encourages cross training in various different martial arts and has seen affiliation with other open-minded Wing Chun groups.