In my last post, I spent the majority of the time explaining what it means that we have a blended style of martial arts and why we do not teach “MMA”. Mixed martial arts is an amazing sport, but it has lost many of the values and qualities that traditional martial arts training brought to participants. In this post, I would like to share the “styles” that we blend at our school and the reasons behind them.
Taekwondo
Our primary art at VJMA is the Korean art of Taekwondo. The first and foremost reason for us choosing this particular art is simply that it is the one in which we have the most experience. This doesn’t necessarily mean that it is the best martial art or the one with the most immediate combative value, but it does provide a great framework to build on. It is also a globally recognized art which will allow our students to find places to train no matter where they travel throughout the world. Taekwondo is primarily a striking art that focuses on agility and kicking. Having students learn to use their legs as well as their hands during a fight can give them a “leg up” against attackers who are used to working at a closer distance.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ)
BJJ has taken the world by storm since it came to fame during UFC 1 in November of 1993. The Gracie family developed this art because they saw so many of their friends injured or killed when fights in the rough cities of Brazil went down to the ground. Once down, combatants simply scrambled around until they were able to stand up or someone was rendered unable to fight. The Gracie family realized that most of the traditional arts of the time had lost their ability to control a fight in which the participants fell to the ground. They developed a system of using weight, movement, and pain compliance (or limb destruction) that would help them to survive a fight. Since that time, the art of BJJ has become a popular sport, and there are many participants worldwide who train both for self-defense, and sport. Because so many self-defense encounters include some grappling (whether standing or on the ground), I believe BJJ is an essential part of any system that claims to teach self-defense.
Hapkido
The art of Hapkido is the Korean version of a Japanese art known as Jiu Jitsu. This is very different from Brazilian Jiu Jitsu because it is focused on standing while controlling the body of your opponent through joint locks and throws. The goal for most Hapkido practitioners is to remain standing while redirecting their opponent or throwing them. While Hapkido does include striking, it’s primary focus is on locks and throws. We choose to include these skills in our art because there are times where controlling your opponent is both more effective and also more legal in self-defense. We stress that the best option is generally to disengage and create distance, but sometimes those options aren’t available to you. In that case, it is necessary to be able to use the weaknesses of the human body against your attacker.
Weapons
The world around us is full of tools that you can use as force multipliers in case of a real confrontation. Reality sets in for most aspiring martial artists when they realize that carrying a sword or staff around is illegal or at least frowned upon in most parts of the world. However, training with traditional weaponry (escrima, bo, sword, nunchaku, etc.) can develop the mind and body to be prepared for using an improvised weapon. Weapons training is not a big part of our training prior to black belt, but we do begin with short stick (escrima) because it provides a good foundation of movement for many improvised weapons.
A Powerful Blend
Each of these arts have been built with a deep history and the wisdom and knowledge of many masters. Each have been synthesized from the experience of their creators and the principles of human anatomy. Any of them, if trained to a high level can be devastating tools. However, our job as martial arts instructors isn’t to prepare a “black belt” for self-defense. Statistics show that most people who stay in the martial arts long enough to earn a black belt are considerably less likely to get into a physical altercation. Our belief at VJMA is that we should prepare the beginners for self-defense to the best of our ability in the first 3 belt ranks. We do not believe that everyone can be perfectly prepared for every situation, but we strive to teach our students the principles and baseline skills that they will need in order to successfully survive and escape an encounter with someone intent on hurting them. Taekwondo, BJJ, Hapkido, and Weapons training all play an important role in our blended art, and we continue to look for the best things from any art that may help our students grow.