honeybadgerpress.ca

As previously published in the Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette,
Vancouver Sun and Regina Leader Post:

Just Don’t Call MMA an Art

August 15, 2010

As an experienced Karate instructor and published writer; I am not unfamiliar with the technique, theory and social ramifications of martial arts. It is my lifelong passion and the spiritual precepts of Karate continue to guide my business and personal affairs. I have followed the development of MMA with a mixture of curiosity, admiration and occasional disappointment.
Before I write another word, I must say that I have great respect for the men (and women) who participate in this demanding sport. However, it isn’t a martial art by established Oriental definitions, but instead, is a combat sport governed by a modern set of rules. While some claim that martial art can merely be an organized collection of technique devoid of moral philosophy; this claim is contradicted by the MMA promoter’s questionable tactic of riding the traditional mystique to higher ticket sales and promotional revenue.
My last MMA piece in 2007 earned me a litany of chat room insults and slurs from a host of strangers who probably didn’t read past the title of the article. Since MMA has no apparent spiritual philosophy or moral code beyond winning within the rules; it is challenging, as previously-stated, to consider it a martial art using traditional Oriental sensibilities. I have not encountered a coherent justification for the consideration of MMA as a martial art; at least not among the practitioners to whom I’ve spoken. To avoid confusion in my writing, I will continue to use the term MMA in this letter, although MFS (Mixed Fighting Systems) might be a more accurate term.
To reiterate, the competitive and recreational activity popularly called MMA is a rule-bound sport based on combining the techniques of martial arts like Jujutsu, Karate, Judo, Sambo, ancient Greco-Roman fighting systems and sports like Western boxing and various wrestling styles. While many MMA competitors are experienced and introspective martial artists, I have not witnessed much martial arts philosophy in MMA beyond good sportsmanship and camaraderie among the athletes. Winning and earning money and glory seem to be the ultimate goals-not following an inner journey of introspection towards personal enlightenment or sartori.
The elimination or reduction of ego-related distractions is referred to as sartori by devotees of Buddhism and such Buddhist concepts are integral to the practice of martial arts. The lessons learned along the road to sartori are more important than the nearly impossible task of actually achieving the perfection of such a rarified condition. The path to sartori generally involves a monastic renunciation of material desire combined with martial training and intense mediation. The samurai, not quite so selfless; were generally content with achieving a practical state of mind referred to as mushin or empty mind. A person in the state of mushin is perfectly aware of their environment and they cannot be induced to dedicate an inordinate degree of attention to anything. They respond with perfect appropriateness at all times without conscious effort. Like sartori, mushin can only be achieved after years of austere training and daily meditation.
MMA has become hugely popular largely because of the Ultimate Fighting Competitions (UFC) and the popular perception that MMA is the supreme reality-based fighting experience. As well, there are hordes of people who just love to watch a good fight, if my painful schoolyard memories are any guide. MMA does embraces all elements of hand-to-hand fighting with the sensible prohibition of biting, eye gouging, and testicle-squeezing and this does create the conditions for a sporting contest that closely resembles the reality of a one-on-one street fight. However, many observers fail to realize that the majority of the techniques will only work for highly-trained professionals who dedicate long grueling hours to their perfection. As well, these professionals, with their fore-knowledge and high pain threshold; can effectively resist techniques that would decimate an untrained person. All is not what it seems and I suspect that the medical future of many MMA athletes may resemble the unfortunate outcomes of those professional football players who endured a career of crushing impacts.
My objection to the use of the term martial art in the MMA context is based on my strong suspicion that it is an intentional marketing ploy designed to exploit the mystique of traditional Oriental martial arts like Jujutsu, Gong Fu and Karate. Employing the term “art” misleads the public who understandably, are not privy to the history and anthropology of martial arts. As a serious martial artist with an interest in reality-based self-defense, I care deeply about public perceptions of martial arts and martial artists. I have spent the last 16 years studying and teaching the techniques, moral philosophy and history/anthropology of Karate and I enjoy a reasonable amount of respect in my small circle of like-minded peers. Concerning the morality/philosophy of martial arts, noted Canadian Karate teacher and researcher Patrick McCarthy said in 2003,
“For the same reason one would never trust a loaded weapon to immoral hands, so too did the early pioneers of this [Karate] tradition believe that embracing a body of moral philosophy to govern the ethical behaviour of those who mastered its brutal secrets superseded learning to fight.” This lesson has been one of the many casualties in the mass-commercialization of martial arts.
As previously stated, I deeply respect MMA athletes and I admire their rigorous training methods and dedication. By all means, participate in and watch MMA, but do so with an educated perspective and a healthy dose of skepticism about what you are doing and seeing when MMA inevitably comes to your town as it’s come to mine.

Morgan Duchesney MA / chief instructor: Ottawa Karate Jutsu