Are traditional martial arts even traditional? Learn the reality of martial arts, the importance of free fighting and why your techniques must be "combat ready".

The Reality of Modern & Traditional Martial Arts That Gets Overlooked

We have been martial artists since our early teens and mostly never stopped training martial arts in one way or another. You could even consider our programs a serious form of martial arts training due to the fact how much they can enhance your ability!

In the last 5 years, we have risen to new heights. We not only started MMA but we also got black belts from the Monkey Kung Fu master Jiang Yu Shan. 

Later, we have been mentored and coached by the UFC veteran Nordine Taleb. Nowadays, we also learn Muay Thai from Don - A former Thai fighter with over 400 fights who is one of the best strikers we have ever trained with.  

Over the last decades, we have learned a lot and we have also gotten insight and realizations that will be useful to you as well.

In this article we’re going to talk about:

Lots of valuable information below. Enjoy!

You Cannot Fight With Strength Alone.

Martial arts have been hugely influential for us. Some of our training methods, like Warrior 20XX, was largely created due to the demands of martial arts (particularly MMA).

When we first started wrestling, grappling and sparring a lot, it became painfully obvious to us that strength alone doesn't matter if you are not able to sustain it for long periods of time. 

As a result, Warrior 20XX Method, a program focused on developing strength endurance & conditioning was born. Today, you cannot be a good martial artist without having good levels of strength endurance.

The great thing about MMA is that it’s a complete test for human beings. You have to be skilled in many areas, and it’s not limited to physicality alone.

You cannot fight with strength alone. You need strength endurance, especially in grappling, but you also need explosiveness for striking and takedowns.

Beyond physical skill, you also need mental discipline and toughness, and the ability to take risks. You also need what is known in combat sports as "Fight IQ". At the highest level, almost everyone is a beast, so the best way to win is with strategy and intelligence.

But practicing techniques only takes you so far. Sparring makes all the difference.

Bringing Back The Truly Traditional Martial Arts, In The Real Sense.

Traditional martial arts often lack realism, sparring, conditioning, etc. They are systems of traditional techniques – even art forms – but the techniques lack real life practicality.

What people call "traditional martial arts" today are not even traditional in the realest sense of the word – they are actually modern martial arts. 

This is because between 1850 and 1970 martial arts in Asia (where most these martial arts originate from) went through dramatic transformations.

In China, they had the period of cultural revolution (1966-1976) under Mao Zedong when the ancient Kung Fu styles were banned and many of the masters had to flee to Taiwan to avoid persecution.

In Japan, during the Meiji Period (1868–1912) , Japan and martial arts went through a major modernization period. The era of Samurai rule ended, Japan opened up to Western influence and the way of life across the board was modernized.

During this Meiji Period (and after) a lot of the martial arts that are popular today were founded. Jujutsu became Judo. Aikijutsu became Aikido. Te became Karate.

These "traditional martial arts" were no longer about actual combat. Rather, the main purpose of these martial arts became self-improvement and self-actualization. 

In the old times, "jutsu" used to mean art of war and in the new way "do" meant just way and often in a spiritual sense.

A lot of martial arts, however, tried to keep the traditions and the ancient techniques alive but the problem was that almost all of them lost the intensity and fiercity that was needed to make the art forms work as a whole.

In other terms, the techniques in traditional martial arts certainly work and can be incredible to say the least, but how they are practiced often makes the techniques useless in practice.

 
We have experienced this first hand having trained and mastered various traditional martial arts. Despite all the techniques we’ve learnt from traditional martial arts, without sparring we would have never learned to apply them.

 
Drills and forms are important, but you have to apply the techniques in a format where the opponent defends and fights back freely and in a realistic fashion.

 
Traditional martial artists with perfect technique are often not “combat ready” because they haven’t tested the techniques thousands of times while sparring. As a result, they won't be able to apply the techniques in real combat.

You have to apply and learn how to set up the technique, because technique alone means absolutely nothing. It's very hard to land a shot when someone is expecting it. 

“How you land a shot is with mind games, feints and setups.” - Samuli

And you only learn this in real practice when the other person is trying to avoid getting hit, and he is trying to hit you.

A lot of traditional martial artists explain the lack of sparring often by saying "It's too dangerous to practice these techniques freely" or by dismissing the sparring element by saying "This is a real martial art and not a sport or a game".

In reality, the masters of ancient history certainly used to spar and practice everything freely because otherwise they would have gotten killed in combat. Sparring is the most traditional and essential element you can practice.

If you are not able to adjust the intensity of the technique, it means you have not mastered the technique.

Many traditional martial arts have a concept called "the levels of violence" which means you should adjust the intensity according to the opponent and situation.

 
Something we really like about Muay Thai training, which in many parts of Thailand is traditional and practical, is that the sparring is very soft. You’re not hurting each other and it’s built around trusting your partners.

 
We often see that they're throwing a head kick and it would land, but they don’t push it through. Imagine the level of control it takes. If they did it would be impossible to keep training because everyone would be hurt and scared all the time.

 
And you can’t develop skills and composure needed if you spend all your time running away and defending. Even the ability to withstand strikes takes time and needs to be gradually built.

 
Ultimately, fighting is rough. It's a risky, tough sport, and a tough way to live your life. But this is real combat and real fighting. 

 
Learning to fight intelligently won’t stop you getting busted up a bit, but you’ll avoid brain damage and lost teeth.

 
And everyone, regardless of body type, can make it. 

MMA Is The Most Equal Sport In The World

What we personally love about MMA is that it's the most equal sport in the world.

 
Of course size and weight matters, but in every weight class you see different body types, different personality types, and different athletic types become champions.

Different people have different muscle fibre types and different athletic types. Some people are more explosive and some people are more endurance focused. This is by their genetics.

 
For example, Jon Jones, is a very tall, lanky guy, and he's one of the most dominant champions ever. After Jones, Daniel Cormier became the champion, and he’s a shorter guy, almost chubby.

 Then there’s Tyron Woodley, who looks like a bodybuilder. Meanwhile Sean O'Malley was a champion who was extremely skinny and almost had no muscle definition. 

And then you have the strategic champions like Georges St-Pierre who we have personally met and trained with. 

 
All these different body types and personality types have become champions. Moreover, athletes from different martial arts backgrounds have become champions from Karate to wrestling to Muay Thai.

For that reason, I say that MMA is the most equal sport.

If you look at running, for example, only the individuals who have the most optimal muscle fibre and body type for the task of running will become champions. 

 
But in MMA everyone is welcome and can become a champion if they can just find their way to be victorious.

Functionality & Skill Trump Looking Intimidating

Back in the day, we used to appreciate the typical golden era bodybuilders who had the muscle mass to look dangerous and aesthetics to turn heads.

 
But the more we have practiced martial arts, the more we can appreciate the competence, strength and appearance of more natural physiques.

Casual people might think that the tall & muscular person is the best fighter, or that he's the strongest.

But in reality skill is more important than anything and how functional or athletic you are will always trump just looking big. Muscle mass is a nice thing to have but it has mostly function for intimidation.

After skill, functionality and athleticism is what will determine your success in martial arts. If you are a martial artist, you cannot disregard the role of conditioning and functional strength.

This is because skill is nothing but applied strength and even if you have a high skill level, you will get easily beaten by a poorly skilled person who never stops and can keep going until you can't.

Fatigue makes any person a coward and skill loses its value when you no longer have the endurance to keep going. 

This is exactly why we created Warrior 20XX Method and why it made such a big impact on our ability to fight and thrive as a martial artist. But the same needs apply to most athletes as well.

 
If you’re feeling motivated to add some martial arts training to your practice, see Warrior 20XX Method. It will help you to build the endurance necessary to go the distance – but it’s no replacement for sparring!

Stay strong.