Tradition or Survival

[Siegfried]

Is your training truely based on tradition or survival? In my opinion if the martial artists of today wish to obtain the same level of skill in defeating opponents in martial combat that the martial artists of long ago had(back when your life depended on your martial capabilities) they should train for SURVIVAL and not simply tradition. I see many in my dojo who practice karate and do not understand the applications of the technique they put forth so much time to improve, they simply are practicing tradition. And, unless they wake up and come to notice the applications for those techniques they will never be able to obtain a high level of efficiancy in winning an actual fight. Tradition alone will hardly do them any good if they don't even know what it is used for. But if they were to train to survive using those techniques (when someone opposess your life, the life of your family, friends, etc.) and sort of fit them into any practical situation then their study would benifit them greatly.

What do you think?

But there are two different interpretations of what "Traditionalists" means.

One is the people who stick to rigid and ineffective movements. I think much of the Shotokan Karate comes into this, were the art became a way to follow "budo" instead of beat the shit out of someone.

But the other is the people who stick to the original and deadly variation of their arts. There are plenty "traditionalist" Karateka out there who train in eye gouges, throat strikes and kicks to the knee.

[Siegfried]

What you said about the second type of traditionalist is interesting. I have never seen a traditional school, especially of karate(even though karate techniques in their purest form can be very deadly), that teaches the original version of their art, and whose students have a true understanding of the applications of their techniques. Looking for a school like that is like trying to find a hooker in a monastery.

[robertlee]

traditional schools hold to the past in a lighter sence. DO was a culture like change for the arts. To preserve the training in a softer way. JUTSU was the way prior to that. Then was the time of hard training towards selfdefence. This remains up to the instructor. If you want to get back into thatcore base you just train your students harder and require moreconditioning and combat skills training. But good fighters have come from traditional back grounds. The gun changed many things the sword went away as it could not protect you at a distance. real combat fighting could not stop a bullet. So rather than let the arts pass to the times thay preserved them. At any time they can be brought back to the past training. up to you or any one that wants it