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us here. We will make references to all who contribute,
unless asked not to.
>> Ask Colin Wee a question on the martial arts.
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Q: Can martial arts improve my self confidence
and esteem?
I've studied the martial arts for the last 20 years.
I think a combination of my martial arts training and my Buddhist
philosophy has allowed me to weather some very stressful periods
in my life, and has endowed me with a solid inner confidence in
many different situations. This impact for both my social and
my corporate life have been so critical that I doubt I'd be the
same person if I hadn't started my martial arts training.
However, gaining confidence, esteem, and self
love isn't something that happens overnight. If you look through
the tools available on the downloads section, you'll see one that
helps the beginner overcome mental obstacles during the training.
Yes indeed, the novice will also experience a lot of fear, self
doubt, and maybe even loss of confidence.
The true strength that comes from martial arts
will perhaps be a gift when you enter a high level of participation
in the program. This will eventually come as the participant understands,
embraces, and accepts such things as emotional desensitization,
mental focus and visualization, maximal cardiovascular training,
and the nature of martial arts in regard to one's own identity.
Rules that are taught to little children like
falling in line, courtesy, and respect for others? While these
are important, they are superficial and can be taught in any other
non-contact activity. They are not, however, indicators of the
inner composure that the martial art can create for a person.
A good instructor is extremely helpful for a
person's progression. However, much of the spiritual virtue will
only come in time and through certain hardships that must be borne
personally through the training.
Q: How early can my child start with the martial arts?
There's going to be a range of answers for this.
Children are able to participate fairly well
in a martial arts program at about 6 years old. Their cognition
and physical priopreception become better developed that the instructor
is able to communicate some good physical and mental concepts
which can be remembered to the next class.
However, not all martial arts instructors are
in it solely to teach children serious martial arts. Some of them
look at children's sessions as a way to prepare the child for
entering a more serious level of training at a later age. These
classes are akin to Gymbaroo or Toddler Gym, and are both fun
and educational for your little child. I think this is a fantastic
way to introduce your child into something that they can continue
or pick up again later.
How early you start your child with a martial
arts program depends on your philosophy towards learning sport
and the instructor involved. If you want your child to pick up
a certain sport, stick with it, and enter a high level of competitive
involvement, you will have to defer to the norms of pre-established
organizations that focus on young children. Typically Olympic
Tae Kwon Do schools will be able to guide you quite closely and
will help you groom your child towards the progression for International
competition.
Not all parents want this. Some want the child
to have 'more confidence,' and 'more discipline.' If this is what
you want, then you've got to look at the instructor at each school
you go to and determine if he's got the right balance of control
and understanding of children. Black Belt instructors are not
created equal, and I'd suggest you speak with potential instructors
and measure them up as people.
In the end, I'd like to say something to all
parents who enter their kids into any sport (serious or otherwise).
You must get involved with your child. The instructor is not a
family day care leader, and is not there to be a substitute for
parents. Get involved. Ask to be involved. Show your support.
Seek to understand. Explain concepts that might not have been
taught too well. Think about that. Please
Q: I'm over 21. Can I still start learning
martial arts?
Martial arts can be physically compared with other sports.
Everyone can enjoy most sports. as with sports, some martial arts
however are more suited to some than others. This is perhaps where
adults over a certain age, who are tentative, should aim to research
the different martial art styles available, the instructors, and
the venue. If you have the luxury of choosing, why not go for
one that you may like more.
Obviously you are also going to have some preconceptions
and an idea of what you'd like to go for. But be honest with yourself.
Don't succumb to the 'Sellavision' idea that if you spent $300
on that equipment you'll be using it every day. You've got to
be motivated in other ways to stick with the practice.
I've personally seen a 45 year old man get his
brown belt at a very tough dojo. He wasn't particularly coordinated
or talented. But all it took was intense effort. In fact, at the
height of my speed and fitness at around 25 years old, I was bested
in physical combat by people 20 years older than myself. In fact
they would probably still be better than me now. Martial arts
is a great study as you get older, since it's not always about
speed or strength.
It won't be easy. But what else that's worth it is?
Click to see a video clip of Jhoon Rhee (the father of American Karate) talk about age and martial arts [here].
Q: I am currently fairly unfit, I've
got an injury, and I'd like to use martial arts to improve my
overall fitness.
Maintaining total health and fitness doesn't have to
be a drastic program where you embark on an aggressive sweat-it-out
routine. You can start to improve your overall fitness in small
ways even without considering leaving your current comfort zone.
If you have the objective of becoming a lean
mean fighting machine, most of the workouts you'll probably have
to embark on will find you huffing and puffing, and will probably
throw your injury out some more.
Our Tai Chi course that Vince Cordeiro teaches,
which is a gentle start to any martial art program, will probably
not result in any significant weight loss, though it will be a
good step towards a holistic fitness routine.
My suggestion is to first ascertain that you're
healthy enough to embark on an exercise routine. You should know
yourself if you are capable of doing this. Then:
- Go increase your knowledge of working out and exercising.
This will find you at the library or the bookshop (look for
'The Exercise Bible'). And you should learn more about stretching,
warming up, taking it easy, and cooling down. All the basics.
- Get it in your mind that exercise, fitness, and health are
fairly interrelated. Start eating, drinking, and staying healthy.
Don't need to cut out unhealthy foods or beer or wine - just
moderately enjoy yourself.
- Start stretching. Get your whole body into a major stretching
regiment at least three times a week.
- Start calisthenic exercises. This will allow you to isolate
your ankle and not further damage it. You can do this with your
stretching program once or twice a week. Calisthenics are exercises
like situps, purshups, etc. which you will find in the books
you borrow or buy.
If you start with my advice above, it should
take you 3-4 weeks to start feeling improvements, and 2-3 months
to start wanting more. When you do, and if you want to integrate
martial arts training OR self defence training, let me know. We
can cater towards those needs.
Q:
What's the difference between martial arts and self defence?
A martial art is a systemic approach to the study of
combat. Given the codification that has to go with that study,
the martial arts typically focus on a specific form of combat.
This is an argument which makes experts wonder about the efficacy
of martial arts in actual physical engagements. While dealing
with 'actual' engagements is one of the goals of the art, it is
not the only goal. And considering that you spent perhaps only
2-3 days practising the art form, you are probably further limiting
the amount of time needed to be really capable to deal with 'actual'
situations.
Self defence, as I like to think, is 'situational
combat' that helps the user survive or win a potentially aggressive
or violent scenario during every day life. It is a combination
of physical and mental skills. Not all martial arts instructors
are interested in self defence or are able to teach self defence
skills. This in no way diminishes the value of martial arts training,
it just is a fact.
Q:
What are some of the difficulties in starting the martial arts?
If we were to use the analogy of sports to represent the martial arts, each various 'module' of the martial arts, for example the exercise of kicking, is an entire game by itself. With this yardstick, each module will come with it's own exercises, it's kinesthetic tactics, it's game strategy, and success factors. Just like any serious sport, there is a mountain of information required to really excel in this type of game strategy.
Making things more complicated is the fact that most martial arts students who join the martial arts would deal with several 'modules', like learning how to punch *and* kick at the same time. It seems natural to put both kicking and punching together. But when you take a look at the dynamics of each, both are very different for the beginner to learn. This is where long term difficulties may arise for someone who may not have excellent coordination or who may not have otherwise engaged in any balletic endeavor that may help with learning the martial arts.
One tip to help beginners is to look at the 'big' picture. Visually look at the demonstration while listening to any instruction. Take into consideration visual cues that show the relation of the upper body to the lower body, and then to the placement of the limbs. This picture will allow you to ultimately understand positioning of and achieving balance of movement whilst dealing with the concept of 'centre-of-gravity'. I would suggest that all beginners try to emulate larger movements before drilling down into the minutiae. Not to say that the minutiae isn't important, it is just that beginners should get a feel for large muscle movement before trying to take on too much at once.
I would also extremely caution beginners from using too much strength or power. Learning new techniques requires you to have a relaxed approach and good fine muscle coordination. Power and strength should be integrated later when you have a better idea of the techqniue. This means to stay off trying to use the technique on a punching bag or wall. You can however use a mirror or shadow box.
Lastly for beginners ... PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, try not to learn 'new' techniques from the movies. Looking at fancy techniques done by Jean Claude or even expert martial artists may convey the wrong messages for beginners. Why not look at better players? For the main reason that if these experts aren't thinking of coaching you, they're themselves trying to 'deliver' a technique, and not concentrating on teaching you the particular factors that make the technique work. If all warfare is based on deception, such techniques should be 'masked' and such esoterism is hard to appreciate at the initial stages of martial arts.
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