WHY are so many students so oblivious?

Question

I just think that if you are willing to learn why not be honest with yourself and students and really know where your style may fall short and suppliment it with another?
everyone should cross train... its a free country still right?
why wouldnt you want to perfect yourself?

Answer 1

a single path can never take you all the way to your destination.
I somewhat agree with the asker here. an instructor should not make out that the art/style you are learning is the start and finish of your journey.

nothing is complete.

I also agree that many people fall for the hype and stay still within a system far too long, and the learning stops, and we just go through the motions safe in our knowledge that we are 'good at this'.

cross training is good, but contrary to what people here say, not everyone realizes the benefits of a different perspective.

it doesnt have to involve having 2 different training places a week. but can be supplemented throughout your life. here and there. if you have been with one for a few years, a 6-12 month hiatus wont corrupt your current knowledge. even a small time with another philosophy can rejuvenate the mind and give fresh perspective. I would have 6 months to a year off when I neared the 5 yr mark, and used this time to shop around to see what I could find, then moved into something else. my longest interim was 3 years. that didnt kill me, I still trained at home when I could, just not officially. so cross training wont kill you. the mind never sleeps, and you know when it is time to reinvent yourself anew.

we all need up-skilling, no matter the profession or skill.

repetition through a single method can create perfection, but at the cost of growth. people here can condemn cross training as the reason some people are only half @ssed, but it is the person. the key is to be good at something and great at another. at the end of the day, you will be better than being just with one. not a lame person with a bit of this and a bit of that, for as we train fully, we grow, regardless of the time frame.

I recommend people try it. there is no guilt associated with trying another way. you have not committed adultery. you have not betrayed your instructors.

I understand some people like what they have.
but I am thankful I had time out to reflect, and got fresh perspective from the new. and its true that the more you know, the more you realized you didnt know.

Answer 2

It's because their instructor brainwashed them. Think about this, if deep inside, you know you can't fight your way through a wet paper bag and you run a gym. Would you really want your students to go train under other coach who may not role play with them? What if you do let them and few months later none of your top students can come close to beat the student who train at other gym? What will you say if all of your students ask "why doesn't my chi bolt stop him/her from sweep me?" or "why do I keep get hit eventhough I do exactly as I learn in kata?"? You surely wouldn't want to admit you suck at martial arts in front of whole class and lose your income/students.

So many instructors brainwash their students into believe their martial arts is perfect and everything else is wrong.

"Xin Yao" a member here is perfect example. You can see what I mean by go there: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AiSDTyUawOUlv7qpRpaYztjsy6IX?qid=20070127221801AAB6aF3

beside that keep in mind many people hate losing, being wrong, etc... So why would they want to leave their small world and put their ego on line against the ocean? It's easier to stay in small gym and pretend you're the best than go out and put your skill to test.

On other hand some good gym doesn't let certain students to crosstrain for a real reason. When I was doing boxing, my boxing coach won't let me do Muay Thai because I keep go back to being very passive fighter and use akward stance and technique. I can see why some competition coach won't allows their students to cross train. That's very rare nowaday though unless you're training for something like olympic.

Eventhough those guys doesn't crosstrain, they're still very effective fighter against most people because they live and breath what they do.

Hope this answer your question.

Answer 3

Closest response i saw to my own beliefs was yupagee.

You have to understand also that some people don't believe that their style is falling short, not everyone wants to step into an octagon. Personally i believe that although mma has brought more attention to martial arts, it has been the wrong kind in many cases. I an a judoka, i do cross train, i have been training for quite a few years in boxing and kickboxing, i did train in a mma club for about two years but stopped going because i am pretty sure that what they were teaching is not what i want out of martial arts, quite often skill is diluted when placed in mma clubs, with no pure base to work off of and add to it can fall apart quite easily.
Another thing is that you have to define perfection, really, a martial art that is perfect would encorporate every type of fighting there is, but in order for it to be truly martial it would have to be geared towards combat, not the sport you see on television. I have been training in combative martial arts for three years now and know the difference between this and the sports that is spread all accross the world. For my purposes i prefer the sport of judo, for there is great skill and technique involved. While judo is not aimed at injuring an opponent some techniques could easily be modified and manipulated in times of self defence to do just that.
So yes, being perfect is all a state of mind, sure i am capable of truly hurting and killing people with my bare hands, i am proud of the fact that i can play a game of skill and am in it for the competition, not merely to beat the shi t out of someone. Go find what you want, why care about what other people do with thier lives? Don't we live in free countries?

Answer 4

basically what everyone else said but I would just like to add that it also depends on your goal.

If you are a boxer, training to fight pro- why waste your time filling in "gaps" when your goal is to excell as a boxer and make money.

While it is obviously more restricive a ruleset than MMA, the money is not there and the simple truth is that you get paid more for the more popular sport.

However I agree with pretty much the idea that everyone else said about "being deluded by instructors, themselves, the jehovas witlesses" whatever that they don't need anything else.

Some instructors do teach multiple arts, but this is primarily referring to TMA systems that are not complete.

also if your goal is really to "protect yourself" then a weapon art is more efficient and better for that purpose than any unarmed MA could ever be.

Answer 5

I semi agree with you, but at the same time its not entirely possible.

First of all, i think getting a blackbelt in any art, or some equivalent standard, means absolutely nothing....well in terms of fighting. Means more in other ways.

You are probably a lot better off than you were 5 or 6 years ago, but still most likely nothing amazing. You know your basic punches, your front kick and side, some blocks, probably arne't going to do more than that.

For the sake of just self defense, there might not be a need to know more than one art. Of course its better to know striking and grappling. I think its more important to focus on one type and be really good at it. Rather than doing basics in striking and basics and grappling. After you are adequate at striking or grappling, then you can start to dabble in the other type. As long as you keep up with your first type.

This is where i find the problem to be. Most people do'nt have time. Already with just one art, you are probably spending a few hours multiple times a week in class, then even more time on your own. Trying to do 2 at once, i'd see to be really hard to do. You could work hard at one for 10 years or so and then start another opposing style....but its not like riding a bike, you can't pick up where you left off.

For competition, its almost necessary to be more well rounded. But if you look at these MMA guys, its their job. Matt Hughes for instance ( who i dislike greatly).... they did a mini thing on his daily life. He wakes up, eats, trains, takes a nap, eats, trains, goes to bed. He doesn't go into the office or works at the local gas station....
The average person trains after work or school and has to balance other personal things into that.

I'd also think that most styles teach a little bit of everything, but then put their focus on grapple or striking.

Answer 6

your a genius arn't you?don't you think most martial artists have cross trained at some time or another.
A good well rounded style would be freestyle Karate.You will learn stand up,ground,grappling and weapons.What a lot of people don't understand is that freestyle Karate is about practical street defence not who can kick the highest or punch a pad the hardest.It's definitely not a sport martial art like TKD or BJJ.The motto of my style is the best of everything in progression.Basically that means we don't care where the technique comes from we improve it and integrate it into our style while still maintaining tradition as do most freestyle Karate's.
The hardest thing is finding a good experienced instructor.I would recommend Bushi Kai or Zen Do Kai, but if your not in Australia or New Zealand you may have some difficulty finding some one who teaches these styles.These styles also usually have separate classes available to everyone in Muay Thai and BJJ/Submission/Shoot wrestling.If you can't find one of these i would suggest Kempo or Enshin or another freestyle Karate.

Answer 7

I believe in cross training too.
I feel my system is mostly complete but I have worked out with grapplers just because if i get taken down I want to know I have trained for the situation.
But let me play devils advocate.
Is your time better spent specializing in your own style? Or is time better spent spreading across several styles?
The world may never know.....

Answer 8

Many do many don't. People have different reasons for studying MA. Those who are mostly interested in the spiritual part don't see the need to learn other styles. Those who want to compete in MMA do. In general, it is better to know a few things really well rather than a lot of things half-a$$ed.

Answer 9

If it's a free country still... why do you insist that everyone cross train? And if it's a free country still, why WOULD everyone want to perfect themselves? Some of us like to exercise our perogative to be out of shape slobs... beer drinking morons... If it's a free country still... it's our right... RIGHT??

Answer 10

true true... some times i look at my self and go.. "wth was that!! that was soooooo un realistic... u woulda got stabbed... do that again..... right"