Good technique in martial arts

I usually don’t like to talk about my style and technique in martial arts, but suffice to say that I’m an infighter, a striker, and a very aggressive puncher with a tight defense. This might give you an idea of how I might behave if I am invited to a spar. However, I have three very general tips that not only will not reveal too much of what I think about martial arts, but are universally important to all fighters (in my humble opinion).

1. Perfect your jab. Developed in ancient Sumer, Egypt, India and Greece, there is no more important attack in the fighter’s arsenal than the scientific jab. One can never over-emphasize this for any martial art. Jabs are the fastest, least risky, and most frequent punches you can throw. They set up your combos and because of their speed and frequency, they make a deadly offensive weapon. This offense is also the crux of the defensive side of the jab, which is: the stop-hit, the counter-counter, and the drop-shift. The jab is often separated from the so-called ‘power punches’: cross, hook, and uppercut, and some people believe that this is because the jab is the ‘weak’ punch. To me, this separation means that the jab is in a class of its own.

2. Be open to different methods and techniques of training. One can learn from everything – gym training, other martial arts, even other sports like volleyball, badminton, or swimming. Of course, one should stay definitively with one style so one does not become subconsciously confused. But different martial arts have many things in common with each other, and good teachers will always emphasize live, expressive, open-minded training. If you feel that a certain sport can help you with your reflexes, go for it! If you think swimming will help you develop your endurance, go swimming in the name of martial arts. The possibilities are endless. Martial arts should not be sought obsessively in themselves. This leads me to my final suggestion:

3. Fight for Lord Buddha, God, or the alien overlords, but never for yourself. This sounds very silly, and perhaps you might think it has nothing to do with fighting, but to me, it has everything to do with fighting. This ties in to my belief about the relationship between martial arts and philosophy. Even when I spar (which is generally very cooperative and never has any ill will to it), I am hoping to grow stronger for the Buddha. Perhaps my aggressive striking style is a psychological outcome of my own very devotional approach to my religion (because let’s face it, no one is perfect, even in the things they think they are good at – in my case, infighting). Whenever I practice, whenever I spar, whenever I train, I offer it all up to the Buddha, because my body and my strength and my devotion is all I can return to the Teacher of Gods and Men, whose Gift of the Dharma is infinitely greater than this young body of mine.

I believe that the fighter who fights for a higher cause is not only a stronger fighter, but a more worthy fighter.