There are several types of martial arts, which has led to some misconceptions about these combat practices. Some of those myths about Martial arts are –
1. West has no martial arts of its own
West has a rich tradition of fighting techniques.The first master of European martial arts was the German Johannes Liechtenauer. He taught in the 14th century and many of the fencing manuals that date from that time are said to be derived from his technique.
And that’s the biggest difference between European martial arts and Eastern Martial arts- While eastern martial arts lays emphasis on unarmed combat, techniques developed in Germany \ France depended on weapons. When those weapons became obsolete, there was little point in knowing how to use them in self defense.
While Shaolin Martial arts dealt with hitting people with long sticks, – which critics at that time thought it rudimentary but effective and easy to teach- European Martial arts were a bit more sophisticated. The range of weapons taught were particularly broad.
One of the reasons why popularity of European martial arts waned was the motivation for learning fighting skills. China and Japan both suffered from a great deal of banditry , so there was a demand among villagers and monks to learn how to defend themselves from attack. In Europe though, one of the main reasons people wanted to learn to fight well was to survive a duel. Trial by combat was a legal process in Germany to settle any disputes between two parties.
But none of that means that Europe didn’t have its own unarmed combat. The most famous one is France’s savate ( meaning “old shoe”) , a type of kickboxing.
2.Martial arts is all about spirituality
There’s no question that spirituality is an important aspect of many martial arts, but not all of them have spiritual benefits . Krav maga has no spiritual side at all, it is concerned solely with self defense. Mixed martial arts too is about beating up the opponent, even if it is done in a ring or cage. Boxing, kickboxing and wrestling are also athletic martial arts whose only spiritual benefits are the discipline of training, and overcoming challenges- both physical and mental.
Much has been said about spiritual side of martial arts, and it’s something that has been caricatured in Hollywood movies and Chinese martial arts films too.Part of that may be a result of the popularity of Shaolin martial arts. If Kung Fu developed in a monastery, then its masters have access to the supernatural secrets that only be revealed through proper martial arts training. (Dragon Scroll)
3.True Martial arts is always unarmed
To say that true martial arts is always unarmed is completely wrong, no matter how many movies convince us of this. In fact, martial arts from Europe to Far East have a long history of using weapons that range from knives and daggers to chain and darts
Indian Martial arts Kalarippayatu– one of the oldest taught martial arts form- include a variety of swords, sticks and daggers, and is best known for its use of swords and shields. Shaolin martial arts has “18 Arms of Wushu”, which includes different types of weapons, the most important being staff.It was used largely since it was available anywhere and was easy to use.
4. It takes years of Martial Art training before you defend yourself
Some martial arts classes might start slowly, others though can get down right into plenty of useful moves that students can start practicing right away. Every school is different, and every teacher plans his curriculum in his own way. But there are just a few that that take years to pass on the knowledge that would be effective in a fight.Even courses that begin by teaching defensive moves soon start teach offensive ones as well. They might be simple, but are quite effective against someone who knows nothing about martial arts.
That doesn’t mean anyone can be an expert. It takes years of training and practice to become an expert at martial arts, and to fight against someone who holds the same degree of knowledge. But it’s not vital to channel your qi or karate chop bricks or remember all the important strike points in the human body to defend yourself against some drunk in a bar. Just two or three moves that an average person doesn’t know and can’t defend against.
5. Girls can’t and shouldn’t do martial arts
Its not only false to say girls can’t do martial arts, but also wrong to say they shouldn’t, or they are not as capable as boys.Experienced instructors who have trained both boys and girls often find that girls are actually better , at least until puberty, after that boys start taking martial arts seriously.
And often, girls have an advantage when it comes to martial arts training. While strength might be important, flexibility, reflexes and endurance are even more important in many martial arts form like Tai Chi and Tae Kwon Do. In these art forms, control balance and precision are far more vital than power.