The Science Behind The Martial Arts

It has always been mans curiosity to explore the functions and structure of his own body. While the English words anatomy and physiology have their origin in the Greek language ,where the study of these sciences began in the 4th century BCE, work in both anatomy and physiology began in Egypt as long ago as 1600BCE. China and India have similiar traditions that date back to 2000BCE. Japan’s introduction into these sciences came from China in the 7th century. All of these countries have a long history of both armed and unarmed combat and their knowledge of both anatomy and physiology influenced they way they fought and the fighting techniques that they developed.

While every technique may have hundreds of variations, the laws of science and the human body limit the ways these techniques can be applied without injury. This knowledge of both anatomy and physiology, the understanding of how the body could and could not move, how joints function, the nature and placement of the major and minor organs and the strengths and weaknesses of the different muscle groups in the body all contributed to the development of more effective and lethal ways of both armed and unarmed combat.

In Japan, with the development of Sumo, this understanding of how the body works and moves, led to the creation of techniques that attacked specific parts of the body. Without an understanding of how joints function, both kansetsuwaza and Kote gaeshi become useless and ineffective. There would be no effective sword technique without an understanding of how the major muscles groups in the legs, hips and shoulders contribute to the coordinated movement of the body and without this understanding there is no understanding of balance and throwing technique.

Conversely, the greater your understanding of these sciences and their application to the martial arts, the easier it is to defend from any attack. Knowing the most effective way of applying a technique makes it more difficult to have that technique applied to you. The mechanics of the martial arts, what position to be in, where your body is in relation to that of your attacker, at what angle the technique should be applied and how to protect yourself from a second attack are all questions which relate back to an understanding of anatomy and physiology. Movement and the application or defense of a technique, are only effective when applied to a specific part of the body to elicit a specific result. The same is true for effective blocking techniques and the application of atemi. As the same technique or attack will vary depending on the height, weight, age, strength, sex and the experience of the attacker, so should the response. Subtle changes in movement and style of an attack, based on these variables, require subtle changes in the center of gravity,balance (kuzushi), position (tae sabaki), distance(maai), and angle of the response.

In truth, all martial arts systems are built around the strengths and weaknesses of the human anatomy and physiology. They are built around one individual’s ability to manipulate and capitalize on the weaknesses and errors of another individual. It is these sciences that form the basis for the study of human motion ,an understanding of which is essential for all students of the martial arts.