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.

What You Can Learn From Ukemi

Learning any martial art is a very complicated affair. There is the conditioning of the body to withstand the rigors of the training, the education of the muscles in the body to move and react in a very specific and different manner to each and every attack or technique and, just as importantly, the education of the mind to internalize these mechanical movements of the body and to react instantaneously in a very intricate and prescribed manner to any stimulus or perceived threat. And then of course, there is the ukemi.

Of his many contributions to the martial arts Jigoro Kano’s development and use of ukemi in the martial arts is certainly one of his finest. Before Kano, the learning and practice of most classical jujutsu styles was quite dangerous with few safeguards for the practitioners. Techniques and throws were applied without regard for the safety of the person (uke) receiving the throw. Each person being thrown had to devise his own way of falling and protecting himself. This led to many injuries and slowed down the process of learning. Certainly if you were injured you could not learn or practice and if, during practice, you needed to constantly think about how not to be injured, your focus and attention was diverted from what you were trying to learn. This all changed because of Kano’s systematic approach to falling (ukemi).

The overall conditioning of the body that occurs a result of the constant practice of ukemi contributes to an increased sense of confidence and stability in the learning process. As it increases the speed of learning, ukemi also allows the practitioner to focus exclusively on what they are learning and practicing.

The learning processes of judo, jujutsu, aikido, and karate, are all tactile in nature, in that the practitioners needs to “feel” the technique, to feel their center of balance being disturbed, to feel the pain of atemi, and to feel how their body and that of their attacker responds to the changes of movement, angles, direction and balance which occur during the execution of a technique or from the defense of that technique. The ability to create pain, and or a lose of balance, and the subsequent lock(kansetsuwaza) or throw (nagewaza) which results is only accomplished through the “feeling” of both the technique and the results those actions. Proper ukemi allows the practitioners to feel whether a technique would be or is effective in a safe and spontaneous environment.

The ability to learn how and where to reposition your body and that or your opponent or attacker while being attacked is in direction proportion to the sophistication of your ukemi. As we are all uke and tori at one time or another, an understanding of your position in relative space and that of your attacker, and your ability to manipulate those positions(tai sabaki), distance (ma-ai) and balance (kuzushi) require split second adjustments, only possible with the mindless freedom good ukemi brings. There is in every technique, a subtlety of movement which creates a defense from every attack and an attack in each defense. While everything in the martial arts takes time to learn and instinctively feel, the mastering of ukemi eliminates several of the obstacles, both injury and fear, to that process.

The goal of every martial artist is to find for each movement or technique, that moment in time, when position(tai sabaki) and distance(ma-ai), balance (kuzushi), unbalance, and execution (kake) meld together into an effortless and unthinking combination which dominates and defeats their opponent or attacker. It is through the safety of proper ukemi, and the confidence and stability it brings to the practitioner, that the mind and the body are free to discover that moment in time.

The Nature of Kata

In the 11th century, Shinra Saburo Minamoto no Yoshimitsu, a samurai commander and relative to the emperor of Japan made detailed studies of human anatomy and physiology by the dissection of battlefield dead, convicts and prisoners of war. The purpose, of course, was to gain a better understanding of the mechanics of movement and the ways to which any weaknesses in the bodies anatomy or physiology could be exploited on the battlefield. To take advantage of this new found information and to be able to test theories of movement, new techniques and the best way to apply them, the samurai developed prearranged forms, or kata, which allowed them to practice, using a wide array of weapons, without being seriously wounded or killed.

Each Samurai family (clan) developed kata to teach their particular style (ryu) of weaponry. These family movements and techniques were protected and kept as secrets, taught only to those within the clan. The theory being that if someone had never seen your particular movements, attacks, counters or techniques they would be at a loss or disadvantage in defending themselves from them. Thus, the original purpose of kata was to teach men how to kill, and how to become skilled enough not to be killed. Kata was designed to demonstrate how to attack, where to attack, and when to attack. It teaches how to protect your self from an attack and how to counter an attack. As both sides (uke and tori )know and eventually understand both the attack and its defense, kata provides an invaluable teaching tool and the foundation of all martial arts. The design and practice of kata will protect and forgive the mistakes of both the attacker and defender. As each side practices both attack and defense, they learn the strengths and weaknesses of each technique, as well as each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Because kata allows an individual to practice the same movement or technique multiple times with people of all ages, sizes and weights, kata gives the practitioner the ability to experience how those different variables influence both the attack and their own ability to respond to those differences.

Kata is taught though a series of instructions divided by levels of both experience and knowledge. The relationship between student and teacher (sensei), between those who are more advanced and those who have just begun, builds both respect and humility. By teaching the simpler and less complex movements first, kata slowly conditions and changes the way its practitioners move and think. In this method of training, where each new technique or movement is built upon the accumulated knowledge and skills of the previous technique, kata builds concentration and focus. Over time the reflexes and understanding of movement needed to complete each technique is developed. Through this constant repetition of movement, kata builds confidence and the calmness which allows the practitioner to attack or respond to any attack without thought or reflection, without hesitation or fear, with focus and determination.

Through kata we learn the essence of each technique, we refine our own movements, and learn how to apply the principles of distance(ma-ai), balance(kuzushi) and body position(tai sabaki) to our own techniques. It is only through constant practice and attention that our bodies learn and internalize the many different variables that come into play each time we are confronted or attacked and how to respond to them.

The Nature of Kuzushi

For most of us balance is not an issue. We wake up in the morning, role out of bed, put our feet on the floor, lift our bodies up and begin to walk. If we are healthy and our inner ear is functioning properly, our bodies internal gyroscope finds our center of gravity which gives us our sense of balance, our muscles and limbs find their coordination and strength and we proceed to move and walk an continue with our daily activities.

While we take our sense of balance for granted, our bodily immediately knows and feels when it is out of balance and in danger of falling. It tries to transmit this information to us almost simultaneously and if successful, we are able to reorient ourselves, compensate and take some preventive measures, like taking an extra step or grabbing on to something or some one, before we actually fall. Our ability to stand erect and remain balanced is one of the true gifts of our anthropological evolution. There is however a moment, a second, when we, or our bodies are not really sure if we can compensate, if there is enough time to compensate or how to compensate for being unbalanced. It is that moment, when the body is unsure of what to do, when it is vulnerable, that we wish to exploit.

When we stand and walk naturally we are centered and in balance. Our bodies maintain this balance through a complicated series of communications between our eyes, ears, limbs, and brain. If the interplay between the organs is interrupted for even a moment the brain must relay this information back to our muscle and skeletal system in order for it to make the necessary adjustments, lest we loose our balance and fall.

To attack or be attacked requires the body to make multiple adjustments to this, both delicate and sophisticated system, in order to maintain our strength, center of gravity and balance. The breaking of our opponents or attackers center and thus his balance while maintaining our own is the essence of kuzushi. The act of breaking an opponents balance, their equilibrium, to take or replace their center of gravity, negates their strength while enhancing our own and renders their movement or attack futile.

The body is quite sensitive to this feeling of unbalance and will react swiftly to rectify itself, so any attempt to unbalance must be done swiftly and without notice. When we are pushed or grabbed our first instinct is to push and grab back. In many instances these reactions give our attackers bodies the information they need to readjust their center of gravity, their balance and remain strong. When we are punched, or attacked with a weapon, the way in which we try to block or try to stop the attack, telegraphs the same information and is counter productive to our defense.

The creation of unbalance and lose of center must be subtle and imperceptible to the attacker. Any attempt at readjustment once the movement begins must create pain and further unbalance and negate or absorb the attackers momentum. The movement should be over before it begins. The Kuzushi of an attacker can be felt by degrees within a circle or inches on the floor. To disrupt it requires an understanding of both motion and movement, what creates weakness and what creates strength, how to create an undisturbed line of force, position and posture which will allow you to counter balance an attack and apply your desired technique.