Learning versus Training

(from Mr. Rich Hale's Facebook page April 14th, 2021)

In my opinion, many people are overly concerned with learning Kenpo (techniques, sets, and forms, etc.) and under-concerned with physical training. Techniques, sets, and forms are part of the equation, but only part. Equally important is getting in shape and staying in shape.

I often hear some older guys say things like, I may not be in the shape I was once, but all I need is about seven seconds to ruin somebody's day. I know they’re partially joking, because no one over sixty, will ever again be in the shape they were in at twenty. It's also true that some of these old guys can rain havoc down faster than most people can blink. On the other hand, there are a lot more trained fighters roaming the streets today than yesterday. When I first started in Kenpo, if you knew any amount of martial arts, you knew more than just about anyone you were likely to get into a fight with. Back then, a little bit of training went a long way. Today, if you get into a fight, it's far more likely that your opponent will have some training as well. They may not have as much as you, but they're far more likely to have something up their sleeve than not. This is where fitness comes into play. 

For self-defense, I don't think people have to be in shape to pound it out for three five-minute rounds, but they may need to go a single three-minute round. I know this sounds easy, but if you haven't done it for a while, start the clock and put everything you have into a heavy bag for three minutes. The average person’s punching power drops significantly after only thirty seconds. Add in some heavy kicks and most people gas out completely in about a minute.

Aside from being in good enough shape to outlast an opponent, whatever happened to the martial arts being a way to get in shape AND TO STAY IN SHAPE. Forty years ago, angry young men, drinking heavily in bars were my opponents. Today, a slower metabolism, longer recuperative periods, and the overall effects of aging are my opponents. Back then I didn't so much need to get in shape, because I was in my twenties and just being in my twenties meant I was in pretty good shape. What I needed then was to learn karate. Today, after studying karate for fifty years, I know so much karate it's coming out my ears. What I need now is to be in good enough shape to perform it. 

We can look at learning versus training like a scale we're trying to keep in balance. Too much learning with too little training and the scale drops to one side.  Too little learning and too much training and the scale drops to the other side. Now if this was all there was to it, all we would have to do is come up with the proper proportions of learning and training to balance the scale and we'd be set. Only life doesn't work that way. We can't just learn something once and keep it in our memory forever. Neither can we train our bodies to where we want them and stop training.  So now let's look at our scales as having varying size holes in the treys, where we're placing our learning and our training. As we learn, the knowledge is continually leaking out the hole in its tray and as we train, the fitness is continually leaking out the hole in its tray. Our job, if we're going to keep things in balance, is to add more learning "when learning is needed" and to add more training "when training is needed". I believe many martial artists, including myself, are out of balance.

There was a time when my image of a high-ranking Kenpoist was that of a strong and powerful person, who had great knowledge, power, precision, and control. Today my image of a high-ranking Kenpoist leans more towards a heavyset guy who can't even see his toes, let alone touch them.  In 2014, Master Ken, the ever-popular YouTube martial arts comedian, was the comic-relief entertainment at the Master's Hall of Fame event in Long Beach, CA. His comedic speech focused on various martial arts, teasing them about well know aspects of their art. For example, he said "Muay Thai guys are always kicking banana plants and cracking coconuts. So, what do these guys have against fruits and vegetables anyway?"  Okay, it was funnier in person.  So he gets to Kenpo and he says, "So what is it with this mandatory weight gain between every rank in American Kenpo?"  Well, the room burst into laughter . . . all except for a bunch of overweight Kenpo guys saying stuff like, "Who does this guy think he is!"

Ladies and gentlemen of American Kenpo - this is becoming our reputation. Not that Kenpo is the only art to have overweight and unhealthy practitioners, every art has its share . . . but we must admit, our share is disproportionately large and getting larger.

If you read this far, without hanging up on me, good for you, so now I'll say, of course, there are genetic factors and other reasons people gain weight. That and being large doesn't automatically mean you're not a great martial artist. I know big guys that are faster and more flexible than I am. I don't mean to degrade anyone. But, on the other hand, if you're simply lazy and like eating more than life itself . . .