Mr. Tom Bleeker on the value of studying the forms

(from a discussion on Facebook regarding if studying the forms is a waste of time instead of just learning how to fight)

I recall the words of Mike Pick, who said that if all you want to do is learn how to fight and be tough, you don't have to spend years studying the martial arts. All you have to do is walk up to the toughest guy in your neighborhood and spit in his face. And when you're mended, go back and do that again. And you'll get tough in a big hurry. Moreover, Ed Parker once pointed out that there are two aspects of the martial arts - the martial side and the art side - and that the person who doesn't understand the art will never understand the martial. In my experience, the best martial artists have been those who are well-rounded and are equally adept in both the martial and the art; prime examples being Ed Parker and Frank Trejo. I've often stated that if all I wanted was to be tough, I've wasted a lot of time studying the martial arts, given the few physical encounters I've had over the past nearly six decades. Imagine how good my golf or tennis games would be had I spent all those thousands of hours I spent on the mats on the golf links or tennis courts.