i wasnt referring to TMA in the US. the documentary i saw displayed the TMA as it was meant to be practiced for generations with full and live contact, they hit with full force using no protective gear. there objective was not to "tap out" there enemy but it was to kill them as fast as possible using the least amount of movement. being that TMA was once relied upon to protect king/queens and villages from enemies i have no doubt that the original TMA is highly effective, it has been proven. in no way was i trying to stand up for todays StarBucks version of TMA. by all means it is crap. all i am saying is that the TMA of old Asia is highly effective compared to what has been diluted and is sold to us today. there is a huge difference. people either forget or dont realize that TMA in Asia long ago was necessary and was not used as a sport like MMA is today. the objective of real TMA was different than that of MMA. and im definitely not saying i can kick anyones ass, thats for sure, regardless if he practices crap TMA, original TMA or MMA.
The bad thing about old time TMAs is they haven't adapted to society, and modern day circumstances. Lets take Japanese Jiujitsu, the forerunner to most fighting arts from Japan like Karate, Judo, Aikido. It was an all emcompassing art that used both weaponry (Katana), to empty hands. The empty hands Jiujitsu was the last resort item when the samurai was thrown from his horse. The horse stance was developed to give the samurai a base of which to attack a riding attacker. Breaking of boards was used to get through your opponents armor once he was dehorsed. Most of these things don't exist in modern combat or self defense. In the streets, if a good boxer hits you with a cross/hook/uppercut combo, they will usually maim, possibly kill. First, no teeth, secondly bloody nose, third KO. Do you think the footwork of most TMAs (BTW, I was an instructor of a TMA previously) would work against a good boxer/wrestler. Trust me, I have attempted to use my Biu Jee eye jab/throat jab against a good boxer, and it pissed them off, and they rocked my world. All the gunting nerve destructions I learned proved worthless against a greco roman wrestler, once it hit the ground, the ne waza I learned from Judo was inadequate to deal with a BJJ man.
If you want total reality, try doing Dog Brother weapons fighting. Do a search on this group, they are the real deal. Weapons fighting as well as their brand of Kali Tudo no rules fighting. I have trained full contact with kamagong sticks, and it hurts, is effective, and will change your perception of weapons fighting. It will heighten your perception of speed, control your adrenal glands more effectively, plus teach you line familiarizaiton, timing, rythym, speed and power. Good stuff, and it is a TMA.
