February 26, 2010
Form and Function
Hunter B. Armstrong
[adapted from "Form and Function" in Hop-Lite, No. 8, Fall 1999]
"Form follows function" is a principle that pertains to all combative training whether pop sports "martial arts," such as MMA, karate-do, wrestling, and fencing to the use of sword or firearm on the battlefield. Using the form-function rule as part of our perspective, it should be pretty obvious when looking at the form of a "fighting" system what its true function is.
Most of what we now call "martial arts" are pop sport or recreational systems. In most cases they are derived from systems that originally were functionally aimed at real combat. However, over the last fifty years in particular the greatest interest in "martial arts" has been for sport/recreational use or entertainment. Their popularity and spread has been based almost entirely on their use to those non-combat ends.
Modern karate provides a good example of the changes that typically occur. Modern karate has evolved over the past hundred years from a complex of Okinawan village and town self-defense systems that originally were used for actual fighting, though primarily by civilians. In karate's evolution, it was adopted from its primary use as village/town civilian self defense system to inclusion in Japan's educational system in the 1920's. There it was melded into a program of physical education. After World War II, what remained of karate (now, with a distinct Japanese flavor) was heavily influenced by its physical education context: competition in kata and sparring. American military personnel in post-war Japan were exposed to the system, and introduced it to the U.S. market. With its expansion abroad, it was primarily the overt competition elements that were popularized.
In its relatively new guise as a competitive sport, karate's form altered to meet the demands of the new function. Consider the change in characteristics in form and function from the a village/town fighting art to a modern combat sport:
|
VILLAGE FIGHTING ART |
POP SPORT SYSTEM |
|
Form |
Function |
Form |
Function |
|
training outdoors on natural ground |
preparation for environment of real fighting |
training primarily on artificial floor of dojo |
competition on same type of surface |
|
variety of training methods: applications, strength conditioning, body hardening, makiwara, etc. |
preparation for demands of real fighting |
relatively limited training methods: form and sparring techniques |
preparation for competition |
|
stance/posture - relatively high |
balance and mobility on rough ground against multiple opponents |
stances/postures - lower more Adynamic@ looking |
aesthetic value for competition |
|
"one-step" restricted sparring only, but with no limitations in types of techniques (e.g., eye jabs, joint kicks, etc.) |
real fighting demands destructive techniques |
free sparring - limited techniques and targets |
safety in competition |
|
techniques aimed at structural damage |
defeating adversary in real fighting |
techniques aimed at general target areas |
competition victory - points |
|
no difference in techniques between kata and kumite |
combative outcome demands that only applicable techniques are practiced |
kumite and kata techniques are different |
kata competition - demands techniques that "look good;" kumite demands techniques that earn sparring points |
Again, the function for which a system evolves will alter the form of the system to suit that function. For example, on the sport side, if judges start giving more points for flashy kicking techniques, the system will alter to include such kicks. This is not a matter of good or bad fighting arts, it is simply a matter of changing functions forcing changes in the form.
The form of a system reveals the true function of the system. Unfortunately, people often believe that the system they're practicing is for one thing-typically combat-when the form of the system shows that it is primarily for sport. Variations of this theme can be seen in all of the popular "fighting" systems, whether they are Asian based systems or Western combat sports such as boxing, fencing, or "combat" handgun competitions.
The confusion and real problems occur when the two ends are confused - when people assume that a system that has evolved for one function will be equally suitable for another. Typical is the belief that a system that has evolved for sport or recreational purposes can function equally well in real combat. This occurs even though there are great and readily apparent differences in the techniques used for sport and combat.
Combat has intense and demanding characteristics that the form of any combat system must comply with if its function is to truly prepare for combat. That form is not going to be as aesthetically pleasing nor as sportingly functional as the forms of systems that have sport ends. If sport techniques are used in combat or combat techniques used in sport the consequences can easily lead to injury in the latter or death in the former.
Integrated Combative Systems, by its nature, is aimed at developing a systematic approach toward understanding as effectively as possible training the mindset for lethal combat. To that end, it is imperative that we recognize and clearly delineate the differences in combative behavior-and-performance between lethal combat systems and those whose functions are aimed at other ends.
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