Common Myths Relating to the Martial Arts – Alexandria Experts Speak

When you’re talking to local people about martial arts, Alexandria (an excellent place to learn any of the many disciplines) and its surrounding areas seem to be awash with myths and misconceptions. In this brief article we will identify a few of them and try to straighten things out a little.

Bruce Lee was an expert in all disciplines

Although Bruce Lee was unusual in achieving virtual legendary status during his own lifetime, it is still extremely unlikely that he would have made any claim such as that above. Lee was a master practitioner of a number of different individual styles and synthesized those into a new, much more fluid and adaptable philosophy that he called "Jeet Kune Do". However, there are other styles where he would have had little or no practical experience.

The Japanese invented it

Many different societies at many different times in the past have developed their own individual disciplines. Japan has certainly made a huge contribution to the codification of some forms; however, some that are practiced around the world today had their origin in other countries such as China. Even some that were developed in Japan were then subject to significant change as they migrated around the world, principally during the 19th and early 20th centuries. One such example is Jiu Jitsu, which underwent significant transformation after its arrival in Brazil to such an extent that there is a separate discipline now known as "Brazilian Jiu Jitsu".

It's about using aggression

In fact, most styles are principally about mastering your own spirit, mind and body. Over the centuries, some have placed great emphasis on the potential use of such skills for self-defense. But, even there, master practitioners will typically stress the need for the use of physical intervention only as a matter of absolute last resort, when other techniques to avoid the problem have been exhausted or are simply impossible to apply.As with any martial arts, Alexandria schools consider aggression to be highly undesirable, as it implies a lack of self-control.

It makes weapons useless

This is one of the most commonplace myths, and potentially one of the most worrying.If you are a novice, it is important not to confuse the highly stylized and sometimes mythological fiction portrayed in the movies and on TV with the real world. In fact, there are certain styles that concentrate on mastering the use of weapons.

Mastering self-defense using these arts will significantly improve your chances of successfully dealing with some forms of attack with a weapon, but that is a long way from saying that practitioners don’t need to worry about the dangers that weapons represent.

If you are looking for information on the martial arts, Alexandria and the surrounding areas are very fortunate to have some fully qualified experts who will give you the facts as opposed to the myths.

If you’re looking to learn a discipline, Pat Tray is chief instructor at the Trident Academy of Mixed Martial Arts, the premier training and instruction centre in the region. For martial arts, Alexandria is an ideal place to learn Jeet Kune Do, Filipino Martial Arts, Combat Submission Wrestling, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Study at Trident with the best instructors from across the NOVA and DC area.

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