Martial Arts Have Techniques But No Secrets or Techniques
“Here, the ‘martial arts’ in quotation marks do not simply refer to traditional martial arts, but also include all modern combat sports projects. Of course, it can be summarized as all sports projects, or even all things in real life! Starting with martial arts is mainly because fitness training comes into contact with this point. It may cause some bias towards martial arts or certain martial arts practitioners.
‘Masters’ seen online, or those traditional martial arts enthusiasts that I know in reality, all implicitly or explicitly express that a particular school of kung fu has secret techniques and unbeatable moves. There are countless claims online – ‘don’t use a master’s skill if it’s too high, basic combat routines don’t need to be used, and some even claim to know legendary techniques like ‘Kuei Pai Chi Gong’ or ‘Hoa Kiu Bao Dian’. People have gotten used to it. In contrast is those fighters who compete on the ring, they mostly only explain basic combat skills and techniques, and few people claim to have secret techniques or unbeatable moves!
The difference between the two is mainly due to the different environments and rules. Traditional martial arts have lost the opportunity to display themselves on the ring. This can be seen from national martial arts competitions – there is no real combat confrontation. If someone says that Sanda came from martial arts, everyone can see that Sanda and martial arts are not the same category!
Traditional martial arts cannot be demonstrated through the ring. How can they be promoted and developed? They can only rely on ‘culture’ to showcase their charm, meaning they need to ‘fight with words’ rather than ‘fight with fists’. They can only express themselves through claiming secret techniques and unbeatable moves, using gentler means. Recruiting apprentices and hiring actors are the best ways. Of course, I admit that some real combat techniques and theoretical principles are correct, but they are not secret techniques or unbeatable moves. This is what martial arts masters say – ‘no technique is better than technique’. Most traditional martial arts have forgotten the fundamental martial arts proverbs: ‘don’t be afraid of practicing a thousand techniques, just be afraid of being familiar with one technique’. Seeking teachers and traveling to learn secret techniques and unbeatable moves, after decades of practice, people may think they have mastered a skill, but when they meet professional combat athletes in the ring, they are often defeated!
Why don’t fighters who compete on the ring claim to have secret techniques and unbeatable moves? Based on my contact, I'm sure they spend most of their training on physical fitness and basic skills. Those ‘secret techniques and unbeatable moves’ are simply the most basic technique that suits the individual, developed to the fullest through constant practice and guidance. It’s worth noting that after Zhang Weili’s successful defense, ‘masters’ came out to explain what ‘secret techniques and unbeatable moves’ could help her defeat her opponent or defeat her easily. This is the best proof of the situation of traditional martial arts – they can’t prove themselves through fighting, they can only prove themselves through talking!
Some people will surely bring up ‘the past’ and bring out ‘unverifiable folk masters’. This has no significance for inheriting martial arts culture! History always moves forward – you can’t rely on the achievements of the past if you don’t dare to use them!
It’s not just ‘martial arts’, it’s the same for everyone who practices martial arts! The most important thing is to do a good job with basic skills. After constant practice and guidance, these seemingly simple techniques will reveal more and more small tricks. It’s the same principle: develop the basic skills that suit you to the fullest.
