There are three goals that I feel all coaches of martial arts should strive for in teaching there students, and these goals are often best realized in NHB; they are 1] the promotion and coaching of Functional, reality based martial arts training; 2] to confront and overcome one's ego (Our inner demons) and lastly 3] to find out who we really are as human beings.

There are three goals that I feel all coaches of martial arts should strive for in teaching there students, and these goals are often best realized in NHB; they are 1] the promotion and coaching of Functional, reality based martial arts training; 2] to confront and overcome one’s ego (Our inner demons) and lastly 3] to find out who we really are as human beings.

Coaching FUNCTIONALISM
By far one of the most immediate things that I notice when visiting martial art schools form around the world is their lack of FUNCTIONALISM. My definition of Functionalism is the ability to apply what has been learnt against a resisting opponent. However it seems there is great confusion or either lack of will on the correct application of Functionalism. Lets review a few examples of what I term window shopping- functionalism (In other words, that which an instructor tells he’s unwitting and often ill informed students that what they are learning is functional). Forms are a good example - in loose terms prearranged sets of movements with hidden application, that once uncovered will enable you to utilize it’s hidden secrets to defeat an opponent (If you don’t know what a form or Kata is, well aren’t you lucky). Lets look at this, you study a form that you use against an imaginary opponent who is not resisting (i.e.; fighting back), you are drilled over and over on minor technical details of each movement that you can do anyway, without the pressure of someone actually trying to knock you out. Let’s use another analogy, you are training to be a world class basketball player, every morning you get up go outside and pretend to dribble the ball, pretend to shoot hoops, while never actually playing against a resisting opponent who attempts to stop your every move. But hey anyway you could beat Michael Jordan anytime of the week…correct? I think you know better. It’s ironic that martial artists can actually get away without actually ’playing the game’, or can they? I guess until they are confronted for real in some alleyway then all truths will be realized (Maybe just a little bit too late).

Okay, okay, here is the next argument, "But after we have learnt the form, we are taught the application and we have partners that simulate the attack so we can apply what we have learnt". The term for this is one and three step sparring, lets look at this, first off anyone can defend against something if they know what is coming. I suppose that is exactly the point everything is still prearranged and dead, not to say the least. I have learnt how to dribble and shoot with my imaginary ball and now I am going to get myself a partner to help me practice what I have learnt. I will tell him step by step what he must do (So there are no surprises). Seen that I have told him what to do (And not to mention the fact that I know what he is going to do), how can I actually loose? I can still beat Michael Jordan any day of the week! You know better, right?

Well the thing is people don’t actually know and guess what that is exactly what most instructors are counting on, you not knowing. It’s easy for them to fool you, lure you into a false sense of confidence, tell you what you want to hear and not what you need to know and of course take all your money to the bank. I used two simple examples above, simply because most people who have been in the martial arts will know what I am talking about. There is however allot more to be said and one can easily see how all the other things like rituals, titles and hierarchy will fit so nicely into a package like the examples above. Before you know it you will have that black belt, everyone will be bowing down to you and guess what you have never actually played the game (Which means to test what you have learnt against a resisting opponent, who does not tell you what he is going to do, who will if you make a mistake knock you out or break some bones). That does not really matter because in you safe world where no body resists, no body talks back or asks questions; in this world you are the King.

What is so beautiful about NHB coaches is that they all coach two main concepts aliveness and performance (This is by far the most important aspects of training that all coaches should concentrate on). Simply defined Aliveness is to train against a resisting opponent and performance is the enhancement of that aliveness (Am I actually getting better every day).At my gym we play the game, which for use means to train against a resisting opponent (Sparring) be it standing-up, in the clinch or on the ground. No one takes for granted what he or she has learnt and we all (Including all the staff) justify our own existence, by applying what we do through alive training. Therefore we cannot fool ourselves about our performance and we know what we need to work on in order to improve that performance. As coaches that is our responsibility to improve each one of our athlete’s performance. Therefore we concentrate on future possibilities instead of past mistakes.

Lets look at a quick definition of sparring. Again there are many schools pretending to be doing sparring. The example of one and three step sparring is one; semi contact (Or tag sparring) is another. In all of these cases no one really gets the opportunity to feel real pressure or danger. Without this, although admirable that at least they are actually trying to apply what they have learnt, it still will not prepare anyone for the real thing. At my gym we introduce everyone to sparring as soon as they are ready (Take not the statement "When they are ready". We never force people to do sparring; we know that if they stick at it long enough they will want to test their skill. So we wait until they approach us). We progressively step up the pace until they are going full out. In the gym we call this Vale Tudo or Free fighting (Which means that you can fight either standing-up, in the clinch or on the ground) If you have ever witnessed a no-holds-barred event like the Ultimate Fighting Championships or pride in Japan then you know what we are talking about. If not then we suggest you find out quickly because for us that is real martial arts as it was intended to be. The great thing is that once an athlete in our gym gets to this stage of all out sparring he is well conditioned physically and mentally prepared for what lies ahead. Due to this we pride ourselves on our record of no serious injuries other than some bumps and bruises (Which anyway makes you feel alive). We have in essence brought Vale Tudo into the mainstream for everyone to benefit from, without actually going out to compete in competitions, although there is always that avenue for some. Sytistically 95% of the people who train with us just train with us to have fun (And it is fun when you actually know what you can do for real), get fit and learn how to defend themselves. Living in Africa and been in constant threat of violence, we have had many success stories of our Athletes not only defending themselves and there loved ones but actually surviving, after all that is more important than anything else -self preservation!

Egolessness and confronting our inner demons
I have been coaching the martial arts for many years and through those years the one recurring theme that seems to stand in the way of a students performance progress is their ego. You would think that often it might be a case of no talent, "I just can’t do it" mentality. The wonderful thing is that I have never met or trained a person who could not make it. The thing is that unless one can overcome their own ego, they will never make it if they are talented or not. On many occasions we have had tough guys come into our gym (You know the type who has never lost a fight, grown enormous muscles, but of course its natural) and gets on the mat only to be beaten in seconds by a person on which any other day he would refer to as a "wimp". As usual in the cases they never return. Hence the ego. One of my favourite examples of all time happened in 1999. To make a long story short one of my students had a conversation on the phone with a person, which at that time he thought would like to train with us. It turns out that this individual was a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu. Their conversation proceeded to go something like this, "I am a black belt and I have my own school, why should I train with you or your instructor, why don’t you come down to my school and I am sure we can show you a few things!" Well my student told me about his conversation with this instructor and asked for my advice. I told him to go down to this persons school, after all he had been invited, but he must take some other guys with him and some witnesses. I told him also to not do the class but just get on the mat when they started wrestling. They went to he’s school got on the mat with him, and made him tap time after time every few seconds in front of all he’s students. What else can you say, well he did and the very next day told everyone that he just let them come into he’s school and beat him. Right.

The truth of the matter is this; he had trained in Jiu-Jitsu and various other martial arts for 15years of which he has been teaching for seven years. My students who beat him all of them had only been training for one year (And he knows that now because I phoned him up and told him). Is he training with us today, no! If a group of people came into my gym with one years experience and beat the crap out of me, I would be at their gym the very next day. I want to know what’s wrong with my training. But if you have an ego, your black belt is so important, more important than what you can actually do, well you can see what happens. I am sure his inner demons eat at him every day, and the more they eat away at him the less chance he will ever come to the realization that just because you have trained for 15 years, have your own school, have a black belt, does not actually mean that you know anything. You may have been training incorrectly from the beginning. Having an ego as you can see is a hindrance to performance.

At my gym we have no problem with egos. Why? No one in our gym has a belt or a title; the only way for him to measure himself is through performance. If a person is at the top of the proverbial mountain, it is easy for him to be dislodged from that position as everyone is constantly improving his or her very own performance. There is no time for an ego. The more everyone else improves the more you have to train.

Understanding who we are as human beings
Many may call this enlightenment, most people envision a lone monk who puts himself through days of starvation and tries to quite his mind through rigorous torture of meditation to achieve this state of consciousness.

"But a tortured mind, a broken mind, a mind which wants to escape from all turmoil, which has denied the outer world and been made dull through discipline and conformity - such a mind, however long it seeks, will find only according to its own distortion"
-Krishnamurti

With this quote in mind what we attempt to do is to explode from the centre and face an age-old conflict, that primal erg to win and dominate. Through expressing ourselves through combat we are able to find out who we really are as human beings, our fears and strengths. We then find that our minds become quite and through kicking and punching we are able to find the liberation of the self.

Many people have stated that the peak experiences they have had in their life have been through sport. We believe this to be true!

For more info you can check out Rodney King’s web site at http://www.streettoughgym.com

-Rodney King

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