The Column of Raul Gutierrez
The Column of Raul Gutierrez
Sports & Martial Arts
T he sports aspect of any Martial Art, completely adulterates the purpose for what these fighting systems were really created in times of war. As we all know, for a Martial Art to be sportingly applied in tournaments or championships, all techniques and application ways or striking zones which are " effective in actual encounters " must be banned. There will be written rules of what you can do and what you cannot do. Whatever is admonished, sanctioned or make us lose in a sports event, is what really works in real terms.
That ' s why great Champions of Spain, Europe or the World, have been destroyed in street fights by simple thugs who are not used to score points to win, but rather to destroy, break and if necessary injure seriously or even kill an adversary in an ordinary neighborhood nightclub. This is something that back in the 80 ' s I treated in other articles, which created a certain misunderstanding among some practitioners of other styles who didn ' t understand what now and over time I have been able to prove.
Besides, a real Martial Artist will always be honest in a fight, and has qualms about causing excessive damage to his opponent, respects the law and avoids lawsuits or ending up in court, whilst the habitual offender or outlaw tries to cause the most possible damage and he doesn ' t care about ethics, citizenship, laws or courts. If he ' s got a knife in his hands he ' ll try to stab you as deep as he can, if he ' s got a baseball bat he ' ll attempt to rip your head off, and if he ' s got a fire gun will empty you whole magazine in you. He does not think about your family or his, he doesn ' t respect you, nor worries about going to jail, because obviously he thinks he can escape justice also.
These are factors that always will play against us. We will always be helpless in front of such individuals. The best thing is praying to never be in the zone of conflicts, avoiding them as much as possible when they arise, acting over everything with logic, intelligence, tactics and psychology. And at the end, when there is no choice, act with a high dose of forcefulness, using our
" The sports aspect of any Martial Art, completely adulterates the purpose for what these fighting systems were really created in times of war "
knowledge and training of so many years to apply a certain degree of pain to our opponents, so as to achieve their reduction without actually causing irreparable damage. Of course, in real terms and depending on the type of opponent we have in front, this is generally not easy. It ' s like a police agent in full uniform and weaponry, but with the legal constraint that he must stop outlaws " in a gentle way, trying not to cause him any harm, injury or pain ". Otherwise he risks being reported for abuse and turns into the one being finally admonished. Something absolutely ridiculous, but accepted by our society. We do care for others, for ourselves, we do not want to get in trouble, we do respect others and their loved ones, we love ours, we want to share and enjoy life, live in peace and harmony. But this is sometimes very complicated and difficult. Still, we ' ll try... forever.
I ' m often told that my police techniques are much too aggressive, violent and dangerous. But I ' ve never caused irreparable damage to anybody. Never, in order to reduce an " opponent who really opposes you ", have I caused bleeding or injuries which could be reported to a judge. And this has been only possible by applying the proper technique, in the right place and with the necessary hardness or pain degree of pain. And this responds to a knowledge, a constant training, the effective preparation of our natural physical arsenal, tactics, method and knowledge of the weak points and type of blow or action they required.
My Fu-Shih Kenpo is then the compilation of real experiences throughout my life, training in various styles of Martial Arts and with worldrenowned teachers or specialists, a background of 45 years through tournaments and world championships, police contact since childhood, security and police training at a professional level since 1981 and other fields of action as cinema itself.
Long years of repetition of techniques, various methods and movements through styles continuously trained, to discover that within each one of them, there are many rich and valuable knowledges, along with others that are not only useless, but also make us waste our time and undermine its ultimate purpose. I understand, and so I do, that there is a big part of our training, in which we spend years and years repeating the same sequence or individual movement, even if we know that it doesn ' t grant the final utility which is the effective defense. Many times we feel uncomfortable with certain techniques that don ' t draw us, don ' t fill us, don ' t persuade us. This is a warning, just like pain. When some part of your body hurts, and hurts again, is clearly telling you that something is wrong and you need to see a doctor. In the same way, we should eliminate all the junk that exists in every style or system of Martial Arts or sports, erase it entirely or investigate where is the failure to repair it. So is Fu-Shih Kenpo, a system in constant revision, updating and improvement. The best system is not the one that counts on more movements, techniques or katas, but the one that really works and proves effective in its different areas, training, application and outcome.
Next month I will present he current structure of our Martial Art. That I chose to call " The Heart of Our Style Fu-Shih Kenpo ".
Until then, my friends. I hope you may know understand my way of expressing what I martially feel. My purpose is by no means that of belittling other styles, teachers or persons. It all depends on what each one is seeking to find through his or her training. There are various ways, I hope you may find yours. Thank you...
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