Common Misconceptions about Martial Arts

Be it because of Hollywood, semi-false marketing by McDojos, or whatever other reason, most people have the wrong idea of what martial arts are before they even step on a mat, ring or floor.  So to help you future martial artists (and maybe instructors), I thought I'd make a list of common misconceptions that people have about martial arts so you can have a more informed idea of what you're getting into if you decide to sign up at your local dojo.

Size and strength don't matter in a fight as long as you've trained in martial arts

One of the biggest myths perpetuated by both Hollywood and certain martial arts schools alike is that "size doesn't matter" if you've been properly trained in their style. Having more knowledge, better technique and being better trained will definitely increase your chances of winning a fight or surviving a self-defense situation against a larger and stronger attacker.

Realistically, if you have two equally-trained and equally-skilled individuals, the larger and stronger person will have an obvious advantage. If you still don't believe me, think about why both professional and Olympic combat sports have weight classes.

Gabi Garcia vs Megumi Yabushita in a Shootboxing match in 2017.

Fight ended in "No Contest" due to an illegal kick, but really, who do you think won this fight?

 

Martial arts will turn kids into "disciplined" people

With the market for most traditional martial arts schools being kids, they will usually try to sell themselves by saying that they will help your kids become more disciplined. Is that true? More or less.

Any type of structured, difficult activity has the potential to build discipline.  This applies to martial arts, but also activities like dance, learning a musical instrument, creative writing and even team sports. If the person practicing the activity ends up liking it and wants to improve their skills at that activity, then yes, they become "disciplined".  That discipline might transfer to everything else they want to succeed in.

However, while martial arts can be that starting point of a disciplined life for some people, it won't be the case for all people.

Martial arts will make kids "bully-proof"

A lot of martial arts schools will market their kids classes as a way to keep kids from being bullied.  Presumably, kids are supposed to learn how to defend themselves against physical attacks on the school yard.  Yes, that can be useful as a last resort for a kid who is getting picked on.  However, a lot of bullying is now happening on a psychological basis, especially with online bullying through social media.  A kid who's being bullied will benefit more from developing social skills that help them deal and de-escalate conflicts before the first punch is even thrown.  If the conflict turns physical because the de-escalation tactics didn't work, only then will the fighting skills come in handy.

Being in a martial arts school might help some kids who are being bullied by allowing them to make more friends with common interests, and thus allow them to develop the necessary social skills.  Yes, being able to overcome adversity in a controlled environment will help develop the self-esteem needed to stand up for themselves.  But that's not something that a kid will learn after a month or two of punching and kicking in a karate class a couple of times a week.  This is a process that can take years not only of training but of interacting with people of different walks of life.

There are "secret techniques" that are "too dangerous" for full contact competition

No, there aren't.  The myth of "secret techniques" are perpetuated by lazy and/or delusional people who want to pretend that they can knock down a gang of attackers using nothing but a wave of their hand.

There are no such things as "no-touch" knockouts and "chi-blasts" that require very little effort to stop a resisting attacker.  If there were, with the ubiquity of the Internet and video technology, we would have seen legitimate practitioners by now.  If someone, somewhere in the world of martial arts was truly able to "summon their inner chi" and shoot fireballs out of their fingers or lightning bolts out of their butt, it would already be on the Internet and they would be making millions of dollars by dominating opponents at the largest MMA promotions in the world.

Effective, but illegal technique done in competition

Sure, certain attacks like eye poking, small joint manipulation, attacking the groin and biting are illegal in rules-based competition. Yes these can be effective, devastating techniques, but there's nothing secret or mysterious about them.  They're just not allowed in competitions because we want to see a bit more of a fair contest and less fights ended by serious injuries.

Martial arts are the same as self-defense

This kind of goes back to using fighting skills against bullies.  Fighting techniques learned in a martial class might be able help if you're being physically attacked.  However, avoiding a situation that can lead to that physical attack is actually more effective as a "self defense" measure.

That means not hanging out too much in bars and night clubs.  That means learning to be more aware of your surroundings when walking to your car at night.  That means avoiding dark alleys alone in the middle of the night.  That also means handing over your wallet and/or car keys to stranger pointing a gun at you.  These are things that most martial arts schools will pay lip service to, but won't really practice.

Again, if you get stuck and you can't avoid a situation, some techniques learned can save you, but you're better off not being in that certain situation in the first place.

You need to register as a "deadly weapon" when you become a black belt

Anybody who tells you that they're registered as some kind of weapon because of their martial arts black belt rank is either a liar or delusional. This kind of person is definitely not the type of person you want to be giving martial arts instruction to you or your kids.

A simple Internet search will tell you that there are no laws in Canada, the US, the UK or in Western Europe requiring that martial arts practitioners of a certain rank be registered because they can deal out deadly force with their bare hands.  It is true that some people have the ability to kill with their superior technique (think of a Brazilian jujitsu black belt who can choke out 95% of the population), but no government registration is required.

The closest thing that I can think of are anecdotes from martial artists living in former Eastern Block and USSR countries who were asked by the government to register their martial arts ranks during the Cold War era.  That's about the extent of it but even then I haven't been able to corroborate that.

Conclusion

For people looking to sign their kids or themselves up to a martial arts school, it's important to know these common misconceptions. You're not to blame for not knowing any of these, but hopefully reading this will give you an idea of what it is you're signing up for.  Enjoy and happy training!