Although the nature and nurture factors can conspire to create martial artists with extraordinary abilities, they don't make supermen, says Richard Ryan (right). Photo by Rick Hustead

While traveling, I occasionally run across tales of martial arts supermen who cannot be beaten. You know the stories: "My friend's cousin knows so and so, who knows a guy who trained with a master who was so fast you couldn't see him move and so powerful he could break your spine with a flick of his wrist."

The counterpart to those stories involves secret super systems to which no other art supposedly compares. The techniques are said to be unstoppable.

Such tales always remind me of "The Karate Kid." In the movie, Mr. Miyagi (played by Pat Morita) teaches Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) how to defend himself against a group of marauding karate bullies who train at a nearby dojo. When Daniel decides to enter a tournament to confront them, Miyagi teaches him a secret Okinawan technique passed down from generation to generation. Describing it, he says, "When done right, no can defend."

And sure enough, despite having an injured leg, Daniel proceeds to win the tournament with the one move no opponent can stop. Back in 1985, that technique became part of our collective consciousness. Everyone was going around standing on one leg with their hands in the air just like in the movie.

Is there such a thing as the ultimate style or the ultimate technique that no one can defend against? Unfortunately not. There isn't a "no can defend." Every style, system, strategy, technique, tactic, action and maneuver can be countered. No single art has a monopoly on the truth of combat.

In wing chun kung fu, there's a saying: For every attack, there's a counter. It's a fundamental piece of reality that all martial artists should know and all students of self defense should embrace. There's more than one way to skin a cat, and so it is with the martial arts. Human beings are nothing if not creative and adaptable. As a result, we've devised an incredible spectrum of techniques and tactics for interpersonal combat. Some focus on the hands while others emphasize the legs. Some concentrate on pressure points while others specialize in grappling.

The truth is, no single method can boast that it's better than all others because in the real world, there are an infinite number of ways the martial arts might be applied. Take the factors of environment and situation, for example. Some may boast that striking is the ultimate "no can defend" technique, arguing that when done correctly, it can drop an attacker in the blink of an eye. Certainly there's some truth to that. Short of using a club, knife or gun, striking is often the most effective way to end a fight quickly. But does that make it the ultimate martial arts technique? Hardly. There are many situations in which strikers find themselves in big trouble. Try doing a roundhouse combination in an elevator, or staying on your feet and bouncing around on slick pavement when it's raining. There are times when every tactic can be valid —or invalidated—based on a situation or the environment. Everything can work, be defeated or be defended against under the right circumstances.

So what about those martial arts supermen? Are there people who are capable of performing feats above and beyond the rest of us? Again, the answer is no. Just as there are no super-systems, there are no supermen. Such stories are the martial arts equivalent of old wives' tales and fables. Human beings are human beings. We all have two arms and two legs. We all are composed of flesh, blood, muscle and bone.

But that's not to say there aren't people among us with extraordinary abilities. There certainly are, but extraordinary doesn't imply superhuman. The differences in personal ability usually stem from a combination of nature and nurture. Bruce Lee, for example, was certainly gifted, but he wasn't superhuman. His incredible speed was the result of genetics and years of training and experience. Certainly he must have had a higher degree of fast twitch muscle fibers, which provided him with the genetic potential to be faster than most people, but he also worked long and hard to take advantage of his physical gifts.

A story that's often told of a Lee home-training session says it all. One student reportedly remarked that jeet kune do was the best martial art in the world. Lee frowned and said, "Oh really, you think so?" He then reportedly sparred with the student, using only karate techniques, and administered a sound beating. Obviously, Lee would have been great no matter which art he practiced.

One of the rules I teach is similar: People make systems; systems don't make fighters. In other words, no matter how good an art may be, it's only as good as the person using it. People get into fights; systems don't.

I've met numerous martial artists and taught side by side with the best in the world including Frank Shamrock, Joe Lewis, Bill Wallace, Tony Blauer, Walt Lysak Jr., Michael DePasquale Jr., Dana Abbott, Kelly Worden, Lamar Davis 11 and Mike Lee Kanarek. All of them possess extraordinary abilities, which they've developed through years of study and sweat, and just like Lee, they're a product of both nature and nurture.

The search for excellence in any art is ultimately a personal quest. It's not about which style is better or who can beat whom. It's not about finding the ultimate "no can defend" technique. After all, as Lysak likes to say, if there was one technique or method that always worked, that's the one we'd all be practicing.

Those martial artists who are primarily concerned with reality-based fighting must embrace diversity in thought and technique. They must develop all aspects of combat and leave no subject matter untouched. Strikers need to grapple and grapplers need to strike, but it transcends that. It also means being prepared for all possibilities. Only in this way can we avoid the "no can defend" trap.

About the author. Richard Ryan is the founder of the Dynamic Combat Method and co-founder of Integrated Combative Arts Training. For more information, visit http://www.blackbeltmag.com and click on Community, then Black Belt Authors.

Go to Black Belt Magazine

Return to News Index

^ TOP