What are the principles of martial arts? I want anyone who knows of a guideline or lesson on the subject to give them on this form, so that others can discuss the exceptions and provide general background on the subject for anyone interested or hoping to invent a martial arts style in their fictional works.
Let's stick to realistic/practical principles. It's truly amazing how many differing principles exist for the base of a school of martial arts, so try to keep an open mind when disputing these as every guideline has its exceptions. Maybe in the discussion we will begin to see patterns in the exceptions and be able to come up with guidelines for those too.
To start us off, I've listed a few basic principles, which I have categorized by body part to give some organization and because random categorizing always makes something seem more official.
Way of the Pawn
♟ The wrist can only twist on the inside, in a half-circle. When fully twisted the wrist resists force from the outside and the direction the palm faces. The hand can only strike moving towards the inside.
♟ Block outside, push, and strike inside.
♟ Parry inside, draw out, and strike inside.
♟ Parry above, draw down, and strike over.
♟ Parry below, draw over, and strike under.
♟ Force is equal to muscle mass times muscle acceleration. Weight training builds muscles mass, repetitive motions increase muscle density and acceleration. Muscle acceleration can be increased through training far more than muscle mass can ever be increased.
Way of the Knight
♞ Relax the shoulders, in the same position they would rest if holding heavy weights in both hands.
♞ When punching, focus not on the hand but on the direction the arm is extending.
♞ If you fully extend your arm, it gives leverage for opponents to move and control it.
♞ Image there is a pole going from the top of your head through to your crouch. This line down the center of your body is your center. Not only are many vital areas found along it, but it cannot move to evade without shifting the entire foundation of the body.
♞ Aim for the center of opponent, to make hits hard to dodge.
♞ Guard your center from your opponent, to protect from attacks difficult to dodge.
♞ Thrusting strike require less time to reach the target and provide protection to your center.
♞ Rotational strikes provide more force at longer distances.
Way of the King
♚ Standup straight, so the head feels like its resting on top of your pelvis.
♚ Control the expression on your face when taking action; hold a steady and blank expression.
♚ An angry face attacks, a frighten face retreats, a smile is complacent. Never do what your face says or repeat the same action with the same expression.
♚ Learn to look to both sides without moving your eyes. Do not blink. Do not focus on what is close by. Do not be distracted by insignificant movements. Do not focus on a falling leaf, but gaze at flow of all the wind around you. You cannot master this ability quickly; practice this gaze in everyday life.
Way of the Queen
♛ Alone your waist can rotate up to 90 degrees in either direction. Below your waist your hips can rotate an addition 90 degrees.
♛ If you move anything below your waist, it shifts your center of balance.
♛ Moving in a full rotational circle keeps your balance centered along the circle.
♛ Breath out when striking. If you make a sound as you do so, it might make opponent tense up.
♛ Practice breathing with belly sucked in when breathing out, and belly out when breathing in, so that you are breathing from the diaphragm, but opposite the natural method. You cannot master this ability quickly; practice this breathing in everyday life.
Way of the Rook
♜ The weight of your body is divided between both your legs.
♜ To perform the Horse stance: your weight should be evenly split between your legs, bend your knees pointing outward, with feet one to two shoulder widths apart, with feet pointing forward. From this stance you will resist force from your sides, and the lower center of balance resists throws. Remaining in this stance for long periods can build strength in upper thighs.
♜ To perform the Wedge Stance: your weight should be evenly split between your legs, bend your knees pointing inward, with feet a shoulder width apart at the toes, the toes should be pointing slightly inward. From this stance you will resist force from the front, especially when coming at a 45 degree angle. This stance can be practiced on one leg to build strength and balance.
♜ To perform the Bow Stance: roughly 80 percent of your weight should be on your front leg, step forward so that your legs are two shoulder width apart, with your front knee bent and front foot pointing to the inside of your body. From this stance you will resist force from the front.
♜ To perform the Cat Stance: roughly 90 percent of your weight should be on your back leg, raise your front leg on the tip of its toe, the back foot should be perpendicular to the direction you are facing. From this stance you can easily move front foot without shifting your upper body to side-step or kick. The easiest way to learn to distribute weight properly in this stance is to perform the hand motions of a Kamehame/Hadoken when moving from the Horse stance into the Cat stance.
♜ When readying a kick, rotate and shift upper body in direction you'll kick. Then move in opposite direction as you extend your kick to keep your balance and provide power.
Way of the Bishop
♝ The ankle can only twist so the foot points in the half-circle in front of you. Comfortably, they can only point outward by 90 degrees and inward by 45 degrees, so the position of your feet on the ground should never exceed 135 degrees apart.
♝ To perform the stepping method: bring your foot backwards and around your body so that the foot is perpendicular to your static foot. Your static foot should be pointing outward when the step is complete. From this stance, practice stepping forward with the same static foot, or backwards with the reverse foot remaining static, into the Bow or Cat stance. The static foot may pivot before the step to determine its direction. When performing the step, your upper body should not move until the last instance, making your movement appear sudden to close by opponents and maintaining the balance of your stance for as long as possible.
♝ Against aggression, offer no resistant to target, focus instead on establishing a stronger position.
♝ Against passive action, force a reaction with a quick attention catching action, then immediately follow it up with attack from a different direction.
Let's stick to realistic/practical principles. It's truly amazing how many differing principles exist for the base of a school of martial arts, so try to keep an open mind when disputing these as every guideline has its exceptions. Maybe in the discussion we will begin to see patterns in the exceptions and be able to come up with guidelines for those too.
To start us off, I've listed a few basic principles, which I have categorized by body part to give some organization and because random categorizing always makes something seem more official.
Way of the Pawn
♟ The wrist can only twist on the inside, in a half-circle. When fully twisted the wrist resists force from the outside and the direction the palm faces. The hand can only strike moving towards the inside.
♟ Block outside, push, and strike inside.
♟ Parry inside, draw out, and strike inside.
♟ Parry above, draw down, and strike over.
♟ Parry below, draw over, and strike under.
♟ Force is equal to muscle mass times muscle acceleration. Weight training builds muscles mass, repetitive motions increase muscle density and acceleration. Muscle acceleration can be increased through training far more than muscle mass can ever be increased.
Way of the Knight
♞ Relax the shoulders, in the same position they would rest if holding heavy weights in both hands.
♞ When punching, focus not on the hand but on the direction the arm is extending.
♞ If you fully extend your arm, it gives leverage for opponents to move and control it.
♞ Image there is a pole going from the top of your head through to your crouch. This line down the center of your body is your center. Not only are many vital areas found along it, but it cannot move to evade without shifting the entire foundation of the body.
♞ Aim for the center of opponent, to make hits hard to dodge.
♞ Guard your center from your opponent, to protect from attacks difficult to dodge.
♞ Thrusting strike require less time to reach the target and provide protection to your center.
♞ Rotational strikes provide more force at longer distances.
Way of the King
♚ Standup straight, so the head feels like its resting on top of your pelvis.
♚ Control the expression on your face when taking action; hold a steady and blank expression.
♚ An angry face attacks, a frighten face retreats, a smile is complacent. Never do what your face says or repeat the same action with the same expression.
♚ Learn to look to both sides without moving your eyes. Do not blink. Do not focus on what is close by. Do not be distracted by insignificant movements. Do not focus on a falling leaf, but gaze at flow of all the wind around you. You cannot master this ability quickly; practice this gaze in everyday life.
Way of the Queen
♛ Alone your waist can rotate up to 90 degrees in either direction. Below your waist your hips can rotate an addition 90 degrees.
♛ If you move anything below your waist, it shifts your center of balance.
♛ Moving in a full rotational circle keeps your balance centered along the circle.
♛ Breath out when striking. If you make a sound as you do so, it might make opponent tense up.
♛ Practice breathing with belly sucked in when breathing out, and belly out when breathing in, so that you are breathing from the diaphragm, but opposite the natural method. You cannot master this ability quickly; practice this breathing in everyday life.
Way of the Rook
♜ The weight of your body is divided between both your legs.
♜ To perform the Horse stance: your weight should be evenly split between your legs, bend your knees pointing outward, with feet one to two shoulder widths apart, with feet pointing forward. From this stance you will resist force from your sides, and the lower center of balance resists throws. Remaining in this stance for long periods can build strength in upper thighs.
♜ To perform the Wedge Stance: your weight should be evenly split between your legs, bend your knees pointing inward, with feet a shoulder width apart at the toes, the toes should be pointing slightly inward. From this stance you will resist force from the front, especially when coming at a 45 degree angle. This stance can be practiced on one leg to build strength and balance.
♜ To perform the Bow Stance: roughly 80 percent of your weight should be on your front leg, step forward so that your legs are two shoulder width apart, with your front knee bent and front foot pointing to the inside of your body. From this stance you will resist force from the front.
♜ To perform the Cat Stance: roughly 90 percent of your weight should be on your back leg, raise your front leg on the tip of its toe, the back foot should be perpendicular to the direction you are facing. From this stance you can easily move front foot without shifting your upper body to side-step or kick. The easiest way to learn to distribute weight properly in this stance is to perform the hand motions of a Kamehame/Hadoken when moving from the Horse stance into the Cat stance.
♜ When readying a kick, rotate and shift upper body in direction you'll kick. Then move in opposite direction as you extend your kick to keep your balance and provide power.
Way of the Bishop
♝ The ankle can only twist so the foot points in the half-circle in front of you. Comfortably, they can only point outward by 90 degrees and inward by 45 degrees, so the position of your feet on the ground should never exceed 135 degrees apart.
♝ To perform the stepping method: bring your foot backwards and around your body so that the foot is perpendicular to your static foot. Your static foot should be pointing outward when the step is complete. From this stance, practice stepping forward with the same static foot, or backwards with the reverse foot remaining static, into the Bow or Cat stance. The static foot may pivot before the step to determine its direction. When performing the step, your upper body should not move until the last instance, making your movement appear sudden to close by opponents and maintaining the balance of your stance for as long as possible.
♝ Against aggression, offer no resistant to target, focus instead on establishing a stronger position.
♝ Against passive action, force a reaction with a quick attention catching action, then immediately follow it up with attack from a different direction.
