The forms techniques, real fundaments of Martial Art

by Marco De Cesaris

"What interests me in martial art, what I passionate, is the movement, the end of the movement that is always abstract and purely spiritual and that is to mingle and been the Passion of the moment."
Yves Klein, artist and teacher of Judo (1928-1962)

The phrase of the famous French artist dead still youngest 34 years but he still remembered as one of the major European painters of the '900 and as one of the most familiar of Kata of Judo Kodokan, gives us the opportunity to investigate the hidden significance of the practice of modern forms of an
art coded martial; the forms as paradigm martial art, bearers of the DNA of disciplines handed down through them in the course of centuries.
In an era of spasmodic research and immediate result at any cost, particularly in sports field, still sense practice in the traditional forms according to criteria old of tens of years?
What real benefits that can make a practice apparently split from the context fighting real?
You can still say that the forms contain coded "Secrets", martial in the age where everything is obvious and available on a network?
As always, in our analysis will start from the field of belonging author of this Article, which is represented in the specific prestige martial Thai with bare hands, the Muay Boran. Basically the traditional forms of Muay are practiced in two different ways: the sequences in pairs and those only.
The first mode find similarities, mutatis mutandis to the kata Judo. In this type of implementation The adepts perform a series of attacks, defences and counterattack, using only natural the arms of the body (fists, elbows, knees, feet, hindquarters and head), alternating slow movements and measured
to explosions of energy accompanied by sound inspiration.
The second method is comparable to Kata karate (and many other martial arts that follow a similar system) and aims to run series of movements of attack and defense against an opponent imaginary, also here with un'alternanza of slow pace and fast. In this case the practising must strive to make each action with the maximum fluidity by movements without interruption.
In both modes, and that couples and the only, the athletes who are close to that practice seriously and not sporadic, crossing time in various stages, all of high educational value: in the phase of learning basic "a mountain is a mountain", the technique should be given hundreds of times according
to the exact types which are transmitted by the Maestro without add no external element to the original shape.
This creates the imprinting, the memory of the body that makes the DNA of our martial art becomes part of our way to move and react to situations of comparison. In the field of Muay Boran this phase is learning basic sequences of basic techniques (Mae Mai) and of advanced techniques (Look Mai) as they are handed down from the main next30days stylistic in Thailand.
In the second stage, we call intermediate, the teacher must give impetus to critical reading of formal technical acquired by the students who, thanks to the long and assiduous practice "mechanic" change in the first phase, developed the sensitivity right track to start to read between the lines
of coding rigid original.
In the case of the sequences Mae never and look never above, is at this stage that comes on the in-depth study and practice of so-called "variant" of fundamental techniques, drawn by in-depth made on the theme from some excellent masters of the past. In this critical phase in which "a mountain is not a mountain" practitioners will meet with increasingly complex situations of conflict, challenging its imprinting, customising if necessary and retaining your baggage technical only those variants which feel more suited to them.
In study phase more advanced, the circle closes, pupil misses the elements common to each variant of original forms, bringing each technique to universal principles of combat. At this stage in which "a mountain is again only a mountain" every nuance technical and every principle of Mae Mai and Look Mai in their many versions is consistent with the way to see the fight handed down for centuries by masters like siamese twins, and pupil is able to offer the lessons learnt to colleagues, entering of law to take part in the ranks of kru Muay or masters of fight.
As said the two modes of circulation of the forms Muay develop from the practising attributes essential to improve its effectiveness in fighting real: practicing hard in a couple, the Thai boxer greatly enhances its timing and the sense of distance in front of an opponent who, according to the
form practiced, the pushed, the escape, the attacks violently with the arms or legs, search of him and so on. Deepens its knowledge of sensitive points, learn how attack and how protect them.
In practice only learn really to combine in a fluid way movements offensive and defensive to shots and parades or remains, perfecting the technical and improving at the same time the speed of the attacks, the balance dynamic cardiovascular and strength.
It is also tested as a deep concentration in the practice of solitary sequence is comparable to a genuine form of meditation in motion, element that distinguishes exercise martial high level of all disciplines rastern fight.
It is here that the marzialist becomes really artist, in search of uninterrupted perfection of his gesture, of the movement so loved by the great Yves Klein that this practice had perfectly understood the essence.