Music and Martial Arts

Martial Arts…(fighting) as approached from ( self perfection) the artsy learning aspect is no more then tone, beats, space, and time. Music!!! One might think this is a stretch, but it really is the same. Music is broken down into time and measured in beats. Example 4/4 time (a time signature) is 4 beats per measure and a quarter note gets one beat. The space between beats is broken down evenly into 25% value. How fast the measurement depends on the conductor or the tempo set on a metronome. ( a music clock so to speak.)

The silence between the beats is called a rest.

Martial Arts is based on striking, when scoring a hit this is a beat. In between the hits would be considered a rest. The distance and speed a strike has to travel will determine the timing. When the action is really moving fast it would be considered a quick tempo and visa/versa. Strikes can be performed in broken rhythm or in different patterns such as a rhythm of three or a triplet. Two strikes may be performed in the same time value as one and would be considered as 8th notes, doubled to 16th, 32nd and 64th, all in the same time signature.

If a hit is performed to a thick part of the body (thigh) you will hear a low thud or a base tone, whereas if you slap a face you will hear a more high pitch tone.

Many people feel that they have a problem with coordination, but really they just can’t hear the music of their own body.

Martial Arts is understanding your own music within, and then applying it externally.

It is simple to see what I mean by watching a striker because you can hear the hits, but what about a wrestler where the beats are not so pronounced, is the music still there? The music is always there, time never stops. Great Jazz musicians such as Ornett Coleman, John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk have shown, what you hear is there and what you don’t hear is still there.

Integrating Music and Martial Arts is what I call Avant-garde or my JKD. Anyone who wants to learn Martial Arts whether they realize it or not will be composing there own song.