the Martial Arts Learning Community

the Martial Arts Learning Community

The Martial Arts Learning Community (The MALC) is a Non-Profit Agency chartered in the state of Delaware. The MALC supports various studies of the history and development of the Martial Arts, studies using a scientific approach to identify Best Practices in the Martial Arts, and the publishing of these research works. The MALC supports the study of the Martial Arts as physical education. Our community produces educational seminars and promotes both national and international amateur sports competitions. The MALC will provide programs and services not currently available that will benefit Martial Arts students and teachers, their community, and our world as a whole.

Recent Articles

Martial Arts Practice --- Pre-Incident

by Dennis Lawson

This is the first of what will be a series of articles concerning the “Practice” of Martial arts. After the publication of “Talking Kenpo” (See Subscribe to Talking Kenpo to download your copy), I received a number of questions concerning my definitions of: training, scenario, model, technique, and, of course, practice.

PRACTICE (v) --- To engage in frequent consciously directed activities. The Martial Artist practices the Art every day. Just as an engineer, lawyer, or teacher “practices” a profession. Whether medical practitioner, legal practitioner, or Martial Arts practitioner a profession entails constant learning and stages of refinement. To practice is to be in the process of continuous improvement.

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Willingness - Know How - Capacity

by JJ Simon

I was listening to a podcast the other day and heard an interesting statement. It was in reference to training in meditation, but I believe it applies to all human endeavors. The podcast presenter noted, for any thing that we intend to do we have to have three things; Willingness, Know How, and Capacity.

Or put another way, we have to want to do a thing, have the specific knowledge required, and have developed the ability to accomplish the task.

Willingness is about desire and intention. Know How is about paying attention to learning and ability. Capacity is the application of what we learned.

We can apply this idea to the martial arts, but before I do, let’s take a look at doing something simpler. We’ll make an omelet. You are hungry; this is a need; you want an omelet. You desire it and are willing to make it, but do you know how? Have you ever made one? If you haven't then your knowledge is only theoretical not experiential. Capacity is completely experiential.

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So, Isn't All Bodywork The Same?

by Nora Lawson

This is a question that all massage therapists and bodyworkers around the world have heard at one time or another in their career. It is a question that we will chuckle over when having a drink with fellow body aritsans. The answer to us is obvious. “No”. And yes we do understand it is not obvious to people learning about massage/bodywork for the first time. This article is intended to assist with you the reader with a better understanding of the difference.

Bodywork is the all encompassing term for assisting the body to relax. Massage therapy is just one style of bodywork. There are hundreds of modalities with different names, protocols, and claims to fame. Each is technically bodywork.

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Champions

by John Davis

Tonight I witnessed the end of an era. The world champion Muay Thai fighter, Winston Walker, was ousted by a younger, stronger, faster man. Alex Gong battered
the elder Walker, who finally decided to leave the ring; pushing his way through the crowd. It was a humiliating, career ending choice for someone who once stood at the top; yet, he chose, in the words of Roberto Duran: “No Mas”.

Walker was outclassed. Gong put leg shots to his body that eroded any chance of good fortune for the aging fighter. Walker (excuse the pun) literally walked away. He quit! At the fight's end, several of Gong's attacks were misses or easily absorbed by Walker's cover ups; yet the “experienced” fighter knew that there were more to come. Can one blame him for choosing to end the fight? Perhaps he feared that one of next drives might cause irreparable damage and be the culmination of every blow he'd absorbed throughout his career. Fighting for a living or for glory doesn't make for better health in old age. Whatever the monetary or egotiscal desires might be, the vulnerability of human physiology must be considered.

Imagine....this man looked down the barrel of a human gun and realized that he was done! No way! You fight to the end...that's it! Or, so the paid commentators said....as Walker returned to the stench of the arena locker room. The fight community does not accept the attitude of living to see another day.

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