Martial Arts World News Magazine - Volume 22 | Issue 2

INSTRUCTIONAL EXCELLENCE
The Value of Forms
By Grandmaster Tim McCarthy
There are some who say the ultimate way to judge a martial arts technique is its selfdefense
or street application. I respectfully disagree.
Why? Because, to me, self-defense is only one aspect of the
martial arts. In my martial arts, the best self-defense is NOT fighting.
If I have to fight, I fight to win…but if I can avoid a fight with
patience and cooperation, I think that’s a much more valuable skill.
Of course, it all depends on your goals. If you have an MMA
gym whose goal is to produce successful ring fighters, then the
practical application of ring results is the ultimate judge of your
success. On the other hand, if you have a family martial arts school
where building confidence and respect are more useful to your
students in their everyday lives than high kicks and
submission holds, then the practical application
becomes something entirely different.
I consider myself a martial artist, not a fighter.
I enjoy the art more than the martial. I haven’t
been in a street fight in over 45 years, and even
then it wasn’t much of a fight. If I spent those last
45 years training only for street effectiveness,
I would’ve wasted a lot of time. However, in my
training, I developed strength, flexibility, balance,
endurance, and self-control by practicing forms. I
enjoyed my art like a dancer enjoys dancing,
and pursued perfection in my expression.
That pursuit led to the development
of dedication, concentration, and
indomitable spirit that bled over
into other areas of my life, including
huge dividends in health and
fitness over the years. I’m not
sure I would’ve gained all those
“outside the ring” benefits had
I only focused on fighting, and
probably would’ve sustained
a lot more injuries.
I understand that what
works for me may not work
for you—we’re all different with different needs. My question to you
is what are your students’ needs? Do they need to be the best street
fighters in the city, or do they need to learn discipline, respect, confidence,
and indomitable spirit? If your students are like mine, they’re
in the second group, and the traditions of the martial arts are just as
important as the effectiveness of the techniques—maybe more so.
Some forms’ training actually does teach valuable self-defense
techniques. I’ve heard that the older forms disguised the techniques
because they were so deadly that students were only
taught the true application after many years of study and achievement
of sufficient rank. Some forms even disguised the techniques
by separating them by one or two moves, so that what appears to
be a series of blocks was actually a throw. Perhaps that’s why the
techniques don’t always make sense to someone who thinks they
know more than they actually do. To me, the martial arts are not
about fighting, but about self-improvement using techniques that
also have a self-defense application. Sparring is valuable because
it helps reveal weaknesses in my techniques and improves my
spirit of competition, but it’s only one aspect of a complete program.
I would rather spend the bulk of my time focusing on how to
make myself better through forms practice than on how to defeat
someone else through sparring.
I believe in the traditions of bowing and treating each other with
respect because the attitude also works outside the ring. I believe
the discipline in one-step sparring helps not only teach technique,
but teach children to take turns, cooperate, and control both their
gross and fine motor skills. I believe breaking teaches undeniable
lessons about the power of our techniques. I believe forms practice
is an artistic expression that challenges us in the relentless
pursuit of perfection.
In short, I believe in a complete martial arts program that has
proven effective for generations over the opinion fighters who
say their area of expertise is the only one that counts. If that line
of reasoning were accurate, shouldn’t Mike Tyson have become
president of the United States…or at least secretary of education?
GRANDMASTER TIM MCCARTHY is a 9th degree black belt and is a martial arts educator
with a master’s degree in education. He has been instrumental in developing two industry-changing
programs, plus has directed and been featured in hundreds of martial arts videos and webinars.
92 MARTIAL ARTS WORLD NEWS VOLUME 22 | ISSUE 2