Above, Jon Favreau (Hogan) and Robert Downey Jr (Stark) chillout after working their boxing.
After watching Iron Man 2 on opening night, I’m pretty impressed. Nice to see that Hollywood has taken a break from destroying my childhood joys and let a decent comic book movie slip by, un-bastardized. No really Hollywood, thanks for sodomizing Spider Man 2 and 3, Dare Devil, Ghost Rider, Judge Dredd, 80% of the Batman movies, GI Joe, and the new Superman stuff. I’m glad you did that.
Anyway, during one scene Tony Stark is boxing with Hogan and slips in an elbow to the head from close range. Hogan says something like, “What the hell was that?!”, to which Tony mockingly replies, “It’s called mixed martial arts, and it’s been around for about three weeks.” Hogan spits back, “It’s called dirty boxing, and it’s been around a long time.” Of course, then Scarlet Johannsen is there for some logical cinematic reasons and ends up jumping in the ring, doing this crazy flying-leglock-on-head throw and finishes Hogan with an armbar.
At least that’s what I think happened. Scarlet’s hotness made that part a blurr.
Where were we? Aw, yes. The point, if I even have one, is that the components of MMA have been around a long time, but it’s nice to have a little media love, besides the Diaz brothers kicking a dude while he’s down. To sign off, I leave you with some pics of Robert Downey Jr practicing his martial art of Wing Chung on set.
The martial arts are challenging and rewarding. More than just a sport, martial arts is a form of self defense, fitness, opportunity for competition, an outlet of philosophy and artistic expression. As a coach, I respect the reasons a student may have for choosing to study martial arts and try to provide a framework where they can pursue their specific desires.
However, I have rules, regulations, and teaching ideals that remain constant throughout the different martial arts I teach, regardless or gender, age, or experience level of the students. My hope is that these rules and ideas assist all of us live, grow and love the martial arts. The study of martial arts has been one of the most positive forces in my life, and could be a defining element of joy in a student’s life as well.
Teaching Ideals
Safety is priority number one. No goal, however worthy, will be worked on unless it can exist in harmony with this prerogative.
My martial art classes are not a place for rehabilitation, mental or physical. True, martial arts strengthen the body and mind; but there is a base-line of personal well-being that must be maintained in order to maintain safety of the instructor and students. Serious emotional or physical injury need to be taken care of by a competent professional.
We strive to respect others and ourselves. We cannot truly have one without the other.
Our class is an environment of learning.
We leaving our ego at the door. This is not a trite saying– we train in a space of safety and respect, so there is no need to prove anything to anybody. We know ourselves and accept ourselves with our combination of flaws and strengths. We do not compare ourselves to others for the purpose of creating a pecking order.
All those in our classes are teammates and not competitors. We share knowledge, experience, and respect liberally with each other. The stronger our teammates become, the better off we are for it. We accelerate our growth collectively.
When we train hard with each other, it is still in alignment with our views of safety, respect, and ego. When we compete, we do not deviate from our philosophies.
As an teacher, I try to perpetually focus on fundamentals and strive for principle based instruction. As a shining example, I quote martial art instructor Matt Thornton, “The entire curriculum … revolves around the fundamentals of the delivery system. And because of this, each individual athlete is given the freedom needed to develop his/her own style; one that is optimum for their own body, mind and temperament. In a Gym that focuses on fundamentals, as opposed to a technique-by-technique template, each [student uses] very different types of games. And this not only produces better athletes/technicians quickly, it also helps impart and preserve the core Art (delivery system) itself.”
Martial arts is a way of life. Our training is not a compartment our being, it is a fiber that runs throughout. If we are jerks outside of class, we bring that to the mats. Likewise, if we keep our cool, show respect and determination on the mats we will take that everywhere we go and to everyone we meet.
Life is about joy and martial arts reflects that. We train hard, yes, but we laugh, play and relax in the joys of it. Our team is primarily a group of friends with a common interest in martial arts.
Rules, Regulations, and Expectations
Arrive on time to class and notify the teacher if you must leave early.
Wear appropriate training clothing. Sport shorts, athletic pants, or martial arts uniform (gi) are acceptable. Shirts are required. No clothing with metal zippers, rivets or buttons are permitted.
No shoes of any kind are allowed on the mats.
Body piercings and jewelry (including watches, wedding rings, necklaces) of all kinds are to be removed before training begins. They are safety hazards.
Students “going too hard” in training will be reminded to relax first. Next they will be asked stop participating for a time if they cannot or will not control themselves. Repeat offenders will have private talks with the coach to determine if they can continue to train with team members.
Students are expected to communicate with each other about how comfortable they feel about training intensity. Honesty-with-self and lack of ego make this easy – it is never a problem to say to a teammate, “I need to take it light today.”
Cursing and vulgar language is not permitted.
Remarks or gestures of a sexual nature will not be tolerated. I take such offences very seriously– depending on the instance, there may not be opportunity for students to remain training with the team. Our ability to grow as a team is affected when individuals create such discomfort.
Students are expected to clean, take out, and put away the mats as necessary. This is a form of respect for self, team, and our environment.
If students are found instigating fights, inside our outside of class, they will not be allowed to train with the team. True warriors save it for the ring.
If students are sick, they are invited to watch but not participate.
If you have medical conditions that could get others sick – hepatitis, various rashes, warts, etc – the instructor and training partners need to be aware. See below.
Students are NEVER expected to share details of physical illness, disease, injury (emotionally or physically), but are expected to take responsibility for their own well being and sit out when necessary.
If students are uncomfortable for any reason, they are not required to participate in the activity and may sit out.
Students are expected to be clean physically for practice. Proper showering, usage of deodorant/antiperspirant, and oral hygiene are not just social conventions, but standards of safety and respect. Infractions will be brought up in a confidential manner.
Fingernails and toenails are to be trimmed neatly; if they remain sharp, a nail file is to be used to smooth them.
Training clothing is to be washed regularly, immediately after each use if possible. Just because you don’t sweat or they don’t smell does not give you permission to bend this rule. This is a matter of safety, not social convention.
Students are expected to learn and apply the team training philosophies on their own, in addition to the instruction they learn.
Students are expected to ask questions.
Students are expected to inform the instructor if something un-safe is occurring.
Students are expected to support teammates with positive reinforcement, never criticism. If you cannot offer a technical pointer without offense, don’t say it.
Students are expected to have fun.
Assignment for U of U students:
After reading, you are required to write one comment about 50 words long. Use your first name and last initial so I can give you credit. As for the content of your comment, it’s up to you, provided it moves the conversation along. Question, disagree, ask for clarification, add your own thoughts. I’m sure I’ve missed something – illuminate me!
As we’ve talked about before, the “Cool post bro” response is inadequate.
Also, consider other teammate’s comments when you write your own. Feel free to address them and exchange ideas.
Try to see yourself as you truly are and try to adopt what is meritorious in the work of others. As a [martial artist] you will of course often watch others practice. When you do and you see strong points in the performance of others, try to incorporate them into your own technique. At the same time, if the trainee you are watching seems to be doing less than his best, ask yourself whether you too may not be failing [in that same area]. Each of us has good qualities and bad; the wise man seeks to emulate the good he precieves in others and avoid the bad.
There is a lot of wisdom in this quote. One part in particular has been enlightening for me – when you see a fighter make a mistake it is easy to criticize instead of checking yourself to see if you too have the same malady. I’ve been told that the faults we possess are easy to see when they are exhibited in others, but elusive in ourselves.
Know yourself. See what is being proven effective. Evolve.
I’ve published over 150 posts here at SLCMMA, and I appreciate you reading some of them. You’ve brought traffic to my blog, maybe even clicked on my adsense ads to help me out – now I want to do something for you.
Tell me what you’d like to see – more pictures, videos, interviews … request away. As my blog grows, I want to give you what you want. So tell me what that is!
For example, in my personal life, I’ve had a number of requests to write something about flexibility, so I’m putting together a free Ebook that will be available later this year. It’s a pretty big project for me, but since I know it will be appreciated I’m going to do it.
Of course, I may know nothing about what you want to know. In that case, what a cool opportunity for me to learn it, right?
In the comments, request something you’d like me to write about, and I’ll do my best to cover it in the future.
