Goal

The purpose of the Martial Arts Research Group is to foster a scientific research environment where members are free to formulate, test, exchange and practice martial arts ideas and applications. To further define this, the following points clarify this broader goal:

APPLICATION FOCUSED - While interesting, researching philosophies or health and practicing discipline or cultural traditions are not goals of the group.

SCIENTIFIC - Experimental in nature, looking for repeatable techniques and testable theories.

OPEN - To anyone with an honest interest in any martial art applications research or training.

HIERARCHY-FREE - Does not seek to establish a political hierarchy or a system of rank.

NON-PROPRIETARY - Choose to share or not to share, but do not put any restrictions on what you share.

NON-STYLISTIC - Will not discriminate against nor will it be constrained by any particular style or system.

NON-RELIGIOUS - While individuals may practice any form of religion from Christianity to the more traditional eastern marital art religions such as Shinto, Buddhism or Taoism, the group is not a forum for religious teaching or study.

SAFE - Due to the destructive nature of martial arts techniques, it is particularly important to practice safely.

And now in greater detail:

Martial Art

The use of the term Martial Art in the goal above covers all forms of fighting, whether it be self defense, attack, warfare, law enforcement and even sport. Since this is an "all-encompassing" interpretation, it may cover more than what some people are used to. Conversely it is important to clarify your position if referring to a specific subset of the martial arts since others in the group may be talking about this all encompassing definition.

Applications

Martial applications are the main focus of the group. This does not mean that research will not be done in other areas, such as history, health, philosophy or forms, but simply that they are not the focus. There are plenty of other groups which focus on these other aspects of the martial arts and these groups will probably be more satisfying for anyone interested in researching those areas.

Philosophy is obviously an important part of the martial arts, most of us have our reasons for studying, often philosophical in nature. While debating these reasons should be avoided, one should feel free to discuss the philosophy as a goal (maybe your goal), and to explain that a technique may help achieve this. But arguing whether this goal is noble or not should not overshadow any attempts at research.

Health may be of interest to the group, but not from a perspective of researching health specific applications. Health may be considered an important criterion when selecting techniques if for example: one believes that practicing techniques for self defense which harm your body seems oxymoronic.

Scientific

It is important that scientific methods be used in the research, which Merriam-Webster defines as:

"principles and procedures for the systematic pursuit of knowledge involving the recognition and formulation of a problem, the collection of data through observation and experiment, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses"

This should always be kept in mind while discussing the value or effectiveness of a technique. Understanding and being able to demonstrate the usefulness, speed, power and other criteria of a technique in a repetitive manner is desired.

Avoid doctrine or stylistic based arguments when discussing the effectiveness of a technique. Since the goal is to research scientifically, it is probably counteractive to assert that a technique is good simply because someone (such as your teacher) asserted that it was good, or that the technique must be good since it is 1000 years old. Techniques should be judged by merit. Try to prove its effectiveness through logic and reasoning, use physics, not verbal affirmation. I am reminded of this constantly when I believe something should be effective but I can't quite show it. I am grateful if I am not allowed to accept the validity of a technique or theory until I can demonstrate it repeatedly.

Open

Keep the group open to anyone interested in the above goal who does not specifically interfere with it. Since discipline is not a focus of the group and rank is not endorsed, it is critically important that members behave politely and try to remember the goals of the group. That being said you do not need to share in these goals to participate, we ask simply that you respect other members if they seem to focus on them.

Hierarchy-Free

A group cannot be truly open unless it is hierarchy free. Almost every martial artist has been asked "what rank are you?" It seems almost unnatural to imagine the martial arts without rank. Well, like religion, rank is another component of the martial arts that is more a cultural component than a necessary martial component. And even then, rank as most people know it is mainly an American "innovation".

The Japanese martial arts probably initiated the use of rank in the martial arts due to the structured nature of their culture. This has lead to large martial organizations which are highly political in nature and rank seems almost to provide a "raison d'être" for many of these.

On the other hand the Americans have taken martial arts' rank to the extreme to which Americans are best, the commercial extreme. :) Rank is a means for many schools to justify extra costs. Every "bar" on every colored belt is an additional fee. Rank keeps students coming back for more. It is amazing how people will pay for acknowledgement.

Since the main purposes of rank seems to be political and disciplinary control (after-all, it is called rank) along with monetary extortion, it should be fairly evident why this is not very meaningful to research. If you feel that rank helps you understand what knowledge someone has and how valid their opinions are (if only it were that easy), just try the alternate route of asking someone what they know. Ask them to explain why they do something. Ask them to demonstrate their theories. Theories can be discussed, tested and debated reasonably, rank cannot.

Lastly, respect does not require rank nor discipline and is still highly encouraged. An open research group should make anyone feel like they can offer knowledge and ideas. We hope that a rank free environment will help break down any barriers to true scientific investigation.

Non-Proprietary

This is mostly likely not going to be a problem, but it could be of concern to some people and is nevertheless and important component to effective research. Since this is a research group, ideas need to be exchanged and discussed freely. It is not possible to progress forward without the ability to investigate the past to see what has already been tried, it is not possible to confirm scientific theories without the ability to replicate and alter experiments. Martial arts knowledge is like physics (or math) and it would be a shame if someone could own a branch of science. That being said, it is helpful from an academic standpoint to point out resources and references when appropriate, for starters it helps to clarify the context of a position.

Non-Stylistic

This means that anyone studying any style of martial art and also anyone not studying any martial art should be welcome to join and participate in the group.

It is important to realize that no style can control or limit the motion of the human body which follows the natural laws of physics and anatomy. Most styles have specific goals or philosophies which may limit their movement or techniques. Many styles and schools even have political and commercial goals which strongly influence their techniques and methods of practice. On the other hand no style exists in a vacuum and even more important, no instructor exists in a vacuum, therefor individuals may provide a limited or even an expanded view of a specific style. When discussing a style, try to distinguish your experience with the style from your experience with particular instructors and particular schools.

That being said, styles have martial value and most people in any martial arts group will have a stylistic background. Most of the material covered in training and research will come by way of someone's style. Therefor it is paramount for the group to be open to investigating techniques from any style, system or any other fighting knowledge base.

Non-Religious

Many of the traditions practiced in eastern martial arts are actually religious rituals. An example is the clapping/bowing that many Aikido schools do at the beginning and end of class. Most westerners just think that these are neat traditions and are a part of the martial art. While tolerance of other people's beliefs is important, a truly open group should not compel anyone to practice any religious rituals.