Monday, April 23, 2007

Cross-Training or Cross-Referencing?

You have seen them. You open up the yellow pages and find a martial arts school advertising instruction in a half-of-a-dozen different martial arts styles. You think to yourself....WOW! What a deal. You can learn 6 different arts all at one location. There is kick boxing, traditional karate, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Kenpo, Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido.....and so on....And the studio owner is an expert in all of them!

Now that is what I call cross-training!!

The reality is, however, that the vast majority of martial artists cross-train in different arts because they lack the patience and desire to learn their base system correctly. When a perceived deficiency in their art is unraveled, they are quick to jump the band wagon onto another art to fulfill this supposed deficiency.

Guess what? I was one of them.

Having started Kenpo Karate back in 1985, I achieved the rank of 1st Degree Black Belt in 1990. In 1991, I obtained my 1st Degree Black Belt in Modern Arnis (I started Arnis in 1987) as well as my 2nd Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. That same year I started training in Black Dragon Kung Fu and achieved the rank of 1st Degree Black Belt in 1994. Seven years later I received a 1st Degree Black Belt rank in Shorinji-Ryu Karate. This is not to take away from these important achievements in my life. Training in Modern Arnis, for example, gave me the opportunity to train under one of the world's best stick and knife fighters on the globe, the late Grandmaster Remy Presas. Likewise, training in Kung Fu gave me the opportunity to take my sparring to new levels, learn very intricate forms, ground-fight, and learn a truckload of weapons.

All of this time, however, my base art that I constantly trained in was Kenpo Karate. I currently hold the rank of 6th Degree Black Belt (Professor) in that art and received my rank under Grandmaster Larry Tatum in 2004. Through consistent practice and seeking out some of the best Kenpo instructors on the globe, I have learned that a lot of Kenpo's supposed deficiencies were due to my lack of understanding. I have come to realize, for example, why everything was implemented in the system the way it was, and how each component of the system (be it forms, sets, techniques, extensions, sparring, weaponry) is important. I have learned that one need not cross-train in Brazilian jiu-jitsu to learn how to fight on the ground. Kenpo can be applied on the ground just fine; I just needed someone like Larry Tatum to show me how.

Cross-training is not the answer; cross-referencing is. The difference is that the latter concept allows you to explore the value of other arts via seminars or the exchanging of ideas, while allowing you to see how these different arts relate back to your base art. By contrast, cross-training means that a large portion of your time is devoted to learning a different art than your base art. This means that you are taking ample time away from growing, learning, and improving in your base art. You are seeking answers and exploring different opportunities that most likely existed right in your base art, although you didn't seek proper instruction to find it out.