Shiro Tora article MAI magazine September 2009

This article appears in this month's MAI Martial Arts Illustrated magazine, on page 135.

It is accompanied by some pics of White Tiger training including Eskrima stickfighting, Vale Tudo match during the ground phase and blindfold Chi Sao.


The Evolution of the Martial Arts Dojo


Have you ever seen the James Bond film "You Only Live Twice"?

Filmed in the 60s, Bond is stationed in Japan and attends Tiger Tanaka's "Ninja" training camp. This isn't actually a "Ninja" camp at all, but it's a perfect example of a traditional Japanese Budo dojo.

We see lots of Martial Arts going on at the same time - Karate, Judo, Aikido, Kenjtsu, Bojutsu. Rather than being in a dojo hall, the training goes on outside (it's a nice day after all). The point being there are not seperate classes for all the different disciplines. They are all being taught and practiced at the same time.

That's how it was traditionally at Japanese dojos. Everyone trained in every discipline, moving around in small manageable groups between the various Sensei present.

Also, all these "different" arts have a common origin.
Karate is taken from two schools of Okinawan Kempo.
Judo is made up of bits from various schools of Jujutsu.
The Jujutsu schools themselves have a variety of techniques from different sources.
Aikido is a mix of Jujutsu and Kenjutsu.

When Martial Art reached the Western world everybody started specialising in one art, then one style of that art. You "only" did karate, then you "only" did Shotokan, or "only" did Kyukushinkai. Students and clubs focussed on the differences rather than the similarities.

When the UFC, and it's subsequent inspired events, arrived in the 90s, it was originally art vs art. Karate vs Kickboxing, Judo vs karate, Kung Fu vs Jujutsu.
As the competitions evolved, people began "cross training". Kickboxers learnt some grappling. Grapplers learned how to punch and kick.

This gave birth to what is referred to now as "Mixed Martial Arts". Students are attending sessions which incorporate techiques and tactics from different systems again, and learning the similarities and the blends. Once again people are practicing integrated systems and pressure testing them in competition.

As we begin the second decade of the 21st Century, things have come full circle. People are practicing "everything" again.

At the Shiro Tora White Tiger Academy The core class is our Unarmed Combat-Self Protection - Threat Response - Street Fighting system.

This is a set of drills students practice with each other.

There is no punching and kicking the air, though we do incorporate shadow boxing.

There is no hard oriental "discipline", we train in a relaxed and friendly manner.

There is no bowing, we prefer a smile and a handshake.

There is no half hour "warm up", just some basic stretching.
This is not an aerobics class or a yoga class, it is a Martial Arts skills class. You spend your time building skills.

This is real time one-on-one CQC drilling, taken from our core arts of Karate, Jujutsu and Kung Fu (which itself is mainly Wing Chun).

There is karate style sparring and chi sao sparring for those who want to do it.
Nobody is forced to spar until ready, but those who want to can "get stuck in" on their first night if they wish.

There is no special uniform or gi, just wear what you feel comfortable in.

The class then bifurcates into Kickboxing and Kobudo (weapons) for those who want to learn these skills.

For Kickboxing you need your own protective gear for partner drills and sparring.
You can bring your own or buy from us at a reasonable rate.
There is some kit on loan for those who want to "try before they buy".
There is impact work on focus pads, Thai pads, and shields. Again, to get maximum benefit students are encouraged to buy their own pads, though there will be some provided.

For Kobudo students need to buy their own weapons depending on what they want to get involved with:

A pair of sticks and a knife.
A pair of tonfa.
A set of nunchaku, both foam safety and wood/chain.
Bokken, shinai, jo and bo.

There will be weapons provided for those who want to "try before they buy".

There is basic weapon sparring with sticks, nunchaku, sword and staff.
Later we will look into acquiring armour for full contact weapons sparring.

Then we put the mats down and practice our throws and takedowns, and spar “randori”. Then we practice groundgrappling, and groundfighting, which is not the same thing as “groundfighting” involves strikes.

Finally we put it all together and practice Vale Tudo from outrange, to kicking and punching, to vertical grappling, to the ground. We even have sessions where we incorporate weapons – from outrange to the ground.

In the 60s in LA, Bruce Lee came up with the concept of practicing techniques and drills from many different arts and called his concept "Jeet Kune Do". One of the key concepts was "Using no way as way, having no limitation as limitation".

It's something we still aspire to today.