Martial arts as magic

Posted on May 5, 2009 in Martial Arts | 1 comment

In 1961, Arthur C. Clarke famously wrote:

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

After studying martial arts for about a year and a half, I have a corollary to add:

“Any sufficiently advanced martial art is indistinguishable from magic.”

What I mean by that isn’t so much that I think my senseis are wizards; it’s more that what I experience when working with them gives me a sense of awe that I would have if I saw someone levitate, cast a spell, or just pull a rabbit out of a hat for real.

At Northwest Martial Arts dojo in Bothell, where my wife and I train, we are extremely fortunate to work with excellent instructors. And those instructors are equally fortunate to have an instructor they can work with: Hiroo Ito. On some lucky occasions, I serve as a training partner for one of my karate senseis as they learn advanced techniques and applications from Ito-sensei. It’s in working with Ito-sensei that I came to associate Clarke’s statement with martial arts. Ito, a Japanese man in his sixties, can do incredible things with no effort. He’s punched me like a freight train by simply dropping his fist on my chest from an inch away, while smiling and saying “five percent.” He’s thrown me to the mat with such force that it rattled my teeth and kept me from getting up for a moment; he’s done the same throw but so light and feathery soft that I found myself laughing when I realized I was on the ground. And he’s so connected to the ground that it is impossible to move him, despite the tough, sweaty, guys dedicated to the task. And I’ve never seen him grimace, grunt, strain or show any sign of effort. In fact, he’s usually smiling or laughing as he demonstrates. “No muscle,” “easy,” “just move” are some of his frequently-uttered statements. Trying to do what he does sometimes feels as difficult as it would attempting to levitate or turn invisible, with one exception: I know in my mind that what Ito-sensei is doing is possible with enough training.

The opportunity to train with Ito-sensei highlights what is so awe-inspiring about the martial arts. When I work with Yamamoto- or Krohn-senseis, I feel like they’re a hundred times better than me, that no matter what I did if I really tried to attack them, I’d have absolutely zero chance of beating them (it’s a good thing I don’t want to try!). But when I work with them as they train with Ito-sensei, I see them as students. I notice that they sometimes have difficulty getting everything that Ito-sensei is showing them, or I see the light of understanding flicker in their eyes as a technique starts to make sense. It’s helpful to see ones’ teachers are also students—it humanizes them to a degree—but humbling to think that these martial artists who are so beyond your skill are themselves so much less powerful than their teacher.

Martial arts is indeed a long road. That’s why one English translation defines sensei as “one who has gone before“… all students are at different places along that road.

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