Comparing Apples To Oranges
January 29, 2008
Incidentally, it has almost been four years since I’ve used the word “apples” in a blog entry.
Yesterday a clip from the National Geographic’s Fight Science, one of the cooler martial arts documentaries done in a long time, came on a Japanese show. The clip showed the “science” behind comparing different punches, kicks, and attacks of various martial art styles.
The kung fu guy punched a meager 250 (I forgot what the measurements were… maybe lbs/sq inch?) while the karate guy a lot higher, and the boxer a 400. Sadly the kung fu guy’s punch was pathetic – it was delivered with only the upper body while the boxer really leaned in and used the whole body’s weight on that punch. Oh yes, the kung fu guy looked tiny compared to the boxer as well. During the segment, I don’t think the measured force to weight ratios.
Upon watching this I couldn’t help but notice that the show’s intent was to then draw conclusions on the data. The boxer hit the hardest, therefore it is the best. The Kung Fu guy threw a baby kitten punch, therefore it is the worst. I’m sure The Woman had this thought. If anything, it only proves that that kung fu guy threw a meager punch and that boxing guy hit harder.
Then, the pure measurement of these punches mean nothing unless they actually neutralize their target. I would gladly take a 400 punch to my arm than a 250 punch to the nose or solar plexis.
Anyway, the point of all this is that the art, is after all, an art. An art is an expression of the self and thus there is no right or wrong, no good or bad. So many times do I hear practitioners say that their art is superior to the rest. That, this and that art are crap and that this art can beat that art anytime anyday. That’s ridiculous. The art in itself does not fight, does not complete. We do! The human does. The human can win and lose, regardless of the art. The best student of art A fighting the worst student of art B does not demonstrate which is better.
The only judge of anything is yourself. The only thing you can always compare is your present results with your past. Work towards punching a little faster, a little harder. Working towards this goal is the true art,
so says I.
