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The Eastern Codes
Which martial arts are we talking about? Karate, muay thai,
kung fu, Tae Kwon Do and many others. Who are they good
for? People who want to both defend and attack when
necessary, and to compete in tournaments.
When we say martial arts, most commonly it is the striking
codes from the Far East that come to mind. These sports
have gained amazing popularity over the last 60 years in the
west. All these codes have a singular focus that in some way
reflects its country of origin.
Muay thai is perhaps that most lethal of them. This is partly
a result of the fact that it employs the knees and elbows in
striking: muay thai actually means “the art of the eight limbs”,
symbolically dividing the arms and legs into two specific
weapons, hinged at the joints.
Karate is one of the most popular martial arts: it is estimated
the 20 million Americans practice the sport. It is primarily
concerned with hard punches and some kicks. Tae Kwon
Do is a descendant of Karate, with a focus on more flowing
movements and higher kicks.
The Western Codes
Which martial arts are we talking about? Krav Maga, LINE,
Sambo, MCMAp. Who are they good for? People who have an
axe to grind, vigilantes, professional soldiers and assassins.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, governments were at
great pains to find better and faster ways to kill people. Over
the last hundred years, Western countries looked east, took
the elements of their martial arts that could really, really hurt
people and developed a handful of incredibly efficient martial
arts that are designed solely to kill.
Finding a teacher for these codes is much more difficult
than finding a karate master, and that is definitely a good
thing. These fighting styles are designed for those in the
professional killing business. If you think these styles suit
you, you may well have to join the military. The American
Marine Corps have had a busy 50 years developing a fighting
style which is remarkable in its ferocity. Until recently they
employed a style called LINE, or Linear Infighting Neural
Override Engagement. Sounds sinister? It was. In fact, the
Americans have shelved it because the end result of a scrap
featuring LINE ended in death. They have since developed
MCMAP, a style that gives the solider the option to kill or to
merely inflict terrible, terrible pain.
The Russian special forces could not be seen to lag with
regards tearing someone apart with their bare hands. After
the 1917 Revolution, a defence system called Sambo emerged.
It was based on Judo but had roots in traditional combat
techniques from around the Soviet Union. More recently, the
Russians used Systema, which is similar to Israel’s Krav Maga.
Krav Maga is in no way a sport. The sole intension of this
code is to kill the opponent as quickly as possible. It was
developed in Europe during the war by Jewish resistance
fighters and found its way back to the Middle East later. It is
famous for ferocity and singular focus.
THE EASTERN CODES
THE WESTERN CODES