You can't go back faster than a man can come forward. You can't come
forward faster than a man can side step out of your path. I was once
teaching an algebra class and was playing with the Pythagorean Theorem.
The theorem solves passing issues and can accurately determine speeds
and distances that weapons will travel and their direction. The center
leg of a triangle moves faster than the other leg and the hypotenuse of a
triangle. Hence, the safety of side stepping is based on mathematics,
pure and simple. This is the proper way to deal with the heavy hitters.
Side step them. I am shocked at how many times that I've seen men
attempting to defend themselves against a hard hitting man and freeze,
or even try to out hit their hard hitting attacker. I do understand that
you do have to do something, but trying to out hit a man who hits
harder than you may not be the most correct answer. I was watching the
teacher of GM Marc Lawrence a few months ago. Marc's former Master
really Isn't that large of a man, but he is muscular and hits like a
small truck would hit you running through a red light in an
intersection. I like Marc's former teacher, he is very serious and
dedicated to his art. He had great skills many years ago when I first
saw him perform, he is even better now and hits even harder than when I
first saw him perform. Damn, it's pretty hard. I wouldn't want to be at
the other end of his weapons, should he seriously mean to come after me.
What I wouldn't do would be to try and out power hit this hard core
power hitter. Out would come the Pythagorean Theorem and proof of my
need to side step the power. It's just hard to hit something that just
Isn't there to hit. It has surprised me how many times that math has
solved my martial problems. The great Escrimadors may not have had any
formal training in higher math, but they were great problem solvers who
innately used math non-the-less. The great Escrimadors had a self-taught
Ph.D in higher mathematics. My art of Serrada Escrima is deeply based
upon applied math principles that helps make Serrada Escrima an
inherently fast art. Basic Serrada is a great FMA that can make a man
capable of defending himself in six months or less. This is fairly fast
by most martial arts standards. Perfecting the upper level skill sets of
Serrada Escrima takes a life time. We get really large jumps in skill
level in the beginning with relatively little effort, but after the
first few months elevating your skill level starts to become much
harder. It will then take lots of effort to gain small increases in
skill level. There is an equation here. Nothing good is cheap or easy. I
can only but laugh my ass off at the periodic advertisements that
promises (guarentees) you the ability to be able to defeat seasoned
street fighters and upper level Black Belts with just $69.95 and a few
hours of watching a DVD. In the end my late teacher Angel Cabales didn't
really have to do much to kick my ass. He didn't move fast and he
didn't hit appreciably hard: But, that didn't stop him from pissing on
my Escrima parade on any given day of the week. Manong Angel knew what
to do and when to do it. This is priceless. He had little or no wasted
effort when he performed. He had near perfect timing. He had five
decades of experience. He could perform through his fears and wouldn't
hesitate to hit you. Applied math skills...you bet ya'. Knowing what to
do and then being able to do it without any glitches is proof of great
skill. But, this really wasn't his true forte! More importantly, Angel
Cabales knew what to do when things didn't go right. He could quickly
change up on real time and still find a way to beat you. Was it arcane
math that allowed him to accomplish this? In a word, yes. He may not
have been able to explain this via formulas, but after years of studying
mine and his art: It was math that allowed him to become and remain a
great martial artist. Movement, power, distances, time, leverage, etc.,
is all about math. It is kind of hard to start looking upon great
martial artists as consumat mathematicians, but that they are. So here
is my salute to math and the great martial artists who perfected maths
use in their arts.
