What can you tell me about creating a new style?

Hello all, yaga.

My question isn't really about starting a new style; that only revolves around getting people to follow it, unless there are some type of legislation requirements that no one is generally aware of. I;m really just wondering how people take to that kind of stuff, and if there are adequate reasons why someone should not found a new form.

A few of the things I've heard are: Styles take years to create and hundreds of years to refine.

There is no such thing as an original idea; only hyper-combos and improvements.

However; there are always exceptions, and the second reason I listed is never a reason to not try. so I would appreciate any help on the matter.

 

Why are you trying to create a new style and what's your past experience with martial arts?

 

Philosoraptor I love the name.

My past experience is only what a kid would have, purple belt in Tae Kwon Do and 1 year with karate. Besides the basic knowledge of discipline and how to train, that is all I retained from that. I am trying to change that now by practicing boxing/ MMA and Goshin Jujitsu. I don't exactly know if I want to "make" a new style yet even, but I have been taking notes on its possibility for years now. I am fairly certain there is no consolidated method for this type of style yet.

Bassai, this is good advice that you have given because I have yet to really test it on a person in a true situation. I hope for my sake that in that time, it works as well as it has in training.

 

Everyone who takes their training seriously creates a new personal style (which in itself is likely to be a combination of previously done things), most people just continue to teach the one they were taught however, and leave it to the student to make private adaptations as they did. This repetition of the mould is a fairly new phenomenon, linked to the mass teaching of martial arts in public.

All decent martial arts have roots that are hundreds of years old, but most martial arts styles are under 70 years old in their present forms.

 

Fixed to be pedantic!

 

Thank you jwt, bassai, and Hannibal. What you all have said is true because we all have different bodies and therefore move differently; and therefore focus on certain things more.

But I am certain that what I have taken notes on is not a repetition. I did not observe other martial arts for my notes, rather I have observed many other elements. However, knowing another fighting style is helpful

 

Yes, I would love to.

What I mean is, most of the notes I have taken are not on other forms if martial arts. For instance pressure points and anatomy was my own research. The only influence from other forms would be stances. It is not only hand to hand either, it has weapon usage. But the weapon usage is not taken from other styles either, as weapons used may be improvised.

 

People who form their own styles tend to have decades of experience. The fact of the matter is that to form a martial art that compares to previously established arts you would need massive amounts of training and experience. Do you feel like you are qualified to not only create a new way to fight, but train people to fight?

 

Honestly man, the chances of you coming up with a new way to use weapons or the human body, with comparatively no real significant experience in either hand to hand combat or weapons usage is slim to none. People have been fighting each other for like, a bajillion years, and have come up with some very effective ways to do it mostly by, well, actually fighting people, studying different martial arts and stabbing dudes in the face. I question whether you have the necessary experience to make a significant contribution to the methodology. With that said, I've been playing around with my Dad's golf clubs, and I could totally take out a jedi, no problem.

 

I hate to ask this being 18 myself, but how old are you?

 

That is a good point, grass hopper. And also Philosoraptor. I don't know if I could teach someone how to fight to compete against a master in another form of martial arts. I am no master myself, and I doubt I can fight a master in another form. But from my notes, it is definitely possible to practice. However I would compare it more to kavmagra in that it will not be used for competition; purely for self-defense. I could teach anyone well enough to use it in a life situation.

It is fine grass hopper, I am 21 a month from being 22.

 

I would suggest you spend some time reading through threads, especially sticky threads, on the self defence forum here.

 

What makes you qualified to teach self defense? A knowledge of pressure points really just isn't sufficient to create a martial art.

 

Jwt I read a bit of them, there is certainly alot of information there. Any in specific I should check?

Grass hopper, pressure points and anatomy (being a major part of any martial art) however are not the only thing that would be used.

 

I would suggest you focus primarily on
1. Avoidance
2. The training methods for effective physical ability.

If you follow the uppermost link in my signature you'll find your way to a short beginner's reading list.

 

I really don't think there is much to cover anymore as far as fighting, subduing, or avoiding people in fights. There is already so much out there and to try and do something "unique" often falls into "not practical" (from my experiences).

There is plenty of room for developing training methods, nutritional needs, and the blending of the more focused styles into one (called MMA currently : P). If you were really interested in trying to do things a certain way that you developed through training, diet, and cross-training I would suggest looking into getting certified as a personal trainer or group fitness instructor while competing in various competitive martial arts such as grappling, MMA, Boxing, Muay Thai, etc.. At some point you could possibly teach others not only how to fight but also how to train and eat, especially if you find your niche in something specific.

To me that's more attractive then developing my own style.

 

What would your style consist of specifically?