FEATURED ARTICLE: Bow To Your Sensei!

 With the advent of the UFC, Mystic, WEC, Dream, and Strikeforce mixed martial arts leagues, there's been an explosion of interest in mixing styles together to create the perfect combination of techniques and strategies that would hold up in a real fight. In my hometown there is a Karate school that just started Gracie Jiujitsu classes, and a Taekwondo school that now offers BJJ and Jeet Kun Do. These schools saw an opportunity to increase the credibility of their respective arts by covering a few of their shortcomings with ideas from other styles. Many training centers are developing altogether new programs that try to cover all the bases of martial arts from the ground up. A great example of this is MCMAP,  the martial art of the Marine Corps. There are many schools, however, that have remained unaffected by this recent trend in the mixed arts. These are the Karate, Taekwondo, Judo, Jiujitsu, Kungfu, and Hapkido dojos that remain loyal to the purity of their respective styles. These are commonly referred to as "pure" martial arts for obvious reasons.
 
 
 
Though these training centers seem uninterested in the martial arts revolution going on around them, there is nothing inherently wrong with training in a single pure style. As a matter of fact, there's a lot to be had at these traditional training schools that might not be available in mixed discipline training. Many pure martial arts centers are rich with tradition and history. Students of these styles often develop connections with ancient warrior cultures, such as the samurai or the shaolin monks. There's a lot of value in this sort of traditional culture. The Marine Corps calls it the "Warrior Ethos," and they attempt to instill this warrior culture into the mind of every marine who goes through their program.
There's a lot to be said about the practicality of pure schools as well. I've never seen one alone that teaches every important aspect of fighting, though I've seen plenty that cover a broad enough picture of it pretty well. Many purists have proven their mettle in the ring and the battlefield because they had the right training and instinct to apply their art in a practical way. Most pure martial arts can be effective if they're approached realistically, which brings us to our next point.
When pure martial arts are taught incorrectly, what you get is what many martial artists call a "McDojo". To me, and to many other self-respecting martial arts instructors, this is the cardinal sin of martial arts. I say that with no disrespect to their students, because I believe this is a weakness of the instructors. A McDojo is a training center where instructors compromise the material they teach to their students in order to make it easier and more popular. In these schools, it is far too easy to get a rank if you have the money, regardless of your age. In a McDojo, it is no uncommon thing to see a four-year-old with a black belt. This is because their programs are designed to increase revenue, not to produce great martial artists. McDojos are also occasionally characterized by extremely impractical training styles or techniques that advertise an effectiveness they do not actually have. Just think of Rex-Kwon-Do from Napoleon Dynamite and you'll know what I mean.
Many schools begin to become McDojo-ish when they adjust their standards to draw in more students. So how does a school avoid it? A healthy dose of realism and a little creativity helps. For example, a separate belt ranking system for children keeps them involved without compromising the integrity of the adult belt ranks. Also, some full-contact sparring will help students gain some valuable perspective on how their martial art fits into fighting. And let us never be so prideful as to refuse admitting ignorance in certain situations. If you're not sure of what to do when you go to the ground with an opponent, don't feign wisdom by saying that your training makes it impossible to occur. Simply admit to yourself or others that you don't know and focus on training that will help avoid that situation, like preventing the takedown and footwork. An instructor need not be an expert in every aspect of martial arts in order to be good, and neither do the students.
For all you martial arts purists out there, or for those of you considering pure martial arts training, just keep in mind that these schools are not strictly offering self defense, but also tradition, warrior culture, and values. Be sure to train with a healthy perspective of what your art is and isn't capable of. I recommend a little mixed-discipline training to help round you out before you begin purist training to avoid any misunderstandings about how fighting really works. That way you can avoid the weaknesses in ability and understanding that characterize McDojos. Keep those traditions alive, because we mixed martial artists have learned so much from them, whether we remember or not!

 
Brian Brock
Applied Martial Arts Red Belt
Zuma's Jiujitsu Blue Belt