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PHILOSOPHY ON THE MARTIAL ARTS
From the RMATA president...
I’ve been training in some sort of martial art since 1981; when I was 5 years old. I have sought out many of the
best martial arts instructors in the world. I’ve seen many types of people in the arts, and made several lifelong
friends. Training in Mixed Martial Arts has great benefits, such as gaining a realistic self-defense and fighting
ability, greater strength, endurance, cardiovascular conditioning, flexibility, self-confidence, and being
something that one can fall in love with. Training in the arts has become one of my greatest passions… a
challenging source of fun and stress release... one that I am sure will always endure.
I genuinely try to keep an open mind to learn the best way of doing things. I will always be a humble student
seeking knowledge. I know enough about the arts to know that I will always have much to learn… and I can
always improve. I am dedicated to excelling in all ranges of combat through smart, hard, consistent training. I
want the same thing for my students. I draw my training strategies and techniques from several martial styles
and systems that have proven to be highly effective both in the street and in sport competition. Basically, if it
works against someone who is resisting 100% I want to learn it and make it my own.
I don’t care much for forms, katas, belts, or ranks, although they do have their place. What I care about is what
I can test for effectiveness- things that really work in the street or in the ring. In order to test what really works I
try to make my training as realistic as possible. My students and I beat each other up, and we learn through
the blood and the bruises. I don’t say this to sound like some sort of “tough guy”; I just want to make sure I’m
not wasting my time. Well, that and I enjoy it… there’s an amazing rush in fighting someone that most people
will never experience. I compete in combat sports such as No Holds Barred Fighting, submission grappling,
boxing, kickboxing, and Judo. I don’t get in street fights, nor would I participate in one unless given no other
choice. I’m not into the martial arts to beat people up or go out and get into trouble, and I won't teach anyone
who is.
The martial arts, like anything else, does have its bad sides. To summarize these problems I have the motto
“no egos, attitudes or politics.” These are the biggest problems I’ve seen in the martial arts… or more
specifically in martial artists. If they can be avoided then the whole martial arts training experience is much
more enjoyable and rewarding. Let me explain...
Everyone has an ego, and that in and of itself is not a bad thing. The same goes for attitudes… we all have
them and they greatly vary. However many people are drawn to the arts for the wrong reasons. They want to
give an appearance of power… of being a “tough guy” that you shouldn't mess with. They want to tell you,
“I'm a black belt” and have it impress you. They are typically not into hardcore realistic training that requires
your blood, sweat, and tears to be left on the mat. I’ve had people with big ego and bad attitude problems (they
go hand in hand) come train with me on rare occasion and one of two things inevitably happens; they either
quickly quit realistic training or they lose their big ego and get a much better attitude. With intense, realistic
training there is no other option. When you are actually getting beat up and there’s no hiding or denying it…
when you are tapping to submission over and over again, your ego just can’t be that big. You and the person
who is beating you both know that you have a lot to learn. Most people with big egos and bad attitudes can't
take this… but every now and then someone will stick with it and become an eager student. This is the case
with me… I seek out those in the martial arts that can beat me in any aspect of combat, in any range. I want to
learn from these people that show me that I really do have something to learn from them. Getting beat is the
quickest way to be shown your mistakes and weakness's, so that you can then begin working to improve
them.
The other big problem in the martial arts that I see deals with politics. At the heart of this is often money.
Sometimes people forget the reasons that brought them to the martial arts in the first place. Some people wont
let you train with them if you train with someone else, because they want to be the only ones getting your
money. They don’t want you to find someone better and stop training with them/ paying them. One of the
wisest people I’ve ever met in the martial arts is Sifu Dan Inosanto. One time in class he said something like “if
someone tells you that you shouldn't be training with anyone else but them, then you probably shouldn't be
training with that person. Train with everyone you can. Learn all that you can from every source. You can
learn from those more and less skilled than yourself. Nobody knows it all, don’t ever stop learning.” That is
exactly how I feel. I understand that the reality of running a professional full time dojo is that it takes money to
keep things running, and I have no problem with that. However if what any given school has to offer is
worthwhile then the students will be there. If a school is offering unrealistic techniques or ideas that have not
been proven to work, then that program will fail without manipulating students to stay with other methods.
This is why I'm not a fan of having long contracts with schools… you shouldn't be forced to pay for a year or
so of training ahead of time and then be stuck with whatever type or quality of training that is presented. If you
discover that a particular school is not right for you then you should be able to move on with your money.
This forces programs to provide the type of great training and instruction that will bring students back in and
of itself. I also don’t buy into belt testing fees. What’s up with that? If someone knows the techniques and can
pass the requirements in a certain system up to a particular belt level then they should be that rank. Why hold
back a belt because someone doesn't give you a certain amount of money? I've been training at some big
name places and been offered a certain colored belt after they observed me training. I said sure… they said
“Ok, that’s 250 dollars”. No thanks… I’d rather have no official rank and be able to fight than just buy a belt.
No egos, attitudes or politics. I hope you can remember this simple motto as you continue along your
personal martial arts journey.
Vincent Fields
5/1/04
From the RMATA president...
I’ve been training in some sort of martial art since 1981; when I was 5 years old. I have sought out many of the
best martial arts instructors in the world. I’ve seen many types of people in the arts, and made several lifelong
friends. Training in Mixed Martial Arts has great benefits, such as gaining a realistic self-defense and fighting
ability, greater strength, endurance, cardiovascular conditioning, flexibility, self-confidence, and being
something that one can fall in love with. Training in the arts has become one of my greatest passions… a
challenging source of fun and stress release... one that I am sure will always endure.
I genuinely try to keep an open mind to learn the best way of doing things. I will always be a humble student
seeking knowledge. I know enough about the arts to know that I will always have much to learn… and I can
always improve. I am dedicated to excelling in all ranges of combat through smart, hard, consistent training. I
want the same thing for my students. I draw my training strategies and techniques from several martial styles
and systems that have proven to be highly effective both in the street and in sport competition. Basically, if it
works against someone who is resisting 100% I want to learn it and make it my own.
I don’t care much for forms, katas, belts, or ranks, although they do have their place. What I care about is what
I can test for effectiveness- things that really work in the street or in the ring. In order to test what really works I
try to make my training as realistic as possible. My students and I beat each other up, and we learn through
the blood and the bruises. I don’t say this to sound like some sort of “tough guy”; I just want to make sure I’m
not wasting my time. Well, that and I enjoy it… there’s an amazing rush in fighting someone that most people
will never experience. I compete in combat sports such as No Holds Barred Fighting, submission grappling,
boxing, kickboxing, and Judo. I don’t get in street fights, nor would I participate in one unless given no other
choice. I’m not into the martial arts to beat people up or go out and get into trouble, and I won't teach anyone
who is.
The martial arts, like anything else, does have its bad sides. To summarize these problems I have the motto
“no egos, attitudes or politics.” These are the biggest problems I’ve seen in the martial arts… or more
specifically in martial artists. If they can be avoided then the whole martial arts training experience is much
more enjoyable and rewarding. Let me explain...
Everyone has an ego, and that in and of itself is not a bad thing. The same goes for attitudes… we all have
them and they greatly vary. However many people are drawn to the arts for the wrong reasons. They want to
give an appearance of power… of being a “tough guy” that you shouldn't mess with. They want to tell you,
“I'm a black belt” and have it impress you. They are typically not into hardcore realistic training that requires
your blood, sweat, and tears to be left on the mat. I’ve had people with big ego and bad attitude problems (they
go hand in hand) come train with me on rare occasion and one of two things inevitably happens; they either
quickly quit realistic training or they lose their big ego and get a much better attitude. With intense, realistic
training there is no other option. When you are actually getting beat up and there’s no hiding or denying it…
when you are tapping to submission over and over again, your ego just can’t be that big. You and the person
who is beating you both know that you have a lot to learn. Most people with big egos and bad attitudes can't
take this… but every now and then someone will stick with it and become an eager student. This is the case
with me… I seek out those in the martial arts that can beat me in any aspect of combat, in any range. I want to
learn from these people that show me that I really do have something to learn from them. Getting beat is the
quickest way to be shown your mistakes and weakness's, so that you can then begin working to improve
them.
The other big problem in the martial arts that I see deals with politics. At the heart of this is often money.
Sometimes people forget the reasons that brought them to the martial arts in the first place. Some people wont
let you train with them if you train with someone else, because they want to be the only ones getting your
money. They don’t want you to find someone better and stop training with them/ paying them. One of the
wisest people I’ve ever met in the martial arts is Sifu Dan Inosanto. One time in class he said something like “if
someone tells you that you shouldn't be training with anyone else but them, then you probably shouldn't be
training with that person. Train with everyone you can. Learn all that you can from every source. You can
learn from those more and less skilled than yourself. Nobody knows it all, don’t ever stop learning.” That is
exactly how I feel. I understand that the reality of running a professional full time dojo is that it takes money to
keep things running, and I have no problem with that. However if what any given school has to offer is
worthwhile then the students will be there. If a school is offering unrealistic techniques or ideas that have not
been proven to work, then that program will fail without manipulating students to stay with other methods.
This is why I'm not a fan of having long contracts with schools… you shouldn't be forced to pay for a year or
so of training ahead of time and then be stuck with whatever type or quality of training that is presented. If you
discover that a particular school is not right for you then you should be able to move on with your money.
This forces programs to provide the type of great training and instruction that will bring students back in and
of itself. I also don’t buy into belt testing fees. What’s up with that? If someone knows the techniques and can
pass the requirements in a certain system up to a particular belt level then they should be that rank. Why hold
back a belt because someone doesn't give you a certain amount of money? I've been training at some big
name places and been offered a certain colored belt after they observed me training. I said sure… they said
“Ok, that’s 250 dollars”. No thanks… I’d rather have no official rank and be able to fight than just buy a belt.
No egos, attitudes or politics. I hope you can remember this simple motto as you continue along your
personal martial arts journey.
Vincent Fields
5/1/04