What does the term “dead-pattern” mean when applied to martial arts?
It means the direct opposite of Aliveness.
The video below is a textbook example of dead-pattern training.
Watch the feeder, not the one doing the demonstration.
Note how he locks out his arm in a manner no attacker on earth would ever use – allowing the fantasy-based martial arts instructor to add in all his make-believe movement.
Listen to the verbiage. Hear all the boy-speak?
You will hear him talk about how this blow will break such and such bone, or how this move will allow you to “kill” the attacker. It is all nonsense, it’s all childish bravado. However, that ad-copy helps sell the delusion to scared and insecure people. People, mostly boys and men, who would otherwise benefit massively from functional martial arts, i.e. combat sports training.
Nothing good will come from this.
You’re learning habits that you’ll have to break if you ever do engage in functional training.
You’re developing a false sense of confidence that, at best, will waste your precious time, and at worst, get you seriously hurt.
And, in the case of the instructor, you’re making the world a little more ignorant, rather than a little more enlightened. You are moving those asking for help further away from the solution.
It’s never hard to see through all this if you’re honest with yourself, and you know what to look for.
Ignoring it isn’t kind or polite, it’s generally apathetic. What would you say to someone you really cared about, when it comes to this sort of training? Would you let your daughter train this way?
Consider that before you drop the flippant and dishonest line that “All arts have something good to offer.”
Be kind. Tell the truth. 🦍💡
SBG Korea head coach, John Frankl and I discussed this specific topic in the spring of 2018. Coach John is a teacher by both profession and hobby. He is professor of Korean literature, with a graduate degree from Harvard, and, a world-class BJJ coach who has been extremely influential to SBG’s curriculum over the years. His insights are worth listening to.
If you’ve ever wondered just how honest is too honest, you will probably enjoy our discussion: