Wax on, Wax off: Cleaning as a martial arts metaphor, Part 2

April 28th, 2009By Category: Uncategorized

Creative Commons License photo credit: gigile 2009-254So, in my last entry I spoke on the metaphysical growth necessary to truly master a martial art, and the way that it parallels keeping one’s home clean. For this entry however, I would like to look at it from a more technical angle to draw another parallel: the fact that both cleaning and martial arts extol the virtues of utilizing circular movements.

As any dentist will tell you, circular motions are far more effective in cleaning one’s teeth than straightline movements, and as the back of any cleaning solution’s box will tell you, the same goes for removing stains from surfaces. Of course, as Mr. Miyagi so eloquently put it in ‘The Karate Kid’ this same motion not only works well for applying and removing car wax, but in self-defense as well.

In Capoeira, circular spin motions are used to generate power in one’s kicks through rotational inertia, and Capoeira evasion tactics such as the ‘hore’ employ circular movements as well. In joint-manipulation martial arts such as Aikido or Hapkido circular movements are used when someone grabs you to make their limbs move in directions that they aren’t intented to, and ultimately, either break them, or make the opponents ‘throw themselves’ in order to stop that limb from breaking.

In judo, circular motions are used for both throwing an opponent, and circular rolls are use for lessening the impact of falls by ‘stretching out’ the moment of impact over a longer period of time and across a wider area of the body. Even in ‘straight-line martial arts’ such as Olympic Taekwondo, circular motions are utilized for a great number of traditional blocking techniques, as the gentle circular motion running perpendicular to the attack, can redirect the force of the blow, and a circular twist of the body can get it out of the way of an attack far faster than trying to go above it, below it or sidestep it.

As Martial Arts all evolved (and continue to evolve) through their applicability, (as did cleaning directions) I don’t necessarily think it’s a coincidence that they employ this same, simple concept. It’s constantly employed because it simply always works. Perhaps this is the case because on a higher level, it even parallels nature and life itself. (i.e. the coming and going of the seasons, the food-chain cycle, the return home of a myriad of animals (and people) to reproduce where they started life themselves, etc) So, the next time you are having trouble using stain lifters to get a beer stain out of the carpet, (or defending yourself against a rogue drunk at the bar) remember what Mr. Miyagi would tell you: Wax on, Wax off. www.chuck-n-action.com

Author of this article

Chuck Johnson

Chuck Johnson is a Martial Arts Instructor/ Action Film Actor based in Tokyo, Japan, and Michigan, USA. He has been teaching for 16 years, holds ranks in Taekwondo, Judo, Capoeira, and Karate, and is an experienced bodyguard. He is also a member of the Screen Action Stunt Association, and Society of American Fight Directors. Additionally, he has 10 years of ELT experience, and is the developer of Phat English, a system that uses specialized hip-hop music to teach the subtle nuances of GAm English pronunciation. For more information, visit www.chuck-n-action.com or follow Chuck on twitter at chuck_n_action

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Comments

  • Rather interesting place you’ve got here. Thank you for it. I like such themes and anything that is connected to them. I would like to read a bit more on that blog soon.

    Julia Benedict

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