Journey Beyond the Ordinary –
Be Extraordinary!
Bohdi Sanders
A wound that’d make an ordinary man unconscious, I won’t lose to it. A wound that would kill an ordinary man, I won’t lose to it. To face one who is extraordinary, I can’t allow myself to be ordinary. Zorro
Don’t train to be just like everyone else. In most martial arts, people are trained to use the same techniques, the same defense, the same counters, the same attacks, and the same holds as everyone else in their style. And, if someone varies from the program, they are labeled a fake or outed for not following the traditional way, Bruce Lee was attacked for these very reasons.
This is arrogance and ego at work. The martial arts are the arts of war; and in war, the thing that ultimately matters is being victorious. If you only know what everyone else knows, then everyone else knows how to counter your techniques. This is simply unwise.
Don’t train to be like everyone else. If your instructor insists that you only do things “his way,” find an instructor who knows what he is talking about. Of course, if you are going to learn a traditional art, there are traditional ways of performing that art. This goes without saying. But if you are interested in the art of winning or self-defense, you had better be willing to use what works for you.
Don’t train to be ordinary; train to be extraordinary. You have to go beyond the ordinary in order to become extraordinary. You must develop a style that works for you. Not all techniques are useful, in fact, most of what you learn in the majority of dojos will do you little good in the streets. Train for what works! Know what “they” use so you can understand what defeats them; learn what they don’t know so you have an advantage over them.
Too many people get caught up with specific styles, traditional techniques, or doing things how they are “supposed” to be done. That bullshit will get you killed. Let me back up and give you a short anatomy lesson. Everyone’s body is different. People have different types of muscles, different levels of flexibility, different body types, etc.; not everyone is a short, flexible Japanese anymore than everyone has the body of a professional football player. We are all different.
Trying to force yourself to fit in someone else’s mold is silly. You must know yourself, what you can and can’t do, and find what works for you. Sure, there are things which we can all do and basic techniques that pretty much anyone can learn. But then there are the techniques which make you, you. If a certain technique doesn’t work for you, abandon it! Don’t keep wasting time on it simply because it is expected that you know it. It’s time to get real!
Having been in the martial arts for over 34 years now, I understand this. I grew up street fighting and was very good at it. Then I found martial arts and tried to modify what I was doing to “do it right,” using only their techniques and fighting their way. It didn’t work for me. I found they had bad habits and silly techniques which no one in their right mind would use on the streets. I finally scrapped those techniques and went back to what works. Now, I only train for what works, style and fancy, complicated techniques, are meaningless to me. I train to take down the biggest and the baddest. I am only interested in what works when my life is on the line, period.
If you are going to be able to face an extraordinary predator, you can’t afford to train as an ordinary martial artist today. There are too many instructors who know more about what’s on Netflix than they do about being in a real fight. How can a man teach you something that he has never experience himself? How can a man teach you something he doesn’t understand? He can’t. He can only teach you theories. The majority of black belts today cannot hold their own in the streets against three gangbangers, or one, as far as that goes. This is the sad truth.
I quit training ordinary years ago and started training for one reason, and one reason only – to survive! I train to use what works, whether it is a martial arts technique, a cane, or a brick. I have been in the public eye as a writer and a martial artist who states his opinion in a straight forward, politically incorrect way, for years now. I have made many enemies, and quite a few who have left no doubt about wanting me dead. As Zorro said, “I can’t allow myself to be ordinary.”
When I practice a kata, people die and people go to the hospital. When I work on the bag, people die and bones get broken. When work with my cane, my hanbo, my jo staff, or my escrima sticks, people die and bones get broken. THAT is how I train. (For the little trolls and mental midgets who have no clue, I am not talking about actually killing people or breaking bones. I am referring to visualization techniques.)
THIS is real martial arts training. Some people approach a kata by memorizing techniques just like they would memorize a dance routine. They just work on the stances, blocks, kicks, and punches to get them right and end up where they are supposed to. It is kind of a game of perfect moves for them. That is the ordinary way most martial artists approach kata or forms.
I approach kata a bit differently. I see a kata as a life-or-death battle, and one that that I always win, I might add. Each move is either setting my enemy up to be taken out or actually taking him out. And I have never once screamed at the top of my lungs, like a two year old throwing a fit in Wal Mart, while doing any kata, and I never will. What they hell that has to do with martial arts is beyond me.
Yes, I kiai when appropriate, but that has nothing to do with screaming like a banshee. Just a quick lesson for the younger martial artists out there – a kiai is a Japanese term used in martial arts for the SHORT SHOUT uttered when performing an attacking move. This is not some idiotic scream at the top of your lungs for as long and a loud as you can. Holy cow! Who is teaching this crap!
If there ever was a time in the martial arts world to stop being ordinary, it is today. The martial arts world is quickly becoming a joke. A black belt no longer means what it used to, but rather, it is bought and paid for. Years ago, being a black belt meant you were a bad ass, and everyone knew it. Now, people ask me what my rank is and I tell them that I am a 5th Dan. The response I get shows how far the martial arts have fallen. I can’t tell you how many people have said, “Oh, is that all? I thought you were much better than that.”
Can you imagine a more idiotic response? Less than 40 years ago, if you met a 5th Dan, you carried great respect in the martial arts world; now, unless somebody calls themselves a grandmaster, it seem people think you are just a peon. It is crazy! I even see people calling themselves things like Supreme Grandmaster or Great Grandmaster. I have news for you guys – these are nothing more than bullshit terms to gratify someone’s humongous ego.
The term grandmaster used to be reserved for a martial artist, usually in his late 70’s or 80’s who started a system and was used only for that man (or woman) as a way to show great reverence and respect. Now it is just another title you earn just like another belt rank. And it seems that every other person you meet in the martial arts today calls themselves grandmaster this or that. It has become commonplace. So in order to stand out, people have now started calling themselves great grandmaster or supreme grandmaster. I’m telling you, my friends, the shit is getting deep in the martial arts world!
Refuse to play this game! Refuse to be ordinary. Journey beyond the ordinary and be extraordinary. Let others play their silly games, while you develop yourself beyond their comprehension. In times like these, a man or woman of character cannot afford to be ordinary and still maintain his or her honor. Leave the fantasy world behind and become a true warrior. Journey beyond the ordinary – become extraordinary!
I respect your way of the warrior and your lifestyle choices. It truly takes a focused chi to ignore the status quo and seek your own path. I wish you well in your journey.