Strength of Repetition

Repetition is a part of the learning process. Every martial art and combat sport system uses this principle in teaching. I think it is self-evident for everybody. But to what extent repetition can shape our individual styles? The answer is: partially because a learning process cannot override our endowments entirely.

Imagine a group of people repeating the same movements over time, like a karate team doing certain forms together or Shaolin monks doing the same techniques million times. Imagine you know each person very well in an exercising group because you are the assistant or the teacher of the group. Now, imagine that their faces are covered, and they are in totally the same uniforms. (Suppose they are the same in height and body type). Can you differentiate their movements and recognize them by their moves only even though they try to do the same techniques? I think the answer is yes. Similarly, in everyday life, all the people are moving, walking, running differently, although they are practising the 'same' movements over time. Then, repetition cannot determine the style alone.

Repetition has two results. 

One is the subconscious creation. The other is the replacement of previous reactions with new ones. But there must be something very personal mixed with the learned moves. Having a unique style comes from this very complex background. Always these two 'forces' shape our style in fighting as well as in general. Every person has natural endowments by birth which is the backbone of the person's style. That naturally determined style can be shaped and modified but cannot be replaced by repetition. Individuality is always a living force that cannot be ignored and enforced but can be supported. Supporting individuality might make progress faster. Then we always need to keep in mind that there are two forces present. One is the inborn and natural (nature), and the other is the societal part from outside (nurture).

The results of two forces (inborn and social factors) make us who we are, in general, and how we appear to others. When we are talking about our fighting styles, we are talking about their outcomes. For example, if someone studies three different martial art styles (at the same time, or one after the other), the result is determined by inborn qualities. And if someone study one and only one traditional style, their individual fighting style is also determined by their inborn qualities. These differences are recognizable to everyone. They are our InFi styles.

Styles Spread or Concealed

Since there is no ultimate truth in this world, there is no perfect style taking and putting on. Styles are born and attached to individuals. As the InFi philosophy says, everybody has a different individual fighting style, then, InFi styles have owners. In short, one person - one style. Therefore, ideally, there should be as many styles in the world as human beings. But the world doesn't show this. There are major styles (trends) and minor styles. Some of them are popular, some are stagnant, and some disappear. Corporate (traditional) systems are always struggling for gaining ground, striving for popularity. Hidden traditional methods might be in danger of extinction.

corporate and InFi styles

Corporate or traditional ways are products, like cars, houses, or fashion trends. People pick them up from sources outside. Corporate styles are not the peoples' inborn or self-created ways; therefore, they can be commerce. If you pay attention to the martial arts or combat sports world, you can quickly notice new and old trends, popular and old-fashioned styles. All these happenings are based on marketing and selling. For example, the Shaolin kung fu is a well-established old-style system from China. Some very progressive fans of the combative trade do not like it. Recently, new trends like tricking or 'Defense lab' are overwhelming the Shaolin teachings with their unique fashion, modern concepts, appearances, and online marketing strategies. Nobody knows how long...

Ideally, there should be as many styles as people living. But nobody could see this. The very base of the notion of spreading them is connected with psychology. People are influencing, and there are people affected. This is the actual game in this world. It means, as we all know, equal power between people does not exist. Of course, one is more potent, and the other is weaker in focusing on one subject only. It is natural. However, it is also natural that every living creature wants to grow and spread something. The degree of their success (or failure) is another topic. So let's go back to the theme of styles.

Usually, every influential, charismatic person wants to teach their style to others. This normal phenomenon is the origin of all the corporate styles we know. One was established some hundred years ago, and others were born in the 21st century. These are peoples' artificial styles (pursued styles or represented styles) but not for the founders. We can say that the founders' style - which becomes a traditional corporate style - is their InFi style. But they are not the followers' InFi style!

What kind of people are the founders of combative styles? Bruce Lee, Oyama, and Ng Mui were InFi practitioners creating their combat styles. Founders are InFi practitioners who spread their techniques to the world. (Certainly, Lee did not establish a corporate style, but thousands of people try to copy his style and follow his JKD.) This is a sharing, marketing, selling-buying activity. But to be honest, InFi, like personality, does not exist without the owner. InFi is inseparably attached to the particular individual who created and it. InFi does not want to be shown up. InFi is a personal combat style or ability. However, the inventive charismatic individuals' founders are not aware of this inseparability. Followers are not creators, and duplication is not a creation. When people follow their masters' path, they are like shadows with no autonomy.

Why do founders spread their style, knowledge, or wisdom? Because they want to influence others, want to help others, or want to gain power over others. It is a business in the financial or humanitarian world. Teachers represent something and want us to accept and follow it without a doubt. Very few martial arts teachers and masters buy our uniqueness, and even fewer support our unique styles to develop further. Individuality, in general, is not nurtured by communities. Communities tend to promote uniformity. But our individual fighting styles exist independently, whether we follow the settled path or not. They live either we are aware of them or not. Moreover, the InFi ways do not reveal easily. Sometimes they are lurking just behind our corporate styles. So, whatever happens in the visible martial arts or combat sports world InFi exists and is safe.

In the first table (above), the black ring represents a traditional style taught by a master, and the orange circle demonstrates the person's actual individual fighting style. These two areas are usually overlapping but never the same. Some new founders base their teachings on their 'orange' circle (InFi), and they do not follow the outsider guidelines anymore. In the second picture, there are hundreds of kung fu students. They seem to be the same. But they are different individuals with their differences in fighting too. In the picture, the community rules, common will, and constraints are overwhelming individuality, but the existing InFi is lurking behind forever and ever. If you do not believe it, attack them one by one, and their reactions will be individually different.

Corporate styles are born, spread, concealed or terminated, but InFi existed, exists, and will exist as long as the human race exists. This is why it is helpful to be aware that you have it and develop your fighting style or ability individually unless you are lucky enough to have an InFi trainer either you follow or do not follow others,

SHAPE AND DEVELOP YOUR PERSONAL STYLE!

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InFi and MMA

Some days ago, I had a chat with a martial art expert about individual fighting. After my first two sentences, he said, 'aha, then it is similar to MMA, isn't it?' Yeees, in some respect, it is, I said, but in many essential aspects, it is definitely not.

In columns, I list their attributes. What is more, I start with the well-known concept of freestyle to make the picture even clearer. None of them is a corporate style. I highlighted with green the similarities and with pink the differences from InFi. Each line represents the same aspects in all columns.

In summary, we could call MMA sport InFi or restricted individual fighting. But we must not name InFi as free MMA, in general, because the restraint in MMA is not only technical. The whole mindset is different. The essential discrepancies are in the third, fourth, and fifth lines (above), which are not about freedom or limitation. Of course, all MMA fighters have their InFi out of the contest, and their InFi must be pretty much similar to their competition style. Over and above, InFi is not only an activity. It is a concept, a phenomenon, or a property. Compared with the population, only a few people do MMA, but everybody has InFi.

YOU HAVE AN INDIVIDUAL FIGHTING STYLE 

Natural Style (karate-InFi)

Have you ever noticed that many karate men's styles are totally different in a real fight from karate? Have you ever noticed that in spontaneous free fighting, competitors' traditional styles cannot be guessed (if they are not already known)? Isn't it interesting that the corporate styles are evaporating pretty much in real fights? The reason is simple. Unpredictable situations are the territory of InFi. No outsider styles have power over the power of InFi there.

My friend John said that the body reacts naturally using movements, techniques that have been instilled over time. Yes, it is true. That is the result of learning. Repetition creates automatic reactions. But does it have any connection with the personal style I am talking about? Yes, but only partially. A part of the individual style is learned (copied or invented), and the other is inborn. I would say that the base of a natural style is inborn, then shaped, developed, and improved by experiences from birth onward. Sometimes it is very difficult to modify this natural individual style by conscious learning without real (unpredictable) situations.

(karate) InFi by Tanaka

Karate (standard) by Kanazawa

After conscious learning (exercises, workouts, repetition) there are still two different styles (at least). One is the individual style, and the other is the conscious acting, representing a style system. To put it another way, a karate man can be exercising and demonstrating standard karate consciously as a play-role and also can demonstrate InFi in the street or competition with limitations. These two styles might be radically different. One is the acting, and the other is the automatic natural style. If the InFi looks like beautiful standard karate, which is very rare, we can call it karate-InFi. However, if the standard karate practiced is far from the natural personal (inborn and developed) style, the revealing InFi does not show too much relation with the karate. 

If a man were acting naturally according to the settled standard way, he would be a programmed machine, not a human. Hence karate men always have their individual fighting style more or less different from the ideal karate. In simple, if you are a karate guy, you are the representative of that karate, and you have your InFi too. InFi and the corporate style in appearance overlapping but never the same. Similarly, if you are a kung fu guy, you are the representative of that kung fu, and you have your InFi too...

Moreover, if someone has been studied several different style systems and feels the influence of all, realising the existence of an individual fighting style is much easier. Albeit, it does not mean that others have no InFi. Everybody has InFi skills and style. You have InFi!

In conclusion, a particular system helps to improve the individual fighting skills and styles

to the extent it contains situational practices. No one's InFi is the same as any traditional style or system. The more corporate styles have been studied, the stronger the awareness of the existence of InFi. The karate in my examples above can be substituted with any other styles (Wing Chun, Savate, Taekwondo, Shaolin, kickboxing...etc.).

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