Martial arts concepts. Which is the most important of these?

Question

Here is a list of six things that all martial artists should possess. While all are important one is always more important than the others. Can you guess which one is the most important? Choose carefully.

The six things are:

Power

Speed

Timing

Position

Balance

Accuracy

As I said they are all very important, but one is more important than the others in all situations.

Answer 1

Hi there

Quite simply all of the above!

the Japanese term for it is Kukan.

You have to know when, where and how to use each item on the list when its necessary and in balance with each other and the situation.

Nice shopping list though! Buy what you want use it when you need it! ;-)

One thing worth mentioning is that the top two on the list any one can use. We all posses strength and speed without any training. The bottom four are what the real experts use and spend years trying to master!

If you have perfect kukan  you dont need anything else. Only problem is most of us havent mastered it yet!

Best wishes

idai

Answer 2

I would say accuracy.

Because, when you have an accurate understanding of how techniques work, you realize that you do not need - power, strength, timing, balance, etc.

Many people ask things like: "what muscles do you have to exercise to punch harder?"

These questions show lack of understanding of what a punch is and how it should be executed.

It is "body mechanics" that make your techniques effective along with breath, intention, relaxation, alignment, rootedness, etc.

So for me it is accuracy.

Answer 3

Technique (skill)

Speed

Accuracy

Power

Timing

Balance

Position

Answer 4

As you say all are important but the main player has to be balance coming from a jiu-jitsu background that's the key to throws etc I could go on in greater detail but with respect you know what I mean.

Best wishes :)***

Answer 5

Position

Balance

Timing

Accuracy

Speed

Power

I put position first because of a few factors. The first being, are you somewhere that you can maintain balance and act with accuracy? Are you between a bunch of guys and now have to work harder to get out and get away? If you're attacking one guy are you putting yourself in front of another attacker who can get to you easily? Are you on the edge of a bridge, the street, the subway?

If you don't know where you are in regards to the threats all the others will have no bearing. Where you are plays a big role in how you will fight and you have to be able to gain the better position every time. We are not superman and we can get hurt by a lucky shot, which in turn will enable us to lose our ground/position and lose the fight.

Example- I was fighting three guys once, all at once. They were a big guy, a guy my size, and a smaller (not by much). Anyway, I was handling two of them pretty well I ended up kicking the big guy in the chest and threw the little guy at him. However, when I did that I lost track of where the other guy was and where I was in relation. I turned my head to see him kicking at me, just before the connection. If I'd allowed him to keep kickin he would have missed me altogether. But I didn't it was too close and sheer reaction. I guided his kick right into my ribs and they broke. This clumsy guy got punched in the head before I knew what happened and at least the fight was over. The lesson being I forgot my position and had to suffer breathing for four weeks.

Edit- It wouldn't be true if I didn't say timing were the issue to be handled first. If you didn't say position I would have said timing. That has been the most emphasized issue with everything I have ever learned. Even just normal life.... is about timing.

Answer 6

Balance, all the way. They all are important, but balance holds it all together.

Power: power is derived from balance. With a good stance you have power. Without balance, you are easy to overcome and you have little power.

Speed: in order to have speed, you must have balance so you can be swift without worrying about your balance and toppling over. If you go fast but you don't have balance, the point is essentially useless.

Timing: your timing is dependent upon your balance. When you have good balance, your timing is better, more accurate. Haha! See, timing is based on accuracy, which:

Accuracy: with balance, you have good accuracy. In order to be accurate, you have to know your center, and have good balance.

Answer 7

If I had to pick one most important one that it would have to be balance

without balance you have little use for any of the other.

secondly I'd go for timing

then for position.

and I would put a correct mind set in there as well

Answer 8

WELL the most important one is SPEED !! because the more you have speed the more powerful you are !! and without speed you won't have correct timing !! also with speed your accuracy will be higher giving your opponent less time to react !!!!!

Answer 9

You missed out technique, when I coach, technique is the most important factor.  Because without good technique, all the others will suffer!

However if I had to choose one it would have to be..., you cannot choose any particular factor because each one has an effect on all of the others. For example if you are fast but have no timing or power, then your strikes will become in-effective or if you have poor balance then your strikes will have no accuracy or power.  You could have fantastic timing, but with no power or accuracy your timing will become void etc.

Great question mate :-)

EDIT: ...?

Is the answer 'one'?

lol I am not very good at these games lol.

Answer 10

There is another concept that there are 3 important factors in wining a fight and they are in the order of:

1. Intelligence, cunning.

2. power

3. martial art skills.

If you have martial art skills but you are weak, you can be beaten  by someone who is powerful. You may have power or martial skills but you can still be beaten by a cunning fighter who fight dirty or good at the art of deception.

Since cunning/intelligence was not listed. i will have to go for Power as from list.

Answer 11

It's difficult to say. You need all these things to be a good martial artist. I can't pick one attribute, but the three I think are really important are:

1) Speed

2) Timing

3) Balance

I rely on speed a lot, as I'm naturally quite fast on my feet. I also have good balance and timing. But all martial artists have their strengths and weaknesses, and might make up for lack of one of these attributes by being exceptional at another one.

I'm interested to hear which one you think is the most important.

Answer 12

I have to go with youngaristotle.

Balance, all the way. They all are important, but balance holds it all together.  The one thing she doesn't talk about is the difference between substantial and insubstantial, this is the meaning of Yin and Yang, the balance between movement and stillness.  Balance implies being able to shift weight , making sure there is true balance between the two.

Power: power is derived from balance. With a good stance you have power. Without balance, you are easy to overcome and you have little power.  True that.

Speed: in order to have speed, you must have balance so you can be swift without worrying about your balance and toppling over. If you go fast but you don't have balance, the point is essentially useless.  Again she's right and she could've delved deeply into the difference between substantial and insubstantial.  The insubstantial side has no weight and can move quickly.

Timing: your timing is dependent upon your balance. When you have good balance, your timing is better, more accurate. Haha! See, timing is based on accuracy, which:  Again, this is a balance issue between moving and still, unweighted and weighted.

Accuracy: with balance, you have good accuracy. In order to be accurate, you have to know your center, and have good balance.  If you are out of position, the result of failure to balance, you are done.  Balance is part of movement, movement determines accuracy..

There is so much to moving and balance is the key, without balance the movement is flawed.

Answer 13

In my opinion and through my training I would definetly have to say balance, it does not matter if it is a striking style or grappling style. From day one we are taught that stance is everything, and proper stance and good balance are constently stressed, no matter what level you are. Without a good stance all the technique in the world will not save your behind, becuase you will not have anything behind it. If you want to do any throw or take down and control your opponent, it requires balance.

Want power? Not gonna have it without good balance. power comes from the ground, and without a proper stance we are weak. Want speed? Speed comes from relaxation, and it is very difficult for the body to relax when it is struggling to maintain position.Position? To be able to move to a good position based on what your opponent does takes what? Say it with me now...balance.

Got good timing? Not without balance. If you are not ready to strike instantly with power, and are caught off balance, there will be no timing. Even good grapplers will tell you that when you get on top you need to establish a good base(balance) before anything else, or it will be too easy for your opponent to sweep you or reverse it.

So my answer is balance, because without that you have none of the others. you can have speed wthout power, power without speed. You can have excellent timing without speed or power, but nothing good happens without balance. Balance is where everything starts, it is the foundation. We all know what eventually happens to anything that doesn't have a good foundation right? It fails or crumbles.

Balance also means mentally and spiritually as well as physical, but that is a discussion for another time.

Answer 14

position, right place good things happen.

Answer 15

all should be equal so balance.

Answer 16

Good list, mine is different, all factors being almost equally important:

Power

Speed

Experience

Heart (desire to win)

technique

Conditioning

If I had to choose 2, It'd be conditioning and power.

good luck!

Answer 17

A fraction of a second ?timing.

by themselves they dont amount to much combined they are devastating the succes of one depends on the ability to apply the others.

Answer 18

personally id say timing, just based on experience, but my experience isnt really up there

i figure if you can time it right, you don't need to be fast, and if you time it right, you will inevitably be accurate, same thing w/ position

Answer 19

I am coming in late and maybe the arguments have biased me, but yeah, I would be inclined to say balance is the most important. I am always teaching my students that posture is the most important thing (because it helps us have balance, etc).

But then I would have to say position. Without the right position, I cannot reach with my block or counter.... or I need to block faster, stronger, etc. And I need to move more if I am in a bad position. Plus, if I want to unbalance my opponent, position is a big factor. And if balance is the number one, then controlling my opponent'sbalance must be high on my priorities...

Nice question.

Answer 20

Dude, it's all in the timing.

Answer 21

Balance - without it, you will not have good technique.  

Without balance, you will fall/get injured/lose accuracy, timing, etc.

Answer 22

Actually there's only one weapon any martial artist needs and that's....... "simplicity"

If you believe other wise you're not really thinking.  Afterall what is the "simplest" route from point A to point B?  You'll all miss the entire meaning of this I'm sure.

K.I.S.S. = Keep It Simple Stupid

Answer 23

OK I'll bite.

In order of importance using your list:

Balance, without it you have non of the others.

Accuracy, strike is worthless if it doesn't connect.

Speed, without speed there is little power.

Power, well this is linked with speed yet it implies strength.

Timing, although linked to accuracy it is an overall quality including all moves.

Position, well the best place to be when the kick or punch comes is someplace else. Also position to take advantage of opponents blind side.

I guess as you go down the list it gets more difficult an the concepts are closely entwined.

Interesting exercise though. I wonder what the other top contributors think???

Answer 24

Accuracy.  None of the other five concepts matter if you cannot even accurately use them.  An army of a million men is worthless if they are sent away from battle.  A sword of phenomenal sharpness is useless if it cannot be wielded accurately by it's wielder.