Secret Martial Arts Techniques

I was a Boy Scout. As a young lad, I loved wearing the uniform, lining up in rows, reciting the Scout Law, and earning patches. It’s no surprise that I eventually signed up for Tae Kwon Do, which is basically Boy Scouts with kicks.

It was in the Boy Scouts that I was first introduced to the power of the martial arts. I also gained my first insight into the world of secret martial arts techniques.

My Boy Scout story…

There was a Scout in my troop named Tom. Tom was one of the cool kids. Yes, there are cool kids in the Boy Scouts!

Okay, to be fair, our troop was mainly made up of geeks who were more likely to play Dungeons and Dragons than football, but like any group of humans, there was still a pecking order. And in the land of the geeks, Tom ranked close to the top.

Until he started high school.

Once Tom started high school, he transformed from a geek into a god. I remember him showing up at our next camping trip a totally different guy. He stood up straighter, he walked with a cocky bounce, and he must have gained 10 or 15 pounds of muscle.

At the time, Tom was probably 14 or 15, and I was around 12. And like any 12-year-old boy, I wanted to be bigger and stronger, too. So, I asked him, “What happened to you? What are you doing?”

Tom’s answer? He had joined the wrestling team.

Hearing that piece of information was like being handed the secret formula for becoming a man. I immediately wanted to be a wrestler, too. I asked him, “What do you do at wrestling?”

“You want to see?”

“You bet!”

BAM! The next thing I knew, I was seeing stars. I was on my back, in the grass, looking up at Tom. He stood over me with a smug grin, his hands on his hips like Superman.

I was more than impressed. To be honest, I was scared!

It’s one thing to get knocked down by something you see coming, but to get knocked down and have no idea how? That’s something completely different. It felt like magic.

Had Tom become a wizard? Or a warlock? Either way, Tom had a secret. He knew how to crush geeks! And I wanted to know that secret, too.

So, I dusted myself off and asked him, “How did you do that?”

At this point, Tom could have strutted away and left me a broken boy, believing that he really was a wizard. But to his credit, he didn’t. “Do you want me to show you?”

“Yes! Yes! A thousand times, yes! I want to be a wizard, too!”

So, he showed me the secret technique. He tapped me on the temple to make me blink, then dropped down for a double leg takedown. Fake high, shoot low.

To a freshman wrestler, this is basic stuff. But to a 12-year-old who was still picking grass out of his hair, this was a top secret martial arts technique!

I never had a chance to tell Tom what an impact he made by slamming me into the dirt that day. So, let me say thank you to Tom  for teaching me two powerful lessons back at that Boy Scout camp.

The first lesson was that the martial arts, in this case as practiced in the sport of wrestling, can be a life-changing, transformative experience. Seeing Tom gain so much strength and confidence planted a seed in me to pursue martial arts, too. I was hooked!

The second lesson was that knowledge and practice result in magic. Of course, I’m not the first guy to figure that out. There’s a great quote from sci-fi writer Arthur C. Clarke who wrote—

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

Exactly right. If you were part of a civilization that doesn’t have gunpowder and I showed up with a machine gun, you might reasonably believe that I’m a wizard. In the same way, if you know something I don’t, or if you can do something I can’t, I may think that you’re a wizard, too.

That’s why it’s no surprise that so many myths and legends exist in the martial arts. Stories about super-strength, super-speed, invisibility, and death touches. Let’s be clear—

Stories of supernatural abilities are not just evidence of skill in the doers, they’re evidence of ignorance in the observers.

When you lack knowledge and experience, your mind is left to fill in the blanks. Unfortunately, the human mind is prone to filling in blanks with nonsense. This leads to a frighteningly wide range of dynamics between those with skills and those without.

An honest teacher shares his or her knowledge, encouraging all students to do everything he or she can do.

A truly great teacher not only encourages his students to match his skills, but to take them to a higher level.

A dishonest teacher, however, trades in secrets. He creates a mystique around himself, allowing students to believe he possesses superhuman powers.

A dishonest teacher takes advantage of the fact that many people would prefer to believe in magic and secrets instead of believing in themselves.

I am thankful that the majority of my instructors in the martial arts have been honest and open in sharing their knowledge. Even the ones who could my make arm feel like it was on fire or drop me on my head faster than you can say, “Alakazam!”

Sure, there were a couple who kept their students at a distance to create that superhuman mystique, but I’d like to believe that kind of thing is happening less and less. Teachers who shroud themselves in mystery in the age of the internet must be close to extinct at this point, right? There is simply too much information available and too much exposure to keep fooling people.

The temple walls have been breached. The scrolls have been decoded. The back rooms have been opened. The days of appointing yourself a wizard and attracting a cult of worshipers is coming to an end.

HA! Who am I kidding? It’s human nature to form cults! There will always be individuals who climb up on a pedestal and others willing to bow down and worship them.

Personally, I don’t recommend either position.

That’s because I don’t believe in magic. I’m too old. Instead, I simply view advanced skill, advanced technology, and anything I don’t understand as being magical. The difference is that I know if I asked some questions, or studied the appropriate sciences, I would eventually have enough knowledge to reveal the secrets behind everything that mystifies me.

I’ve lived long enough to understand that behind the curtains, magic is merely a combination of knowledge and practice.

If I see someone trying to keep secrets in a narcissistic attempt to appear superhuman, I laugh. I laugh because I know that with enough knowledge and enough practice, I can perform magic, too. And so can you.

The Secret to Secret Martial Arts Techniques

If you want to take your skills or your life to magical levels, the first step is to gain knowledge. You must learn the tricks, ask the questions, and do the research. But be warned—not all secrets can be found in books and from teachers.

In college, I studied philosophy because I wanted to know the secrets of the universe. I wanted to learn the tricks to being happy and wise. I thought if I could find the book with all the answers to the big questions, then all the little questions would take care of themselves.

I mean, why would anybody waste time as a business major or in medical school if you didn’t first know who you are, what you are, where you are, or why you are?

I looked for that book for years until I realized it doesn’t exist. It turns out that some knowledge can only be discovered on your own.

In the end, you have to write your own book.

But as a young man, I didn’t know that. I thought accruing knowledge was all you needed to become a wizard.

In A Ridiculous Reason to Skip Class, I talked about how beginners in the martial arts are impressed by techniques. They see cool moves and want to learn cool moves. Why? Because they think knowledge will save them. They think merely knowing a technique is the same as being able to do the technique.

I was one of those guys. I spent years and years as a technique collector. I believed the bigger my notebook, the better I would be. I spent an embarrassing amount of time in libraries and bookstores and at seminars searching for new moves, new ideas, and secret training tips.

I admit it—I was very proud of my notebook. It became my treasure. But there was a dark side to amassing all of that knowledge.

As my notebook grew, so did my fears. I feared that my notebook might be lost, or stolen, or fall into the wrong hands.

I feared that a bad guy would read my notebook and immediately know everything that I knew.

I feared I’d be betraying my teachers’ trust by allowing what they had passed on to me—all of their secrets—to be read by anyone.

How unfair. How irresponsible.

The big question—how could I protect all that knowledge? How could I make sure all of that information would never be lost or stolen?

Simple—I could hide it. I don’t mean burying my notebook on a desert island like a pirate, I mean hide it in plain sight. And how do you do that?

A code. A secret code. A set of hieroglyphics that would only make sense to me.

So, that’s exactly what I did. I developed a code to record my techniques. I wrote down my coded techniques, made a photocopy to store in a safe, and kept the original on my desk or in my gym bag so I could study it.

Crazy, right? But remember, this was before the internet. Back then, you couldn’t just sit on the couch with a laptop and check out what other styles were doing. You didn’t know how they trained in other countries. Heck—you didn’t know how they trained down the street!

On top of that, many traditional styles were steeped in a culture of secrecy. Teachers would say things to me like, “I can’t show you that. But someday… maybe.” Or “Don’t show this to anybody. This is only for you.”

There was a distinction made between “indoor” students and “outdoor” students.

There were techniques that could be shown in public and others that would only be shown behind closed doors.

I was raised to believe that there was always a hidden meaning in every movement.

There was always a secret pressure point to strike. There was always a chance of someone whispering a piece of advice in your ear that could instantly turn you from a geek to a god.

But if you wanted to learn it, you had to earn it. You had to shut up, keep your head down, have faith, and be patient.

So, yes—in that environment, my notebook was serious business. And protecting that notebook was something I worried about all the time.

Until one day, I stopped worrying. I didn’t care if my notebook was stolen or not. Why? If you read, Are You a Real Fighter? you know why…

I was accused of being a studio fighter. I was accused of being a student who knew a lot, but could do very little. It didn’t matter if I wrote down 1,000 or 1,000,000 techniques, the fact was that I couldn’t make one technique work. Not really.

I was becoming a scholar, not a fighter. Once I understood that, and accepted it, almost overnight, my notebooks became worthless. Not just to me, but to anybody.

I share this because I know I’m not alone in making this mistake.

Many of us are wise enough to seek knowledge, but fall short when it comes to putting that knowledge into practice.

We love the idea that we can avoid years of hard work and commitment by learning a secret way of doing things—

The secret to losing weight! The secret to making money! The secret to a red hot love life! The secret to defeating a bigger, stronger attacker!

Madness. It’s all madness. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this life, it’s this—

Selling secrets is smart. Buying secrets is not.

There are no secrets, my friend. Especially nowadays. We are living in an age with very few secrets and very little mystery. Every question can be answered by the internet. Or lead you to a person with the answer.

But now I’ll tell you something even more shocking—the internet really hasn’t changed anything! Here’s why—

Everything you need to know, you probably already know.

It’s not a lack of knowledge that’s keeping us from better health, better finances, or better relationships… it’s a lack of practice. It’s failure to take action. It’s failure to follow through. It’s failure to be honest with ourselves when we receive feedback.

Always has been, always will be.

Knowledge is not power. Only action will tell you if something is right or wrong. Only action will tell you if something works or not. Only action will change your life.

That doesn’t mean I don’t believe in notebooks. I still keep one. I even write in code here and there, but only out of habit, not to conceal anything.

Why don’t I try to conceal my techniques anymore? Because now I know nothing I write down matters unless the person reading what I wrote is willing to put it into action. Which brings us to the second step in becoming a wizard…

There’s a story—true or symbolic—about the founder of Sun style Tai Chi, Master Sun Lutang. It is said that on his deathbed, a student of Master Sun asked his teacher to share the secret of Kung Fu.

The master answered with one word: “Practice.”

That’s it. Practice.

He didn’t say, “Study my notebook.” I don’t know if he even had a notebook.

Master Sun knew that knowledge without practice is worthless. He also knew that if you practiced, you would discover all of the knowledge you would ever need.

That’s why today, I don’t keep secrets. If you ask me a question about a technique, I’ll tell you anything you want to know. Well, unless you’re a jerk.

Where I used to view my knowledge as secret and something to be concealed, today I hand it out with a smile.

Is that fair? Is that responsible? Is that honoring my teachers?

Wrong questions. The only question that matters is will my students be able to do anything with the knowledge I give them? Because as I found out, knowledge that is not put into practice is worthless. For that reason, there is no need for secrecy.

Knowledge is self-selecting.

If a student doesn’t care, the knowledge they’re given won’t be remembered. It won’t be valued. It won’t be practiced. It won’t be challenged. It won’t develop into skill. So, why worry about sharing it?

Knowledge is only valuable if a student cares enough to remember it, practice it, and experiment with it. And a student like that deserves every reward that knowledge brings.

I’ve said before that a beginner sees what happens while the master sees how it happens. But seeing how magic works is not easy. You have to have a trained eye to do that. A practiced eye.

This is what Rickson Gracie, master of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, calls “invisible jiu-jitsu”. When you watch Master Gracie escape a choke, you think you know what he did. You saw it with your own eyes!

But then you try the same move and it doesn’t work. Why? Because you’re not doing it the same way! You saw what he did, but not how he did it.

The funny—and frustrating!—thing is Master Gracie is not hiding his techniques from you. He’s not keeping secrets. His technique is right there in plain sight. You just haven’t learned to crack the code!

You aren’t able to see his tiny adjustment in angle, his slight shift of weight, his manipulation of timing, or heightened sensitivity because your vision is limited to your level of skill. So is mine. We can only see and recognize what we already know.

If you want to break the code, we have to first break through our limitations. And the only way to do that is by gaining knowledge and putting that knowledge into practice. That’s how you see the invisible. That’s how secrets reveal themselves to you.

So, forget about secret techniques. Forget about magic. With knowledge and practice, you can eliminate all of the mystery from your life. And you should!

Don’t get me wrong—I love a magic show as much as anyone, but that’s just for entertainment. When it comes to martial arts, I cannot allow magic to exist. When it comes to my tax return and my financial health, I cannot allow magic to exist.

I can’t allow magic to exist in my diet, my relationships, or my career, either. It’s reckless and irresponsible to shrug our shoulders and accept ignorance in our lives. We should always be students willing to learn and experiment.

Let’s sum this all up…

Whether you see yourself as a student, teacher, or both, here’s some advice…

As a student, never believe that performing magic is beyond your capabilities.

Don’t bow down and worship at the feet of every wizard you meet. That wizard was once a wide-eyed audience member just like you.

Ask questions and put the answers into practice. When you can’t find an answer, keep practicing until it reveals itself to you.

As you learn the ways of the wizard, avoid becoming a studio fighter or a technique collector. Resist the urge to always learn something new, something better.

Remember—the greatest changes in your life will be made when you take action and follow through on what you already know.

As a teacher, encourage your students to work, not worship.

Help your students by sharing what you know. Don’t worry about revealing too much, too soon. The unmotivated won’t remember, the slow won’t understand, and the lazy won’t practice.

But good students, the right students, will remember, understand, and practice. And one day, they will hopefully share what they’ve learned, too. In that way, you will live forever. There’s no magic trick more impressive than that!

And that’s it. The secret formula for success—knowledge and practice. Combine the two and you will gain experience.

Experience is the only secret that will transform you from a geek into a god. From a white belt to a master.

So, if you’re out there still searching for a book of secrets, stop. Ultimately, you must write your own book.

Yes, writing that book takes time and effort—it takes kung fu—but if you are patient, it will become your greatest treasure. A treasure that no one can steal.

As you write your book, people may cheer you on and worship at your feet, but those aren’t the people you want to meet. You don’t want to meet people who believe in magic.

You want to meet that brave soul who walks behind the curtain, taps you on the shoulder, and asks…

“How did you do that?”

This article is based on Episode #36 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “Secret Techniques.”