Five types of martial artist under Covid lockdown

 

2020 has been pretty disorientating to date – and had a huge impact on martial arts. During these difficult months, it’s been really interesting to see how different martial arts instructors and students are reacting to the pandemic.

This article sets out five different types of response.

Which one are you – or do you fall into a category all of your own . . . ?  

Type 1: The fully compliant student or teacher

Martial artists tend to be thoughtful, ethical people, who strive to be responsible, upright citizens. Type 1 is therefore large, and highly visible on social media. Teachers and students in the compliant group scour the regulations carefully, and note any changes as soon as they’re published. They apply these rules sincerely, and modify their practice accordingly.

For those who want to train physically alongside others, this may mean training outside or in a well-ventilated space, running smaller classes, focusing on fitness and other non-contact elements of their art, and so on.

Another form of compliance is of course to move everything online, whether that’s virtual training with your own club, or purchasing access to a course you can follow at your own convenience.

This is a large group of martial artists; and people within the Compliant group can feel a range of emotions. Some of them feel angry and bitter about what they’ve lost this year; and train in a compliant way simply because it’s better than nothing.

Others meanwhile have pragmatically adapted, and are accepting the new ways of training; and enjoying them as best as they can for now.

Still others are actually rejoicing in the changes. Online martial arts teaching has proved very financially lucrative for a small number of business-minded teachers; and has other advantages such as convenience for students.

Type 2: The rule bender

This type of martial artist doesn’t want to flagrantly breach the rules – but equally, they just really want to train and/or teach. So they take advantage of any ambiguity in the rules – or even start to push and/or bend them a little. You may see them tentatively asking for validation on Facebook:

I’ve just found this in the guidance [adds screenshot]. Does this mean I can start using pads again / teach a larger group / let my students grapple if I XXX . . . ?

Of course it’s not always black and white. The rules have been coming at us thick and fast since the spring; and they’re not always clear to understand. For example the English Government made exemptions for elite athletes to return to close quarters training in May; and this was genuinely misunderstood at first.

Some martial artists initially took it to mean that if they’d been competing in any way at all pre-Covid, they were eligible to return to training. Others thought that if their club included some elite members, the whole club could train again on that basis. It took a while for the message to filter through that the new rules only actually applied to professional athletes.

And it’s not just martial artists who may be bending the rules anyway. The UK-based Sun newspaper recently offered a guide to All the loopholes in Boris Johnson’s new coronavirus rules – from theatres to takeaways. For example:

Extra friends can come along to weddings if they’re working While the number of people who are allowed to go to weddings has been slashed from 30 to 15 from September 28 there is a very handy loophole to squeeze in some extra friends. The new guidance says “anyone working is not counted as part of the limit”.

So technically, you could hire your friends as waiters – or musicians if they have a bit of talent – so they can watch you tie the knot. They won’t be able to join the dinner, which can only be, sit-down, but they will be able to be present at the main ceremony.

Type 3: The rebel

At the superstar level, there’s enough money for a tiny cadre of top fighters to carry on almost regardless under Covid, albeit with stringent new measures in place to ensure compliance. Notably, the UFC 251 was held on a specially created “Fight Island” this summer – a 10-square mile safety zone with its own restaurants, training facilities, an arena, and even an Octagon on the beach.

Closer to home, there will surely be martial artists continuing to train as normally as they can, in secret. To study a martial art at close contact would be difficult to pull off at the moment in practical terms for most people, so the numbers in this group may be small – plus which this group will be keeping themselves hidden from public view for now – but we can guess that they exist.

Some of this group may feel that the dangers of the pandemic are being exaggerated, and therefore have no qualms about training in secret with other like-minded practitioners. Others may accept the dangers of Covid-19, but fundamentally disagree with the lockdown measures and/or feel that the loss of their art outweighs the risk of training. Therefore, after careful deliberation they might decide to take the risk for the sake of the reward.

In October, we saw some gyms/martial arts schools in the Liverpool area in the news, as they controversially decided to remain open (with “Covid-safe” measures in place) despite new local lockdown rules ordering them to shut. Nick Whitcombe, the owner of Body Tech Fitness argued that:

Gyms should be supported in fighting against Covid obesity, mental health and many other conditions and diseases.

In fact, the Government did change the rules on 21 October, allowing them to stay open, albeit this was then reversed again on 31 October, with a new national lockdown closing all gyms in England again.

All these groups may be influenced by seeing large sections of the general public already appearing to flout the rules at scale, for example on the beaches and in the parks on sunny days.

This is complicated in a martial arts context, as obviously the law is the law. But martial arts culture and heritage is coloured by admiration for those who continued to train and preserve the arts when disallowed, such as the early practitioners of Capoeira. Funakoshi Gichin (the founder of moden Karate) cheerfully recounts his own illicit practice in his autobiography:

At that time the practice of karate was banned by the government, so sessions had to take place in secret, and pupils were strictly forbidden by their teachers to discuss with anyone the fact that they were learning the art […] Karate practice could then be held only at night and only in secret.

Right now, there’s so much we don’t know about Covid; and government policy and our personal responses can only rely on the best knowledge to hand at any given moment.

Most people are content to support the lockdown measures because they believe it’s the right thing to do, to reduce the spread of Covid. Others believe the measures have been disproportionate, or even flat out wrong, given the impact on the economy, levels of mental health across all sections of society, young people’s future life chances and so on.

The truth is that we just don’t know what the long-term impact will be; and we don’t know whether martial arts history will judge those who’ve continued to train in secret as heroes who preserved our heritage; or villains who helped to destroy everything.

Type 4: Taking a break

Many martial artists are devastated by the impact of the Covid measures on their art and their training, and this has led some to walk away from it altogether. Some are finding the new non-contact regime boring, pointless or downright repellent. They feel that the essence of the art they love is completely missing in the new ways; and want no part in it unless and until things return to what we used to know as “normal”.

Many students can’t actually afford to train right now. They may have lost their job during the pandemic, or their employment status may be vulnerable right now; or they and their families may face other forms of financial insecurity arising from the pandemic.

Equally, some clubs can’t afford to open right now. For one thing, they may still have to pay their normal overheads, plus the additional costs now associated with following the new rules. To compound this, student numbers have fallen dramatically for many clubs, as students panic about their own financial position, or just lose interest in training under lockdown.

In addition, social distancing and other prescribed measures mean that generally, class numbers have to be smaller, which can again cut income enough to affect viability.

Type 5: Given up

Types 1,2 and 4 in this list are visible all over Facebook and other social media, thoughtfully sharing their own personal approach and reflections. Conversely, Type 3 probably keeps their training out of public sight by choice.

But Type 5 is a largely unseen group of casualties who probably don’t even use social media, and whose troubles we may not be aware of. These are the talented instructors or students who can’t or won’t engage with the Internet, or socially distanced / compliant training; and who are basically deciding to hang up their belts and call it a day, as they don’t see any future for what they have to offer.

For example, government guidance for recreational sports in England currently states that people “shouting or raising their voices” presents “an additional risk of infection” and should be avoided “when facing each other during, before and after games”. Martial arts clubs are therefore typically banning kiai at the moment in order to be compliant (for example: https://www.skcengland.co.uk/covid-19/).

But before 2020, many of these same arts taught that kiai was absolutely critical to the essence of the art – as was sparring, and close physical contact in general. While some can make do under the new regime, others are finding it absolutely untenable.

Matt Stait and I wrote about this group in our book a few months ago in our book. “Online Martial Arts – Evolution or Extinction”. We noted that online or Covid-compliant spaces are much better suited to certain “styles” or “systems” – and some transfer across much more easily than others.

Solo and distance training can be performed almost anywhere at almost any time, whereas physical partner work and pursuits that need specific equipment or space are harder to deliver in this medium. This means that some teachers or students may assume that nothing of value can be taught in the new media, and their art cannot be properly transmitted.

In other cases, the decision to quit may be based in fear. Fear of learning or engaging with new technologies, or of asking for help and appearing vulnerable. Maybe it is a fear of not knowing how to engage in these ways, which have taken over at such lightning speed. Teaching or learning online, or in a socially distanced room, are completely new skills for many people. It makes no difference how good your physical prowess is any more if you can’t present yourself effectively in these settings.

These points represent a severe potential threat to the martial arts, in terms of martial arts teachers who can’t or won’t engage with the new ways. When all is said and done, we therefore have a priceless group of instructors who may be vulnerable to extinction, and we could do well to consider ways to support them and their valuable legacy.

These are five different types of response to the current pandemic measures – are there any others? Whether you’re a teacher or a student, let us know in the comments below which one best describes you – or whether your particular situation puts you into a category all of your own . . .

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