Statement of Purpose

This project is an investigation of 5 Martial Arts styles. Self-defense is a major theme in martial arts today and to better understand how different martial arts schools and styles treat self-defense I am going to learn all I can (given time restraints) about each of the five styles. These schools will be chosen from a list of local martial arts studios, and the style will be the one that is taught at that studio. Many studios teach multiple styles, so in this case on of the styles taught there will be analyzed. At the end of the project all the schools I visited will be rated and scored to show in which areas they excel or by contrast, fall short.

Original Project Proposal

The Effectiveness of Five Martial Arts Styles

Purpose:
            To compare the potential for effective self-defense of five martial arts styles based on their responses to both one-on-one self-defense and multiple attacker situations. They will be ranked according to their respective abilities, in: damage dealt, damage sustained, practicality of maneuvers, time required for full impact of damage dealt to come into effect, speed of retaliation, ease of escape, and on how the style teaches self defense.

Background:
            It has been 12 years since I started American Kenpo at DePalma’s Team USA Martial Arts. And since then I have trained in the American Kenpo system and earned my black belt. I have been interested in the martial arts my entire life, both the spiritual and violent sides. My curiosity has led me to perform this project to discover which style of martial arts is most suited to what type of fighting.

Significance:
            The field of knowledge in martial arts is large and deep, but I hope to bring a scientific viewpoint that may be able to explain clearly and concisely how to be the most effective you can be. 50% of the martial arts is self-defense†, and with this self-defense countless people have defended themselves or others by simply knowing some basic defensive arts, this is especially important for minors going into the world. Approximately 85% of modern day martial arts practitioners are minors††, and they have increased their odds of surviving and winning a violent encounter significantly by training in the martial arts. But, what martial art is most likely to help you in a real fight? This is the question that underlies the significance of my piece.

Description:
            I will read and research multiple texts on the martial arts and their philosophies. I will also research how damage is dealt to the body by movements employed by each of the five styles of martial arts that I will choose. Also, I will research the most common maneuvers used by each style and the amount of damage to the human body they can inflict, as well as each maneuvers practicality and relative speed.  

Methodology:
            I will begin by classifying each of the seven sections scores, one through ten by assigning them quantifiable prerequisites to fulfill. Second I will begin the compilation of data that will lead to the score for each style in each category. I will then explain a background for the fighting style of each martial arts style. I will undergo two sets of data gathering, the first set based on the assumption that the fight is one on one and the moves used in this instance, while the second compilation will assume a multiple attacker scenario. I will then choose specific maneuvers for each style that seem to describe the style as a whole and combine them to form the basis of a self-defense situation that is perfect for each style, by which I mean each style will have maximum potential for defending themselves. And finally in the end I will rank each style based of a set of 8 basic attacks that will be decided at a later time.

Problems:
            Gaining new experimental data will be difficult because I do not intend to actually harm anyone who may help me. So instead I will rely on data previously gathered. It will also be a problem to discover how the human body reacts without the appropriate amount of force and pain going through the subject. Also, it will be difficult to accurately classify each style because of the amount of variables that every fight has within it. So I will have to be highly specific in which instance and at what level both combatants are participating. The most significant problem is choosing the 5 styles to review; I intend to go with the four most popular styles and one lesser known.
           
Bibliography:
Parker, Ed. “Infinite Insights into Kenpo, Books 1-5”. Los Angeles, California, Delby Publications. 1987. Print
  
Stark, Freddy Ph.D. “Start Exploring Gray’s Anatomy” Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Running Press. Print

Random, Michael. “Martial Arts (English Language Edition)” London, Great Britain. Octopus Books Limited. 1978. Print

 Corcoran, John. “The Martial Arts Companion” New York, New York. Mallard Press. 1992. Print

 “Fight Science, season 1”. History Channel. Visual

Hyams, Joe. “Zen in the Martial Arts” New York, New York. Bantam Books. 1979. Print

Stephens, Hilary. “A Visual Dictionary of the Skeleton” London Great Britian. 1995. Print

†  Henry Calantog, 4th Degree Black Belt in American Kenpo
†† www.mainemartialarts.com, statistics link
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