What Makes Martial Arts Effective? • Ft. Matt Thornton

Many people practice martial arts which are not really effective for what they claim to be. In this video martial arts legend Matt Thornton will share how he distinguishes what makes a martial art effective. We will also talk about empirical thinking in martial arts and on developing your own style. Matt Thornton is a martial arts athlete, trainer, and founder of Straight Blast Gym International, an association of over 35 gyms worldwide engaged in training athletes in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ), boxing and mixed martial arts (MMA). He is well known in the martial arts community for his formulation and promotion of the concept of "aliveness" in training, as well as for being one of the first gyms to feature cross training in boxing and other fighting sports at the beginning of the growth of the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in the 1990s. He was among the first American-born practitioners to receive a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ). If you want to see the first episode with Matt Thornton where we talk if Jeet Kune Do is an effective martial art check this link:    • Is Jeet Kune Do an Effective Self Defense ...   If you want to see more martial arts interviews from AikidoSiauliai martial arts channel check this link:    • Is Jeet Kune Do an Effective Self Defense ...   Also check my personal website which tells more about my martial arts background and also the project of AikidoSiauliai: www.rokasleo.com Now to summarize this interview with Matt Thornton, in the end it all comes down to aliveness. If a martial art is practiced without alive drilling and it's just based on static form it will have no way to evolve as a functional practice. In other words if you are not swimming in water and practice your moves on dry land how can you expect to swim well the first time you are dropped in water? Thus in martial arts pressure testing and alive drilling is most vital if you want your martial art to be effective.