"Marshaling" an old art: martial arts in police training.The idea of using the martial arts This is a list of martial arts, broken down by region and style. African martial arts Eritrea
However, most police instructors quickly would correct someone who referred to the baton as a Tonfa. This conflict in terminology typifies the misconceptions Misconceptions is an American sitcom television series for The WB Network for the 2005-2006 season that never aired. It features Jane Leeves, formerly of Frasier, and French Stewart, formerly of 3rd Rock From the Sun. many Americans hold about the martial arts. Even those who tacitly embrace the martial arts often do so without fully appreciating their more subtle qualities. In addition to providing unequaled self-defense capabilities, proper training in the martial arts can also benefit law enforcement officers in numerous other ways. The strict mental and physical conditioning in martial arts training promotes cardiovascular health, increases flexibility, and enables officers to cope better with the high stress levels inherent in policing. The training also fosters a sense of self-confidence that allows officers to diffuse volatile situations without resorting to force. With American law enforcement facing unparalleled challenges, administrators would be remiss re·miss adj. 1. Lax in attending to duty; negligent. 2. Exhibiting carelessness or slackness. See Synonyms at negligent. to ignore the many potential benefits that martial arts training could provide to their officers and their agencies. BENEFITS OF MARTIAL ARTS TRAINING Physical and Emotional Health A career in law enforcement is considered one of the most physically dangerous of any profession. However, the threat to officers' emotional health should not be underestimated. Stress and nervous tension resulting from internal conflicts that evolve from a wide range of external situations can prove both physically and emotionally damaging to officers. Stress is, of course, an inevitable factor in human existence that affects each person differently. Ultimately, the manner in which police officers cope with stress will determine how this potentially destructive force affects their careers and their lives. How could training in the martial arts help? High on any list of ways to combat stress is a comprehensive program of physical fitness. Participation in a regular program of aerobic exercise aerobic exercise, n sustained repetitive physical activity, such as walking, dancing, cycling, and swimming, that elevates the heart rate and increases oxygen consumption resulting in improved functioning of cardio-vascular and respiratory systems. or other physical activities that develop heart and lung capacity has been proven to reduce stress, fatigue, and even the risk of certain diseases. In addition, achieving a high degree of physical fitness dramatically increases an officer's ability to deal with violent or emergency situations. And, because martial arts training promotes flexibility, it makes officers less prone to injury. Any activity that simultaneously improves officers' overall physical fitness, cardiovascular health, flexibility, and ability to cope with stress is certainly worth exploring. Training in the martial arts provides all of this and much more. Inner Strength What truly separates the martial arts from other forms of aerobic training is an emphasis on developing inner strength. Martial arts training can be a catalyst to promote self-confidence, assertiveness, goal orientation, calmness, and concentration. In fact, the martial arts could be considered a practical course in assertiveness training assertiveness training Psychiatry A procedure in which subjects are taught appropriate interpersonal responses involving frank, honest, and direct expression of their feelings, both positive and negative . Recognizing this, some psychiatrists recommend martial arts training for their patients who lack assertiveness. This aspect of martial arts training also may be very beneficial to line officers. Most of the criminals with whom police officers deal suffer from very low self-esteem. The need to feel powerful causes them to seek out and victimize others who are either weaker than they are or who are in a vulnerable position. Gone are the days when a police officer's presence alone could be counted on to place fear in a suspect's heart, giving the officer the necessary advantage to control the situation. During an encounter,many criminals quickly can sense any weakness in an officer's demeanor, such as a hunched hunch n. 1. An intuitive feeling or a premonition: had a hunch that he would lose. 2. A hump. 3. A lump or chunk: "She . . . posture, rapid breathing, a quavering voice, uncertainty in forming requests and responses, and an unwillingness to look others in the eye. By short-circuiting these undesirable behavioral responses, martial arts training actually prepares officers to respond more effectively to confrontational situations and enhances their ability to diffuse violent encounters. Martial artists learn to look their opponents in the eye. Through the practice of Kata and regular sparring spar 1 n. 1. Nautical A wooden or metal pole, such as a boom, yard, or bowsprit, used to support sails and rigging. 2. A usually metal pole used as part of a crane or derrick. 3. , martial artists learn to control their breathing. When confronted, they reflexively adopt a proper stance that provides balance and allows rapid, powerful movement. During a confrontation, an adversary will sense all of these elements. In fact, martial artists often defeat opponents not through combat, but through their calm and confident demeanor, as they speak in a firm voice poised in a ready posture. Hemingway once said that "courage is grace under pressure."(1) The martial arts teach such grace. Other Benefits In addition to its direct benefits, martial arts training also provides ancillary rewards to officers and departments. Perhaps most important, such training gives officers a positive activity to pursue outside the realm of police work. It is no secret that police officers tend to "stick together," often because they believe individuals on the other side of the thin blue line do not understand what they face. Some officers routinely meet after their shift to "let off steam" and to discuss the events of the day. This form of ventilation can be very useful if properly controlled. If not, it can lead to disastrous events such as those described by Joseph Wambaugh Joseph Aloysius Wambaugh, Jr. (born January 22, 1937, in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American writer known for his fictional and non-fictional accounts of police work in the United States. The son of a police officer, Wambaugh joined the U.S. in The Choirboys, his darkly humorous novel describing the antics of a group of dysfunctional police officers. The martial arts provide an activity in which officers can participate that is not essentially police-related. It gives officers something to talk about other than police work. While Karate and other martial arts are distinctly individual as sports, a good school, or "Dojo do·jo n. pl. do·jos A school for training in Japanese arts of self-defense, such as judo and karate. [Japanese d ," can instill in·still v. To pour in drop by drop. in  stil·la tion n. a strong sense of family and belonging. Such bonds provide a positive counterpoint counterpoint, in music, the art of combining melodies each of which is independent though forming part of a homogeneous texture. The term derives from the Latin for "point against point," meaning note against note in referring to the notation of plainsong. to traditional police camaraderie. While some people harbor a concern that the martial arts promote violence, recent psychiatric studies show that the opposite is true. In one study, a clinical psychologist from the University of Miami This article is about the university in Coral Gables, Florida. For the university in Oxford, Ohio, see Miami University. The University of Miami (also known as Miami of Florida,[2] UM,[3] or just The U found that, when compared to a control group of similar college students, male martial artists appeared "quiet, conscientious, industrious, and able to inhibit aggression and hostility." The professor further stated that martial artists actually may be able to control their violent impulses better. "Some people behave uncontrollably when they feel their dignity...threatened. Maybe they wouldn't if their identity was well secure."(2) Martial arts training also may foster leadership skills. Western business executives who began visiting Japan in the 1980s to study the management and production techniques of Japanese companies This is a list of companies from Japan. Note that 株式会社 can be (and frequently is) read both kabushiki kaisha and kabushiki gaisha (with or without a hyphen). See that article for more details. soon were impressed with the number of successful business leaders who had practiced martial arts in their youth. Ancient books on strategy that espouse martial arts philosophy, such as The Art of War(3) and The Book of Five Rings,(4) have moved from the war room to the boardroom. Just as American business has witnessed firsthand first·hand adj. Received from the original source: firsthand information. first the positive effects of martial arts training, law enforcement agencies A law enforcement agency (LEA) is a term used to describe any agency which enforces the law. This may be a local or state police, federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). in the United States should explore the many potential rewards of this training. CONCLUSION One of the strengths unique to the American character has been an ability to assimilate cultural influences from other nations. By embracing martial arts training, agency administrators do not discard traditional law enforcement training procedures. They expand them. Martial arts training provides practical benefits both to individual officers and to their agencies. By adopting training methods that truly have stood the test of time, rather than searching for the latest magic pill to solve the problems that confront law enforcement, administrators can find a way to combat the tremendous physical and emotional demands placed on today's officers. Perhaps in doing so, they can help to improve the overall image of law enforcement officers in our society. Endnotes 1 Quoted from an interview with Dorothy Parker Noun 1. Dorothy Parker - United States writer noted for her sharp wit (1893-1967) Dorothy Rothschild Parker, Parker , in the New Yorker, November 30, 1929. 2 Study conducted by Dr. Richard M. Carrera, clinical psychology professor at the University of Miami, Florida. Study results presented at the American Psychological Conference in 1989. 3 Sun-Tzu, The Art of War, trans. Thomas Cleary Thomas Cleary (b. 1949) is a prolific author and translator of Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian and Muslim religious literature, and of the Chinese Art of War tradition of strategy and statecraft. (Boston, Massachusetts “Boston” redirects here. For other uses, see Boston (disambiguation). Boston is the capital and most populous city of Massachusetts.[3] The largest city in New England, Boston is considered the unofficial economic and cultural center of the entire New : Shambala Publications, 1988). 4 The Book of Five Rings, Miyamoto Musashi  The of this article or section may be compromised by "weasel words".You can help Wikipedia by removing weasel words. , (originally published in 1645) translated by Nihon Services Corporation: Bradford J. Brown, Yuko Kashiwagi, William H. Barrett, and Eisuke Sasagawa, Bantam Books Bantam Books is a major U.S. publishing house owned by Random House and is part of the Bantam Dell Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. Kramer, and Ian and Betty Ballantine. , 1982. |
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