The Future of martial arts is something that I never pondered until recently. I launched my own system having not liked the others I have seen before me, called it Primal Combatives and thought I had a new system that would bring a bit of income one day but ultimately be my own stamp on self defence. In the forums I was met with the usual questions such as “whats so different about this?” “What makes it primal?” and a range of other ridiculous comments that made me really down about the whole thing.
This is what got me thinking “If I had a time machine what would martial arts look like in the future?”
So I got my pen out an did some brain storming along with a lot of messages sent back and forth via my friend and Primal Top Team Leader Dave Stretch. The result was pretty much summed up in my head. Here’s the vision:
Martial Arts in the future will be a high octane mix of everything, no styles, no boundaries, no ancient rituals, no weird suits. Instead they will use top grade futuristic materials seen in other sports such as athletics for outfits. The term ‘style’ will be long gone and along with a lot of fancy neon lights it reminds me a lot like the Tron legacy Film.
Now you can forgive me for my geeky love of Tron but when I looked at my product I went away and thought, how can I get to that future? The result is what I call PRI-COM and here it is totally exposed for you to digest
PRI-COM
If you can forgive the futuristic title which of course is a shortened version of the term Primal Combatives you will see why its shortened.It pays homage to the orginal combat idea but its totally new, out there and when a normal everyday person hears it they are going to ask “whats that? It inspires interest and its short and easy to say.
OK so what is my Pri-Com system about?
Simple. At its core is a very basic self defence and martial arts syllabus which is taught via games and drills. It doesnt have too many techniques as it is all about getting training done, getting fitter and having fun. It is not an over the top rationalisation of what techniques work and don’t work in a fight however it is made up of highly functional exercises and techniques. The focus is not on complication but getting people to class and not leaving with injuries.
So that’s the skeleton. So what about fleshing it out?
Well I love martial arts and I would love to study them all but I don’t have time. I don’t have the time to get to Judo, BJJ, Thai boxing and my wrestling class. Im picking up kids from nursery, getting the shopping and working full time.
So I would love to learn a bit of Tai chi, I would love to learn the roundhouse kick and knee strikes of Muay Thai and I would love to study the takedowns and movement of Aikido, but I dont have time, nor will I ever! But why cant I learn these things and even get a recognise grade in them? Why cant I study what I want, the parts of any art I want and take a grading in them to show that I have acquired the level of skill I set out to?
There is no reason. Except the belief that I need to cling to thousand year old traditions.
The Future is hacking
HACKING THE MARTIAL ARTS
Hacking is the new learning and according to wikipedia:
- Hacker (programmer subculture), who combines excellence, playfulness, cleverness and exploration in performed activities.
Well that’s me. So here’s the future. Pri-Com exists because people can learn and teach any element of any martial arts they want or see fit. There are no boundaries.
This is going to be achieved via instructor modules. If you want to learn the left jab and there is an instructor module that has been created, then cool. Go and pay for that module (if its not free and some will be) and you are able to teach the left jab.
Want to learn the double leg takedown? Well then Im sure there is a wrestler who will put together a course on double leg takedowns so you can teach it correctly to your students.
Your students want to add some pressure points to the training, ok, lets take a look. Hey Ive seen a one day course that’s endorsed by PRI-COM!
The point is this. PRI-COM becomes everything and nothing. It totally changes the game because it dissolves barriers and to the public they get a modern product than can change with market fluctuations. The idea is that the modules will be part of a huge instructor market place where you can earn income and generate a new economy.
Imagine that all of a sudden your local self defence class was instantly known by all. That every member of the public knew that Pri-Com was modern martial arts training and with it they got quality, skill and variation. From the consumers point of view why would you go elsewhere? You can suddenly study the very best martial arts techniques and still feel credible.
From the instructors point of view you will be able to add knowledge to your class and also you can make money from packaging and selling your knowledge to a huge market place of instructors. Best thing about this as every instructor keeps all the income from the modules they created. Total transparency. This is about martial arts, not about me.
No barriers, no egos, no politics, no drama just learning and teaching!
How will it all work?
PRI- COM Courses
So this is the deal. People can become Pri-Com Instructors and here is what they will get. If they come on board:
3 DAY BASIC INSTRUCTOR COURSE WITH INPUT FROM LEADING EXPERTS, EVERY DRILL EXPLAINED IN DETAIL FOR THE BASIC SYSTEM
A WEBSITE DESIGNED BY MYSELF
ALL PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS TO PRODUCE T SHIRTS, HOODIES ETC.
INSTRUCTOR MANUAL
ACCESS TO AN INSTRUCTOR WEBSITE PACKED WITH VIDEOS AND A HUGE ON LINE MARKETPLACE WHERE YOU CAN SELL YOUR OWN COURSES etc
ADVERTISING THE PRI-COM NAME IS OUR JOB AND INCLUDED IN YOUR PRICE
AND MONTHLY INSTRUCTOR WORKSHOPS!!
THE COST???
£250 for the 3 day course and a monthly fee of just £50
Thats right, you didnt misread that. That is our goal. Affordable martial arts tuition. The best bit is this.
If you arent earning the money from your class to cover the fees or you decide to close your club for any reason then you walk away at no extra cost. This is pay as you teach.
Now I havent even set this up yet, this is our goal for next year but Im explaining this to you now because I know many of you are ready for a change.
I know many of you want to unite under one roof so that your classes become full again.
If that’s you then get in touch via my email [email protected]
One last thing:
Many of you will say that you do all this already, that you go to courses, seminars and even pick up certificates. Well let me say this. It doesnt matter if you are the knife defence expert and grade level 3 in never heard of you ‘fu do ryu’. What matters is what the public think and with unity comes greater impact, greater public awareness and more people in your classes.
So walk away from the past, let the martial arts community come under one roof that allows us all to make income and all to have micro businesses that pay for our holidays and more.
If this doesnt work out then thats cool but this is a movement, this is something special and that we can all be a part of.
Keep safe
Andrew