[PetitPrince]

That a martial arts is "working" or "not working" is irrelevant to some of the parallels the author tries to highlight.

From p9 :

> The question of adequacy in martial arts is equally nonsensical — although a frequently asked question. Is such or such martial art adequate (efficient) in a real fight? You trained bare hands so what do you do in front of a knife? You train with a knife, but then what do you do in front of a gun, or an atomic bomb? Back in the middle ages, martial techniques could be considered adequate or not in such or such situation, but today, the point is different. In the modern sense, the purpose is education and self-development through martial techniques. This is what led Japan in the transition from martial techniques (Bu Jutsu) to martial arts (Budo) during the Meiji era. So just as a piece of music is adequate as soon as there is one person to enjoy it, a Budo is adequate as soon as there is one person to enjoy it for personal development

[tr0ut]

I'll except that statement in the sense that it reduces Aikido down to interpretive dance and not (applicable) combat practices.

[peatmoss]

Just like all the others!

[gaius]

The question of adequacy in martial arts is equally nonsensical

Well, it is nonsensical since MMA proved beyond a shadow of doubt that BJJ beat everything else... We haven't yet settled on what programming language beats everything else however... But it is not LISP!

[foobarrio]

MMA showed the BJJ is a requirement to win but it's no longer sufficient. The sport has evolved. Plenty of non-BJJ guys win. Demian Maia is one of the best BJJ guys (and has been super successful) and he's gotten KO'd by strikes and had his BJJ neutralized by guys like Woodley.

Back when tournaments like UFC started, ground fighting and grappling were not part of the standard repertoire of tournament fighters so those guys won. Now it is. Back in the heyday of Pride, champions like Mirko CroCop were definitely not BJJ guys. Of course they trained BJJ but it's not their only tool.

[taylodl]

BJJ beats everything else when fighting as a sport. Krav Maga practitioners have no problems dispatching BJJ fighters in the real world where there are no rules of illegal contact. That's what the author was differentiating between technique and art. If you think Lisp isn't the programming philosophy that beats everything else then read Paul Graham's article Beating the Averages - http://www.paulgraham.com/avg.html.