Eye Square Martial Arts

Cultural Preservation… with Bruises.

Category: Tradition & Modernization

You need to understand where things came from to know what’s okay to change.

  • There are No Secrets

    There are No Secrets

    💭 Killing the Myth

    There’s a persistent idea in martial arts that there are secrets—hidden techniques, esoteric knowledge, or mystical wisdom reserved only for the chosen few.

    Maybe there still are. I don’t know everything.
    But here’s what I do know:

    Unless we’re talking about supernatural nonsense (most of which is B.S. anyway), there are no secrets. There is only physical ability and hard-earned skill.

    🧵 Demonstration ≠ Disclosure

    Years ago, my Kung Fu instructor demonstrated the entire Wing Chun system to a guy who just walked in off the street. A total stranger.

    He showed:

    • The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd empty-hand forms
    • The wooden dummy form
    • The double knife form
    • The pole form

    I don’t think he went over stick hands, but that’s application anyway.

    “But isn’t that giving away secrets?”
    Not really.

    If the guy was a beginner, he wouldn’t know what he was seeing.
    If he was experienced, he’d either recognize it—or he’d see something new and get curious. Either way, nothing was “lost.”

    🕵️ Why Were There Ever Secrets?

    In martial cultures, the stakes were higher.
    A challenge wasn’t a sparring match—it was possibly life or death. Having techniques no one expected made sense. That surprise might be the only thing that saved your life.

    Makes sense… in that world.

    🚌 The “Bus Test”

    Here’s the real danger of secrecy:

    If the head of your martial arts system got hit by a bus, how much knowledge would die with them?

    Before World War II, Okinawan Karate masters often kept secrets locked inside their schools. Then war came—and many of them died.

    So did their knowledge.

    Afterward, the surviving masters realized:
    If you don’t share what you know, it can disappear forever.
    And so they began to teach more openly. The “Bus Test” was finally passed.

    🧠 Advanced Doesn’t Mean Secret

    The truth is, most “advanced” techniques can’t be applied without years of timing, pressure training, and precision.

    A Jujutsu master could break down every piece of a move and walk you through it. You could understand it intellectually. But you still wouldn’t be able to pull it off without:

    • Repetition
    • Patience
    • Application
    • And a lot of practice

    🥋 The Master Ken Conclusion

    So let me channel my inner Master Ken for a second:

    “Secrets in the martial arts are BULLSH*T!”

    Train hard. Share knowledge. Leave a legacy. That’s how martial arts survive.