Society_of_Applied_Traditional_Martial

The expediential growth in those returning to practicing the traditional martial arts in a practical way means that there is now a pressing need for a dedicated society so practitioners of applied traditional martial arts can band together for the benefit of both their art and themselves.

The bodies set up to promote sporting offshoots or a particular style or methodology – as useful as they can be for their members – do little to promote and enhance what we see as the most important aspect of the traditional martial arts.

I’ve felt for some time that an open and inclusive society is needed for pragmatic traditionalists and we are getting ready to launch such a body in 2010! This body will be called “The Society for Applied Traditional Martial Arts” (SATMA) and is open to all traditional martial artists from all over the globe.

Many martial arts bodies have a recurring bad habit of trying to limit the freedom of their members and hence I want this body to promote and enhance the wide variety of pragmatic approaches without imposing unnecessary limits upon people.

SATMA will not be an “association”. It will be a society wholly dedicated to the promotion and furtherance of applied traditional martial arts. Associations typically deal with things like coaching qualifications, insurance, providing representatives for competitions etc. That is not the role of SATMA and we would encourage those who wish to join us to stay members of their existing associations for the benefits that such membership can bring. We envisage that SATMA will run parallel to the good work already being done by many of the better associations.

SATMA is being set up as an independent society of likeminded individuals who believe that applied traditionalism needs a body to address the specific issues associated with our pragmatic approaches to the traditional martial arts.

SATMA will be totally dedicated to, and focused on, the promotion and study of the practical aspects of the traditional arts. We therefore will not be engaged in activities such as selling on insurance etc. Those who therefore have insurance through the other bodies to which they belong, or who have it independently, do not therefore need to pay for a service they do not need.

We won’t be demanding that people who join also affiliate all their members. Instructors can join on their own. For those who do wish to make all their students members, we are going to make it really cheap so that instructors are not forced, through financial considerations or anything else, to make “them or us” decisions. The way it will work is that once an instructor has joined, they can make their students SATMA members for a small nominal fee.

We will be totally happy with all SATMA members being members of as many or as few other bodies as they wish. As I say, it is not our job to impose restrictions on members; just the opposite in fact!

SATMA is also going to be 100% non-sporting. What individual members do is up to them, but SATMA itself is not involved in the sporting side of the arts in any way whatsoever and hence membership will not conflict with those other bodies who are focussed on sport.

SATMA will promote all practical approaches to all the traditional martial arts and will have no “chief instructor” or dictatorial hierarchy. This is a group in which diversity in approach (providing it remains practical) is encouraged and deemed valuable.

SATMA is being put together to meet the following objectives and to provide the following services:

• To provide a dedicated body for practically minded traditionalists that is open to all and does not restrict individual approaches.

• To promote the practise of applied traditional martial arts.

• To promote those individuals, groups and instructors who are contributing to the furtherance of applied traditional martial arts and to help get them the recognition they deserve.

• To ensure instructors of applied traditional martial arts from all over the globe can network, learn from each other, and help each other to advance.

• To promote the groups, materials and seminars of instructors of applied traditional martial arts to as wide an audience as possible.

• To make available quality study materials and to provide permanent product discounts for commercially available items.

• To provide a private online forum for SATMA instructors from across the globe so they can network, offer each other support and help each other advance.

• To provide a private monthly online newsletter which will include information on applied traditional martial arts for all SATMA instructors; and to which all SATMA instructors are encourage to contribute and use to promote their activities.

• Regular postal newsletters for news of SATMA activities and to promote SATMA events (which will include the events of SATMA instructors).

• To recognise gradings in the applied and practical aspects of applied traditional martial arts so people do not have to test against a sporting or “aesthetic” criteria in order to advance in rank.

• To help provide grading opportunities for senior people and to recognise existing grades (proof of existing grade will be required).

• To give instructors the freedom and support (if needed) to develop their own syllabuses, to independently test against those syllabuses, and to have the grades awarded by member instructors recorded, registered and certificated by SATMA. These grades will be certificated as being awarded by the instructors in question and registered with SATMA.

• Instructors will also have the option of having their syllabuses “SATMA Approved”. This is in no way mandatory and individual instructors are free to decide if it is for them or not. However, there are benefits to syllabus approval. Gradings conducted by member instructors against a SATMA approved syllabus will also be certificated as “approved by SATMA” (as opposed to simply “registered”).

• For a syllabus to be approved by SATMA it obviously needs to be screened by us. It is not our intention to dictate details and this will be a broad criteria – not specific detail – to ensure approved syllabuses include what I’m sure you’ll agree are “must-haves” and will almost certainly be things you are doing already. This will include things such as a holistic methodology (i.e. include striking and grappling), the use of impact equipment, include live non-compliant practise, awareness training, escape skills, bunkai / application of forms (for those groups who practice forms), etc. Help can be provided in designing such a syllabus. Groups who have SATMA approved syllabuses may make use of that approval in the promotion of their group.

• To allow member instructors to use the SATMA umbrella to promote themselves and their groups.

• Further details will be forthcoming shortly.

Helen and I are currently getting all the paperwork together and setting up systems; in addition to all the practical stuff like organising membership books, certificates, t-shirts, member gi badges, instructor gi badges, etc. As soon as we have everything finalised we will be sure to let you know.

If the “Society of Applied Traditional Martial Arts” sounds like something that could be of interest to you, please drop us a note at satma@iainabernethy.com and we’ll ensure that you’re among the first to receive detailed information.