Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

In the old days, martial arts grandmasters taught only certain “secrets” of their art to their most trusted students. In other words, one trained for years to gain entry into the “inner circle” of trusted students. And only then would you learn the “deadly secrets” from the grandmaster. Until then, those “secrets” were closely guarded.

There is a parallel with closely guarded “secrets” in the world outside of martial arts. For instance, there has been a noticeable shift in national intelligence. In the old days, state secrets were highly guarded. During the Cold War, the CIA and the KGB expended enormous efforts to steal each other’s secrets. In addition, both agencies did everything they could to prevent the other side from infiltrating them and absconding with state or military secrets.

Letters spelling out CIA

For the most part, those days are long gone.

Thanks mainly to the Internet, we are now in the “Age of Open Source Information.” With time and resources, anyone can uncover any “secret.” Most often, they are hiding in plain sight. In recent years, open-source intelligence (OSINT) has become a thing. Bellingcat has been prominent in the open-source intelligence community, producing excellent reports backed up by data and sources. One can read any number of reports produced on their website.

For example, Bellingcat could discern the identity of FSB security agents in Moscow recently due to a massive leak from Yandex, a popular food delivery service in Russia. Think UberEats. Long story short, FSB and GRU agents would place an order to be delivered to their offices. By cross-referencing different data sets, Bellingcat uncovered the identities of several FSB, GRU, and military agents, all through open-source information. Read the whole thing. This work is made more accessible by the rampant corruption in Russia, often by purchasing hacked data from Russian hackers. Anybody can purchase virtually any data for the right price. The bottom line is that anybody can find “secrets” online.

So it is with “secrets” in martial arts.

Caveat: Learning from video does not come close to training with a Grandmaster or Master. The focus of this post is the availability of information in today’s world.

The amount of information available, both free and otherwise, is staggering. I believe that the notion that there are “secrets” is essentially a thing of the past. The data is readily available. Video platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Vimeo, Gumroad, and others have many martial arts-related videos that one can peruse for hours. Even blogs are packed with information! For example, I once posted on Archie Moore’s famous cross-guard defence. It’s all out there! Heck, I made an appearance on cable tv once!

Additionally, one can seek instruction from a master and attend seminars or weekend camps to further your knowledge.

For instance, let’s focus on kata in the post-World War II era. Many know American and Canadian WW II servicemen brought karate back to North America. Karate schools increased in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Nearly all required students to learn kata. In addition, none of them had any knowledge of kata applications. For many years, karate students performed kata as a dance of sorts. Indeed, many North American karate instructors never learned kata applications from their Okinawan masters due to cultural reasons.

That changed in the 1980s. Depending on who you ask, various folks started teaching the “secrets” of kata. This is, more or less, in line with the zeitgeist of moving away from the era of highly guarded secrets.

Today?

There is nearly unlimited access to kata applications that were once “secret.” In this age of “open source information,” one can attend seminars and camps, purchase videos, browse YouTube or read blogs to learn more about kata applications. Books on kata are available as well.

Here’s an example:

If you are not able to view this video, click here.

Speaking for myself, I enjoy Kata application videos quite a bit. I find a lot of overlap between kata applications and Filipino Martial Arts. Indeed, the late Professor Remy Presas often stressed the importance of “making the connections” between different martial arts styles.

Check out my video below as an example of “making the connections.” Side note: Have ten years gone by that quickly? Jeebus. Anyway, do you see the similarities in the above video between Iain’s techniques and my slap-off/pull-off drill?

If you are not able to view this video, click here.

Back to my original point, information is readily available on any martial topic. Tae Kwon Do sparring tips? You can find it on YouTube! Are you a Balintawak student looking to improve your art? Attend a seminar or check out YouTube. There are no secrets! The information is all out there.

In summary, due to the age of “open source information,” the notion of “secrets” is bunk. We are very lucky to be training in this era!

Additional Reading