This week, I want to deal with nanba. Sometimes spelled namba, it is a way of walking that has gotten some attention in Japan and among practitioners of Japanese martial arts.

Some things are best explained in videos, so here is a short one.

That really is it. You merely try to keep your shoulders and hips on line at all times.

Those that are familiar with Japan are probably aware that there are some Japanese that make it their life's mission to convince the world that Japan is totally unique and that they have something superior to teach it. Nanba is one of those things used by them for this. There are those in Japan that would like to convince the world that all Japanese walked differently from the rest of the world until about the late 1800s when suddenly they all started walking like westerners. No one that visited the country ever seems to have noticed this fact. Obviously, the evidence for this make bigfoot sightings seem believable by comparison.

Today in Japan there are many books, videos and seminars on nanba. Those visiting Japan might want to see if they can catch a seminar on the subject.

Despite the myths that surround nanba now, it is a good principle to keep in mind for movement. Instead of just arm strength, you get the entire body behind something. It is better for moves meant to displace than snapping- type movements. If you look at skilled Japanese martial artists, you will see the principle in action. Here are a few examples.

And here is an example of someone that doesn't use nanba. The 57 second mark is the most telling.

This is of course not the only example. The rise of "patty cake" training I ranted about a few weeks ago often leads to this habit. Training yourself to go fast, but barely hit, leads to only the hand and arm being used for what passes as a hit. It is at best a slap, with no use of the entire body behind it.

Some arts go for snap instead of displacement. They will not hit you in such a way that will drive you back, but instead snap in and out rapidly. While each individual hit may not do a lot of damage compared to a full body strike, they make up for it by resembling a concert drummer on a solo with all the strikes and cumulative damage they do. So some arts don't rely on nanba. You need to know this sort of thing before you try mixing in things from other arts. Sadly, most folks claiming to mix things into a new art have no idea about this sort of thing and what they create looks like a patchwork monster to my eyes.

This is a point about martial arts few seem to consider, that they were developed with different strategies in mind to deal with particular circumstances. If you live in a tropical area and can run around in light shirts all year round, you have less concern about restrictive clothing affecting your movements. But nanba works well when one is wearing armor, or just bundled up as much as you have to during a winter in my native Colorado. All these things, and more, are factors in the formation of martial arts that people should be examining. While at the start  you should concentrate to make sure you do the movement as shown, at some point people need to look at the reasons behind the techniques. When looking at another art that does something differently, instead of thinking how you can grab it and start doing it in your style you should be asking why they did that instead of what you do. Look for the central principles of your art and the reasons they exist. You can't have everything. Take a look at cars. There are good cars and bad cars but no car can do the things a humvee can do and still be as classy as a Rolls Royce. So admit to yourself that you can't be everything and know your limitations. If you know the central principles of you art, I mean really know them, then maybe you can add things on. But as I said, most guys creating their own art have no clue at all about things like nanba or why it exists.

So if you are training with a real teacher, start looking for this in your training. If you don't have a real teacher, go out and start training under one.

If you want to know more about nanba in detail, I wrote a long article about it for a publication I put out called Densho. It deals with the history, the myths and has a series of exercises to help increase the awareness of nanba in our daily movements. The first issue is now available with the article in it and can be found by clicking on the "Books for sale" button at the top of the page.