Becoming Batman

by E. Paul Zehr

  Before further discussing the type of martial arts Bruce Wayne might have studied while he was studying to become Batman, let’s start with what “martial arts” means. Do martial artists create pictures or sculptures that then fight each other? I hope not! I am a reasonably accomplished martial artist, but I cannot draw a decent picture to save my life. This idea of martial and arts put together is admittedly a bit confusing. The confusion comes from the Western translation of the Chinese characters that are used to write out this term. The martial part is pretty straightforward. It relates to fighting and combat (in Japanese and Chinese the written characters actually mean “to stop a spear”). The arts part is more properly translated in English as “technique” or “method.” The term “martial arts” means the technical knowledge to stop physical confrontation. In Japanese traditions these are sometimes called martial ways, or budo.

  You might suspect there are lots of physical confrontations going on since, if you open up your yellow pages, you will find many entries under “martial arts” or “self-defense.” You probably would find karate, tae kwon do, judo, aikido, and t’ai chi. You might also find wing chun, hapkido, savate, capoeira, and many others. Do the choices really matter or are they all the same things anyway? Deciding which martial arts might be better is relative and depends on what you are doing. It is similar to a language metaphor I use in this chapter. Can one ask “what is the best language?” The answer to that question kind of depends on who you want to talk to!

  Historical origins of martial arts are hard to sort out. Details are sketchy, and often an oral history (frequently a suspect one) is the only record available. Given these cautions, let’s look at where martial arts can be said to have originated. Keep in mind we are discussing here the systems of empty hand fighting and associated weapons, not the history of warfare generally. When we say “martial arts” we almost always mean Asian or Eastern traditions. Draeger and Smith suggest that Western martial arts traditions date back to the Greco-Roman period. Plato wrote of fighters practicing skiamachia, or “fighting without an antagonist,” and of a kind of shadow boxing very similar to the practice of solo forms and patterns found in Asian martial arts. Also, some of the actual techniques used in the West were similar to those found in Asia. In 400 BC at Nemea there was a battle between Creugas and Damoxenus. In this fight Damoxenus killed Creugas with a “spear hand” strike, a kind of open hand technique commonly associated with Eastern martial arts.

  As the origin of Eastern martial arts is almost impossible to determine for sure, let’s look at the stories that do exist. Some suggest an origin in India spreading to China and from China to all of southern Asia. Since really the best documented part of the trail can be traced back to China, that is as far back as I want to go. This takes us about three thousand years into the past to the Chou dynasty between 1122 and 255 BC. In this chapter I briefly mention many different martial arts. However, a key thing I want to get across here is that what specific martial arts Batman studied is largely irrelevant. It isn’t the specific tradition from a specific place that is the most important thing. It is what is contained in that tradition and who is studying it that is! This will make more sense as we go along, trust me.

  For now let’s study a few examples that illustrate how martial arts traditions may have had unique starts in different parts of the world but were heavily influenced by only a few dominant places. Since martial arts have been so thoroughly dominated by Eastern traditions, I am going to focus on China, Korea, Okinawa (separate from Japan when martial arts developed), and Japan for the time being.

  As I mentioned above, somehow martial arts traditions sprung up in China. Some old stories suggest that Bodidharma, who is credited with bringing a type of Buddhism to China in the fifth century AD, came up with early martial arts exercises and techniques to help Buddhist monks keep up fitness levels to allow for more meditation! Historically there have been very strong links between philosophical and religious traditions and martial arts.

  Everyone Wasn’t Always Kung Fu Fighting

  When asking what martial arts Batman did, should, or would need to study, we also need to ask what time period we are talking about. Martial arts reflected in Batman comics have depended on the cultural dominance of different martial arts traditions in North America. Back in the 1930s and 1940s, judo and jujutsu were very popular and found in many movies and magazine articles. The term “judo chop” was commonly used, and the artwork in Batman comics from that era clearly reflects Batman doing judo and boxing.

  In the story “Introducing Robin, the Boy Wonder” (Detective Comics #38, 1940), Batman (as Bruce Wayne) teaches Robin all about fighting. At that time he used boxing punches and the throws from jujutsu (then called “tricks”). By the late 1950s and into the 1960s and 1970s, karate and “kung fu” were popular both with the general public and in movies with martial arts actors such as Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee. These influences blended in the 1980s and into the 1990s where the synthetic martial arts traditions such as seen in “mixed martial arts” and ultimate fighting have now come to the fore.

  Flavors of Martial Arts

  Martial arts can be categorized in a variety of ways. First, they differ in the cultural and political aspects of the martial art within the country of origin. For example, martial arts practiced in China, Malaysia, or Brazil all have aspects common to each region. Second, martial arts differ in focusing more on particular aspects of combat—such as punching and kicking, joint locking (defined as forcing an opponent’s joint to extend past its normal range of motion), and throwing—or on weaponry and weapons fighting. I would label these as different types of martial arts. Third, they differ in methodology, tactics, or philosophy even within a given type. These represent stylistic differences. For example, there are distinct styles of karate or wu shu that someone can train in or study.

  This brings up a related point. It is much like the old joke about a physician “practicing medicine”—no thanks, I’d like a doctor who doesn’t need the practice. However, when serious martial artists describe what they do the words they will use are typically “practice,” “study,” or “train in.” There isn’t typically a convenient end point specified. That is because martial arts training is a process. The analogy of mountain climbing is often used in this context. No matter how high you climb in a range of mountain peaks, there is always a higher peak to be scaled. This isn’t to be interpreted as defeatist—you do celebrate your accomplishments—but it should serve as a strong counterpoint to egotism.

  What’s in a Name?

  By the way, even the terminology used to describe the different martial arts is confusing. The Chinese martial arts were originally translated into English as “Chinese boxing.” However, most people think of them as kung fu. I even used that term in the title for this chapter (and in partial homage to Carl Douglas for his great lyrics). Kung fu is a Cantonese expression that is commonly used to describe hand-to-hand fighting. However, kung fu really means the “dedication that one puts into a task or any kind of physical effort.” That could be anything—from painting a picture to housework like vacuuming. The most appropriate term for the performance of Chinese martial arts is actually wu kung. That means martial (wu) expertise. I guess musical lyrics such as “Everybody was wu kung fighting . . . those cats were fast as lightning” probably wouldn’t have been nearly as popular or danceable! Also, the most accurate term is actually ch’uan fa, meaning “fist method.” Anyway, kung fu has become the accepted term, so we’ll just go with it. While it is important to use proper descriptors for things, I think a famous English playwright wrote that “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

  This is probably a good time to explain something else about modern martial arts. Some aren’t very martial anymore. Let’s use judo and t’ai chi chuan as examples. Judo was once a formidable martial art but is now simply a sport. T’ai chi chuan is still practiced by small numbers as a serious martial art but is mostly done as a he
alth exercise.

  Let’s start with judo. Judo has its roots in Kito-ryu jujutsu and was developed by the great martial arts master Jigoro Kano, who was a jujutsu expert and dedicated teacher. He wanted to create a martial activity that many people could practice safely. The last part is key: how do you take a martial art that has inherent in it deadly force and make it safe for lots of people—including children and young adults—to do together? I think you can probably guess that what you would do is take out the really dangerous stuff. In the case of judo that means mostly the open hand striking and kicking.

  Remember earlier when I mentioned that the kind of martial arts training Batman was said to do varied across the history of his comic books? Well, in the 1940s the term for what you now might call a “karate chop” was “judo chop.” This change reflected the slow disappearance of the striking techniques from the judo curriculum. Nowadays there isn’t any of the striking left, and most of the extremely dangerous throws and locks have been deleted. This allowed for mass participation and even inclusion as an Olympic sport. However, a natural and unavoidable result was a severe weakening and dilution of the fighting aspects found in jujutsu.

  By the way, something similar but not as extreme also happened when karate was brought from its home in the island of Okinawa to mainland Japan in the mid-1930s. Gichin Funakoshi, founder of what is now known as the Shotokan style of karate, tried to broaden its appeal. Many of the more deadly aspects of karate were removed, including the joint locking, throwing, and break-falling found in many Okinawan and Japanese karate styles with strong Okinawan ties. This also included the deletion of most associated weapons techniques.

  The end result was a karate that was much more palatable to the broader Japanese population, still had a superficial form of warrior tradition, and was good exercise. These modifications also allowed judo and karate to fit into the more common bracket of “martial ways.” This really means former combat arts now not so much used for combat but good for exercise and philosophical grounding. This is essentially what happened to most Japanese martial arts at the end of the samurais’ reign in the late nineteenth century. A last comment here is that this road of diluting the martial elements of the practice is also being followed in the Korean martial art of tae kwon do. It is moving rapidly—and in all honesty I should say it has moved—along to becoming purely a sporting activity.

  T’ai chi chuan (“grand ultimate fist”), or simply t’ai chi as it is more commonly known, is a Chinese martial art with a long history. It is often seen in mass practice, and its hallmark is probably the long extended and graceful movements performed at a very slow pace. People of all ages—including the elderly—can and do practice this form of t’ai chi. However, the real martial arts form encompasses full speed defenses, attacks, and takedowns. Teachers of this form of t’ai chi are difficult to find but do exist. However, the main point here is that t’ai chi was a martial art but is now mostly a health activity, which is good for many aspects of general fitness but not of much utility for fighting.

  All this really means is that the martial arts were and are influenced by the society in which they flourish. Most martial arts came from systems that involved real and effective combat techniques. Historically, whether we are talking about warring periods in China, Japan, Korea, or wherever, martial arts were used in altercations with real consequences. However, as those warring periods passed by, the value of the martial arts shifted to one of pursuit of other objectives. These included health and philosophy but still had the martial self-defense aspects. Now, in today’s culture we are swinging back again to a more combat-oriented focus. Sort of. There is a real popularity to ultimate fighting and mixed martial arts that fits in with what I am saying. However, this is a kind of combat light, I guess. I am not demeaning the mixed martial arts when I say this. What I mean is that in real combat there are no rules, but in any competition there are rules. So, activity approximates but never really reaches real combat.

  Here is where I insert my disclaimer! Please, please note that what we have been discussing here are the kinds of martial arts Batman would study to gain fighting prowess. He might get some sporting enjoyment from whatever he does, and surely the activity would have an exercise component. However, those are not the main objectives. My disclaimer is that I am not saying you shouldn’t do judo or t’ai chi chuan or tae kwon do. However, Batman would not gain much direct fighting prowess from them in the form they are in now.

  The Batchoice?

  So now we have a basic idea about where martial arts came from and what we mean by the words “martial arts,” but we are no farther ahead in trying to figure out what would be the best one for Batman. Should he train in judo, aikido, wing chun, karate, or tang soo do—or a combination? To determine the answer, I am going to turn this around and think of it in completely the opposite way. Instead of thinking about what the differences are, let’s talk instead about what is the various martial arts have in common. The main common element is protecting the self and others from attack. The technical elements of any martial art can be understood from this perspective.

  To build up this concept I want to look closer to the analogy of language I brought up earlier in the chapter. In the case of language, the objective is communication with others by learning words, phrases, intonation, sentence structure, and other parts of speech. You are making an effort to be able to talk to a group of people on as broad a range of topics as possible. Would it make any sense to ask what language is the best to learn? Of course not. The answer depends on who you are trying to talk to. Having said that, the number of people who speak a language does help guide effective choices. Selecting Latin as the only language you could speak, for example, would really trim down the potential number of people you could talk to.

  Does it make sense to learn more than one language? The answer here is of course “yes.” The more languages you speak, the greater number of individuals you will be able to communicate with. In the same way if Batman “speaks” only one way of fighting he will have a limited ability to “communicate” with the criminals he is trying to subdue. When I say “way of fighting” here I mean it in the sense of having expertise in only one fighting range, such as only knowing how to do long-range striking. Of course, this analogy breaks down quite a bit now. If Batman cannot “communicate” effectively it doesn’t mean just not understanding someone as in language, it means failing to stop a criminal or, worse, getting pulverized! Since Batman doesn’t always know who he is going to have to interact with, having more options at his disposal means an increased chance of success in combat.

  Martial arts can be distinguished by the kind of attacks and defenses that are usually emphasized. There are many different ways to categorize martial arts, but I prefer to focus on distance. Fighting is all about manipulating distance. That is, the physical space that separates two (or more) opponents. This is because to attack someone you have to close the distance between you and that person. This is the case whether someone uses a long-range weapon like a staff or is trying to position for a throw and choke hold. The distance will change according to what strategy one is trying to implement.

  I’m going to admittedly make things overly simple here and lump a few things together, but so be it. Let’s say you had five kinds of attacks you could do. You can also do the reverse example and think of five kinds of attacks you were good at defending against, by the way. These five, moving from longest to shortest distance, include a weapons range attack (with a six-foot stick), a long-range attack with a kick, a middle-range attack with a punch, a close-range joint lock for a throw, and a close-range ground fighting attack with grappling. I have also summarized these in Figure 8.1. If you were good at all five of these, I would say you were a superb all-around fighter. That is what Batman must be and why he is placed in the center of the diagram in the figure. However, if you are only good at one of them then you will have problems unless you can do the whole fight at that range. Real fighting typi
cally involves rapid closing of the distance to throwing and grappling range. If all a person is good at is doing kicking from a long range, then he or she will be really limited at the close range. This is why Batman, like any fighter, must have skill at all ranges.

  Figure 8.1. Components of martial arts at different engagement distances.

  What martial traditions cover all of these ranges? It is probably safe to say that none do. Many weapons systems, like the Ryukyu Kobujutsu that I study, provide a synthetic expertise at long distance with most classes of weapons. It also has closer ranges such as kicking and punching. However, there are very limited close-fighting techniques. Most karate styles have some limited weapons-range techniques and may or may not include close-range joint locking and throwing. However, grappling is usually not emphasized. Tae kwon do (Korea) and capoeira (Africa and Brazil) have fantastic and devastating long-range kicking techniques. However, again, short-range techniques are not as emphasized. Aikido provides lots of techniques for defense against punching and kicking and does joint locks and throws that move to close range. But in this case, there is no grappling. Judo has good throwing and grappling but no striking. Classical jujutsu was the style of fighting used by the samurai. It included striking, kicking, kneeing, throwing, grappling, joint locking, and choking, and also some weapons applications. the important thing to remember here is that different traditions focus on different things.