Importance

[kuk sool won]

What would you say was more important in modern day martial arts? Speed, Power or technique?

[brokenelbow]

Speed, power, technique and not doing silly things.

[shaolin-warrior]

I would say technique. If your Technique is good, power and speed will come eventually.

[aseepish]

Technique + speed = power

[bigred389]

Sup dudes, new to the forum was semi-referred.

In my humble opinion, technique comes first. It's a lot harder to unlearn bad habits(sloppy side kicks are something common I've seen) than it is to get it right the first time as a white belt.

And that's not just kicking either. For example...in on the floor grappling(wrestling), proper and well timed execution of technique can beat an overpowered ox.

[Piston]

I hate to take the traditional view but you can't beat technique...

[seanyseanybean]

i would say power and technique.

Bob Sapp - Power

Royce Gracie - Technique

[aseepish]

Think about what other attributes a fighter needs.

"Attributes are those qualities that fuel the techniques. Physical attributes, like speed, power, explosiveness, balance, coordination, timing, sensitivity endurance and accuracy are the qualities that give life and vibrancy to techniques. Mental attributes, like focus, concentration, determination, the will to survive, and pain tolerance give extra added fuel to the physical attributes. Developing attributes is an extremely important and necessary component of training for the serious martial art student. Why? Because technical knowledge without the aid and assistance of physical and mental attributes is useless. Physical movements without the added fuel of speed, power, timing, accuracy or explosiveness are nothing more than a series of flowery dance movements. Developing these physical and mental qualities is more important than the accumulation of technical knowledge. Once technical knowledge has been combined with the development of physical and mental attributes, the student can begin to focus on the use of strategy."

Roy Harris, Effective Training Methods, http://bjj.org/articles/harris-training.html

[bigred389]

I don't think anybody will disagree with the idea that you need all three to become a complete fighter.

However, I'm saying that for a foundation of fundamentals, mastering the techniques and their execution is key.
I really think there isn't a better example than grappling. Mastery of the technique will allow you to defeat someone who is faster and stronger, simply because you already know what to do by instinct. When you're on the ground, you have to seize opportunities when they come quickly...that's mental, and the mental part of the game is technique.

And with practice of technique, you can improve both strength and power.
Once you've mastered the technique, then you can isolate strenght/speed training to really take off.

Just my $.02

[Eyegouge]

I'd love to see some 5'8'' 148 lb white karate black belt from the suburbs of say...Maine.... take on a 6'9'' 300 lb black kid from the south side of chicago.

Then ask the white kid in the hospital what he wished he had more of.....He'd say "Power"
Then ask the black kid with the black eye what he wished he had more of....and he'd say "Nothing, I won didn't I?"

[seanyseanybean]

I'd love to see some 5'8'' 148 lb white karate black belt from the suburbs of say...Maine.... take on a 6'9'' 300 lb black kid from the south side of chicago.

Then ask the white kid in the hospital what he wished he had more of.....He'd say "Power"
Then ask the black kid with the black eye what he wished he had more of....and he'd say "Nothing, I won didn't I?"

aha, but if the white kid knew grappling, we would see something like sudo vs butterbean.

in which case the black kid would have a broken limb and wish he had more technique.

[shaolin-warrior]

I'd love to see some 5'8'' 148 lb white karate black belt from the suburbs of say...Maine.... take on a 6'9'' 300 lb black kid from the south side of chicago.

Then ask the white kid in the hospital what he wished he had more of.....He'd say "Power"
Then ask the black kid with the black eye what he wished he had more of....and he'd say "Nothing, I won didn't I?"

Its not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog......

[Xtschneider]

its not like race matters.

[seanyseanybean]

i think he was more trying to get accross background more than race. (i.e black guys are associated with the ghetto)

[Andrew WA]

I am a white TKD kid and a black belt and I am not afraid of a lot of black kids from the ghetto. They are all talk and only care about looking good then actually winning. Kind of like on the movie White Men Can't Jump.

Anyway the most important thing modern martial arts needs is the warrior attitude. TKD claims to have indomidable spirit. I would like to see more of that. Focusing on warrior philosphy and mindset so when you do fight you will win.