What does 'Hybrid' Martial Arts mean?

A Hybrid Martial Arts system combines and applies the principles of multiple martial arts styles and breaks them down so that progression is clear and you can easily perform each technique. A surge of this has come up since the 2000's as schools have tried to diversify their curriculums as well as keep up with the popular MMA schools.

By having multiple martial arts backgrounds in your school, you have the benefit of having more updated and applicable techniques, and making a style that really delivers the martial arts you are trying to convey.

Though this is often done nowadays, many schools have multiple styles but are not 'hybrid' systems because they do not appropriately merge the different systems together. Often you'll have schools that teach different styles atdifferent times, and you earn belts in whichever class you take. Sometimes a school will try to 'splash' another style into their curriculum, like a Karate school that has a wrist-lock day, or an Aikido school that warms up with strikes. This is good for exposure, but it doesn't accurately teach you how to apply your techniques. By adding innately different fighting styles with no place for them to cooperate, you tend to have results that may be interesting to learn, but have no pratical application or harmony.

MMA was one of the first styles of martial arts to accurately make a hybrid system. Using arts like Karate, Muay Thai, Boxing, Judo, Wrestling, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, the MMA community could fight accurately on their feet and on the ground, which were impressive polar opposites as the style was becoming popular. However, MMA focuses a lot on competition, and their training styles and hybridization are based around winning tournaments. Those looking for traditional or peaceful martial arts style may not be attracted to this formula.

Heiwa Na Kaimetsu is a hybrid system in that, yes, it mixes multiple styles together. However, we don't just throw techniques together in a jumble; each technique, principle, and drill are designed to teach you WHY things work and gives you a chance to put the pieces together in a fluid and repeatable manner. For example, we don't just teach you how to strike and then throw in a wrist-lock, we have drills that teach you how and when to transition between the two, and ways to go about it that are more effective for how YOU perform martial arts.

A true hybrid system, or a true martial arts system for that matter, must take into account the abilities and inclinations of the student. Not everyone can do the same things in the same way. Not everyone is geared towards learning the hihg kicks of martial arts or the arm bars or the ground fighting; but I do believe that every martial artist can shine in their own way. Once the pieces exist for a student to see where they fit in martial arts and why, that is when learning and training are at their best. A true hybrid system knows how to bring these pieces together and give them to the student in a way that brings out their highest potential.