Lesley Jackson meets up with martial arts writer, instructor and professional aviator Martina Sprague. It’s not all chi and philosophy for Martina as she would much rather call a spade a spade and study martial arts for what they are for, combat and self defence and she passes her practical ideas onto us at Martial Edge.
Martina Sprague has been flying high in the martial arts for over twenty years. As well as pursuing a successful career with Delta Air Lines she is the author of several books about martial arts and historic combat, including her latest work, ‘The Complete Martial Arts Student.’ Martina takes a pragmatic view of her attraction of the martial arts as she claims, “I think that I was born with a defective gene that compels me to think about combat and war.” A defective gene that she shares with a lot of other people I might add! This lady of the martial arts sees her relationship with the most practical aspects of her art, spanning from the past to the present and for what martial arts were primarily designed for, combat and self defence. There are no esoteric mores in her approach to her training, rather a pursuit of the warrior’s skills used both on and off the battlefield.
Be in full control of the classroom. Do not relinquish authority. Know where you are taking the student and why. An inquisitive mind is normally a sign that a student is receptive to learning. But do not allow his or her doubt to become a challenge to your competence.
“I am more interested in the historical and practical aspects of the martial arts, in combat itself and how an art was actually used on the battlefield or in a threatening situation in civilian society than the philosophical aspects relating to self-improvement and confidence building. In my view, the martial arts are primarily about combat, about defeating the enemy and not about the perfection of character. Yamamoto Tsunetomo (1659-1719), a samurai retainer who devoted his life to the service of his lord, emphasized that a ‘person who practices an art is an artist, not a samurai, and one should have the intention of being called a samurai.’ Thus, I would rather study ‘combat’ than ‘art.”
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Teaching and ‘The Martial Arts Student’
Martina has a lot of experience of teaching in the martial arts and it is from here that she has drawn most of the material for her latest book. As well as her broad coverage of kickboxing, kenpo karate and aikido, amongst other martial arts, Martina’s teaching is equally selective in both her approach to pragmatic combat and students. “Teaching always came to me naturally, although I am selective with the people I teach. I focus on adults and young adults if they are very mature enough and who are interested in learning about various concepts rather than just memorizing techniques. I do not operate a school and never have, but invite those with similar interests to my home for a teaching, learning or mutual learning experience.”
However, it was combining her day job as an aviator and her prior experience as a practising martial artist that prompted her to write ‘The Martial Arts Student.’ “In my view, the aviation program is extremely well organized and efficient. Nobody can become a flight instructor without going through an extensive process that prepares one to teach effectively, evaluate the learning process and help students overcome various obstacles. I believed that the martial arts student would benefit from a similar program but found it lacking since the martial arts are unregulated. The book is really about making your education more profitable by focusing on learning about learning and interacting with others, rather than simply memorizing a list of techniques or specific solutions to problems. It is important to recognize that the martial arts are presented as the ideal way in which combat might occur but they do not represent combat in its ‘true’ sense. The martial arts have to be fitted to your personal build, mental inclination and level of physical fitness. By exploring the learning process, you will come to know yourself and will understand which technique or art is best for you in particular and why.
The book draws heavily on actual scenarios from the training hall. During my twenty plus years of learning and teaching the martial arts, I have experienced or observed variations of all of the examples and ‘scenarios’ covered in the book. I have had far more positive than negative experiences in the martial arts; however, when recounting the different scenarios in my mind I felt a need to ask the following question. What could the student or instructor have done differently and how would it have affected the outcome of the learning situation? I, like many others, entered the martial arts on a sink or swim kind of basis. In a way, I suppose that writing the book was a therapeutic experience that allowed me to sort through my own journey.”
Teaching the Teacher to Teach
Although Martina’s book is primarily aimed at a martial arts student, instructors will also gain a lot from the methods and experiences Martina recounts. Of course, all instructors were at one time a student themselves and really never stop to be so. However, even though your instructor wears the black belt and is deemed to be the expert in their subject, or at least enough to warrant passing on their knowledge to those less experienced martial artists, they very rarely receive any formal training on how to teach their particular martial art where again the sink or swim approach seems to be the one that prevails. Martina offers her own advice to beginning instructors. “Be in full control of the classroom. Do not relinquish authority. Know where you are taking the student and why. An inquisitive mind is normally a sign that a student is receptive to learning. But do not allow his or her doubt to become a challenge to your competence.” And for those more advanced students training for a black belt exam; “The black belt is a sign that you have reached a certain level of competence. The test is a ‘rite of passage’; it will make you proud for a long time to come. It is not the end of your journey, however. When the initial dust has settled, get back in the fray. If you fail to continuously hone your skills, you will lose much of what you gained.”
The Complete Martial Arts Student
Lesley Jackson puts her teaching hat on to review this latest book by Martina Sprague as she finds out more about how to be a better student and slightly worried about her faults as an instructor!
For the future, Martina is also writing a book about one of her other combat interests, that of military history. Tentatively entitled, ‘Knives, Swords and Bayonets’ it is a history of blade and edged weapon warfare. Martina has no intention of ever letting go of her combat and martial arts training though, “I do not think I will ever give up the martial arts. I can easily see myself studying into old age.” Martina’s shared martial arts journey is something we will all enjoy reading about for quite some time to come.
Thank you Martina, for sharing your ideas of teaching and learning in the martial arts with Martial Edge.
Interviews 
Lesley Jackson meets up with martial arts writer, instructor and professional aviator Martina Sprague. It’s not all chi and philosophy for Martina as she would much rather call a spade a spade and study martial arts for what they are for, combat and self defence and she passes her practical ideas onto us at Martial Edge.
material for her latest book. As well as her broad coverage of kickboxing, kenpo 
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