Kajukenbo's Journal: Martial Science vs. Martial Arts

I replied to a HD-DVD thread back in January and tried to make a point about the name Blu-Ray getting market share by using the phrase 'martial science' as a comparison.

http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/07/0322220

I just recently noticed that there were a few replies.
Some modded funny and 1 AC sounding suspiciously like he's never trained in ANY martial art in his life.
Since I see no way to reply to the thread now, I thought I'd write this journal entry to those of you who care to read it.

From Merriam-Webster's dictionary:

martial art (noun)
Date: 1928

: any of several arts of combat and self defense (as karate and judo) that are widely *practiced as sport*

Emphasis mine, of course.

I do not teach Martial (of, relating to, or suited for war or a warrior) techniques as sport.

I imagine a couple of you were trying to be facetious, but yes the techniques I teach *are* tested.
Of course not double-blind (not practical or ethical) but the majority of my students are Law Enforcement and they use things I teach daily. The effectiveness of the tactics reported back to me and modified or discarded as needed. They also tell me about new strategies and situations that they encounter on the job and we train responses to those if existing tactics are not viable.

I am not a 'martial arts' teacher. I am a Police Defensive Tactics and Combatives Instructor (read: life-or-death self-defense). This is my job and I take it seriously because the people I train are also my friends. Many of them go out on the streets to put themselves in harm's way every day. Therefore I do my very best to make sure they get home alive.

Maybe 'Science' isn't the best word to use and I should find a better one. But if the number of new Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) I get in my classes - several who left martial art schools to train with me instead - are any indication, there must be something to me teaching 'Martial Science' instead of 'Martial Arts'