In your experience, how does this quote relate to martial arts?

The medium is the martial artist him/herself when performing forms, and breaking; and also the opponent when sparring/fighting.

Some martial arts will have the artist make their own weapons; in this case, the weapon itself is also the medium.

I'm not sure about the "limited" medium. A good artist always seeks to break limitations. In my opinion, that is the real art.

I have always believed that the "art" in martial art is a double entendre. Art can be both a discipline that one is dedicated to; it can also be a product of human creation. as to the latter definition, too often people forget this aspect. But striving for artistic beauty is as much an exercise in discipline as it is a reverance for that which a skill is modelled after - be it a sword or an animal or an inanimate concept.

Such a concept may not be directly important to defense or any kind of fighting skill. But it does associate the art to a culture, not unlike the importance of a bugler or flagman on the battlefield. In this manner, the beauty of a martial art is just as important as it's technical application.

In terms of martial arts, I think the "limited medium" is either the body or the martial arts one practices.

The body is a pretty obvious limit, for example no martial artist can overpower, say, an airplane running at full speed from the ground (a gross hyperbole but you get the idea).

I think that for someone who practices a specific martial arts, there will be a point where the martial arts itself (as in the one he/she was taught) becomes a limit for the martial artist. It is at that point where the martial artist has to struggle against his/her own martial arts to overcome the limitations. That is why most of the more renowned martial artists end up starting their own school of martial arts. (This might not be a very good example, but Bruce Lee founded Jeet Kune Do although he initially trained in Wing Chun)

It's doing well at something, not necessarily martial arts. A carpenter struggles with wood. An actor struggles with the set or director. You struggle daily with any argument you have and your medium doesn't always give you the advantage.

Masaaki Hatsumi explained many times that taijutsu, a subset of ninjutsu, really just means "dancing". If one has a sword and the other a naginata, the dance will be different, because the medium is different for both (well, of course, among other things, like terrain, for example).

We can expand that idea to tactics not involving direct contact, much like Miyamoto Musashi tried to explain.

in laymans terms the quote is stating that the coolest part of some product is how something with technical mastery and few flaws can come from very little tools, which puts more reliance on skill than tools. just as the pyramids of Egypt were (allegedly) created by people just out of the stone age. martial artists have to be skillful, rather than have a lot to work with. like the Bruce Lee quote of "i fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but the man who has practiced 1 kick 10,000 times." limited tools, in the right hands, can make masterpieces.

A very basic view would be that of the body (size, strength, speed, flexibility and so on).

Another view would be the terrain and situation as the one poster mentioned. Is it a matter of containing or controlling an opponent, or demolishing one?

Another view would be what the individual himself brings to the table. The aggressiveness, the intent, the fear, the focus, and so on.

There are many other levels I could imagine that would affect the struggle and finished product.

It is a nice quote. Thanks!

A martial art is primarily a collection of stylized techniques and formal training methods. Its usefulness, its value, and thus its beauty, can only be realized when a practitioner genuinely struggles to make sense of the arts techniques and core principles, to "make it work" for him/herself; especially concerning the internal aspects of the art.

In other words: what Sensei Scandal said...

The first thing that came to mind was Hung Gar. More specifically, the forms in which most require very limited space required to perform.

The second that came to mind were the original tools used in Okinawan Hojo Undo which were no more than modified farm equipment most people made from what they had in their backyards.

I think Sensei Scandal pretty much nailed this, though. My sentiments exactly.

Awesome question!!

I really like Sensei Scandal's response there. That IS martial arts.

I suppose that this would mean that the martial artist has to struggle against the limits of their own body. such as their strength, stamina and flexibility.

it's overcoming your physical and environmental limitation to get the job done. you work against gravity and possibly a weapon or opponent, to learn and perform well in the art you have chosen.