Latest News
Open Style Seminar
This autumn starts spectacular: Four senior teachers of the Missing Link Community will be in Manchester for an OPEN STYLE KARATE seminar.
Summer schedule
School holidays are upon us, and we will, as usual, keep training as regular… with a tiny break from August 4th to August 20th.
Chinese Roots - Japanese Karate - Modern Applications
Missing Link Martial Arts connects tradition, modern applications and two of the biggest sources of Martial Arts: China and Japan. It unlocks the actual fighting content within the art and the philosophy behind it.
If this sounds theoretical and dry: It isn’t. Fighting is the centre of martial arts, and this is what we do. We do it in an intelligent way that offers lifelong practice with ongoing rewards far beyond the peak time of athletic challenges. We care for realism, health and fitness.
In England, Manchester Karate is the centre of Missing Link. If you come to this website from Scotland, please visit www.martialarts.scot for more information.
Missing Link Martial Arts UK is part of the international Missing Link Community.
Why Missing Link?
If you are already a practitioner of martial arts, you might find an amazing gate to new experiences.
If you are already a brown or black belt, maybe even a teacher, Missing Link might be the next big step for personal improvement – for you as well as your students. We offer individual lessons, master classes and workshops. You can simply train for yourself or even join the community. Missing Link, originally founded in Germany, is determined to grow in the UK. Join us now.
If you always wanted to learn martial arts, but never made it so far, don’t wait any longer. Look out for the next Missing Link Martial Arts school near you.
Body and Mind
Our minds are challenged constantly by modern times. Through the lens of reason and logic, we are bombarded by consumerism and endless information that steadily detaches us from our emotions. Physical training can be an effective solution to this problem, provided it is holistic, intelligent and lifelong – and not just about athletic peak performance. Missing Link Martial Arts offers healthy, intelligent and lifelong training of body and mind.
Chinese and Japanese Martial Arts
Japanese Karate offers a sophisticated, dynamic, and streamlined physical form of empowerment: it’s the Japanese garden of Martial Arts – beautiful and ordered, but lacking the depth and versatility of its Chinese Roots – their purpose being to guide one through the intense jungle of realistic combat. Missing Link Martial Arts connects Japanese Karate to its powerful Chinese Roots.
Tradition and Modern applications
The traditional Asian Martial Arts have much to offer with their rich heritage of knowledge and philosophy – a practical approach with ideas derived from Buddhism, Taoism and Traditional Chinese Medicine. These arts are of another time however, and certain aspects of these systems no longer apply to our modern age. Missing Link Martial Arts takes traditional wisdom and brings it forward in time with up to date methods of de-escalation and self defence.
Is Karate for you?
Missing Link Martial Arts connects tradition, modern applications and two of the biggest sources of Martial Arts: China and Japan. It unlocks the actual fighting content within the art and the philosophy behind it.
With Missing Link, you learn martial arts. Not a single style, blindly following rules of ancient masters, but a complete concept of exploration. You meet your own body and mind, and you meet others in training.
If your goal is to become a street-fighter, fast, or win in the octagon, Missing Link will leave you impatient. There are detours to make when you go down a traditional road. Not physical strength alone, but understanding of a complete concept is the goal. This will keep you fit and healthy at any age, and for a lifetime. It will also give you an advantage in conflict, yet not invincible.
Holistic Martial Arts
The term “holistic” is being used a lot in different contexts, and for many different things. Most people seem to connect it with ideas of health, mental balance and positive thinking. It also brings meditation to mind, contemplation and ancient methods of healing and well-being. But what does it mean when we talk about “holistic martial arts”?
First of all martial arts is about the connection of body and mind. It is not about sport or fitness in the general meaning of those words. It is not meditation nor does it have contemplation at its core. It is a combination of both sport/fitness and meditation/contemplation.
The arts of fighting have a rich tradition of considering not only conflict, but also the questions of why we fight and how we should be fighting to remain a good person. Physical exercise blends in with essential questions of survival and health, but also with matters of morals, of manners, of mercy, and of responsibility.
At the core of our Missing Link training are ZanShin – the balanced mind – and ShoShin – the beginner’s mind. Being calm and open- minded even when conflicts escalate is the central motive in our training. It teaches how to cope with problems and stay healthy in the face of challenges.
And yes, there is a physical aspect to it. The way we hold ourselves, the way we treat our body and the way we move are very important in achieving mental stability. We help to manage stress and anxiety, and we support the fight against common illnesses of the modern world.
Martial arts are philosophy in movement, rooted in Asian traditions. Many of them are not really applicable in modern Western life – we are not all Buddhist monks living in a remote, peaceful place somewhere in the mountains, to stress a stereotype. But that makes martial arts even more interesting.
Different from meditative techniques, our training has a low entry threshold and offers learning experiences with a lot of sweat and fun, in a group of friendly people. There simply is no easier approach to ancient Asian wisdom than via martial arts.
If you want to learn more about the philosophy behind Missing Link and the way we work against “debodification” in a modern world full of technology and multimedia devices, have a look at the attached pdf. It is an excerpt from the book “Missing Links of Martial Arts“, detailing the challenges of modern life and what martial arts can do to help – if the teachers are able and aware.