Everyone agrees that the fundamentals are the essence of martial arts skill, but nobody can agree on what they are exactly.

In this article, I outline and briefly comment on five different conceptions of martial arts fundamentals.

* Fundamentals as Basic Techniques

* Fundamentals as Principles of Play

* Fundamentals as Basics + Principles

* Fundamentals within Functional Movement Skills

* as Regulatory Conditions

* as Necessary Strategic Attributes

Overall, I want to document the landscape on fundamentals so we can have clearer, more productive discussions about it.

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