At Modern Combat Martial Arts (MCMA), we teach the physical mechanics of the White Lotus System of Unarmed Combat. The entire curriculum is organized around a simple but powerful insight: no single tool is sufficient for every combative circumstance.
As the White Lotus System explains, “A doctor doesn’t just have a scalpel … a carpenter doesn’t just have a saw. A combatant needs a suite of skill sets to effectively manage the circumstances of a fight.”
That suite is the Six Core Fighting Skills. These six categories form the organizational backbone of everything we teach at MCMA. They are not a random list of techniques. They are a complete framework for building a comprehensive mechanical library—the physical vocabulary of combat.
The more proficient you become in all six skills, the more options you have and the more effectively you can create outcomes in your favor.
Let’s explore each skill and how MCMA builds your mechanical proficiency in them.
1. GUARDING
The White Lotus System notes that guarding is “much more than just ‘getting out of the way.'” It is the skill of keeping the body from harm, but more than that, it serves as “an important working foundation for all other skill sets.”
At MCMA, guarding is where your journey begins. In White Belt, you learn the 22 positions of guarding in complete isolation. You build the mechanical foundation—spatial placement, soft tension, slow velocity—that will support every skill that follows.
Why start here? Because before you can strike, block, or grapple, you must understand how to control where a fight happens. Guarding gives you that control. It is not passive. It is the ability to calmly and deliberately manage the space around you, creating the circumstances to utilize other skills when you choose to.
2. STRIKING
The White Lotus System defines striking simply as “the act of hitting or kicking an opponent.” But the mechanics behind that act are anything but simple.
At MCMA, we teach striking as the skill of delivering force with mechanical accuracy and from a position of balance. A strike that compromises your stability is a liability. A strike delivered with precision, from a stable base, creates a measurable advantage.
In Yellow Belt, you begin acquiring the positions of striking while continuing to develop guarding actions. By Orange Belt, you are integrating striking actions and presentations into a complete mechanical framework. You learn to generate force efficiently—from the ground up, through a stable structure, to a specific target.
3. BLOCKING
Blocking is defined as “the act of obstructing or jamming an opponent’s strike or kick.” It is the active skill of intercepting incoming force.
Where guarding establishes positional control, blocking is a direct physical intervention in the moment of an attack. A properly executed block does not merely absorb force; it redirects it, creating an opening or disrupting the opponent’s structure.
At MCMA, blocking is developed as its own complete skill set, with positions, actions, and presentations. By Orange Belt, you complete the BSD cycle for blocking, giving you a full mechanical library of defensive responses.
4. PARRYING
Parrying is defined as “the act of using a specific part of the body to redirect an opponent’s strike or kick, often with the purpose of destabilizing their balance or creating a tactical opening.”
Where blocking is a firm deflection, parrying is often a softer, more subtle redirection. A successful parry uses the opponent’s own momentum against them, unbalancing them or creating the precise opening needed for a counter.
This skill requires sensitivity, timing, and spatial awareness. At MCMA, parrying is introduced in the Green Belt curriculum as part of the transition to Intermediate Skill Development (ISD), where you begin applying mechanics against a partner.
5. GRAPPLING
Grappling is defined as “the act of controlling an opponent through holds, locks, and pins, often with the objective of neutralizing their ability to fight without necessarily causing injury.”
Grappling represents close-range control. It moves beyond striking and blocking to focus on securing holds, applying joint locks, and establishing dominant positions. The objective is often to neutralize an opponent’s ability to fight without causing unnecessary injury.
At MCMA, grappling is developed as a complete mechanical skill set beginning in Blue Belt. You learn the positions, actions, and presentations that form the foundation of control, preparing you for application in ISD.
6. THROWING
The sixth core skill is throwing—the art of unbalancing an opponent and projecting them to the ground. A successful throw breaks the opponent’s structure, enters their center of gravity, and executes a precise mechanical action that instantly changes the dynamics of a confrontation.
Throwing is not about brute strength. It is the product of leverage, balance, and mechanical precision—a synthesis of positional awareness, timing, sensitivity, and control.
At MCMA, throwing is developed in the Brown Belt curriculum. You complete the BSD cycle for throwing, building a full mechanical library of unbalancing actions that integrate with the five skills you have developed.
From Mechanical Proficiency to Complete Understanding
At MCMA, our mission is to build your mechanical proficiency in all six of these core skills. Through our Spiral Curriculum, you learn the positions, actions, and presentations that form the complete mechanical library of the White Lotus System.
However, the system’s depth extends beyond physical mechanics. The intellectual framework that explains why these skills are organized this way and how they interact is contained within the White Lotus Digital Library—a separate resource that requires its own purchase.
For students who wish to move from being an “Expert Mechanic” (Black Belt, White Stripe) to a “Scientific Combatant” (Black Belt, Red Stripe) , the Digital Library provides the complete elemental understanding that transforms mechanical proficiency into strategic fluency.
Your Path Forward
Whether your goal is to build an unshakable solo foundation or to pursue the complete scientific understanding of combat, your training begins with the mechanics. And the mechanics begin with these six skills.
At MCMA, you don’t just learn techniques. You build a complete mechanical library—skill by skill, position by position, action by action—so that when the time comes to apply them, you have the tools you need.
For a complete reference on the Six Core Skills and the philosophy that organizes them, please visit the official White Lotus System website:
White Lotus System: Practices
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