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Martial Arts is for Pussies!


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Unless you're Jet Li, Jackie Chan or that Ong Bak dude, martial arts is for pussies!

 

Now, if you practice the shit for conditioning or peace of mind or whatever then that's fine, but if you practice it for self-defense... then I don't have respect for ya! Boxers, wrestlers and some forms of grapling gets all my respect!

 

Martial arts, in my opinion, is just glorified dancing!

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Saw this earlier, and had to think on what I wanted to post...

 

I don't expect most of you to read the long-ish post below, but if your interested, you might.

I don't expect people who cannot grasp *cough-PanchoRio-cough* to be able to comprehend the art of "thinking" through the art of fighting much on the level of let's say, "Jeet Kune Do" as brilliantly invented and written by my idol Master Bruce Lee, and so brilliantly pointed out by The Vagrant in another thread.

But give it a go.

 

Defend.net Martial Arts Forum

 

 

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_____________________________

 

What is the "Best Martial Arts" for Self-Defense?

 

by Wayne Muromoto

 

A while ago, someone emailed me asking my opinion about the best martial arts to study in terms of self-defense.

 

Stupidly, I was my usual facetious self in answering that question, until the person gave me the reason why he queried me. He, a young, healthy male, had been robbed. In the course of the crime, he had been assaulted and found himself unable to protect himself from bodily harm. The physical injuries were minor, but the experience shook him to his psychological core. To have your sense of self, of destiny, and control taken over by a criminal is surely one of the worst feelings you can have, and in a sense, this young man might have had a sense of being violated similar to the trauma suffered by sexual assault and rape victims.

 

One way this young man thought he could rebuild his sense of self-confidence was through becoming trained in a martial art that would enable him to fend off such an attack in the future. Once I realized the seriousness that underlined his question, I tried to reply to him in the way that I am writing now: Basically, I told him, in all honesty, no martial art is a foolproof method against being hurt in a robbery or crime, if the assailant is unarmed, or with a knife, or especially a gun. You can slip on a banana peel, miss a block, or be in the wrong place in the wrong time and get clobbered. Or worse, your life could be in danger if you resist.

 

Then again, there are instances when compliance or resistance don't really matter one way or another; the attacker is just bent on doing you harm one way or another, and, unable to escape, you just have to figure a way out of your predicament using whatever means are at your disposal, including martial arts. With that caveat, I told him that martial arts can give you a better sense of awareness and physical ability to possibly deal with an attack, but it's no panacea.

 

Now, although I practice martial arts, what I then informed him was my own, honest opinion, and I had nothing to gain or lose because he lived thousands of miles away from me and I wasn't looking to recruit him for my school, or for any particular martial arts school. If my following opinions rile anyone, then just take it as it is; simply my own opinion, and there are, I'm sure, many more opinions coming from all quarters.

 

The first line of self-defense, even before being physically trained, is self-awareness. In this, I include being aware of one's own limitations as well as being aware of one's surroundings. If a dark alley seems suspiciously like a great place to ambush someone, then don't go down it if it's late at night and you're walking through it alone. Take a slightly longer route home. So know your own limitations, and avoid the possible places or situations where you could get caught. Old martial artists would call this "winning by not fighting." You maneuver yourself out of a combative situation before it even happens. In a similar manner, if you don't want a fight, then don't go into a bar known for its brawls acting and looking for a fight. Know yourself, know the others. Again, in knowing oneself, don't dress or act the part of a victim. Walk erect but not proud, aware of your surroundings, and put away your Rolex watch and fancy gold chain necklace. Be "normal," i.e., don't act overconfident, but don't act like you're scared of your own shadow.

 

Don't rely on externals to protect you. What I mean is, don't pack a Saturday Night Special when you decide to go to that raunchy bar on the other side of town. In some places it's illegal to carry a concealed weapon. And in the worst case, it gives you a sense of false confidence. Just don't go to that bar, period. Don't place your hopes on having a pistol in your drawer at home, or carrying a knife or baseball bat in your car, or a can of Mace on your key chain, or a stun gun in your purse. While Mace or a stun gun may help, there's no iron-clad guarantee that you can reach for it in your purse in time to protect yourself. Remember there are limitations to any weapon at hand, and be aware of the local law regarding carrying such weapons on your body and the damage you can inflict in a given situation.

 

I'm not advocating or denouncing gun control laws here; that's another matter entirely.What I'm talking about doesn't deal with guns as a means of self-defense. I don't want to go there because that's another humongous controversy.

 

That said, sometimes all your best intentions come to nothing; you try to avoid danger zones, you try to not exude fear or false bravado, and still the bad guys try to rob you. The advice I hear from local police officers is the advice I prefer. If a robber wants your money, give it to him.

 

Getting involved in a struggle over money is not worth risking your life. There are too many variables so that even as a trained martial artist, you may not survive unscathed. In terms of rape, sexual assault or physical assault, I would refer you to discussions with your local police as to what is the safest, most reasonable responses. I'm a martial arts instructor (a mediocre one at that); not a specialist in counseling rape victims, and I don't pretend to be one.

 

However, I'm sure that avoiding fighting with a criminal is usually best because you never know what other variables may put you in danger. The assailant could have friends lurking around the corner, for example. Or he could have a knife or gun that you missed seeing. Or he could just be bigger and meaner and stronger than you.

 

So what about the times when, as this young man noted, that you try to avoid difficult situations, but you nevertheless are attacked. Even though you give the criminal your money and try to avoid conflict by backing off, the attacker still assaults you and you have to fight for your life? Then, I said, you fight as if it's a matter of sheer basic survival. You use whatever you can, whether it's martial art, a two by four, whatever.

___________________________

 

So he pressed me. What martial art is the best, then? In that situation I said, it's not so much the style of martial arts in itself, but how much you train and how well that martial arts fits you.

 

In most instances, assaults require a rapid response. You don't have time to think, "Okay, he's coming in with an overhead strike. I can use either an age-uke block and punch combination, or I could step to the right side, deflect the strike, and kick. . .or. . ." The attack comes quickly, and you must respond reflexively, without the luxury of thinking up a fancy defense. Whether it's judo, karatedo, aikido, or whatever, you need to train long enough so that your response is quick, simple and reflexive.

 

So if you take up any form of martial arts as a means of self-defense, then you have to focus on the basics, repeating the methods over and over again until they are a natural, reflexive part of you, so that as soon as you see an overhand attack, for example, you can react quickly, without hesitation or thinking, without intellectualizing what you're doing or letting the fear/flight emotional response render you frozen in your tracks.

 

Repetitive training will help. But mental training also helps a great deal. Martial arts practice is wonderful in that it puts you in a physical situation that challenges both your body, mind and emotion to maintain calmness and deliberateness in the middle of physical mayhem. It's a very good fit for training for self-defense, but not a complete fit, because when all is said and done, a real self-defense situation is still different from martial arts. But the martial arts can prepare you somewhat for it.

 

To paraphrase one combat veteran, "five minutes of real combat is worth months of basic training." In other words, nothing can prepare you completely for a real self-defense situation. Nothing. Proper training, however, will at least have you ready and more prepared compared to someone who has had no training at all. That is why soldiers are drilled repeatedly for combat; once in combat their reactions have to be reflexive, and the only way to develop that short of throwing them into real battle and letting the rate of natural attrition decide who has natural survival skills is to train the soldiers, over and over again, until such simple and complex tasks under duress become second nature.

 

Self-defense training's end goals is just that: physical self-defense. There's nothing wrong with that, but that is its limit. Martial arts has a myriad of goals: mental and physical health, self-confidence, spiritual training, learning body dynamics, and thus self-defense is but one of various goals of martial arts. That said, therefore, ten-step self-defense courses for women, etc., have obvious limitations and I am ambivalent about the worthiness of many of those courses. They may give some basic physical tools and techniques to people, they may bolster self-confidence, and within those limited parameters they may serve a purpose and be somewhat adequate.

 

But it is my experience that without constant and lengthy training in mental and physical methodologies, it is really hard to inculcate the rapid response reflexes needed in a real self-defense situation. I'm not saying such focused short workshops are entirely useless; I'm sure they serve some purpose, but as they are often structured, I don't think the benefits are as great as they are often touted, or as they could be if the whole situation was further studied by specialists in the field over a longer period of time.

 

Such short workshops may give a brief introduction to some simple safety and self-defense "tips," but students should always be forewarned that it will not turn them into a Jackie Chan overnight.

 

Nor should any of the aerobic-martial arts instructors give students a false sense that they can "kick butt" after doing aerobics-based martial arts, such as Tae Bo or kickboxing aerobics. I'm sure Tae Bo and the other spin offs are a great workout, and it will slim down and tone students, but unless it's augmented with traditional martial arts training, that emphasizes focus, power punching, proper balance for striking a real physical object, reaction drills and so on, aerobics-based martial arts' primary focus is on body fitness and toning, NOT self-defense. Ditto aerobic kickboxing. You may look great in a Spandex outfit, but it doesn't mean you can really kick butt in the street.

________________________________

 

But if instructors in those courses are honest, they will admit to the limitations, as well as the possible benefits, of such courses. If so, then I have no quarrels with them.

 

For example (and here I know I'm going to get clobbered by some advocates), in some self-defense workshops a favorite practice is to have a guy dressed up in protective padding from top to bottom "assault" a student. The student fights back with punches, kicks and all the methods he/she learned in the few weeks' worth of training that the class offered. All other things being equal, that's not a bad exercise. But it's not a be-all and end-all.

 

You usually don't get attacked by someone in such padded gear unless you're on a football field carrying a football. Attackers will come in all shapes, sizes, assortments and numbers. They will come at you unarmed, armed with bladed weapons, and/or with guns. Heck, you could even be attacked by someone trying to run you over with an SUV in an instance of road rage.

 

So I concluded by telling the young man that self-defense courses may be good for a quick dose of self-confidence, and possibly some simple techniques that may or may not work. But it's not the be-all and end-all of everything; it's a quickie stop gap band aid for people who don't have the time to invest in long-term martial arts. And quickie stop gaps can't guarentee you anything permanent or long-lasting.

 

Thus, if he really was serious, he should take up martial arts, but realize that he should accept whatever martial arts he studies as having more than the limited goal of self-defense. He should realize that everything goes hand in hand; learning the mental and physical discipline, the body dynamics, the basics, all will tie in to his need to learn self-defense, by giving him a firm foundation that will accumulate over the years, like compounded interest in a bank account.

 

And like compounded interest, there's no quick road to profit. You just have to keep training and training, until the martial arts becomes a part of you. But which martial art is the best, he reitereated. I replied (getting into my dumb-jokes mode again), heck, even learning baseball is great. If you learn how to swing a bat and throw a baseball, then you can swing a stick or throw things at the guy. Or run like heck away from the attack.

 

Maybe he would enjoy the grappling and free-for-all randori of judo. Or he might prefer the clean and intricate techniques of aikido, or the punching and kicking of karate. Or he may opt to do something like Tae Kwon Do or Chinese Kung Fu, or Filipino Escrima, or Western style boxing. What mattered was that he find something he could stick with and study for years and years. I'm real open about that. I don't think my own martial arts is the best for everyone. He had to find something that would best fit his character and tastes.

 

I close with a true anecdote, relayed to me by a student of an aikido sensei long since passed away. One day, the sensei came into the dojo with a torn T-shirt. As everyone changed to their training gi, the student said, "Sensei, what happened to your shirt?"

 

The sensei said that a petty thief had accosted him in the street just before he went to the dojo and tried to rob him.

 

"What happened?" the student asked.

 

"I have to study aikido more..." the sensei said. "He tried to grab my shoulder and pull my wallet from my pocket, so I grabbed him and threw him, and he tore my T-shirt when I threw him. The punk was so surprised he got up and ran away. Oh, but I have to study aikido more..."

 

"Oh, but sensei, that's great. I mean, you threw the guy!" his student said.

 

"No, you don't understand. I threw him, but it was with a seoi nage (over-the-shoulder judo throw). That's not aikido. I have to study aikido more."

 

The sensei had studied judo as a young boy for years before he devoted himself to aikido. When faced with an immediate situation, his most basic reflexes kicked in and rather than react in an aikido fashion, he reverted back to the imprinting he received as a child. That is what disturbed the sensei; he realized he hadn't truly integrated aikido into his gut level reflexes as he had done with judo. And this is a sensei who had studied aikido for decades.

 

So the moral of the story, I guess, is that true self-defense is based on long term training, over and over again. Like a lot of things in life, there really is no quick, short term solution that lasts very long. You simply train. What is the best martial arts for self-defense? One that you have trained in for years and years and years.

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I pondered this some more and found that I've a few things to add. Martial arts are not for 'pussies' persay. (Might I also state that I have a pussy and last I checked there wasn't anything inherently wimpy about me.) Any rate, martial arts would be for those who are smaller, quicker, and more agile than others. Some people just aren't naturally bulky and can't use brute strength. You work with what you've got.

 

And, admittedly, as I posted before, brute strength can often take care of most things, its not always the better option. Destroying something, or beating something down is often an act of frustration amd shows lack of self discipline and brains that martial arts attempts to teach. After all, if you can't knock him out you need to watch a bit and figure out where and when to hit.

 

And UFC, wrestling, and general grappling, looks like manlove.

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I can't speak for anyone else, but as a TJKD/MA student of many years, I'll be happy share my views, and I agree with what you are saying FDB.

 

There are many Progressive Fighting Styles in Martial Arts, that perpetuate the Concepts of Jeet Kune Do and the Filipino Martial Arts.

 

Jeet Kune Do Concepts, honestly and openly, without the restrictions of political correctness help make studemts "embody" the art in thought before the fighting itself because it is very easy for the students to mistake the agenda as the truth and to take the program as the way to simple fighting.

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personally, i really think Jeet Kun Do's overrated as a system, its a fan-favorite cause of Bruce Lee.

 

I took some shotokan karate, fair amount of judo, some akido and kendo in and after college, and theyre arts, but at no point did i ever feel like id use any of it in an actual fight (kendo especially, but that was fun). Its why i stuck with boxing, personally, because it fit, felt pragmatic. Ive been readin a lot about CQC (close quarter combat) used by different military branches, and a lot of it comes back to Krav Maga, (the isreali defense force system) which im very interested in, but its kinda trendy right now apparently, and the dojos ive found want almost $90/month, so im just gonna keep hitting my bag from Rio gym till i have that kinda $.

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That's all great and good, but I'm talkin' about a striaght-up street/bar fight!

 

No dissrespect to the legend Bruce Lee (which I do admire... along with his fighting style), but he's long gone and the age of poeple like him is gone too! In the age of "Soccer Moms" and IPods, I don't think another Bruce Lee is gonna emerge!

 

Martial arts, to me, is a series of "dance steps" that ain't gonna do shit when a guy gets in close to ya! I'll take a boxer or wrestler to back me up anyday!

 

As for the comment about pussies: I don't mean it like that! Just cause women have pussies and someone weak is called a pussy, doesn't mean I'm calling women weak! It's just an expression... jeez! A pussy is a pussy, boy or girl! IN MY OPINION, martial arts is for pussies!

 

Hey, doesn't Vagrant study martial arts?

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NBA Superstar Shaquille O'Neal is Kazaam, a larger-than-life genie with a magic touch for nostop fun laughter!  After 5,000 long years of captivity, Kazaam is set free to grant three wishes to a new master.  From then on, he's catapulted to one wild adventure after another... from becoming the latest rap sensation or untangling an outrageous mob scheme! As the giant genie with an attitude, Shaq scores big laughs in this hilarious comedy hit that's sure to be a slam-dunk winner with everyone!

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Also it does teach you several forms of self dense that actually are useful, such as how to disarm someone whether they have a knife, gun, or baseball bat.

 

eh...see, here's where i fall out from martial arts.

again, most of my training was university dojos, so any real patron of a particluar art like yourself can honestly call my experineces bullshit, but a sensei's a sensei, i figure. thing was, i (and a friend) stuck with judo just long enough to start teaching some of it to others, at the sensei's request, and i was wholly uncomfortable with teaching anyone to fight someone who's armed - bats, knives, godforbid you be foolish enough to mess with a gun.

The knife defense in this art was a joke, it presupposed any attacker would oddly swing overhead, like a b-rated slasher. again, citing CQC here, Lt. Col Rex Applegate (some consider the father of CQC) coined the phrase "the first rule of unarmed combat is to arm yourself"...if someone comes at you with a bat, knofe, etc, you should run, becuase youre gonna get hurt. if you dont believe me, try this excercise: pick a shirt you dont like, get a buddy and get like a plastic knife and cover it with paint, tell your buddy to come at you, slashing wildly, like people do with knives, and see how much you get painted up...its not pretty, and its not something anyone who hasnt parcticed tremendously to handle should do, i think.

 

karv maga boasts teaching gun disarmament, and some people give it merit for it, so im very interested to see its ideas on that if and when i can afford to study it, but in all honesty? i hear that shit, and i think of batman, or something crazy like that darwin award guy who got eaten by a lion his sensei convinced him he could take...that shit's chess, not checkers.

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NBA Superstar Shaquille O'Neal is Kazaam, a larger-than-life genie with a magic touch for nostop fun laughter!  After 5,000 long years of captivity, Kazaam is set free to grant three wishes to a new master.  From then on, he's catapulted to one wild adventure after another... from becoming the latest rap sensation or untangling an outrageous mob scheme! As the giant genie with an attitude, Shaq scores big laughs in this hilarious comedy hit that's sure to be a slam-dunk winner with everyone!

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Typically somone whose actual intent is to cut or stab you, you won't see the knife until it's too late.

 

more or less what i had in mind, but carrying a knife (man after my own heart) and formaldehyde is hardcore enough to practice and belive whatever you damn well please, so carry on.

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Right, what Baytor is referring to is armbar takedowns and preemptive strikes/disarmenat. Listen, IC I read what you posted, and I have to whole heartedly disagree.

 

TJKD is an exemplary system in that it preaches to embrace many fighting styles and be comforting to be non-comfortive or "resticted' in the basics of the style itself. Like Baytor I also have embraced Martial Arts training AND had acheieved Black belt status in TKD some 5-6 years ago.

 

In all honesty, I tell you the truth, and not to boast MA and by any means come off like I a fucking ninja, I will say I have been in my fair share of fights. At work, in Bars, on the street at Football games, shit, even an ex's new boyfriend or father. I can modestly say, with confidence and calmness, I was able to stay focused, be clear minded and conscientious to my surroundings and what was going on, and utilize whether it be hand strikes, kicks, pushs. pulls, you name it to achieve a "win" if you will in the fight.

 

I can't comment now cause I'm heading out to a St Pat's drink party, but will chat in this thread later about my thoughts and perceptions on this later.

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In all honesty, I tell you the truth, and not to boast MA and by any means come off like I a fucking ninja, I will say I have been in my fair share of fights. At work, in Bars, on the street at Football games, shit, even an ex's new boyfriend or father. I can modestly say, with confidence and calmness, I was able to stay focused, be clear minded and conscientious to my surroundings and what was going on, and utilize whether it be hand strikes, kicks, pushs. pulls, you name it to achieve a "win" if you will in the fight.

 

I've noticed that too, whenever I get in fights it's like everything is in slow motion... it's weird. Still mugger situation comes up, nice shot of formaldehyde to the face and I can rob HIM, plus he'll have some nice burn scars to remind him not to try and mug people.

 

I'm no Paul Kersey, but I try.

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Slow motion? Shit...maybe its different for chicks. Whenever I get into a fight it always seems to happen quicker than sex. I guess its the adrenaline. And Baytor, I'm gonna have to look into that formaldehyde stuff cause mace doesn't make me feel safe and I haven't gone out for my CHL yet. OR maybe a taser.

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NBA Superstar Shaquille O'Neal is Kazaam, a larger-than-life genie with a magic touch for nostop fun laughter!  After 5,000 long years of captivity, Kazaam is set free to grant three wishes to a new master.  From then on, he's catapulted to one wild adventure after another... from becoming the latest rap sensation or untangling an outrageous mob scheme! As the giant genie with an attitude, Shaq scores big laughs in this hilarious comedy hit that's sure to be a slam-dunk winner with everyone!

 

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NBA Superstar Shaquille O'Neal is Kazaam, a larger-than-life genie with a magic touch for nostop fun laughter!  After 5,000 long years of captivity, Kazaam is set free to grant three wishes to a new master.  From then on, he's catapulted to one wild adventure after another... from becoming the latest rap sensation or untangling an outrageous mob scheme! As the giant genie with an attitude, Shaq scores big laughs in this hilarious comedy hit that's sure to be a slam-dunk winner with everyone!

 

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NBA Superstar Shaquille O'Neal is Kazaam, a larger-than-life genie with a magic touch for nostop fun laughter!  After 5,000 long years of captivity, Kazaam is set free to grant three wishes to a new master.  From then on, he's catapulted to one wild adventure after another... from becoming the latest rap sensation or untangling an outrageous mob scheme! As the giant genie with an attitude, Shaq scores big laughs in this hilarious comedy hit that's sure to be a slam-dunk winner with everyone!

 

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someone doesnt frequent Jock Strap's bar & grill...

 

haha..you can say it looks like ass, i wont mind. lotta good sports skins for this version of the board, but everyone wants $ for em, so...i clearly took a free board for australia (*nods to skeet*) and tried to make it look sporting....i had no idea those strange pics would be in every post, we'll see who notices.

left the sox tab that doest match just for MLB, Tu, MM and all our new englanders.

 

ps that poor kangaroo in our mock-logo is suposed to be wearing a baseball hat, not a tumor, and ill thank you to walk on by my ms paint skills. also, yes, that's old-tyme conan in the corner.

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  • 6 months later...
Now pepper spray... that's some shit! I respect that crap! Being sprayed with it ain't fun!

 

Haha! Spoken like a true stalker.

 

It's much nicer here now, I'm not so culturally offended. Now if I gave a fuck about sports I could hang here more.

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