Recognizing martial artists

[Superdude]

If you see some random person on the street, is there any way to tell if he has martial arts training? Something about the way he looks or acts perhaps that might indicate it?

[Jakuzo]

tough question. If u go to fight with him and he gets into some martial arts stance thats a pretty good sign. As for just seeing them on the street im not sure. Watch how the walk if they walk upright and alert they may be a fighter. If they have any kind of visible scars or bruses they could be a fighter. If hes built he may be a fighter. U may be able to tell by the look in their eyes. the eyes of a warrior. My advice is if hes twice ur size leave him alone.

[fool with fist]

I'll agree to that, i know at least in my school, you can point out all the football players because they all have this sort of arrogance to theyr walk, or maybe its the "i just did squats and my legs hurt like hell" walk. i dont know about the being alert thing, i mean a good fighter will be semi alert at all times, but they also have the confidence that comes with martial arts so they wont be too woried about their suroundings

[cakegirl]

I would have to say no, you can't tell if someone's trained in martial arts. There are some things that might be clues (some said before, also if they're wearing a t-shirt that says the name of a school or a competition or something), but a lot of those could mean that they are a fight fan, not a fighter themself.

Someone walking upright might be a fighter. Then again, they might be a dancer. Or be recoverying from a back injury. Or just have self-confidence!

If they have visible scars or bruises, it might mean that they are a bad fighter! It might mean they were in a car accident.

If he's built, he might be a fighter, or a footballer, or a rugby player, or a Pacific Islander, or a body builder, or an aerobics teacher.

I know when I go out with my martial arts friends, we look like a group of girls who love to dance with guys with hot bodies. I don't think any one of my regular group of friends "looks" like a fighter!

Have a look at this thread about looking unintimidating: Anybody else look unintimidating?

[Garland]

Footwork, posture...how they dance, how they move.

If somebody walks on the balls of his feet and keeps his weight well centered...these are some pretty good initial signs that he or she is a fighter.
Watch their bodies...generally how somebody holds themselves is as good a way as any to size somebody up.

But you never know. I sometimes walk with a bouncey stumbling type of motion, wherein I'm on the balls of my feet but walking kind of off balance like a drunken supermodel (crossing my feet forward, something a fighter usually wouldn't do)...but I do it, because I'm just glamourous like that.

Sometimes you can just sort of tell that somebodies into a martial art by glancing at them, even to the point of being able to know their style....but knowing how good they are is almost impossible
Whoever could get the highest number of correct speculations on who was a better fighter based on appearance and initial movements would be a hell of a good gambler.

[Tant01]

Sure it's called martial profiling. You try to sneak up on them, if they kick your ass they probably know more kung-fu than you...

That guy looks tough....

The most dangerous killers I ever knew were artists but you'd never guess it by looking at them. A middle aged Portugue with a hunched posture and broken English... and a little tiny Javanese pendita. 105lbs soaking wet! The rumors about (John) had it that he killed two stick fighters with one hand!

[EmptyneSs]

theres no way to tell just by appearance. looks can be deceiving. personally im a shy quiet guy when im not training, i dont think people could ever guess i train by my appearance alone, unless i was wearing a short sleeve shirt that showed that im built, but even then people may assume i play sport, or just workout.

[HtTKar]

I think you can definitely recognize pretty quickly whether or not someones a fighter, or has the fighting spirit, the eye of the tiger. But knowing whether or not they train in martial arts is a different story.

[majorfufu]

if their ears look like they went through a meat grinder they might have grappled before

[EmptyneSs]

Originally Posted by majorfufu

if their ears look like they went through a meat grinder they might have grappled before

oh yeah, the broken ears are great indicators. dont ever mess with somoene with broken ears. judokas and grapplers and even some boxers get broken ears.

[IPON]

I think in it is near impossible to tell if someone has had martial training. Most MAs should be humble, so they are not bragging about their super human powers and body counts. Outside of the obvious guys that walk around with advertisements, shirts or jackets indicating “I’ll kick your ass Karate Federation”. You may be able to observe a persons fighting spirit or intensity through conversation and possibly physical condition (but out of shape MAs can still kick ass too). Generally, the best way is looking at the hands, whether it is formal or informal training, usually a good sign of a fighter. Cauliflower ear is definatly a sign of a grappler, you won’t know what type and how good, but it is a good sign.

I thought about this many years ago and I cam to the conclusion it doesn't matter if you are forced into a confrontation you have to survive if the guy is an 8th dan so be it means nothing.

Sorry, I know the last paragraph was not part of your question just ranting.

My $.02

[IPON]

Originally Posted by cakegirl

I know when I go out with my martial arts friends, we look like a group of girls who love to dance with guys with hot bodies.

Hey Cake girl....I wanted to say thank for the dance. Your friends (and you are realy hot!!!) Hey your short friend with brown hair gave me her number and when I called it was an auto rental place. err, ummmm I am sure that was just a mistake and there was another "800" number for her home fone....uhhhh yeah

[cakegirl]

Haha, my sentence was a little ambiguous... I didn't mean that all my martial arts friends are women who like to dance with hot men. I meant that all my female martial arts friends are women who like to dance, and all my male martial arts friends have hot bodies, and those two things are what people notice when we go out as a group - that the women are all really into dancing, and that the men are all hot! Hahaha!

Oh, and as for my flatmate giving you the wrong number, sorry about that - she just didn't want her boyfriend to have to kick your ass.

[JaredExtreme]

I think it's rather easy to tell.

If you're kicking their ass they probably do karate, Kung-Fu, or Tae Kwon Do.

If they're whooping YOUR ass they probably do Muay Thai, Wrestling or BJJ.

[Tom Yum]

Originally Posted by Superdude

If you see some random person on the street, is there any way to tell if he has martial arts training? Something about the way he looks or acts perhaps that might indicate it?

Nope.

Once you've been involved in MA for a long enough time, you learn that you can't judge a fighter by his build or looks.