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well I have been thinking about the posts on this board over the last couple years, as well as the statements of people I have met while studying martial arts and have found a few things that I think are very interesting.
The first of these is the concept that something must prevail in the ring for it to be useful in self defense. I believe that this is false and a kind of backwards thinking. Let me explain why. First you must really think, who are you going to encounter on the street that you are going to need to defend yourself from. First with dealing with a single attacker then with multiple. In a single attacker situation it is the tendency for people to compare that to the ring. They believe that this is a tested system and thus effective. But assumptions are made that are simply no the norm. First most people you defend yourself against are not going to be combat professionals. If you want to take on a combat professional you train like a combat professional. You try to become as strong as them and learn their techniques. But this isn't really necessary for self defense. Chances are unless you are looking for a fight you won't be defending yourself against a combat professional. They are too busy training and using their skills to make a living than attacking you. You are more likely to be attacked by an average person. Statistically you are more likly to be attacked by someone you know or live near. For me their are less than 1000 combat professionals in my area if even that. So with over a million people in the area chances are quite low that I will need to defend myself against one of them. Infact I have never seen a news report of a combat professional commiting a violent crime in my area. So the idea that unless you can beat a combat professional you are not training in self defense is a bit absurd.
In multiple attacks you don't usually encounter a well strategized fight plan. The attackers don't really use a strategy that makes great use of teamwork, instead they attempt generally to swarm and overwelm an opponent. As has been said by many even a combat professional could fail under these circumstances.
Instead look at what causes attacks. There are only a few reasons 1. greed 2. anger 3. fear 4 random. Random is not actually all that common unlike what most people believe. It is possible to remove 2 of these. Courtesy can difuse most situations that would have lead to an anger attack as well as fear attacks. That leaves greed and random. so you can greatly reduce you chances of being attacked by just displaying courtesy towards others. You may still be attacked there is no way to remove that possibility to a certanty.
The fallacy of style. This style is better than that style. This practicioner will always beat that practicioner. Face it the days of pure styles are almost gone. A few cling to tradition but every few systems out there are purely one style. As systems have grown new techniques don't really appear, instead techniques are rearranged, the system of teaching it is changed. The pattern it's learned rearranged, the conditioning modified and the strategy added, subtracted, modified or stolen from another system. Two arts can use the same techniques and strategy, but the one with the better conditioning will win. They could use the same techniques and conditioning and lose to the one that has a better strategy. lets clarify further. JJ was surpassed by BJJ. But they really are the same core art. One made changes so as to make it effective and the strategy changed. Now look at UFC1 many arts entered with the idea that they were going to fight (i.e. try to hurt eachother) what they found was that one group was there with a slightly different intent. Their idea was to cause the others to lose by keeping them from fighting. It did not take long for people to adapt this stratgey into their systems so as to defend against it and utilize it themselves. So systems changed to handle a new threat an opponent that was not intending to stand and fight and who was effective at keeping others from being able to stand and fight as well. Another system is Muay Thai and TKD (Songahm) These systems contain the same techniques. There is no technique in Muay Thai that is not already in STKD. But there are differences in how it is commonly taught. STKD is generally not as effective in combat as Muay Thia, (something I complained about for years) But it is not the techniques in the system, its not the strategy (contrary to popular beliefs TKD people should know how to throw leg kicks as well as any other kick they train the same is true for punches and knees and elbows.) The difference between the two lies in the conditioning aspects (although some schools have a focus on conditioning) and focus. By focus I mean they are training to beat others in a ring, the seek to defeat others. TKD often is taught how to avoid confrontation and keep from being hurt. Accomplished by training on how to keep the average (untrained) attacker from being able to domiate them.
The fallacy of I trained in it so I know. Many people dismiss styles because they say they have done them so they know. Often they state the did it for a year or so. This really doesn't say much. I have met people in systems that trainined for 10 years and still did not know the priniples that their system is built on. in this forum many people say I took this 10 years ago and it's junk they may even say they taught it. But what we don't know is did they know that system very well. Back 10 or even 20 years ago the martial arts world was a different place. People learned what they were taught. Many did not care why they were being taught to do something they just mimiced their instructors. (one school I went too I had to laugh at, The instructor and broken his finger and was not able to straighten his index finger, So when students did knifehand strikes they all had this funny bend in their index fingers. When I asked the junior instructors why I was told that was the proper way to do it. But when I spoke to the head instructor I found out the truth. These junior instructors mimiced without comprehension. People use this to dismiss Kata training. Often they look over what is being taught in the Kata and instead believe that the Kata is the application of the art rather than a training tool.
Look critically at what you believe. Are you doing what you were told? Did you practice and art and dismiss it because of a bad instructor or your own failing? Have you bought into the hype that every time you are called to defend yourself you will be going against a 280lb combat professional.
If is funny how the best fighters often say they are one style or system but use methods of other systems. This is true in just about every system. The best Karate people know how to ground fight. The best TKD people know how to ground fight as well. The best BJJ know how to do a good stand up game.
just some things to think about, what other contructive ideas can you come up with?
The first of these is the concept that something must prevail in the ring for it to be useful in self defense. I believe that this is false and a kind of backwards thinking. Let me explain why. First you must really think, who are you going to encounter on the street that you are going to need to defend yourself from. First with dealing with a single attacker then with multiple. In a single attacker situation it is the tendency for people to compare that to the ring. They believe that this is a tested system and thus effective. But assumptions are made that are simply no the norm. First most people you defend yourself against are not going to be combat professionals. If you want to take on a combat professional you train like a combat professional. You try to become as strong as them and learn their techniques. But this isn't really necessary for self defense. Chances are unless you are looking for a fight you won't be defending yourself against a combat professional. They are too busy training and using their skills to make a living than attacking you. You are more likely to be attacked by an average person. Statistically you are more likly to be attacked by someone you know or live near. For me their are less than 1000 combat professionals in my area if even that. So with over a million people in the area chances are quite low that I will need to defend myself against one of them. Infact I have never seen a news report of a combat professional commiting a violent crime in my area. So the idea that unless you can beat a combat professional you are not training in self defense is a bit absurd.
In multiple attacks you don't usually encounter a well strategized fight plan. The attackers don't really use a strategy that makes great use of teamwork, instead they attempt generally to swarm and overwelm an opponent. As has been said by many even a combat professional could fail under these circumstances.
Instead look at what causes attacks. There are only a few reasons 1. greed 2. anger 3. fear 4 random. Random is not actually all that common unlike what most people believe. It is possible to remove 2 of these. Courtesy can difuse most situations that would have lead to an anger attack as well as fear attacks. That leaves greed and random. so you can greatly reduce you chances of being attacked by just displaying courtesy towards others. You may still be attacked there is no way to remove that possibility to a certanty.
The fallacy of style. This style is better than that style. This practicioner will always beat that practicioner. Face it the days of pure styles are almost gone. A few cling to tradition but every few systems out there are purely one style. As systems have grown new techniques don't really appear, instead techniques are rearranged, the system of teaching it is changed. The pattern it's learned rearranged, the conditioning modified and the strategy added, subtracted, modified or stolen from another system. Two arts can use the same techniques and strategy, but the one with the better conditioning will win. They could use the same techniques and conditioning and lose to the one that has a better strategy. lets clarify further. JJ was surpassed by BJJ. But they really are the same core art. One made changes so as to make it effective and the strategy changed. Now look at UFC1 many arts entered with the idea that they were going to fight (i.e. try to hurt eachother) what they found was that one group was there with a slightly different intent. Their idea was to cause the others to lose by keeping them from fighting. It did not take long for people to adapt this stratgey into their systems so as to defend against it and utilize it themselves. So systems changed to handle a new threat an opponent that was not intending to stand and fight and who was effective at keeping others from being able to stand and fight as well. Another system is Muay Thai and TKD (Songahm) These systems contain the same techniques. There is no technique in Muay Thai that is not already in STKD. But there are differences in how it is commonly taught. STKD is generally not as effective in combat as Muay Thia, (something I complained about for years) But it is not the techniques in the system, its not the strategy (contrary to popular beliefs TKD people should know how to throw leg kicks as well as any other kick they train the same is true for punches and knees and elbows.) The difference between the two lies in the conditioning aspects (although some schools have a focus on conditioning) and focus. By focus I mean they are training to beat others in a ring, the seek to defeat others. TKD often is taught how to avoid confrontation and keep from being hurt. Accomplished by training on how to keep the average (untrained) attacker from being able to domiate them.
The fallacy of I trained in it so I know. Many people dismiss styles because they say they have done them so they know. Often they state the did it for a year or so. This really doesn't say much. I have met people in systems that trainined for 10 years and still did not know the priniples that their system is built on. in this forum many people say I took this 10 years ago and it's junk they may even say they taught it. But what we don't know is did they know that system very well. Back 10 or even 20 years ago the martial arts world was a different place. People learned what they were taught. Many did not care why they were being taught to do something they just mimiced their instructors. (one school I went too I had to laugh at, The instructor and broken his finger and was not able to straighten his index finger, So when students did knifehand strikes they all had this funny bend in their index fingers. When I asked the junior instructors why I was told that was the proper way to do it. But when I spoke to the head instructor I found out the truth. These junior instructors mimiced without comprehension. People use this to dismiss Kata training. Often they look over what is being taught in the Kata and instead believe that the Kata is the application of the art rather than a training tool.
Look critically at what you believe. Are you doing what you were told? Did you practice and art and dismiss it because of a bad instructor or your own failing? Have you bought into the hype that every time you are called to defend yourself you will be going against a 280lb combat professional.
If is funny how the best fighters often say they are one style or system but use methods of other systems. This is true in just about every system. The best Karate people know how to ground fight. The best TKD people know how to ground fight as well. The best BJJ know how to do a good stand up game.
just some things to think about, what other contructive ideas can you come up with?
.) If I coulnd't run, then I would try to incapacitate my opponents' just enough so that I could run. I have asked this question to many non ring types such as kung fu guys, aikido practicioners, etc. (I'm not bunching people together, just using them as examples.) And they are such bad asses! (Or so they think) They would stand there and fight, why, because they have never gotten their ass kicked. When you practice arts that rely on sparring as their testing method, you learn to be humble real quick. Because you know that there isn't a possibility that someone out there is better than you, its a fact. Just because you don't practice a ring art doesn't mean that you don't practice self defense, but if you only rely on cooperative partner training and Kata for your training. I give you a simple challenge, spar a lot, put on some gloves, headgear and a mouthpiece and spar. Allow face contact and low kicking and try to use the moves that you learn while you do your practice patterns. Get back to me on that...
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