Martial Arts - Are they actually of any use?
Discussion
To make it clear - this is not a thread about which martial art is better than what, or how many truckers a member can fight like, or how strong of an email you can send.
I am curious to hear the opinions of those who have done martial arts and who have never done any.
Personally, I have done a little bit here and a little bit there - I have got up to lowish grades in a few martial arts and I am fairly well rounded in that respect.
I consider myself very very lucky that I have never been in a serious position to have to actually act on anything I have learnt, so for all I know if I am actually attacked, I might just cry like a schoolgirl and run away, or I might obliterate them into next week.
This got me thinking - we all know people out there who are just simply f
king scary, who have never done any form of training, there are people out there who are just so fking huge and well built, that even if you had a gun you would simply be scared to shoot them in case you just "pissed them off" 
, and then there are people who are just built like a weedy person, and no amount of training or skill will probably ever help them in a fight situation.
So is it more to do with having skill build and attitude, or are you of the belief that if you train in a martial art despite your build or mental attitude, you can become as hard "The Guvnor"?
This obviously excludes unfortunate people with chronic disabilities that prevent them from physical exercise, as this is kind of beyond they control.
I am curious to hear the opinions of those who have done martial arts and who have never done any.
Personally, I have done a little bit here and a little bit there - I have got up to lowish grades in a few martial arts and I am fairly well rounded in that respect.
I consider myself very very lucky that I have never been in a serious position to have to actually act on anything I have learnt, so for all I know if I am actually attacked, I might just cry like a schoolgirl and run away, or I might obliterate them into next week.
This got me thinking - we all know people out there who are just simply f
king scary, who have never done any form of training, there are people out there who are just so fking huge and well built, that even if you had a gun you would simply be scared to shoot them in case you just "pissed them off" , and then there are people who are just built like a weedy person, and no amount of training or skill will probably ever help them in a fight situation.So is it more to do with having skill build and attitude, or are you of the belief that if you train in a martial art despite your build or mental attitude, you can become as hard "The Guvnor"?
This obviously excludes unfortunate people with chronic disabilities that prevent them from physical exercise, as this is kind of beyond they control.
g4ry13 said:
TheCarpetCleaner said:
and then there are people who are just built like a weedy person, and no amount of training or skill will probably ever help them in a fight situation.
Rubbish....it doesn't take much force to do a lot of damage if you know what you're doing. No matter how good a 7 year old kid is, their options are limited against a 15 stone medium build guy, trained or not.
One thing I found was it is good to take a punch to the head! When sparing for the first time....and you get a good thump to the noggin....it soon stops you in your tracks! Its not necessarily the pain, but just the surprise of being hit and now your brain is rattling around!
After that, the shock isn't so great so you can carry on. If you met that on the street for the first time you might not have time to get yourself together before having the living **** kicked out of you!
Personally I think one of the good things a martial art teaches you is not necessarily to be there! You are possibly going to walk a bit taller, so not looking like a victim. Also you are going to remain calm. Nothing easier to defeat than a person who is fighting through blind rage!! They will throw punches without calculation, and they will be very off balance.
Also much like when driving. The first time you loose the back end of the car, you fishtail down the road....totally new experience. But before long, it becomes second nature. Fighting is much the same. Your body begins to flow, and you pick up on tells the other person is demonstrating.
That said...if you go up against a total meat head who is built like a brick outhouse....turn and run!
After that, the shock isn't so great so you can carry on. If you met that on the street for the first time you might not have time to get yourself together before having the living **** kicked out of you!
Personally I think one of the good things a martial art teaches you is not necessarily to be there! You are possibly going to walk a bit taller, so not looking like a victim. Also you are going to remain calm. Nothing easier to defeat than a person who is fighting through blind rage!! They will throw punches without calculation, and they will be very off balance.
Also much like when driving. The first time you loose the back end of the car, you fishtail down the road....totally new experience. But before long, it becomes second nature. Fighting is much the same. Your body begins to flow, and you pick up on tells the other person is demonstrating.
That said...if you go up against a total meat head who is built like a brick outhouse....turn and run!
TheCarpetCleaner said:
g4ry13 said:
TheCarpetCleaner said:
and then there are people who are just built like a weedy person, and no amount of training or skill will probably ever help them in a fight situation.
Rubbish....it doesn't take much force to do a lot of damage if you know what you're doing. No matter how good a 7 year old kid is, their options are limited against a 15 stone medium build guy, trained or not.
didelydoo said:
TheCarpetCleaner said:
g4ry13 said:
TheCarpetCleaner said:
and then there are people who are just built like a weedy person, and no amount of training or skill will probably ever help them in a fight situation.
Rubbish....it doesn't take much force to do a lot of damage if you know what you're doing. No matter how good a 7 year old kid is, their options are limited against a 15 stone medium build guy, trained or not.
The main thing that Karate and Krav drummed into me is that it is actually very hard to get a kick to the groin or an eyeball gouge unless the person you are fighting off is either stunned, or you have managed to somehow distract them using another method quickly first (that being the skill aspect)
We are very good at naturally protecting our most vunerable areas instinctively.
Which is why is makes me angry when people tell unconfident females to kick men trying to attack them in the balls - yes they MIGHT get lucky if they catch them off guard, however most of the time they wont' get away with it.
Martial arts will never replace the killer instinct the a complete nutter has- pure aggression/rage is incredibly hard to counter- its not something most martial artists ever encounter either. Some people simply don't care about the damage they'd cause to you- different breed completely.
fesuvious said:
After having been either blinded, or whilst gasping for breath after their throat has been 'dealt with'...they tend to calm down
With my sensible In some respects simply having the confidence which certain martial arts inspire can IMHO ensure that they don't get picked on as such. Especially if we are talking about school situations, the bullies go for people with a lack of self confidence and those who carry themselves well do not advertise "target" as such.
And I think a lot depends on the sensei as has been noted above, I trained with one bloke who did it all for the Kata, and felt a bit like a muppet despite 3-4 hours a week. BUT I then trained with a lunatic who was very focussed on the idea that you either run, or hit them so hard that you don't have to run. Again, as noted above, there are a few ways to hurt someone which are very, very effective at encouraging them to leave you alone.
I also trained for ages in Shotokan, with arm/leg blocks etc then when I went to Jitsu, the Sensei asked me WTF I was doing - his training was on not getting hit at all, not blocking and getting bruised/hurt as a result. It made a whole lot more sense. It is also quite easy, if you know the right way to do it, to control someone in such a way as they forget entirely about attacking you and spent rather a lot of time wondering how the hell they can stop their arm/hand/wrist hurting so much....
And I think a lot depends on the sensei as has been noted above, I trained with one bloke who did it all for the Kata, and felt a bit like a muppet despite 3-4 hours a week. BUT I then trained with a lunatic who was very focussed on the idea that you either run, or hit them so hard that you don't have to run. Again, as noted above, there are a few ways to hurt someone which are very, very effective at encouraging them to leave you alone.
I also trained for ages in Shotokan, with arm/leg blocks etc then when I went to Jitsu, the Sensei asked me WTF I was doing - his training was on not getting hit at all, not blocking and getting bruised/hurt as a result. It made a whole lot more sense. It is also quite easy, if you know the right way to do it, to control someone in such a way as they forget entirely about attacking you and spent rather a lot of time wondering how the hell they can stop their arm/hand/wrist hurting so much....
As mentioned above I think the only real way to improve your reactions to massive adrenaline dumps and being punched in the head is to put yourself in those situations and that will always give the nutter who fights every weekend and those that practice full contact sparring the upperhand.
Having practice Krav for a few years now I am a big advocate. However due to it being a form of self-defence and not a martial art it does lack full contact sparing and is therefore very difficult to predict how much benefit it would be in the real world.
Having practice Krav for a few years now I am a big advocate. However due to it being a form of self-defence and not a martial art it does lack full contact sparing and is therefore very difficult to predict how much benefit it would be in the real world.
Shaid GTB said:
ShadownINja said:
Lost soul said:
You will never see a Ninja being given a hard time
That's right. Nobody has ever given me a hard time. But then I never leave my bedroom.
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