[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
[quote]WarriorSciences wrote:
[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
[quote]WarriorSciences wrote:
Martial Arts are not self defense. While they hold many principles that can be applied to self defense, most do not account for adaptability and asymmetrical warfare…
In all honestly, if possible, a palm strike through someones’ head usually does the trick.[/quote]
It depends on the Martial Art and your definition of what constitutes a MA. You are right that some do a very poor job of addressing real world self defense, but there are definitely those that do a very good job of it. For the most part sweeping generalizations like that leave something to be desired.
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Fair, but let me clarify my point of view. Martial arts, for the most part, focus on strict form, discipline, etc. It’s more about the art. A skilled martial artist could win in a “street fight”, because a skilled martial artist knows principles. It’s like that quote from Bruce Lee. At first a punch is a punch, then you learn all of the technique that goes into a punch, and with enough practice the punch (again) becomes just a punch. A person who wants to learn self defense through martial arts will have to go through a lot of BS (as it’s related to actual self defense) in order to get to the actual principles that will help him or her survive an actual violent confrontation.
In regards to martial arts training to the general public – to your average Joe looking for a way to defend himself – he’s better off taking an actual self defense class. He doesn’t need to learn strict forms and techniques unless he’s doing it because he actually enjoys the ART of it. Self defense needs to be as simple as possible so that it’s easy to remember for your average citizen who can’t devote their life to training like some people do. They don’t need to be doing wrist locks or other fine motor skill movements, and they don’t need to be taking people to the ground to do some sort of BJJ or other grappling submission.
I realize people want to learn how to Jason Bourne someone on the street, but the harsh reality is that this is an unrealistic goal for a majority of the population.[/quote]
Sento wrote:
Again though, it depends on the Martial Art. Not all arts start out teaching people strict forms or fine motor skill based techniques, and the ones focused on real world application will do just as good if not better of a job of teaching people cerebral, verbal, and postural self defense skills. They will also likely do a far superior job of teaching the mechanics behind “simple effective” foundational self defense skills like basic linear and circular striking (be that palm smashes, punches, hammer fists, etc…,) because practitioners of such styles have most likely spent much more time and energy really fine tuning such skills and applying them against other highly trained fighters.
To be perfectly honest, the physical skills (or at least the level of instruction in them) found in most “self defense” courses are pathetic in comparison to those taught in good Martial Arts (be they Sport Martial Arts or Reality Martial Arts).
( How true this is)
Such courses also generally don’t ever truly put pressure on the attendees/make them uncomfortable. This only serves to give them a false sense of security in the skills they have learned.
( One of the most common mistakes made, excellent point)
Yes, it’s a good thing for people to gain a sense of empowerment and confidence upon developing self defense skills, but if that confidence is built upon a false foundation based on uncommitted/cooperative assailants, things working exactly how they are supposed to each time, and never really experiencing any pain, discomfort, or real struggle then their self confidence will be disproportionate to their actual skill, which is a bad thing.
( Yes, people should committ that statement to memory)
What those courses actually do a pretty good job of is getting people to realize the importance of actually fighting back, which especially in Women’s self defense is something that many people struggle with.
( major,major point here, especially if you have ever worked with any rape victims).
Some also do pretty well with educating people on their legal rights in terms of self defense, and simple preventative strategies to help them steer clear of trouble before it actually becomes physical.
( a hallmark of of good course)
But again, good RMA’s teach all of that stuff too, do a better job of teaching simple effective physical skills, actually expose their students to things like adversity, discomfort, struggle, and resistance, stress inoculation training, and fear management skills/strategies and thus do a much better job of preparing even beginner level students for real world self defense situations. Not to mention the fact that with RMA’s you will eventually learn higher level “complex effective” skill sets, modern weaponry (both conventional and makeshift/improvised) skills, and be able to effectively deal with more dangerous types of assailants.
Finally, since prevention is often the best cure, the discipline, humility, moral compass, and self control emphasized by TMA’s and good RMA’s are among the most important/effective self defense skills that you can learn. Remember that most fights don’t begin when the first punch is thrown, nor do they end when the last decisive physical technique is executed.
( everyone needs to read that statement twice, because, if you survive, and you are in the United States legal problems are sure to follow, especially if a firearm is involved. In the real world you are either dead, injured, or sued)
excellent post, Sento.