hemi
Purple Belt
This may have been asked before somewhere but I was unable to find anything real close so here goes.
Martial arts, in general have the ability to produce very dangerous people. I wonÂ’t go into listing names of styles as there are many and all have something to offer good and bad. IÂ’m am not saying that in a bad way as it is not the art but more the person trained in any particular art that can be dangerous. When I use the word dangerous I am not talking about some guy that comes home to an empty house with a note on the table explaining that his wife left him for some one else. This same person then goes to a bar has a few drinks then pulls out a Glock and starts pulling the trigger and hurting people. No I am referring to a person that can go from your everyday mild mannered person to someone that can inflict serious damage unarmed very quickly like a well oiled machine.
I know I took the long way around getting to my question I have never been accused of being a literary genus. So I will try and get to my question. I am for lack of a better word a non confrontational person. ThatÂ’s not to say I will not fight but I would really rather not. Now I am new to Martial arts and over the last eight months I have learned a lot of good information. I am nowhere near where I want to be in training but it will take many years to acquire the knowledge I hope to learn. I am however not new to fighting. I am a little guy and have had to prove more than once I was better left alone. After getting hit a few times I learned to not block with my face and to keep my hands up. Could I hold my own against a 5th Dan, probably not very well, but that is not the kind of person that goes around looking for trouble. I am not very likely to be backed into a corner by a martial arts instructor at Wal-Mart because I bumped his cart.
Using that as an example, life happens. How do you as martial artists handle the point of no return? Like I said I am pretty non confrontational I would rather walk away then beat someone down. But there were times when it really would have been better to just throw one punch and end a situation but I didnÂ’t for fear of legal trouble. I struggle with that a lot in my mind and in day to day life. At what point does it become imperative to use force and throw legal caution to the wind. I know sometimes a situation dictates that for us. If you are faced with a knife, gun, stick, some kind of weapon you have no choice in the matter. You just have to react fast you canÂ’t think about the, what if. Or if I am with my kids and someone does something stupid like try hurt or abduct one or both then yes I would kill or be killed defending them. But there are other times when force would be the best answer but I am hesitant to do so for fear of legal repercussions.
Well to sum up my question I am asking as a new martial artist, how do you, as fellow martial artist know when it is justified to use what you have been taught? I know there are no 100% correct answers but this is something I think about a lot. IÂ’m sure that many of you have thought about this same thing.
Martial arts, in general have the ability to produce very dangerous people. I wonÂ’t go into listing names of styles as there are many and all have something to offer good and bad. IÂ’m am not saying that in a bad way as it is not the art but more the person trained in any particular art that can be dangerous. When I use the word dangerous I am not talking about some guy that comes home to an empty house with a note on the table explaining that his wife left him for some one else. This same person then goes to a bar has a few drinks then pulls out a Glock and starts pulling the trigger and hurting people. No I am referring to a person that can go from your everyday mild mannered person to someone that can inflict serious damage unarmed very quickly like a well oiled machine.
I know I took the long way around getting to my question I have never been accused of being a literary genus. So I will try and get to my question. I am for lack of a better word a non confrontational person. ThatÂ’s not to say I will not fight but I would really rather not. Now I am new to Martial arts and over the last eight months I have learned a lot of good information. I am nowhere near where I want to be in training but it will take many years to acquire the knowledge I hope to learn. I am however not new to fighting. I am a little guy and have had to prove more than once I was better left alone. After getting hit a few times I learned to not block with my face and to keep my hands up. Could I hold my own against a 5th Dan, probably not very well, but that is not the kind of person that goes around looking for trouble. I am not very likely to be backed into a corner by a martial arts instructor at Wal-Mart because I bumped his cart.
Using that as an example, life happens. How do you as martial artists handle the point of no return? Like I said I am pretty non confrontational I would rather walk away then beat someone down. But there were times when it really would have been better to just throw one punch and end a situation but I didnÂ’t for fear of legal trouble. I struggle with that a lot in my mind and in day to day life. At what point does it become imperative to use force and throw legal caution to the wind. I know sometimes a situation dictates that for us. If you are faced with a knife, gun, stick, some kind of weapon you have no choice in the matter. You just have to react fast you canÂ’t think about the, what if. Or if I am with my kids and someone does something stupid like try hurt or abduct one or both then yes I would kill or be killed defending them. But there are other times when force would be the best answer but I am hesitant to do so for fear of legal repercussions.
Well to sum up my question I am asking as a new martial artist, how do you, as fellow martial artist know when it is justified to use what you have been taught? I know there are no 100% correct answers but this is something I think about a lot. IÂ’m sure that many of you have thought about this same thing.