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For the record my taiji shifu is half my size and over 20 years older than I am and can throw me around like a ragdoll, knock me to the floor, joint lock me and move me all over the place....and he does it all while looking way to relaxed to be doing it all....that in an of itself can make you nervous
Sounds like you, like so many others got too much respect or fear for your trainer. If your trainer fought a twice his size street criminal, with a killer instinct, then your trainer would lose big time.
As for age a visiting kyudan in his 70s early 80s wipes the floor with everyone, the older the better.
Time for reality check.
If you have two persons with identical technical and mental skills, then the biggest guy will win.
Hence the reason why all combat sports got weightclasses...
But, back to the main question: is it realistic for someone like me to be able to protect himself/fight his way out of any surprise situations? Especially against a larger opponent? (multiple opponents are subject to debate for heavier people, so I'll leave this one out for now)
(By fight I mean being cornered, and having no choice but to take the guy(s) down)
We "sensei respect" is probably worthy a discussion of its own. But my impression is that noone will beat their sensei in sparring because they think they cant or because they are afraid of some wicked revenge like a hit in the troat. Just imagine if theres a visiting master to the club and a yellow belt street guy beats the crap out of him ? The senseis are building an aura that they are unbeatable and knows secret technics unknown to the lower ranked that they will use if necessary. Like "You will learn so and so at 2. dan"
Sounds like you, like so many others got too much respect or fear for your trainer. If your trainer fought a twice his size street criminal, with a killer instinct, then your trainer would lose big time.
Time for reality check.
If you have two persons with identical technical and mental skills, then the biggest guy will win.
Hence the reason why all combat sports got weightclasses...
People belived that stuff in the 80ies. How about that kyudan entering UFC ?
Didnt think so...
Well the "sensei respect" is probably worthy a discussion of its own. But my impression is that noone will beat their sensei in sparring because they think they cant or because they are afraid of some wicked revenge like a hit in the troat. Just imagine if theres a visiting master to the club and a yellow belt street guy beats the crap out of him ? The senseis are building an aura that they are unbeatable and knows secret technics unknown to the lower ranked that they will use if necessary. Like "You will learn so and so at 2. dan"
Realistically, no.
People who decide to train MA are nice middle class people who dont want to fight.
Mean Street people dont bother with MA as they instictively knows it does not work. A street person would train weights and kickboxing,MMA or just depend on his fighting spirit personality.
So we got a nice little middle class guy versus a big mean criminal...
Ooh, you look like you're going to be fun...
And... this is substantiated by...?
Really.
Again, substantiated by....?
Er... actually, no. The weightclass thing is nothing to do with the bigger guy winning, it's to create more even consistently even matches. I know you're going to think that's the same thing, but it's really not.
Hmm, if the Kyudan is from an art that I think Hyoho is talking about, I'd probably back them in the UFC.... provided they're actually allowed to use their art, of course. What's the typical UFC competitor's muto dori like? And I'm not quite sure what a sporting contest has to do with the OP asking about being able to defend himself... very different environments and skill sets, after all...
There's the question... where is your impression from? I've done sparring with my instructor and beaten them (not often, and not without then receiving fair recompense...), and I encourage my students to look to ways to beat me when we get into free-form training... of course, the distinction isn't whether or not the instructor can be beaten (occasionally), it's the consistency in the way they win. A lucky shot or technique can really be just that.
Of course, there are other secrets, but I can't tell you about them until you're at least 3rd Dan...
You don't have anywhere near enough information to make that call... no-one on the thread does, not even the OP.
HA! You seriously believe that? Really? People who don't want to fight, those who aren't interested in fighting, they're the ones seeking out instruction in combative technique and technology? Really? I suppose the Army is only made up of people who don't like guns as well...
Look, some people who train martial arts do so due to some "Karate Kid" idea of "so I won't have to fight".... but to say that that's the sole, or even dominant demographic is just plain ignorant of reality. And that's without even getting into the different appeal of different martial arts....
"Mean Street people"? And they don't bother with martial arts, so they train in... martial arts? Kickboxing and MMA? Oh, and for the record, weight training is, in a real way, one of the most dominant self defence practices out there... it's an attempt to apply a tactic of dissuasion via appearance ("I'm big and scary, please don't attack me"). Again, not all, of course, but it's certainly a major reason (unconsciously, at least).
The reality is that a "bar-room brawler" is more likely to "train" by drinking beer (adding weight behind their actions), physically, verbally, and psychologically dominating, and launching a sudden (often single), unexpected, and blindsiding attack.... most often a basic, but reliable and experienced one. Of course, you'd need to clarify first if you're talking about social, or asocial violence... is it a resource predator (more likely to train by carrying a weapon, not even necessarily knowing how to use it other than to threaten), is it a social status seeker (fuelled by adrenaline and alcohol, not training, but more likely to be a more athletic person than other types), or what?
Your profile states that you train in "real self defence". What do you mean by that? Your posts here don't indicate much reality, honestly, nor any real understanding of actual self defence methodology, violence, or anything outside of MMA/UFC imagery....
Both of whom seem to only exist in your mind.
Why doesnt criminals train traditional Martial Arts if it really works magic in a street fight ?
However MA got no chance when the oponent is a seasoned, traumatized, ruthless criminal, used to a hard life in and out of prison. Just the look of his muscular body, tatoos and psycotic eyes would make 99% of black belts freeze.
Why would anyone do traditional MA if he wanted to fight ? The logical thing would be to start boxing, kickb or MMA. The majority of people who start with traditional MA want to learn self defense. They do not wanna do realistic full contact sparring, if so they would of course join boxing or MMA.
Well, well
Its my opinion that mindset is the most important in self-defence. Not complicated technics, foot position etc.
Its common sense that the biggest guys win when skill set is identical.
Why would anyone do traditional MA if he wanted to fight ? The logical thing would be to start boxing, kickb or MMA. The majority of people who start with traditional MA want to learn self defense. They do not wanna do realistic full contact sparring, if so they would of course join boxing or MMA.
Why doesnt criminals train traditional Martial Arts if it really works magic in a street fight ?
Muscle is of course a major part of self defense, only a professional fighter would stand a chance in a fight against a 2 meter tall Strong man competitor, your average club black belt wouldnt stand a chance. The level of a black belt is not relatively any better than a recreational tennisplayer compared to Rafael Nadal.
MA would probably work wonders towards a traditional drunk. I actually belive that.
However MA got no chance when the oponent is a seasoned, traumatized, ruthless criminal, used to a hard life in and out of prison. Just the look of his muscular body, tatoos and psycotic eyes would make 99% of black belts freeze.
Do you really think that 99% of "black belts" as you call them would freeze? I suggest you come to Japan for a while for some special training. You better bring some pampers and get good insurance. My school kids were Sandan after with eight years of daily training. And that's for starters
Corrections:
Boxing, kickboxing, and MMA are martial arts. (You can make the argument that MMA is actually an approach to training that incorporates several traditional arts rather than being a singular art in itself. Either way, the point stands.)
Boxing, kickboxing, and MMA are not the only arts which incorporate full-contact sparring. Not by a long shot.
Some criminals do train martial arts (besides boxing/kickboxing/MMA). Most don't train anything, relying on other elements such as superior weaponry, numbers, or surprise to come out on top. Martial arts require hard work and dedication, which are not the hallmarks of your typical street thug. (You are correct that martial arts are not magic. If they were a magical easy short-cut to automatic victory, then street punks and everybody else would be training.)
Summary:
There are a lot of elements that go into winning or losing a fight.* Strength, athleticism, determination, technical skill, weaponry, tactical considerations, and so on. The more of a deficit you have in one area, the more you have to make up in others. Saying that one of these elements is all-determinative is just as incorrect as saying that it is irrelevant. Good martial arts training can help build some or all of these elements and thereby increase your odds of success. This depends heavily on how you conduct your training and there is no magic about it - just hard work.
*(As Chris and others have pointed out, "self-defense" does not mean the same as "fighting.")