have you ever used it?

[Em MacIntosh]

I've been jumped by a group of guys once coming out of the subway station. I felt a bad vibe as I began walking up the stairs to the street. You know you have a bad vibe when your knees begin to quiver. I was just about at the top when I was surrounded by three guys. One guy got one inch from my face and asked "where you from?". I told him I was new to toronto but he cut me off. "What are you, funny or something? He's got some $**t. What's he got?" he asked one of his buddies.
"Up your $**t punk." he told me as the two others began circling to my sides. I stood for less then a second in shock and he yelled in my face, "oh what? You don't think we'll **ck you up?" I remember the spit when he said that. My knees were shaking so I started stamping my foot. His two buddies tried to grab my backpack or my arms or something and throw me down the stairs. I put two hands on his throat and held on for life as his buddies started hitting me in the head and kicking me in the legs, tugging me this way and that. I felt that frustration you only feel when someone holds your arms down and beats the hell out of you and you can't do anything. I kept taking it out on the guy in my face and I bit his nose really hard, holding on to his throat for dear life. I felt him trying to scream but he couldn't. I was growling with my teeth on his nose as I let go of his throat. I was going to dig his eyes out. One of his buddies grabbed my arm and spun my around face first into a wall. I hung on to his arm and pulled him into me, spitting his freind's blood on his face, saying obscene gibberish as we traded head-butts over and over until they got me to the floor and started kicking and stomping on me. I covered my head and I heard the first guy whimpering horsely. I caught the leg of one of them, not sure who. I grabbed his bag for dear life, him and his buddy kicking me and trying to pull my hand off. They got me off and kicked/pushed/shoved me down the stairs. I remember rolling and bouncing a couple times before I hit the bottom. My whole body felt warm. I didn't feel the pain anymore. I got up before they were down the stairs and ran toward them. I used a side elbow to the head on the guy to the left and stomped the side of the other guy's knee. I grabbed him by the face and bashed the back of his head on the stairs. The guy on the left I used a really hard open handed slap right to his face. I grabbed his face and tried to bash his brains into the stairs too. The first guy's holding his nose and throat calling me a Mother F-er over and over but couldn't help his freinds. I was red. I was going to kill them. I had a moment of clarity and ran up the stairs and took off to a mohawk gas station where I called a taxi to go to a hospital. They gave me a bunch of paper towel so I wouldn't bleed all over the cab. Waiting for the cab was when the pain set in and I began groaning and holding my ear, pacing back and forth and wondering if I should have called an ambulance. I went to the ER and had to wait in line for half an hour after they made sure I wasn't terminal. I had three broken ribs, a ruptured eardrum, a broken nose that was so severe it was actually considered a skull fracture, three broken fingers, a fractured fibula (smaller of the two bones in the lower leg), blood on the brain, a gash on my temple and other more "personal" injuries. After the examination and X-Rays, they gave me some painkillers and local anisthetic to set my fingers. They gave me some other medications to reduce the swelling and blood on my brain. They kept me awake for twelve hours. Eventually they gave me something to help me sleep. I woke up moaning after 6 hours and had to be medicated for two days. I was out in three with references to other speacialists. I've never fully recovered. I talked to the police but they couldn't really do anything. If I ever met them again, I could pretend to forgive them, but I still want to kill them. All I can say is be home before dark, never walk alone and be ready to do what has to be done, or suffer the consequences.

 

[Em MacIntosh]

I agree. I'm always concious of my surroundings and feel that anyone wanting to fight me wants to take my life. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure I'll use excessive force. I had all the nice guy beaten out of me. I'll give them my watch, my wallet, my hat, even my jacket... if he touches me, he'll be short two eyes and a pair of jewels. Money is money, life is precious. I wish I was brave. I wouldn't get so desperate so quick.

 

[chinto]

has anyone ever had to use their karate training in a real life situation? if so what were the circumstances that caused you to have to use it and how did it turn out?

yes unfrotunently.

I was attacked in a boarding school by some one who was larger then I, and on PCP and alcohal. I used the small amount of training i had back then and did a lot of damage with the one strike i managed to land. fortunently no police were involved and the attacker was expelled. but I learned then at a young age that if attacked your life is at stake. you will win or die or at least be badly injured so you must dispatch the attacker imediatly.

today I am sad to say that the police would provably arrest you or me for daring to defend ourselves if attacked. that said, I will surender my wallet provably, my coat most likely, but if he or his acomplise touches me we will find out how it will end quicly. I lost all my " ideals of peace and non-confrontationism" that day. I will make them pay the butchers bill if they want me. they may get me, but they will pay the butchers bill to do it.

 

[kingkong89]

of course many times, but one fu thing to do is, when someone ask you to show them some karate, what you do is pick a spot on the floor a couple of feet away, tell them to walk there and once they get there tell them to go back where they were. this is an example of karate due to the fact that it is about controlling your opponite, you controll the person by telling them what to do. ha ha ha ha ha

 

[chinto]

of course many times, but one fu thing to do is, when someone ask you to show them some karate, what you do is pick a spot on the floor a couple of feet away, tell them to walk there and once they get there tell them to go back where they were. this is an example of karate due to the fact that it is about controlling your opponite, you controll the person by telling them what to do. ha ha ha ha ha

if I was asked I would say " I dont know much about it." ( if they knew I trained at all, which most people do NOT.) if they did not know like most pople dont.. then I would say "perhaps you should go and ask some one who knows about such things?"

 

[FieldDiscipline]

of course many times, but one fu thing to do is, when someone ask you to show them some karate, what you do is pick a spot on the floor a couple of feet away, tell them to walk there and once they get there tell them to go back where they were. this is an example of karate due to the fact that it is about controlling your opponite, you controll the person by telling them what to do. ha ha ha ha ha

I used to train with an excellent shotokan 3rd dan. Superb martial artist and instructor this guy. He was widely known in this village for teaching lots of local children, and he got harrassed in the bar one night by a guy demanding he show him some karate. Of course he refused and refused and this drunk got angrier and angrier before throwing a haymaker. So the karate man blocked his haymaker and slapped him! This carried on with the karate man blocking, weaving and slapping until things got to the point when he had to really hit him. Shame really, you'd have thought he'd have got the message.

 

[TheOriginalName]

Some great stories here - and some excellent points as well....

Here is one from my school.
A few months ago we had a black belt grading, and they naturally encouraged all us white belts to go along an support them as well as to see the full spectrum of our style.
One of the white belt students (not me) was walking to the grading when they were assulted by two guys.
The first one attempted to king-hit them - so they blocked and then used a rear kick to take out their knee.
The second one then attempted a double lapel grab - which they deflected and then layed a right cross into the jaw to send them to the ground.

This i use as a motivation to myself every week - every thing we practise is prepairing us as Martial Artists to take on every aspect of life - and it is all has a purpose.

Also, i think it's rather ironic that they were on their way to a black belt grading......but that's just my rather twisted sense of humor.

 

[chinto]

gota love it that some idiot thugs picked the wrong persons to assualt. I bet the person testing for black belt ( shodan? or shodan-ho?) got a kick out of it too!

 

[onibaku]

I use the simple techniques that can really do damage. Some techniques are used depending on the situation. But I think kata is useless in real-life situations

 

[Kacey]

I use the simple techniques that can really do damage. Some techniques are used depending on the situation. But I think kata is useless in real-life situations

There have been quite a few threads on this topic already. Rather than disagree with you in detail, I suggest that you use the search function to find some of those previous discussions. Here are a few of them to get you started:

karate and self defense?

Does one's skill flow from the kata?

why do people hate kata

Forms: A total fighting system?

 

[Brandon Fisher]

I use the simple techniques that can really do damage. Some techniques are used depending on the situation. But I think kata is useless in real-life situations

You obviously have not been taught kata throughly enough to see the most destructive techniques that are there. I would imagine if you were taught bunkai it was very surface and not as deep as it can be.

There are very effective techniques in kata at least the Okinawan kata but you have to research and be taught them.

 

[chinto]

I use the simple techniques that can really do damage. Some techniques are used depending on the situation. But I think kata is useless in real-life situations

I dont think you have been properly trained in the use of kata. You should have been trained in bunkai and to look deeper then the very surfice of the kata! there are a lot of very destructive and effecently effective and even leathal techniques in all of the Okinawan kata if you look deep enough. perhaps you should consider doing some reserch into what you have already learned and learn what it is really trying to teach you?

 

[tshadowchaser]

as for the original question inthis thread YES I have used my knowledge of the arts outside of the school and as far as I am concerned the techniques worked > I did not end up in the hospital or worse and The outcome of the incounter was a few people had a better understanding of why you just do not pick any person walking down the street to try to steal from

 

[chinto]

as for the original question inthis thread YES I have used my knowledge of the arts outside of the school and as far as I am concerned the techniques worked > I did not end up in the hospital or worse and The outcome of the incounter was a few people had a better understanding of why you just do not pick any person walking down the street to try to steal from

sounds like a good outcome to me! ... and very nice that you did no some how end up in a cell waiting for some judge to figure out that same thing about the situation.