Is It Possible?

[Blindside]

I can't remember the last time anyone - trained, untrained, drunk, stoned, crazy or just plain pissed off at the world - took the sort of "wild swing" at me that people seem to assume are all we need to deal with. Tweaker last week threw a roundhouse kick at me last week. Not the best, about what I'd expect from one of our mid-level colored belts, but it had good power. No, it didn't land. No, he didn't enjoy the results of the kick. No, I don't think it's reasonable to think that all we have to deal with are "untrained idiots taking wild swings". As others have said, most people have been in fights, or seen enough fights, to have a little idea of what they want to do.

Well, all two (large sample size there...) altercations that I have been in have started with them throwing a big looping right hand punches. Both were drunk and apparently untrained.

Both seemed incredibly slow to me. Part adrenaline, part me being used to skilled sparring partners.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Well, all two (large sample size there...) altercations that I have been in have started with them throwing a big looping right hand punches. Both were drunk and apparently untrained.

I don't deny that these sorts of attacks happen, I just don't think it's smart to assume that is ALL that will happen.

My own personal sample size is based on an average of one a week, in the ER, plus 3 incidents outside the ER.
One incident outside the ER involved a knife. Two incidents in the ER involved knives (only counting those that were pulled, not those that were taken peacefully) and one in the ER involved a gun (same rule, the other two times I've taken guns off patients they were still holstered and the patient was not resisting).

 

[Flying Crane]

Well, all two (large sample size there...) altercations that I have been in have started with them throwing a big looping right hand punches. Both were drunk and apparently untrained.

I had a young fellow attempt to convince me that he was trained. He held up his hands and bounced around in imitation of a Thai boxer, and then threw a roundhouse kick. It actually landed on me, and I didn't even feel it, completely ineffectual. I was actually just really shocked by the whole thing, as I probably outweighed him by a good 30-40 pounds, and I'm not a big guy. I just couldn't believe he was actually trying to go there with me. I guess that should be the lesson to me: take it seriously, even when it looks like a joke, he coulda had a knife or something.

When I saw his five friends sprinting down the sidewalk at me, that's when I decided it was time to bug out.

Not to discount the real threat of genuinely dangerous people, but not everyone is that.

 

[Dirty Dog]

I had a young fellow attempt to convince me that he was trained. He held up his hands and bounced around in imitation of a Thai boxer, and then threw a roundhouse kick. It actually landed on me, and I didn't even feel it, completely ineffectual. I was actually just really shocked by the whole thing, as I probably outweighed him by a good 30-40 pounds, and I'm not a big guy. I just couldn't believe he was actually trying to go there with me. I guess that should be the lesson to me: take it seriously, even when it looks like a joke, he coulda had a knife or something.

When I saw his five friends sprinting down the sidewalk at me, that's when I decided it was time to bug out.

Not to discount the real threat of genuinely dangerous people, but not everyone is that.

Certainly true. And when you CAN bugout, by all means do so. I'm certainly glad this guy was neither effective nor armed, and that you left before something worse happened.

 

[Flying Crane]

Certainly true. And when you CAN bugout, by all means do so. I'm certainly glad this guy was neither effective nor armed, and that you left before something worse happened.

oh yeah, I've gotten more use from ny Nike-Jitsu than anything else, it's gotten my out of a couple of potentially bad situations.

One was when I was walking home from work, and was passing by some housing projects, not terrible places, but not the best. I had three young guys, one actually quite young, the other two old enough to be genuinely dangerous, especially working as a team. They confronted me and I took off, showed them that I could outrun them and they gave chase for a block or two. What struck me about that situation was how incompetent they actually were. Maybe it was their youth and inexperience, I dunno. But they confronted me without first surrounding me, without first trying to hit me or something. If they had done that, things might have ended differently. But they didn't and I escaped rather easily, all things considered. But I believe they were quite incompetent, as far as being street thugs.

I've had a handful of other, similar incidents, where people tried to confront me. One or two I ran, one time a guy tried to grab at me and I brushed him off and turned to confront him and he backed down while kinda laughing, one guy threatened me with a "gun" in his sweatshirt pocket. I told him I didn't have anything for him, he shrugged, and just turned and walked away. Weird. I don't know if he actually had a gun, I doubt it but I could be wrong.

There are some genuinely dangerous, scary folks out there and they cause trouble for people. Some of them are career criminals, and prey on people as a way of life. That is true. But there are a lot of wannabes who could be dangerous, but just aren't that good at it. So yeah, be careful, and be wary and aware and recognize that the scary dudes exist. But keep it in perspective and don't get excessively paranoid about it.

I sometimes think that the practice of training in the martial arts, and contemplating and thinking about self-defense and the dangers in the world, can magnify the dangers in our minds into something greater than it really is. Take it seriously, but don't let it make you paranoid.

 

[Dirty Dog]

The other thing to keep in mind is that some of these people WOULD be dangerous if it weren't for your training. How many new students don't understand Gun-Fu beats Kung-Fu, or Chic-Chic-Pow beats Taekwondo? How many have no idea how important Run-Fu is? How many are just totally oblivious to their surroundings?

 

[DennisBreene]

I agree! But after you obtain that black belt, you continue to perform the same techniques that you performed during your colored belt ranks, but in different patterns and forms. So, I can take what you are saying here as, an expert is someone that has performed the basic moves for years. Which is what I am trying to find out. If I already know all of the basic moves, wouldn't I be just as good as any 2nd or 3rd dan if I practiced on my own for the next 15 or twenty years? Sure, I won't know the forms, but the forms aren't going to help me in a fight anyway.

I have a black belt, and several years of training experience. I also have many more years of not training. A fact I seriously regret. When I realized that I wanted to return to the world of martial arts, my prior background made me confident that I could recover a certain level of skill but I was long past the point of performing like I did when I was 20. I currently train on a periodic basis with 3 masters. One is the son of my first master and I travel from Illinois to Maryland a couple of times a year to work with him. Why? His 40+ years of teaching and his amazing technical abilities serve my needs. He provides perspective and critical correction of my less skilled techniques. That is not to say that I am without skills but to highlight my awareness that his assistance improves my abilities. I think that is what we all seek in a teacher and it probably applies in any discipline of study. If you don't feel you are getting that insight from your teachers; maybe you should consider supplimenting your self directed training with an instructor who can provide feedback you feel is beneficial. It's not about the belt pursee, it's about a body of knowledge that meets your individual goals.