Martial Art or Fight Club?

[Ric Flair]

anyhow like i said ^ a good Sifu/Coach should prepare you for real situations but, at the same time teach you not to anticipate.

Not to go out and anticipate a fight or instigate problems with people. Yet a good Sifu would also recommend us to question what he "Says" and teaches. This does not always mean going out to street fight, ring fight or even sparring. This simply means for you to question the lesson so you can be sure what being learned can also be applied. WOuld it work in a real life encounter when a guy/girl is threatening my safety or my childrens safety?

That being said, I believe a martial art class should have serious intent and focus. The mentality I feel should be "preparing for the worst what if's while being content with the good what if's". If you find yourself not being ambushed or targeted on the streets for the next 50 years of your life good, if you DO get attacked hopefully you are able to survive as the victor and come out alive with minimal damage. That is why I believe we as a martial artists should spar and even fight sometimes just to condition our bodies/minds to be relaxed and not panic in such stressful situations where your adrenaline can increase.

Everything you train, improve and learn should become second nature reactions when and if you are suddenly cornered or attacked. Efficiency.

 

[tshadowchaser]

I believe a truly good school will teach you to be humble, to be smart, and to feel and react quickly when and if danger comes.
A Sifu or coach should teach you humility first.

I agree but I also know that at some point the student knows he is good. That is why if he is taught humility first he will not have to go looking for ways to prove himslef

 

[still learning]

Hello, Just a reminder here? In lots of fights....the losers/sometimes the winner too, usually looks for more REVENGE!


So it will continune until someone is gone? ...you were testing your art...the guy comes back with a knife or gun...you die but at least you art work once!

Revenge can take on a new life with more people being added in? Looking for a fight? ....expect revenge? ........SEE World history 101, and read the Jail times ( by first revenge). There motto.....it is always good to get back soon?

Aloha

 

[Hand Sword]

I say it should be a martial art, not a fight club. However, self defense should not be downplayed, but stressed. No one should go out and start fights.

 

[Ric Flair]

I agree but I also know that at some point the student knows he is good. That is why if he is taught humility first he will not have to go looking for ways to prove himslef

Think about it this way,

"How will a child grow up if he never experienced childhood?"

Did you know Yip Man himself was once hotheaded and needed to prove himself while a youth studying Wing Chun? He finally came across someone better than him and was enlightened. This experience taught him to train better and learn/improve better.

If Yip Man just did Wing Chun for sport and hid out in a public washroom stall eating ice cream and isolating himself from the world, would he truly have mastered his life?
Most of us will be exposed to crowded places, hostile environments, and conflicts throughtout our lives;

do we have enough confidence and experience/skill to deal with a sudden attack on our lives? Or will the lack of combat experience contribute to your demise?

 

[MartialIntent]

Did you know Yip Man himself was once hotheaded and needed to prove himself while a youth studying Wing Chun? He finally came across someone better than him and was enlightened.

Good post and I think that's a key point that's often overlooked- it's not that we've got a desire to take on and beat all-comers, but rather *some* of us as was the case with Yip Man, Lee, Cheung and the others in their day, have a desire to know what we're capable of in a real-life SD situation - or maybe more accurately, what we're *not* capable of. This desire to know -for those of us who have it - is requisite to adaptation and making improvements.

Muhammad Ali famously said when asked of his golf game: "I'm the best... I just haven't played yet."

Ali's confidence and ability were at the time unquestionable and moreover, were backed by the obvious proofs. I would assume few of us would put ourselves in that class but yet regarding our SD abilities, we still maintain the attitude that it's sufficient for us to know we can - without having to prove anything to ourselves.

Respects!

 

[Odin]

Think about it this way,

"How will a child grow up if he never experienced childhood?"

Did you know Yip Man himself was once hotheaded and needed to prove himself while a youth studying Wing Chun? He finally came across someone better than him and was enlightened. This experience taught him to train better and learn/improve better.

If Yip Man just did Wing Chun for sport and hid out in a public washroom stall eating ice cream and isolating himself from the world, would he truly have mastered his life?
Most of us will be exposed to crowded places, hostile environments, and conflicts throughtout our lives;

do we have enough confidence and experience/skill to deal with a sudden attack on our lives? Or will the lack of combat experience contribute to your demise?

Good post.Since I practice Muay Thai I get the best of both worlds.

 

[tshadowchaser]

do we have enough confidence and experience/skill to deal with a sudden attack on our lives? Or will the lack of combat experience contribute to your demise?

I have in the past been in fights that started in basketball games between rival groups that just liked to fide reasons to fight. i have been attacked by strung out meth freaks, I have had knives pulled on me with the intent of doing my serious harm if not killing me, I have walked and lived in areas where my skin was the wrong color, and i spoke the wrong language but I never went looking for fights. I avoided the fight if I could because i was taught to. I survived all of those incidents mentioned above because i was beaten and pounded by my instructor and fellow students till I became good at what i do. Never was I taught or told to go test myslef in a bar or on the street. Hell after some of the classes I went through a street fight would most likely have been a welcome relife.
I dont see the merit in studying then going somewhere to pick fights thats just showing off and/or bullying

 

[Hand Sword]

I agree in not picking fights. In regards to the lack of experience thing, Generally speaking, any lack of experience could cause your demise in anything.

 

[Eternal Beginner]

My hubby and I ran into a guy we used to do karate with and he was complaining about the lack of training in the city and asked us for recommendations as we both train at multiple clubs for different disciplines. We thought he was nuts because there are a ton of good gyms in the city (TMA, boxing, wrestling, MMA, etc.). What the problem really seemed to be is that he wanted a "fight club" not a martial arts gym.

Thinking back on his style of training, he just wanted to hit full contact, fight all of the time and was out of control. Unfortunately, he was never spoken too at the gym so a lot of people wouldn't spar him, were scared of him and even stopped coming or were injured by him. Now he doesn't want to actually learn anything, he just wants to fight.

Those type of clubs are much harder to come by in the city.

 

[Hand Sword]

Not really, the clubs in my city have plenty of fighting going on every weekend !

I'm sure if all he wants to do is fight, is to simply go out at night and look for one. The watering holes of the "Alpha Males" will surely meet his expectations.