Well, now that you have a nice warm campfire going, mind if I join you? In response to the proposed challenge, I don't mind doing a little verbal sparring once in a while. It keeps the wits sharp, and can be fun, as long as you don't take it too seriously. I don't ever feel I have to prove a point, but I like to see where the conversation might take us.
I have heard these kinds of things thousands of times over the past 40 years. Just for fun, pretending that these words are coming from an adversarial jerk, and not from Lisa,
I'll play along and respond.
Hmmm, "a waste of
time, and
money." No, I would say asking people questions when you think you already know the answer is a waste of time. Not taking the opportunity to get an education and learn something valuable is a waste of time. Paying several dollars for a pack of cigarettes, and setting them on fire as you breathe the smoke into your otherwise healthy lungs is a waste of money. Buying drugs and shooting them into your arm, or snorting it up your nose is a waste of money. Martial Art classes: a waste of money? Not by a long shot. What else you got my friend?
Actually, sir, the saying is, "A fool and his money are soon parted," since we all part with our money at some time or another. Benjamin Franklin was quoted as saying, "If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest." I agree with that. If I spend my money on knowledge, healthy physical activity, and something I enjoy doing, then that is a wise investment.
If a Martial Art class teaches what bad guys do, then I become aware, and learn to avoid those situations - - this is actually improved security. On the other hand, if I learn skills that help me to defeat one attacker that I would not have known how to beat before, then it is not a "false sense" of security, now is it?
If we were reaching for the last product on the top shelf at the supermarket, your size would matter. If we were bench pressing heavy weights, your strength would give you and advantage. If we were running a race, being faster, you would most likely win. However, in self defense, the winner is not always the biggest, strongest, or fastest. It is the person who did the right thing, at the right time, just to the level of force needed to get the job done. As "Superfoot" Bill Wallace says, "there will always be someone bigger than you, someone stronger than you, and someone faster than you, but there doesn't have to be anyone
sneakier than you."
Luck? Luck has nothing to do with it! Look at Summo wrestling. Is the biggest guy always the winner? No. Can the Heavyweight Boxing Champion bench press the most weight? Not necessarily. Try to take down a kangaroo, and see if you don't get kicked across the room. Try to pick up a puny little porcupine and see what happens. You know, in Michigan, we have this little animal called a wolverine....
*"While the furry wolverine looks fairly small and harmless, it is one of the most feared animals in the natural world. Even bears retreat from the snarls and growls made by this vicious predator." At a length of up to 4 ft., and weighing up to only 70 lbs., the wolverine will hunt down and topple animals as big as deer and moose - - "more than ten times the wolverines's size."
No thanks, this is neither the time, nor the place. However, if you would like to come visit my Martial Art school, I'm sure you would get answers to many of your questions.
Lisa, this is a good thread, and excellent questions. I had fun with it. When confronted with these types, I do any of the above. Smile, walk away, chat with them, explain the reality of Martial Art training. I don't try to change their mind, but when the jokes, and the challenges turn to serious conversation, I seldom have to make any effort. Most respect a serious and dedicated individual, and then I don't mind joking with them a little, but I let them know if the jokes go too far, and I never agree with their stupidity. I just give them that look that makes them realize I know something they don't, and they don't want to find out the hard way! :ultracool
CM D. J. Eisenhart
*Wolverine image and quote from "Weird n Wild Creatures" by IMP Inc.
