Hi there,

I was wondering if anybody here is proficient enough to use their skills in a real life situation if needed for self defence?? I hear a lot of nay-sayers that say there are not many people who can execute moves fast enough in a "street" fight for it to be effective.

I do no martial art but just wondered what peoples opinions were on this...Have you ever used your martial arts in self defence successfully when somebody tried to fight you, maybe you were on a night out or walking home alone??

if your wondering if anyone can actually kick some ass by actually pulling off one of those stylish round house kicks and flamboyant kungfu moves, no. but martial arts will help some people fighter better to some degree. if a person trained in only 1 specific style of martial arts, say, karate, no i doubt that theyll become much of a fighter against someone who actually knows how to scrap in a real street fight. But say an MMA(mixed martial arts) fighter who knows all sorts of martial arts styles and street fighting, ya they can kick anyones ass,(wont really look like a movie star while fighting, but still nontheless kick some decent ass).

ha!

Outside a store one time, I told a guy to hold it down, he was cussing out his wife. He came at me. I lowered myself intoa front stance and high blocked to the chin. the guy come off the ground on his way "out."

Also, in the pits after a race, another driver came after me and I did a spinning side kick that dropped him hard and cracked a few ribs. I never got even as much as yelled at again.

BUT, it will never be like a martial arts movie because one or two strikes and it's over. The body can not absorb much. But the regular "temper tantrum joe" can't hardly absorb anything at all.

Here's my recommendation--- get some "real" training, the discipline makes no difference. Thenget into some intense activity, frequently- so you won't panic, and see what happens.


hehehehe,, hahhahhaaa.

its not just the techniques, its the mindset. MA taught me not to panic in a situation, taught me to keep my eye on the guy(s). Flashy things like catching a punch with your hands and twisting the arm wont really help, But it will always help to know how to punch or kick (if it comes to that). Ive gotten good use for the grappling jujitsu taught me, maybe because ground fights can be a bit less intense when the oponent doesnt know what he is doing. Once a guy pushed me to the ground and came to sit on top, i was quick to get my legs around him and get him into my guard, he dident know what i was doing, so he dident really try to stop me. And from there, i could pretty much do what i wanted seeing as he had no skills

My passion for HIIT means i can run away quick, just not for any distance.

lmao ^

It's all subjective. You can have a guy who's trained and ready to throw down like FF and Karky against relatively untrained people who just want to look tough, or you can have trained people like FF and Karky against untrained people who want to kill you and eat your liver right in the gutter...

There are definately those who can do the flasy stuff effectively, but those are also the people who know what fights to pick. Sometimes you run and sometimes you sit people who are having a temper tantrum down. For the most part though, flashy stuff is unpractical. First I'll do this, then this, then get his arm like this, and then I'll dance around like this...three hours later the guy has a sprained thumb but that's only if all the conditions were right. And for every thing that comes sequentially, I've found that the possibility for success becomes exponentially smaller. If it's a simple scuffle, a well placed punch or kick like FF was talking about has a much better effect.

Around here, I live in a very shallow community. I'm Pacific Islander, so I constantly get asked if I know karate, and I don't. I watched a fight once, where an Asian tried to pull out some karate. He was relatively successful in his kick. However, he still lost the fight. He kinda looked stupid. You typically don't see people kicking in a street fight. At least not here. And then it just set anyone who was ethnic up for more stereotypes. I was not pleased.

I did take karate when I was younger. I didn't get very far. But I think it did help my reflexes. So in that sense, it helped, however, I don't think I could use any actual moves in a fight. I think a lot of that takes repetitive practice in that actual situation and that's really hard to create.

I believe some moves can be used in real life. Some moves in judo, I believe are particularly useful. I'm not about to go outside and try it out, but I believe it would be useful since it seems realistic in terms of someone trying to grab you, and you flip them.

In most cases, fights don't last for more than a few seconds. Most of the time, the aggressor is the one who takes the most punishment typically because his or her moves can be anticipated before it happens.

There are two golden rules in a real life fight, that I think isn't apparent with all the recent love of UFC and other martial arts. One is never get on the floor with your opponent. In real life, your opponent can and will use any available means to hurt you by either breaking an object over your head, or kick you in areas you don't want kicked. This can be a very real possibility especially if you push your opponent to the ground. And not to mention, his friend can inflict great harm on you if you're on the ground with his buddy. The second rule of real life fighting is to distance yourself as far as possible from the aggressor. Never rely on your strength and never underestimate the strength of your aggressor. The closer you are, the most it is possible that the aggressor can inflict harm on you.

So basically, punch and run is probably your best bet in real life.

I think the only way to get good at fighting in real life is to fight. Which is something that nobody wants to do.

The points above are valid in that you never know who has a knife, or will pick up a brick or other object. And the real threat of someone's friends is another reason things do not work properly.

I have seen blackbelts get destroyed by guys who knew to pick up a "weapon" of sorts and swing it.

I have also been the friend that starts bludgeoning the other guy in the back of the head.

Nothing works like you think it will in real life, and you can't really pay attention to all of the variables.

HA. I have a friend whose rule is. "Throw a chair, when everyone is looking at it, run away."

I have no "training", but I have been in a lot of fights, and won most, a lot of it is your mindset and ability to think quickly and react, you probably don't have time to pull off fancy moves in a real fight. I haven't taken judo or anything, but have become skilled at using an opponents weight and force against him. the only difference between how I fight and those fancy moves is the look, I can probably knock someone out as easily with a straight punch as a martial artist can with some fancy high energy move. it's smart to learn to defend and block attacks, sometimes you can't fight first, you have to block or move. I've always wanted to learn karate, but not to actually use it, just for discipline of my body.

What I really like in the classes I take is that our Sifu will once or twice a month make us practice some self defense techniques (I think it's called San shou). From what little I know of Krav Maga, it sounds similar where you are placed in more realistic fighting situations. The goal is never to "win" though - it focuses on getting out of holds or isolating weapons and then either pinning them down or strike/run away.

So yes, I do feel confident that I could use that part of my training for self defense.

There is one thing people are underestimating when it comes to who is going to be the winner of a streetfight.


RAGE is the biggest factor in my opinion.

danny, rage can be a factor, but not the determining factor, I've fought with a larger man than me, he went into a RAGE and it basically made him less focused and less able to think on his feet. I laid him flat.

RAGE is an elusive emotion. RAGE is typically the result of passion iunder threat. Attack a daughter! Dad's can kick some major bunghola!

i would never!
<== FF ME===>