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.

I dont agree with this. I started out with learning karate and when I was put into my first real situation where I had to defend myself this was the only style I knew and it worked perfectly. The other person had a repuation of never being beaten and it only took 2 hits to lay him out.

What a great discussion. I've taken a variety of Martial Arts for the past 15 years. Ikido, Kobudo, and the latest Ishinryu.

The best thing is that it teaches you not to lose your head. That is key.
You can take on multilple opponents and beat them enough to at least get away. Most people that are going to commit such an aggressive act are thugs and typically rely on fear as their weapon.

One of the black belt tests is to fend off several other black belts successfully. Its an exhausting test but the lessons you can learn from it are invaluable.
Not too mention Martial Arts is one of the best workouts around.

Another key is to find an instructor who actually knows what they are doing. Many instructors are fake and just in it for the money. An experienced individual WILL be able to spot that.

my answer is yes.

NO STREET FIGHTER UNTRAINED HAS A CLUE WHAT TO DO ONCE PUT IN THE THAI CLINCH.

goodnight. knees, uppercuts, downward elbows to top of head, back of head and if i need takedowns.

I would definitely be able to rear naked choke someone if I got to the back somehow

Then I'm pretty good at the shaolin if someone shoots a single and I sprawl. Of course there's also the option to take the back if that happens. And we're back to option A

Clinching is a really bad idea in a self defense situation. It is slow, you can't see around you and you're vulnerable to attack from behind and sides, if the bad guy pulls a knife you won't see it and can't defend against it, his fingers can get into your eyes.

It is a very dangerous idea to think that because you're able to kick the crap out of one guy, you're competent to handle an assault. You need specific self defense training for that.

Certainly, yes.

Just having basic Muay Thai skills will help immensely in a 'real world' situation. It teaches one to stay composed and focused, to be mentally strong (with respects to pain and such like) and to be fit and well conditioned. That's without even considering the practical aspects of the art - the elbows are technically easy to execute, and relatively easy to delivery in a real world confrontation.

alleycat

This is true - overestimating the value of one's skills is extremely dangerous!

However, I'd say that knowing how to clinch is better than NOT knowing how to clinch. Street fights can often end up in a clinch of sorts, and being able to stay on two feet and compose one's actions could be critically important. It won't make someone invincible, but it might prevent you from being thrown to the floor and kicked in the head multiple times.

alleycat

I have been reading through this thread and I find it interesting to see what different people perspectives are on this matter.

For one thing, when you fight with emotion, rage being a kind of emotion, you will fight sloppily and a trained martial artist should be able to exploit that.

Me personally, i would never do any (most) of the flowery moves that most people think of when they think of martial arts. I am very quick and to the point. a roundhouse kick to the head frankly just takes too long to execute and I have fast legs. When i say too long, Im not talking about the time it takes to execute it by itself or compared to anyone else, Im referring to it in comparison to the speed with which i can throw a punch or a low line kick.

As for how I would fair in a fight with an untrained or street brawler... well, because of my training i am confident i can handle just about any situation i am put in. that doesnt mean i cant lose, but i dont worry about it.

personally I think DT is the best skill for a fight. Granted it doesn't hurt to have weapons, but hey if you learn how to fight defensively, you can do a lot to save your butt....lol

My DH got into a brawl with a guy who was over 6' and 200+ lbs. My DH is 5'9" and 155 lbs. The guy was a violent drunk. He threw my DH down a flight of cement stairs, and another officer into a cement pad. However they both got back up and kicked his butt. They were pissed....lol I *know* he put is DT into practice. The thing that made it so they got the guy..... They are trained to stay in the fight and use their anger......

What is DT? and what is DH?

DT is Defensive Tactics. It is is a combination of fighting techniques used to provide a well rounded means to fight.

DH = dear husband

LOL

generally speaking when you fight with anger you dont fight well... you need to have a level head to truly fight well... you cant let anything bother you... thats not to say you cant fight with adrenaline... the thing is when someone hits you and you get that feeling of "i just wanna rip their head off" your not going to fight effectively, you may swing wildly or any number of other things which if I was in the situation I would exploit...

I've always trained in a lot of boxing and you do learn good composure and combined with the ducking and weaving and the knowledge of how to hit correctly can help. It completely depends on the situation though. Just because you may be trained, it does not mean you could take on a group of people, evne worse, if you are intoxicated yourself and think you can take on more than you can handle, you will only make a fool of yourself. It's about knowing your limits and being composed.

I didn't say fight with anger, I said *use* the anger. If someone is attacking you, you are going to get pissed, hence the adrenaline rush. It doesn't necessarily mean, you are going to "go wild". You can keep your head and use that adrenaline to beat your opponent.

You are free to push me down the stairs if you wish. I swear, I won't get angry. Perhaps confused and a little dizzy, but certainly not angry.