Comments on: Stop Training for Self Defense?

By: JW

JW — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:16:11 +0000

Th punch and run-quote is good. Your six points are also good. Better actually.
But to be able to punch and run, most people need to be conditioned to do just that. People who sign up for a four-hour anti-rape course don’t get that conditioning.

Martial arts will give you two things: self-confidence(which is vital), and the will and skill to actually punch(or kick, or take someone’s eye out) if things get ugly.

Now, I’m a guy. And I’m an instructor. I’ve seen one thing with girls. They need to be nudged along a bit more than the guys, but their technique gets better, and they’re vicious in free-sparring. Girls learn to trust their bodies and instincts quicker and better.
I really wish more females got into martial arts. It suits them.

By: Alex Schroeder

Alex Schroeder — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:35:24 +0000

One of the older students at the Aikido studio said that if you wanted to win fights, you should buy a gun. Aikido was about something else. I think he’s right. Aikido will help you against untrained people. When a drunk woman tried to hit me in the face while I was on my way to work I just dodged and moved on for another ten steps before realizing what had happened, shrugged, and kept on walking. Perhaps Aikido training enabled me to do that? But people looking for a fight probably have had training in some martial arts, and I’m no fool: Better to stay out of trouble instead of hoping to find your opponents lacking in training.

Anyway, I’m practicing Aikido not because I hope it’ll help me in a real emergency.

By: a black belt at 50

a black belt at 50 — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:18:46 +0000

The only time that I was actually in a situation that called for self-defense predates my training by a few decades. BUT, I handled it effectively and calmly. I crossed hard to the solar plex and ran away while the big scary tried to breath for the next few minutes. In retrospect, it was easily manageable because I did not panic. Even when holding off a very big guy, I thought calmly about my choices and picked one.

I credit that to the years of informal wrestling with my friends and brothers.

I think for many women, who are unused to aggressively physical contact, the big breakthrough is when they master that initial panic reaction.

By: My Self-Defense Blog » Blog Archive » Bouncing; Martial Arts for Self-Defense?!!!

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 08:50:27 +0000

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By: John W. Zimmer

John W. Zimmer — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 04:59:34 +0000

Between age 21 and 23 I worked as a bouncer at a rough bar. I got into about one fight a week as well as several lesser incidents each week.

My self-defense, kata, and sport karate training is what made this a rewarding (at least to me) experience. I did not learn boxing and get into kick boxing until age 25.

You see when I was younger I liked to fight. I was mugged in the 7th grade and sought out “real” karate lessons. At age 14 I was taking Lima Lama lessons at the base karate club and at age 16 I started paying for my Tracy’s Kenpo Karate lessons (that’s the style that stuck).

So by age 21 I had already been fighting for years in the school and was winning tournaments already.

Regular bar patrons with “beer muscle” were no match for a trained fighter. They did not understand distance and could not even hit me.

By the way this is just a testament to formal karate lessons I believe. I don’t think I was anything special. I just had a hunger to learn, practiced and sparred every chance I got.

And you know what? I’ve only been in two skirmishes (that did not turn into fights) for the next 29 years. You see I avoid bars now for the most part and I don’t go looking for trouble.

So yes my karate training helped me.

By: admin

admin — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:52:44 +0000

@BB@50: I think most boys get the informal “training” of wrestling and mock fighting, something girls almost never get. I agree — exposure to “combat” in a safe and controlled setting like a dojo/dojang would be invaluable training for any girl or woman. If I could set public school curriculum, self-defense training would be mandatory, along with training in what is and isn’t abusive behavior in a relationship.

By: BBat50

BBat50 — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:45:34 +0000

I did once, around age 20 (long ago), find myself in a dangerous situation that I punched my way out of. Specifically, I hit this much bigger guy in the solarplex and knocked the wind out of him and ran away. I did it after thinking about my choices and deciding that it was the safest way to go. I had no training but I had a lot of cool even though I was being grabbed and in a dangerous spot.

I would think that martial arts training is particularly important to women who have no experience wrestling or with aggressive physical contact. If you are not use to being touched/hit/grabbed, a person can panic. I think much of the martial arts training’s utility is avoid a panic response and be able to think about the possibilities.

My “training” at that point consisted of years of informal wrestling with my brothers and some friends so I was somewhat matter-of-fact about aggressive physical contact.