Offended by the defense: what disappoints me about many MA programs
I watched a "fight class" today. It was one of those big box fitness places putting on a cardio kicking boxing class (apparently that fad has come back). It came complete with hand wraps and everything. The gist was "come to this class, get in shape and learn self defense.
I won't even start on the "holy cultural appropriation, Batman" stuff.
I lasted all of about 3 minutes watching. I had to leave. I was come come unglued and yell "for the love of all that is martially holy, STOP!" It was bad. REALLY, REALLY bad. Hand you your ass and make you kick it yourself bad.
I am slowly coming up to my 40th year in the martial arts. Hard to believe, really. And just when I think I have seen it all. Something new always comes along to disappoint me. The self-defense stuff is always disappointing to say the least. What disappoints me is most is the lack of understanding of how real violence happens. How do I know, you ask? Well, you don't get a face like mine from avoiding fights. My foray into martial arts began when I was younger and, sadly, prone to getting beaten up. Since then, most of my fights have been work-related (I was a bouncer in university and did close protection security for a time - I dabbled in policing, but that is another story. I have used my skills on dozens of occasions. I have maybe only gotten into five fights in that time and gone home soaked in blood a few times - theirs, not mine. So, yes, I know of what I speak.
Most folks see sparring and rolling as natural extensions of self-defense. Nope. They are not. They may give you some skills, but they are not wholly transferable in terms of ability or effectiveness. And you may be tough, but that does not mean you are smart, especially street smart.
I remember a few years ago, one of my former students was asked about sparring and why we did not do it. How did I know when they were ready to grade - or essentially, that they could defend themselves. Truth is, I am not the judge of that part of training. They are. Self defense is not something that comes to you as part of your training. You are not magically imbued with the ability to defend yourself anywhere by virtue of your training. Nope, not even if you are a black belt. Sorry to be the bearer of that bad tiding.
I do teach the fundamentals of self-defense - striking, blocking, kicking, avoiding, shifting, etc. Both in kata and as drills. But here is the thing - one needs to practice on their own, make it instinctive. Second nature.
But even then, that is only one facet of the puzzle. I have three simple rules that are far more complex than they appear: if you encounter a problem, do the following: walk, talk, run. If those don't work. stand and fight. So here's the thing that most people probably will not realize from that simple equation - if you are walking away from a situation, you have likely already surmised that something is not good. That means you have been paying attention. That means you are scanning your surroundings. Your head is not in the sand. Or social media, the virtual sand.
You have also evaluated the situation and considered options. If you went right to option one, one of two things happened: the situation unfolded quickly, for whatever reason. Or you played into the aggressor's game.
Violence does not normally unfold randomly. You were a target before the person approached you - likely because of a combination of demeanour, proximity and attitude (yours). The fight did not start when the first punch was thrown. It likely had a starting point before that. You were sized up, there was a flag and you either saw it or you didn't. What do I mean? Here's a couple of examples:
- you're waiting for a bus, someone comes up to you and asks you for the time, you look down at your watch and BAM! You have a headache. Oh, and someone took your watch and wallet.
- you see the punks on the street sizing you up, so you mouth off to one of them, without noticing another one has rushed you and cut you.
- someone runs up behind you in a parking lot, pushes you into the back of a car as they grab your purse and get into a waiting vehicle.
- you decide to stand up to the drunk idiot who has been beaking off at you in the bar by flapping your gums back at him. This cannot end badly for you, can it. After all, you know martial art X.
In none of these cases are you ever the winner.
But here is the thing, that is the wrong mindset. You don't ever win a fight or a real self-defense encounter. One of Funakoshi's twenty precepts discusses this very thing. Defending yourself is something you never want to have to do, but it is something you MUST do if attacked. Consider it from the perspective of learning how not to lose. That means use your head before you use your fists.
You also need to consider the wisdom of the old adage "don't bring a knife to a gun fight." It is deeper than it appears to be. First off, consider that the primary goals are to avoid or de-escalate a potential situation. But if de-escalation is not possible, consider what the option are best as you can. Your instruction should teach or talk to you about proper use of force (e.g. once the attacker has been stopped, you stop defending yourself) threat level response (e.g. a punch should not result in you breaking both his legs, rupturing an eye socket and leaving him urinating blood and talking funny. Canada's self-defense laws went through an overhaul. If you are not aware of these laws, as a responsible person, one who understands the concept of reasonable force, you're begging for trouble - criminal and civil. And if your instructor pontificates about excessive force options as first and only line of attack, you maybe need to find another school. But that is not my decision to make.
Can I teach you everything I know about SD in a blog? Jeebus, I bloody well hope not. But, I have probably taught you more here than most martial arts schools ever will.
Oh, and unless you really don't want to get your ass kicked, don't develop tombstone courage from a trophies, medals - or a few classes of cardio kicking boxing at the big box gym down the street.
I won't even start on the "holy cultural appropriation, Batman" stuff.
I lasted all of about 3 minutes watching. I had to leave. I was come come unglued and yell "for the love of all that is martially holy, STOP!" It was bad. REALLY, REALLY bad. Hand you your ass and make you kick it yourself bad.
I am slowly coming up to my 40th year in the martial arts. Hard to believe, really. And just when I think I have seen it all. Something new always comes along to disappoint me. The self-defense stuff is always disappointing to say the least. What disappoints me is most is the lack of understanding of how real violence happens. How do I know, you ask? Well, you don't get a face like mine from avoiding fights. My foray into martial arts began when I was younger and, sadly, prone to getting beaten up. Since then, most of my fights have been work-related (I was a bouncer in university and did close protection security for a time - I dabbled in policing, but that is another story. I have used my skills on dozens of occasions. I have maybe only gotten into five fights in that time and gone home soaked in blood a few times - theirs, not mine. So, yes, I know of what I speak.
Most folks see sparring and rolling as natural extensions of self-defense. Nope. They are not. They may give you some skills, but they are not wholly transferable in terms of ability or effectiveness. And you may be tough, but that does not mean you are smart, especially street smart.
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| From Oldman Bubishi - https://www.facebook.com/OldmansBubishi/ Reprinted without permission. |
I remember a few years ago, one of my former students was asked about sparring and why we did not do it. How did I know when they were ready to grade - or essentially, that they could defend themselves. Truth is, I am not the judge of that part of training. They are. Self defense is not something that comes to you as part of your training. You are not magically imbued with the ability to defend yourself anywhere by virtue of your training. Nope, not even if you are a black belt. Sorry to be the bearer of that bad tiding.
I do teach the fundamentals of self-defense - striking, blocking, kicking, avoiding, shifting, etc. Both in kata and as drills. But here is the thing - one needs to practice on their own, make it instinctive. Second nature.
But even then, that is only one facet of the puzzle. I have three simple rules that are far more complex than they appear: if you encounter a problem, do the following: walk, talk, run. If those don't work. stand and fight. So here's the thing that most people probably will not realize from that simple equation - if you are walking away from a situation, you have likely already surmised that something is not good. That means you have been paying attention. That means you are scanning your surroundings. Your head is not in the sand. Or social media, the virtual sand.
You have also evaluated the situation and considered options. If you went right to option one, one of two things happened: the situation unfolded quickly, for whatever reason. Or you played into the aggressor's game.
Violence does not normally unfold randomly. You were a target before the person approached you - likely because of a combination of demeanour, proximity and attitude (yours). The fight did not start when the first punch was thrown. It likely had a starting point before that. You were sized up, there was a flag and you either saw it or you didn't. What do I mean? Here's a couple of examples:
- you're waiting for a bus, someone comes up to you and asks you for the time, you look down at your watch and BAM! You have a headache. Oh, and someone took your watch and wallet.
- you see the punks on the street sizing you up, so you mouth off to one of them, without noticing another one has rushed you and cut you.
- someone runs up behind you in a parking lot, pushes you into the back of a car as they grab your purse and get into a waiting vehicle.
- you decide to stand up to the drunk idiot who has been beaking off at you in the bar by flapping your gums back at him. This cannot end badly for you, can it. After all, you know martial art X.
In none of these cases are you ever the winner.
But here is the thing, that is the wrong mindset. You don't ever win a fight or a real self-defense encounter. One of Funakoshi's twenty precepts discusses this very thing. Defending yourself is something you never want to have to do, but it is something you MUST do if attacked. Consider it from the perspective of learning how not to lose. That means use your head before you use your fists.
You also need to consider the wisdom of the old adage "don't bring a knife to a gun fight." It is deeper than it appears to be. First off, consider that the primary goals are to avoid or de-escalate a potential situation. But if de-escalation is not possible, consider what the option are best as you can. Your instruction should teach or talk to you about proper use of force (e.g. once the attacker has been stopped, you stop defending yourself) threat level response (e.g. a punch should not result in you breaking both his legs, rupturing an eye socket and leaving him urinating blood and talking funny. Canada's self-defense laws went through an overhaul. If you are not aware of these laws, as a responsible person, one who understands the concept of reasonable force, you're begging for trouble - criminal and civil. And if your instructor pontificates about excessive force options as first and only line of attack, you maybe need to find another school. But that is not my decision to make.
Can I teach you everything I know about SD in a blog? Jeebus, I bloody well hope not. But, I have probably taught you more here than most martial arts schools ever will.
Oh, and unless you really don't want to get your ass kicked, don't develop tombstone courage from a trophies, medals - or a few classes of cardio kicking boxing at the big box gym down the street.
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