Karate

[loafergirl]

So I'm getting back into martial arts from about a half a lifetime absence. It's different than Tae Kwon Do and it's technically not karate proper because they mix in jiu Jitsu and various self defense techniques. So far so good, but now I need to learn some Japanese on top of trying to learn Spanish, anyone have any resources or tips that can assist on this new adventure I have embarked on?

[Flack]

I would assume that if someone who only spoke Japanese is approaching me in an aggressive manner while wearing a karate gi, we have passed the point of negotiations.

Still, a few handy phrases like "Not in the face!", "May I please have my balls back?", "Thank you sir, may I have another?" and "I apologize for Hiroshima." could come in handy. Then again I grew up with a brown belt in Tae Kwon Do and two constantly black eyes. Negotiations were never my strong suit.

[loafergirl]

You grew up with a brown belt? So they handed it to you when you popped out like a family heirloom?

[Flack]

Shazai itashimasu.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

Anyone have any resources or tips that can assist on this new adventure I have embarked on?

If someone has adopted a fighting stance, do NOT run towards them! Woe, not weal awaits!

[RealNC]

I don't know, karate for self-defense doesn't sound like it would work.

MMA is what people use when they fight. Karate and stuff like that seems like it's made for looking cool when fighting against the air in front of you.

[Jizaboz]

Anyone have any resources or tips that can assist on this new adventure I have embarked on?

If someone has adopted a fighting stance, do NOT run towards them! Woe, not weal awaits!

Unless they are using that wide-ass Karate "horse stance". In that case, just stomp on their knee cap lol

[Jizaboz]

I don't know, karate for self-defense doesn't sound like it would work.

MMA is what people use when they fight. Karate and stuff like that seems like it's made for looking cool when fighting against the air in front of you.

I kind of agree with this. Things like Karate and Takwondo are better than nothing, but one reason I joined Ju-Jitsu for a few years was because they taught "grappling" (wresting) as well as standup fighting. Most RealLife fights usually end up with 2 dudes rolling around on the floor.

[Billy Mays]

Most "fair fights" you can deescalate, or even avoid entirely by using the space between your ears. The real threat is somebody trying to cold cock you from behind, or when your guard is down. In this case you had better have the experience (of getting blasted in your head at a gym) to recover, and recover fast because you are now in a fight for your life. For this, I find it best to join a boxing gym, eskrima is very effective, or wing chun.

BJJ and JJJ are both excellent for grappling, but going to the ground in a street fight is almost tantamount to a death sentence. Sure you want to know what you are doing for the inevitability of it happening, but while you are grappling with your attacker: all of his friends have more creative things in mind for you. The joint manipulations and throws are nice, but you will not be able to perform one prior to beating your opponent six ways from Sunday. Grappling is still a necessary skill set to possess, but you want to avoid the ground like it's your own grave.

Karate is a very effective martial art in its native form. The problem is that much of it, along with many east Asian martial arts, got lost in transition over to the US. Karate in Japan was originally designed to kill people (or to avoid conflict, meaning of life, spiritual enlightenment, mastery of whatever...it all translates into killing people), at some point it morphed into scoring points and child daycare. There are still some excellent karate schools in the US, just picking a good one is much harder to do.

People interested in self defense should also consider getting a CCW, along with competent training, and a lot of regular practice. One of my favorite sayings is "You don't need a gun to defend yourself, until you do, and then you really need a gun".

Take care.

[Billy Mays]

Just to clear something up from my original statement, full contact striking should be viewed as a long term goal as it takes a tremendous amount of conditioning and training to reach that level training. The point I was trying to make is that a violent encounter is a terrible time to figure out that you are not able to take a hit. And you will get hit in a fight, blocking and having a solid guard will only take you so far.

[Knuckles the CLown]

Nobody here has ever been in a fight besides me to the best of my knowledge and that was 20 years ago(well im sure some spouse beating has happened) this is the last place I would go for karate tips.

Robb got his ass kicked once, I was too little to do anything at the time.... Ben only fights on the internet and quit doing that. Paul is blind, wheelchair bound and hasn't been outside since he was 7..... so yeah.

[Straw's Ghost]

(well im sure some spouse beating has happened)

Hey! I resemble that remark!

[Billy Mays]

Sorry, I saw a topic that I had a bit of knowledge on and got excited. :oops:

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

Sorry, I saw a topic that I had a bit of knowledge on and got excited. :oops:

You did the right thing, Billy. We welcome your posts on this topic and many others!

[loafergirl]

I appreciate your input Billy Mays, most physical altercations I have witnessed or been a part in were domestic in nature (and fortunately not something I have had the misfortune of witnessing or being a part of in many years). THAT being said... I can understand your statement about being able to take a hit, it has not come across to me that that should be an end goal (tightening muscles to prevent injury if a hit is landed, or, maneuvering to avoid being struck has).

-LG

[Jizaboz]

Nobody here has ever been in a fight besides me to the best of my knowledge and that was 20 years ago

Sorry it took me a month to see this, but let’s swap “fight stories”!

- In the 4th grade I swung at a red-headed kid who insisted on being in the back of the line. Missed and hit the wall behind him, teacher came out.. I acted like we were just joking around.

- In the 7th grade I started a fight with a kid just because I thought he was a "jerk" and a "poser" and had some rednecks cheering me on. We traded probably 12 punches back and forth. Found out the hard way your fists just don't naturally fly as fast as they do in the movies.. especially when you are clenching.

- When I was 19, shortly after joining ju-jitsu, I showed up to some party I wasn't invited to held by a bunch of.. let's say "wanna be white rappers". I had a 24 pack of Budweiser with me and this big ugly dude DEMANDS I give him a beer. I tell him "Sure man but it ain't free. Let me get a dollar." He walks off, his little henchman friend comes in and instigates a fight like "what would you do if we just took your beer?"

Then the big dude comes back in and says "WHO SAID THEY'D KICK MY ASS OVER BEER?!" and eyeballs me, sitting on a couch with my leg propped up on the case of beer. "What would you do if I just kicked this beer out from yo leg?" he asks. "Do it and see what happens." I said (I was pretty drunk and probably talking other shit too).

The guys foot was still in the air when I leaped up and punched that thug Shen-Long style right in the head. HAHAHAHAH man, that felt good!! But again life is not like the movies.. he was just more pissed, not knocked out. We locked up.. he tried to choke me, I heeled him in the kidneys til he stood up. He walks off yelling something.. I left the "party" after smashing his pager and throwing an egg in the microwave.

- When I was 20 or 21 this ex-bf of my sis's called up the house talking all kinds of crap. This guy had stolen from our house and was basically scum. I invite him to come to the church parking lot next door for a showdown. He shows up with 2 hoodlums standing by their car.. he talks some crazy joker-type shit and laughs and then I just went off in a flurry of palm-strikes and kicks. Life isn't like Dragon Ball Z though, and that shit had me gasping for breath after 3-5 minutes.

It's raining and we end up in slick grass.. I slipped trying to kick.. he slips too! He's yet to hit me 1 time but I'm not able to hit him as often because I'm striking his arms more than his face. Now we're fighting sideways on the ground! He then gets up, and I slip again trying to get up. He charges at me and I catch him with my foot and grab his arm and toss that bastard into the air (Street Fighter II again haha) and he lands/slides on his head and neck. That was the end of that fight. He drug himself up, reached into his waistband for what looked and sounded like a switchblade, said he was gonna kill me, and I told him to go the fuck home and walked off.

.. after that, all fighting was strictly "sparring" and "grappling" in the ju-jitsu dojo until I left there after about 3 years. The more real-life fights you get in.. the more you really don't want to do it again or realize you were stupid for being in the situation in the first place. I miss training in the dojo from time to time though.

I appreciate your input Billy Mays, most physical altercations I have witnessed or been a part in were domestic in nature (and fortunately not something I have had the misfortune of witnessing or being a part of in many years). THAT being said... I can understand your statement about being able to take a hit, it has not come across to me that that should be an end goal (tightening muscles to prevent injury if a hit is landed, or, maneuvering to avoid being struck has).

-LG

Anyway, yeah loafergirl if anything it's worth it to do some self-defense training just to learn how to take a hit as well as other techniques like finger and wrist locks. Also, turning your back is a VERY bad habit we've all got built into us that's hard to break. Are you still planning on getting into something?

[Tdarcos]

People interested in self defense should also consider getting a CCW, along with competent training, and a lot of regular practice. One of my favorite sayings is "You don't need a gun to defend yourself, until you do, and then you really need a gun".

As a current holder of a Utah non-resident concealed carry permit, I would add, if you are going to carry a firearm, you should also carry mace or pepper spray, because while lethal force should be your last line of defense if necessary, it is far better if it is not your only line of defense.

If you ever have to use your firearm, it looks a lot better (as far as the police are concerned) if it turned out you used something else non-lethal first, and the person continued anyway.

[Follow Your Local Laws]

Follow your local laws. Fall back on your professional training and practice.

if you are going to carry a firearm, you should also carry mace or pepper spray, because while lethal force should be your last line of defense if necessary, it is far better if it is not your only line of defense.

Get professional "fighting pistol" training. They will probably tell you NOT to carry mace/pepper spray along with your ccw.

If you ever have to use your firearm, it looks a lot better (as far as the police are concerned) if it turned out you used something else non-lethal first, and the person continued anyway.

You DON'T know what the police will think.

Your "using this if that, then this if not that, and then do this when that" scenario is simply a fantasy in a fight for your life. Your heart racing, your vision completely tunneled, time is completely distorted in your mind, and all you have in that moment is falling back on your lowest level of training.

[youtube][/youtube][/youtube]

[Flack]

From this date forward, the phrase "mic drop" has been officially changed to "left an egg in their microwave."

[Tdarcos]

Follow your local laws. Fall back on your professional training and practice.

Lots of research on this point indicates that in terms of civilian incidents where someone was shot, or excessive force was suspected, the surprising thing was that weapons training had no significant difference between the results of good vs. bad shootings for people with training and those who did not.

if you are going to carry a firearm, you should also carry mace or pepper spray, because while lethal force should be your last line of defense if necessary, it is far better if it is not your only line of defense.

Get professional "fighting pistol" training. They will probably tell you NOT to carry mace/pepper spray along with your ccw.

And would you like to explain why? What I have been hearing from people who do carry concealed and recommend it is that you should have a backup, non-lethal weapon available so that if the incident is bad but is not serious enough to justify lethal force you're not stuck where you may end up being convicted of what is sometimes referred to as "imperfect self defence".

If you ever have to use your firearm, it looks a lot better (as far as the police are concerned) if it turned out you used something else non-lethal first, and the person continued anyway.

You DON'T know what the police will think.

Oh yes we can. If the person still standing is black, wearing a nice suit, neat and clean, while the guy shot dead is white, bald, fat, dirty and unshaven, wearing jeans and a wifebeater t-shirt, has a pistol in his hand, there are spent casings from his gun on the ground, the person standing was shot in the arm, and the guy on the ground has prison tatoos, the cop will say, "Get on the ground, n-gg-r, you're under arrest!"

If it's the other way around, white guy still standing and otherwise looks like some filty biker who escaped from prison, and the black guy lying on the ground was unarmed in a nice suit, short hair and clean, the officer will say, "I'm sorry that criminal tried to kill you, sir."

Your "using this if that, then this if not that, and then do this when that" scenario is simply a fantasy in a fight for your life. Your heart racing, your vision completely tunneled, time is completely distorted in your mind, and all you have in that moment is falling back on your lowest level of training.

That is correct. In an emergency, a person reverts to their training. Which is why it's important to be able to recognize the situation and know when lethal force is warranted and when it's not. The problem occurs when there is a problem that you might not be able to stop with easy words or you might not be able to escape, and perhaps deadly force would not be warranted. If you have no other option then you're in trouble.

As for your video, it's not bad, but I prefer James Douane's video "Don't Talk To Police" where he explains why you should never talk to the police, because it can never help you, and how, in a rebuttal part of the video, a police detective comes on, and says everything Professor Douane said was correct.