“People here can look down on the sports arts …”
Who?
Almost ALL “combative” men of any grade come from a combative sports background. Boxing, wrestling, judo. WEF and O’Neill (SIXTH DAN-Kodokan Judo-personal student of Uchijima Sensei, a LEGEND of NEWAZA) are excellent examples of this.
But HERE’S a BEST contemporary example:
Damian Ross.
Mention your name in wrestling circles here in Jersey. HE IS A LEGEND! Go to the Yonezuka Dojo (one of the BEST in the WORLD) and watch Damian randori against the TOP level competition. Go to the ZENSHIN Dojo and “hang out” with him for one of his physical therapy trainings (man DOES NOT KNOW the meaning of the word EXIT!). AND THEN …….. ask him to teach you “self defense.” See what it teaches.
I’ll say it AGAIN. What a 20 or 25 year old and what a middle aged businessman seek to get out of their training are TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.
As for the “effectiveness” of ANY technique, a FIGHT is a FIGHT. I know a guy whose head was knocked off by a lead pipe. Did you know? STILL hit the sh ## of the TWO holes. AND THAT?
You fight like hell until you HAVE DONE or HE HAS DONE.
And why is it so hard to “get” that “hand-to-hand combat” is so much MORE than “ax hands” and “tiger claws”. IT’S ALL THAT WORKS. Breaking someone’s “egg” with blackjack is hand-to-hand combat. “Kneeling someone with a bat or the handle of an ax is hand-to-hand combat.” Working a street punk with “knuckle” or “sap” gloves is hand-to-hand combat. Using a razor, dagger, or pen is hand-to-hand combat. A cup of steaming coffee right in the cup is COMBAT CLOSE.
I “know” guys who have DECADES of sports combat training. YEARS of competitive experience and TONS of knowledge. KNOW WHAT? To hell with them and the LAST thing they’ll think of is ANY “disarmed” heads-up response.
As for the “build” attributes? OF COURSE! Athletics in GENERAL builds many good and useful attributes. BUT … I know of MANY cases in which individuals without ANY athletic background have beaten AWESOME odds. I’ve also witnessed “champions” being hell on wheels in the ring, and on the FOLD mat like the proverbial “cheap suit” when rubber met the real road. AND THAT?
But here is the REAL problem at the bottom of this ongoing debate.
Someone who has spent years training in “karate” has invested time, money and perhaps blood sweat and tears in his search. You want to believe that what you have invested so much in, WILL WORK. The same goes for Kung Fu. The same goes for Aikido. Same for BJJ. Same for boxing. The same for Wrestling. The same goes for judo. Same for Savate. Same for FMA. THE SAME FOR ANY ENDEAVOR.
But that ONLY makes sense in the PARAMETERS of that SPECIFIC effort. Competitive Judoka expects to compete within the well-defined “rules” of THAT endeavor. They do NOT expect to get into a shiai and get stabbed in the gut by the other competitor. A boxer enters the ring and expects to fight under the rules agreed upon by the boxing commission. DO NOT EXPECT your opponent to shoot you from the other side of the ring.
Let’s say you’re a top-tier college wrestler. Due to circumstances beyond your control (real life does) you have to face several desperate and well-armed enemies. You are given a “choice”. Try using your fighting skills you’re VERY GOOD at, or grab a 12-gauge riot shotgun.
Now let’s say you are at a relative wedding. The alcohol flows quite well and Uncle Vinny gets a little out of control. Same choice as the previous one. Will you use your wrestling skills to hold off old Uncle Vinny or grab the riot gun?
I don’t give a rat a ## on “style”, “system” or any of those things. WHY? Because EVERYTHING THAT INTERESTS ME is what WILL SAVE MY TAIL in the real world, when it’s for all the marbles. I’ve spent YEARS in Judo, I get REALLY attacked and I grab a brick and beat the skel to mush. CURSE! I couldn’t use my judo! Or … they grab me from behind and I manage to throw the skel to the ground with O-Goshi, THEN I finish it with the brick. AND THAT?
If a “tiger claw” works VERY WELL! Yes “hadaka jime” works GREAT! If a kick to the balls works VERY WELL! If a delete works GREAT! If running over the bastards with my car works GREAT!
Anyone “getting” this! IT IS NOT ABOUT what is or is not “BETTER” or more “EFFECTIVE”. ANYTHING THAT SAVES YOUR TAIL IS GOOD!
It is NOT about who is “right”, just who is “on the left”!
Carl
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