Adamo

Here's a great website from somebody who doesn't practice MMA OR Krav Maga. He's a highly respected man in the world of violence and not just martial arts. If you wont believe what I post, you can read here. http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com/MMA.html#Matt That's all I can say because I'm obviously not getting anywhere. I never said I dislike MMA or the people who practice it. But some of the very same comments you made Jim are addressed in that article.

Competition means nothing for an art meant strictly for self defense. And they don’t work? You mean to tell me that if I connected a hard kick to your groin you wouldn’t react? And who was truly trying to do all this. You are fully aware of the situation in a sport. In the street, if you are caught off guard you are going to freeze, run, or fight like an animal. You are comparing a sound human mind to one that isn’t. Not only that but in competition, there’s lots of rules. Not so in the street. And if competition is the ultimate standard…why have they banned these techniques in almost all competitions?...Maybe because nobody wants their eye gouged? Bas Rutten is a supporter of the Krav Maga system. You can find comments of his in black belt magazine and in forewards of Krav Maga books. Yes, he’s has a lot of training but when a man who’s had so much fighting experience and supports a system? And hip toss on the concrete? You better do some more studying on the biological effect during survival. You are telling me that you are going to coordinate your legs and upper body to create an upper hand position in order to execute a hip toss? Fine motor movements. None of them are going to work. Those go out the window when your cortisol is pumping through your body. And I’m not sure why you wish to result in mudslinging instead of keeping it to a mature level? And who’s to say I don’t do any grappling? Quite the assumption. Also quite the assumption that you are going to safely grapple with somebody on the ground. I hope for your sake this person doesn’t have any friends with him or weapons to resort to. This system was created strictly to give people a self defense system. Not for people to work years on using a spinning back kick which would be ignorant to use in most situations. It's a system that can be learned quick and efficiently. No competition so people don't begin to water it down and so that nobody gets hurt. Jim, if you GENUINELY believe that your MMA experience will save you in the street including situations including weapons (because we all know those are used very frequently) then that's excellent. I'm glad you feel that confident. But I hope you understand that comparing a self defense situation to sanitized competition isn't the best thing to do. "People who fixate on fighting don't want to cure the disease, they want to choose the symptoms. As any doctor can tell you, you cannot pick and choose your symptoms. Winning or losing a fight--those are just symptoms. The disease is the behavior that got you into the fight." -Marc MacYoung Isshinryu5toforever, that's a problem all martial arts have. Not just Krav Maga has a few problems. Karate has problems, taekwondo is watered down, people debate over Jeet Kune Do, etc. That's an issue in just about all hobbies and sports. That really doesn't say a whole lot other then it's your duty to find a reliable school and instructor.

Well, I'm staying very far away. We can play devils advocate, sure. He may be one of the most amazing martial artists who is sick but the fact that he was very hesitant to tell me that amount of students he has? "I wish I had more at the moment..." Great point. Online means nothing. But to not find somebodies style mentioned on the internet? With the vast amount of information on the internet, you'd think I could find some mention of the man, his style, or school. The convenience of some organizations is that they place on their site who is certified and who isn't. Just so I don't go too off topic... It's interesting to see the poll results. It makes martial arts such a diverse area. I can see a lot of people originally start with the hope of kicking butt but through discipline they become new people.

I'm seeing some blanket statements made. The idea of watching one Krav Maga video and thinking everybody else is like that is just crazy. These same statements can be made elsewhere especially with the MMA craze. Krav Maga is moving in the right direction unlike most arts. Most are sports heavy or tradition. Too frequently they rely upon fine motor movements. I don't practice Krav Maga so I'm by no means defending "my art." As it's been said many times before...you can't talk about an art as a whole simply because of those you've seen practice. I'm sure we can find some real tough Krav Maga practitioners (like Bas Rutten.) And I'm not sure about you MMA_Jim, but in a self defense situation, I WILL gouge a persons eyes, kick them in the groin and more. I'm not going to attempt to grapple to the ground and make them submit.

I thought I hit the jackpot today. I came upon a school in the phone book that was proud about being a "martial science" and not a "martial sport." I won't name the school for many reasons but...the phone conversation turned out to be the most awkward I've had my entire life. The man begins by constantly hacking and coughing over the phone. He names a style I've NEVER heard about. He proceeds to tell me that his style uses Kung Fu, Muay Thai, Grappling, Kali, and he incorporates the chain whip, sword, scythe, and kama. No website, no trace of his certification on the internet let alone the style. He continues to tell me that he takes his students into the woods to learn knife throwing, tree climbing, and how to navigate the woods. He'll need to make sure I'm "disciplined" otherwise he'll have to hurt me. He proceeds to share some of the incidents where he hurt his students to get them to listen. Does anybody else smell something fishy? Proficiency in that many styles and more? Hurting students to get discipline? No traces and has only 2 students at most?

Thanks for the responses everybody!

I started in the martial arts with the interest of being able to defend myself. Like most people, it started off with the idea that I would perform like Jet Li or Bruce with such flashy techniques. I'd be able to take out multiple people and look cool doing so. Over time my perception changed (thankfully) and I've become much more intelligent about what self defense should be like. I've become much more critical of many martial arts. It's still my #1 goal over the more traditional or sport oriented martial arts. It probably will always be my main goal. Here's my question... Have you ever given up on the idea? From time to time, I realize that I do appreciate the occasional trapping and fancy use of nunchaku's. I sometimes wish I could be like others and just relax. Be able to practice an art that is beautifully executed and very historical like Wushu or Wing Chun. The idea often comes to mind that I could still pick up some useful stuff from these arts. I also often think that getting into a serious situation are pretty slim. I'm an alert person and am constantly aware of potential situations that can be harmful. It's virtually impossible to find any local schools that are self defense based (Krav Maga, Haganah, Kapap, etc). *edit* Sorry, poor English when I made the poll. It should say "Have you MOVED on from the idea of self-defense?"

An external hard drive would work temporarily. It would be one of the fastest ways to get it off the computer also. But if they end up buying another spinning disk hard drive, it's only a matter of time before it all crashes again. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Hard-Drives/External-Hard-Drives/abcat0504003.c?id=abcat0504003 http://www.walmart.com/browse/Computers/Computer-Components/Hard-Drives/_/N-9683?browsein=true&ic=48_0&ref=+427971&catNavId=132959&fromPageCatId=132959 An external hard drive is basically...a hard drive not inside the computer. They are very very easy to use. Buy one big enough for all of your files. Plug it in (normally USB) and it will work like any other additional storage system. If you are familiar with plugging in a USB thumb drive, then it's the same concept. Just copy and paste your files into the external hard drive. Does this make sense?

I will repeat it, back up now! All these suggestions are wonderful, but if the hard drive fails you will lose it all. Regardless of what you do in the long run, at least you will still have the files.

Well, I have been a network administrator for many years. So hopefully I can be of some assistance. In my years, I've found it difficult to provide support unless I'm in front of the computer. They are like puzzle pieces, one fix may not work while another may. So take it for what it's worth. I hope that you are being smart about your files by backing them up. This is the issue in the digital world. While things like CD's, DVD's, etc. cost, they are in analog format. Therefore you have a copy. Your hard drive was not design for storage. You probably have a spinning disc hard drive which means the moving parts can fail just like anything else. So...back up! I can help you figure out what's a good way to back up files if you tell me how much you have. Do it right now because it could just be a PC issue that is going to lead to bigger issues. If your files worked before and now they are corrupt,somethings wrong. (duh) It shouldn't just stop working because of your Microsoft office UNLESS your M. Office has failed. (I assume you have protection against viruses etc, also) You don't have to buy M. Office for $200. I bought a brand new edition from Amazon for about $80 from a seller. You don't need to buy it brand new! That's the good thing. Not only that but they are going to be updating the software since it's the newest and it won't be full of loopholes for pesky viruses and so on. Older versions probably aren't going to be updated so they are easier targets. 1. Make sure you have protection. 2. Back up everything! 3. Office may be corrupt. Take out the original installation disc. Remove your version and reinstall it. That way it's fresh. This would be my first guess. 4. Ask around for somebodies copy. If they haven't used all of their installation codes, use theirs real quick to test it out. If it works, buy your own so they can have it back. That way you don't waste a bunch of money. 5. If this all fails, it would be good to take it to a reputable computer shop.

Wonderful thread! This is something just about everybody has at some point. It's not exactly a good thing or bad thing. Sometimes it's stuff that most people wont pick up on unless they have a very critical eye and have see you for a while. Other stuff should have been stopped but a decent instructor and know better. I realized that my side kicks were terrible because my instructor was telling me to use the entire side of the foot. I believe it was in one of Bruce Lee's books that I discovered the heel was better. That was a major AHA! moment. Then I realized my instructor was telling me to use the bottom of the foot for the hook kick. Found out that you are suppose to use the heel. Viola! My kicks were harder and easier to do. I had no choice but to use it when the instructor was around otherwise he'd complain. Another reason why I wasn't around much longer.

No doubt a concept as everybody here has mentioned. You see parts of wing chun, boxing, and fencing. There's are fundamentals taught and this is why some schools only teach the originals because he's not alive. The other school is that you can't teach it as a style. I personally sit in the middle. I believe you should learn the original but do so in a concept manner and foster your growth in other martial arts to compliment you. He originated by Bruce wanting something better. Essentially he was a guy who believed in what is known today as reality based self defense and MMA. In one of his schools, he had a headstone that was dedicated to oriental martial arts. It basically was wishing them goodbye because they are (not my words) garbage because they are highly restrictive. I'll have to see if I can find that photo on the internet. *edit* I can't find it, but here is a Black Belt Magazine done with Bruce Lee September 1971. It's called "liberate yourself from classical karate." He describes the idea behind Jeet Kune Do in his own words. It's a great insight! (starts at page 24) http://books.google.com/books?id=rtcDAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=black+belt+magazine+1971+se&source=bl&ots=bC1Gf6gdWH&sig=-iXhG-4yFrGHGksSbJRZtR4YZ-4&hl=en&ei=IIVmTdyTCYP58AaG4ti0Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&sqi=2&ved=0CBkQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false

IcemanSK, good on ya' for losing the weight! Ninjanurse, I know exactly what you mean! In TaeKwonDo, I kept constantly having the belt flop in my face and I would look goofy. I don't think some fellow students realized that with long belts and high kicks comes backlash of the belt.

I have searched all over the internet and not found my answer to this question... Why the belt length differences? Aside from the obvious that it could be preference, I noticed a trend. Grapplers don't have long belts and that's often because it can get in the way. From my Judo experience, they don't allow it because if it's so long, they'll actually grab your belt and use it against you. In styles like TaeKwonDo and Karate, you see belts that are long. Sometimes they belt is practically down to the knee. Is there a reason they are so drastically different in length? Is the only reason have to do with practicality?

http://www.centurymartialarts.com/Sparring_Gear/Boots.aspx