cross

Dont care either way... reason... i like both.

This is true, but look at the stats. How many people with a shotokan background have been successful in ufc? And how many people with a MT/boxing background have be successful? If i was choosing a style based on its effectivness in events like ufc, one guy being good at shotokan wouldnt be enough to make me consider training in it.

I tend to subscribe to the idea that you should assume anyone being aggressive towards you is armed and has friends. If you prepare yourself for the worst, it can only get better from there. Paying close attention is very important, so is knowing what to look for. If you can see the guy with his hand in an odd position, or moving his hand towards his pocket etc, dont assume he is doing that to pull out a rose to give to you. I pay attention to the verbal very closely. The verbal is your chance to not only avoid a fight, but also turn things in your favour if you need to go pre-emptive.

More power to him. Seems he is an exception to the muay thai/boxing in mma rule. But thats all it is, an exception.

Oh ok. Ive never used shoes specifically for MA. Wear plain old runners most of the time when training or in normal life. Wear steel cap boots at work(i do enough shadow boxing when no-one is watching to know how it feels with boots on ). And flip flops on the odd occasion.

Look at your current shoe collection and work out the most common kind of footwear you use. From there it should be pretty easy to decide what to wear.

You dont attack first and you increase the already high risk of serious injury or death. Thats a pretty dangerous assumption, not all fights start with a big obvious windup.

That all comes down to how you train. If your school has time set aside for "self defence training", look at what your learning during that time and think about how it compares to the reality of a violent situation. When you work defense against something like a one double arm lapel grab how does it happen? Does your partner grab you with no force and stand there without saying or doing anything else while you perform a series of techniques that assume alot about how he/she will react to each part of the sequence? or.. Does your partner grab you forcefully enough to make you really feel uncomfortable right off the bat while screaming at you and trying to push you up against a wall to get you to comply, while you use simple, reflexive movements to deal with him/her and adapt to the situation and base your next technique off the position you find yourself in and how your opponent has reacted to your last movement? I know which one is a better preperation for a realistic attack and is still safe enough to train. Being able to do a technique against a compliant person is all well and good and a great way to express your art, but it doesnt prepare you for how you will be attacked by the guy/girl out the front of your club who doesnt care what you do or dont know. If your training doesnt replicate what you would feel and experience for real, then ofcourse you will be unsure of yourself and wont know how to react. Most of the time its the martial artists themselves who act like they are great fighters and tell their students that this is self defence and doing these techniques will make you great at self defence. Until one gets beat up or they realise their training doesnt work. Then they take a more humble approach and blame the public for not knowing what martial arts really is. The problem with this is that traditional arts like shotokan rarely do this kind of training. Its all kick punch block, maybe some footsweeps.

In part i agree with you. But at the same time you have to look at the situation and realise that there are techniques that just arnt used in some styles. E.g. Try doing a hip toss while sparring in muay thai and see the reaction. That doesnt mean the hip toss isnt a valid technique, just that it isnt common in that style or doesnt align itself with the principles or concepts of the system. This in a way is limiting, but can be quiet benificial if you take an analytical approach to training. Doing a couple of different systems that place emphasis on certain aspects of combat or self defence and then adapting and practicing what you have learned to fit your wider goals is important if you want applicable techniques. In saying that, the situation is ridiculous. But thats life and martial arts i suppose.

Agreed. The boxing stance provides a good base to work from and puts your hands and body in a position that allows for best use of the bodies reflexive responses and protects your vital targets. Thats why i use and recommend it.

How so?

Depends what we are talking about, sparring and sport training, or self defence. I was talking from a purely self defence perspective.

I tend to agree. My view is that there are obviously parts of the body that are better to strike than others, but its hard to strike them cleanly in the chaos of a real situation. So learn to hit hard and if you catch a "pressure point" all the better.

Ah, my mistake.

John B. Will ... would love the chance to train with him. Indeed, he's my instructor. Learning plenty My advice on self defence is pretty much taken straight from him. Good stuff. I have never met or trained with him, but have read a number of his articles from blitz etc. He takes a very practical approach to training and im sure you see how lucky you are to have a great teacher.

John B. Will ... would love the chance to train with him.

Id like to see that....

Depends on the range, mobility is increased by the slightly smaller base at punching at kicking range. Not that you would adopt the same base during clinch or defending a takedown. Like anything, understanding why and how your doing it will prevent these mistakes you mentioned.

I agree. A school i used to attend had a policy that if you were ever involved in a situation, self defence or otherwise, you would be suspended from training for 1 month minimum. Even if you were protecting yourself. What a joke. A few people have suggested to talk to the instructor and see if some things can be added to training. That to me seems like people are trying to make karate fit every situation and be good for every aspect of your life. Sure, its great for dicipline, making friends, learning an art etc. But if you havnt been learning effective self defence up to this point, dont expect much to change in the near future.

I see where you are coming from and agree in part. But at the same time its important to remember that in only a few years ryan will be a teenager and soon after he'll be an adult. Although he is young that doesnt mean he wont be a victim or be attacked. Thats something i cant swallow. A teacher telling you that "you wont be able to defend yourself until your a blackbelt, or when you reach black belt then you start to learn"... That all sounds very nice, but what do you do if you get attacked before then? Tell the attack to come back when your a blackbelt or when you learn to defend yourself? Ryan has already been attacked once, to say that he shouldnt worry about weather his karate works or not until he reaches blackbelt doesnt help him deal with the possibility of being attacked again in the not to distant future. To be honest, effective self defence can be taught in a matter of hours, if you approach it correctly. It doesnt take years. learning to master the art of karate might, but self defence doesnt.

Exactly. ill just add, the term passive "stance" can be confusing to some, being that its not a stance in the traditional sense. There is methodology behind it. Key points of the stance are not only physical, verbal techniques play a large part. And has i mentioned earlier, it makes the attacker think they have the perfect victim which raises their ego and lowers their expectation of you doing anything. Which is perfect for you, element of surprise and all that.... Not to mention it places your hands and body in a position that maximises your reflexive response.

I dont think he is expected to, but that doesnt mean he cant. You have said a number of times how clever, intelligent etc he is.. i beleive in giving credit where credits due, which leads me to beleive that if this clever young man is faced with a couple of idiots trying to attack and bully him then he would be able to deal with it very effectively, using his brain more than any physical action, if he is taught how and practices it, like any other skill he would hope to obtain.

Seeking more effective training methods isnt about becoming a street fighter, its about this young man being confident in his own mind when he questions "if i got attacked again, would i be able to deal with it?" If the answer is no, then something is lacking in terms of training. People often come to the conclusion that if they cant do it themselves, or if they dont train and prepare for it, then it cant be done. Its very possible to defend against multiple attacks. No one says its going to be easy(having to defend yourself against one person isnt a walk in the park) or that you will walk away without at least some damage, but in my opinion, preparing for it and training to deal with it is a far better response than to assume its impossible and give up. What happens if next time the kids are bigger, meaner, have weapons, or any combination of those, should he just give up and wait for them to stop beating on him so he can leave? To suggest that its impossible to deal with would be far worse then giving him false hope, it would make him feel competely helpless.

Continuing training might improve things, but what have the benifits been upto this point? And how long will it be until he gains some skills he can apply? Im guessing your son had confidence previous to the attack, was doing well in training etc... Yet he couldnt do a great deal to save himself when it really mattered. Im not saying his training is a waste of time, has you would be aware there are many benifits to training other than self defence skills, but if that is what your after then there may be something more suitable for him to be doing. I agree intimidation is a large factor in self defense situations and in your sons situation in particular. I have a question for you that relates to this: How many times in training has your son been forced to deal with a situation similar to the one he faced at school? How many times has he taken part in a scenario from start to finish including the verbal onslaught followed by realistic aggression towards him leading to physical attack? How many times has the scenario been played out in class with all parties displaying real energy? And dont limit this to your son, how many times have you been placed in situations during training that you would most likely be faced with in real life? If these things arnt addressed in training and you cant deal with it under controlled circumstances, then ofcourse it will be intimidating and you will have no idea how to deal with it other than sitting there getting beat on. Start working the situations and feel the energy in training then all of a sudden the confidence you have is real and the intimidation isnt something new. Just some things to consider.

Hey Kez, Thanks for sharing this story, i certainly feel for you and your son. No one should be subjected to that kind of treatment and i can imagine it would be equally hard for yourself to know that this kind of thing has happened to a loved one. I agree with alot of the advice so far, but if i can just touch on the "should he keep training" aspect.... I realise not everyone does martial arts with the direct goal of self defence, but it seems clear that in your sons eyes karate equals self defence (otherwise i dont think this situation would have effected his training the way it has). This may be a little bit hard to swallow, but ill just tell it how i see it... If your son did nothing to attempt to defend himself(frooze up perhaps, or was just far to intimidated) and you feel that you need to speak with your sensei so he can incude some more self defence techniques and awareness stuff for kids AFTER the situation has happened, then its a little 2 late in my opinion. If i was in your shoes i would really be questioning what kind of training i was recieving and if its the right thing for your goals. Your son is already a victim, his confidence has been lowered significantly by the attack... So what happens next time? Will he be prepared, or will you both look back and wonder what you could have done, or what new techniques you can learn to avoid a situation thats already been and gone? I hope this post doesnt seem like an attack at you or your son, just some things to think about. best wishes, Cross.