cross

What are they?

No-one is perfect. Accepting and understanding this will help you improve alot more than ignoring you weaknesses. But i do agree that you shouldnt focus solely on your weaknesses in a negative light.

Just because something seems like a good idea to alot of people, doesnt mean it is. Like alot of things in TMA, it seems that most will teach the terminology in a different language because "thats what i was taught", and the reason their instructor taught them this way is because thats how they were taught. So they are doing it because thats how its always been done, so it must be right? When logically, the best way to teach a person something is to relate it to them in a language they are familiar with.

Hard to go past: http://blog.iainabernethy.com/

Perhaps a physical demo is all you need if your system contains only physical techniques. But for alot of systems, particularly those focused on self defense, there is a large psychological component to the training that cant really be expressed or fully understood through a physical demo. So to me it still seems that conveying anything other than a physical technique(that you probably already know how to do, and are just drilling) is near impossible unless you understand the language the instructor is talking in, or have a translator at hand.

The first, and most important step, is standing in a position that moves your groin out of the line of fire. I.e. 45 degree bladed stance with the toe of your lead feet pointed inwards slightly. This protects most of the groin and makes it much less of a target.

It depends what openings are being offered to you at the time, if the person has just flinched and is covering high, then a quick low shot with a number of high follow ups is a sensible option.

How so?

Thanks, will do.

In self defense, you need to be proficient at all ranges, including on the ground. Mainly because you wont always be the one who dictates if the fight remains standing or not. However with good ground skills you will be able to return to your feet much more quickly. talking it out and running generally become an option at some point during a situation, be it against 1 person or many. If for whatever reason you feel that the situation is not getting any better, then striking first is an extremely important step to take. From there(and keep in mind that every situation is different so these are just some general guidelines) closing the gap and gaining control of one person whilst attacking their primary targets with your close range weapons is a fairly sensible option. Also whilst you have this control you can use this person to shied yourself. Sortof hard to explain via the written word. Here is an example:

Ofcourse. I was simply stating that if a person is yelling at you then at least the option of diffusion is still there, and much more likely.

It still seems that anything beyond a basic physical demonstration of the technique would be lost in translation.

This is something ive never understood. Lets say for example you are an english speaking student and you go to a japanese school to learn karate, with no knowledge of the japanese language other than the technique names you know from your english speaking country. The instructor is attempting to explain the finer points of a technique, take age uke(rising block) for example. So the instructor says in japanese: One of the most important principles of age uke is to drive not only with the arm, but also with the hips. So out of the instructors explanation of the technique, the only thing you will understand is the "age uke", which doesnt really help. So logically, it makes more sense to me that if you want to learn a system in a different country(just like doing anything else in another country) learn the language of the country. Because chances are that knowing a few technique names will be of little or no use, unless you can understand everything else that is being said in between.

Consider that if every english speaking instructor used only english then you wouldnt have a problem at all. Also keep in mind that in most schools that use terminology from the native language of the system, they often have 2 names for the same thing, i.e. the name of the technique in the systems native language, and then the name of the technique in the instructors/students native language. So in my opinion, cut out the language that you dont normally speak and streamline the system to avoid confusion.

There is not alot on offer in my area. I have checked out the majority of schools and none really fit the description. The closest thing to what i want to learn would be an MMA school, but we dont have one of those anywhere near where i live. Luckily i have a couple of people who i have been training with for a little while who share a similar interest.

Your correct in saying that anything "can" work. But just because something can work, doesnt make it the most sensible thing to use, or the most appropriate thing to teach the majority of people who want to learn self defense.

Well, my karate journey has come to an end once again. Initially i was enjoying it. But after a few weeks i started noticing the things that turned my off karate previously. So its back to training at home and focusing specifically on my goals of self protection and fitness(has i continued to do whilst doing karate). For reference, some of the things that turned me off karate(this is just my opinion and experiences BTW, not intended to offend anyone or turn you off karate. If it helps you to achieve your goals then im all for it): 1. Outdated training methods that are maintained for the sake of tradition. 2. To much static work against partners who offer little to no resistance. 3. A syllabus based on technique collecting that becomes more a test of memory, not a test of knowledge or skill. 4. Lots of kata practice with very limited time spent applying whats being taught. 5. 2 completely different delivery system for strikes in basics and sparring. 6. Over-emphasis on attacks that a not common. I.e. wrist grabs. 7. Far to much theorizing from instructors about the best way to do techniques with little thought for actual application. etc.

Most vulnerable areas on the head/face are fairly specific when you consider it takes a slight movement of the opponents head and the punch that was aimed for their temple is now hitting right on the hardest part of the skull. This is on of the main problems to consider when talking about striking with a fist to the face, not so much your own accuracy, but the fact that people flinch when something is flying at their head. All it takes is the other person to duck slightly and you have a good chance of breaking your hand. Has for using a lighter, 2 things to consider: 1. Unless you practice deploying it and using it on a regular basis, your chances of being able to do it in a self defence situation are slim to none. 2. It limits what you can do to just punching, unless you drop it or throw it.

One of the positives of someone yelling, is that you have a much greater chance to difuse the situation rather than it turning physical without warning.

You also need to have them spar you or approach you in such a way that mimics an attack; not a sparring match. There is a difference. Start by having him push you from behind, or something like that. See what that does for you.Agreed. Fights dont start from a distance with a bow. They start close up, generally with a verbal onslaught or some other form of psychological attack before the physical even begins. This is where the fear comes from.

Agreed. At some point during your training you must try your techniques under circumstances that closely replicate the situations you hope to use them in. This includes the psychological aspects.

Excellent advice from everyone so far. One thing i will add is: Keep it simple.... Dont try and do to much when your just starting out. Focus on a couple of specific goals in each sparring session. For example, for one session you could focus on working your straight punches, then the next do circular techniques, then work defense and countering off your defense. Breaking it down to begin with makes it alot easier, and you have plenty of time to mix things up later on.

Nice demo, ps1.

Interesting article. Im not really decided one way or the other on the whole ki thing. On the breathing thing: I have found that breathing out with any sort of force through the nose sends slime flying everywhere However, i generally breath sharply out through my mouth with each technique i perform.

Alot of people have problems kiai-ing for a while when they first start training. I think some of it has to do with embarrassment. A simple way to move on from this is to look around the room and realise that everyone else is doing it too.