AngelaG

Learning nothing but lots of techniques for self-defence is fairly useless IMO, and a huge expenditure of effort that could be spent more wisely. And I completely disagree that learning a technique and understanding the principles are totally unrelated on several levels. Firstly if you don't understand the principles behind any given technique and just mimic the move then in a real self-defence situation, when one is working against an resisting attacker, and not a compliant partner, the likelihood is that you will fail to make it work. Either that or you will be able to make it work if they attack you in exactly the same way as you have consistently trained for, but will be unable to find a solution if the attack is in anyway different, which is the more likely scenario. Secondly if it does happen that you can make it work, but you do not understand what the technique does, you run the risk of severely injuring, or even killing, the attacker when perhaps you only meant to lock them up and escort them outside. Not all attacks require the use of lethal force. As martial artists it is our responsibility to know what our defences do to the attacker, should we ever need to use them.

Of course. I very much doubt that there is a single person reading this that feels otherwise. I was reffering to the fact that if you must think about a technique, you either need to practice it more, or should not be using it, because, as you pointed out, that would just get you hurt. But it goes right back to what i said about the versatility of a technique. The flexibility of the technique makes no difference if the individual applying it lacks the knowledge of the reasoning behind the movements; they will be unable to reapply the technique to the infinite variations possible for any given attack. It goes without saying that there must be skill to back up the technique. AngelaG, i must agree with yourstatement of "Techniques are fine if you have 1 or 2 to remember" (i'm making the asumption that you exagerate). I've always been fond of Ed Parker's saying: "I'd rather have ten techniques I can fight with, than a hundred that fight me." In my system, we learn fifty-five self-defense techniques, but that is not to say that any of us "masters" fifty-five techniques. It is only the select few that suit us best that are commited to reflex, the rest are simply stored away to draw and learn from, and to teach, but not necessarily to use. Yes, you should definitely not have to think about what you are doing when you fight. However this is what will happen if you concntrate on techniques rather than principles. If you concentrate on principles then you can start to deal with any kind of attack, from a wide range of people. I suspect that in your 55 self-defence techniques there are a number of recurring principles than can be easily adapted to defend a multitude of attacks. These can probably be broken down to a far fewer number of set principles to effectively defend against an attack. In this way there is a lesser chance of failure and less chance of having a brain block from technique overload. Copying a technique is not sufficient to gain understanding. As in anything you need strong foundation upon which to build an effective MA system, if not it may all look pretty but come tumbling down at the first puff of wind.

Then you don't practice enough. Techniques serve a dual purpose: to exercise basic concepts in different applications, and to provide a quick response to an attack. The technique should allow for variables in the attack, such as the angle from which the attack originates, the size of the attacker, and your body position at the time of the attack. If you cannot perform a self-defense technique with these variations, then either it is a poor technique, or you have serious problems with your basics. Also, techniques should not be thought through while being performed, they should be practiced until they are a reaction. If you're going over a technique mentally step-by-step while a punch is coming at you, it is due to insufficient practice, so grab a partner, and get some more repetitions in. I disagree. It's down to poor instruction and lack of understanding about WHY something works. Techniques are fine if you have 1 or 2 to remember, which is what some of the greatest self-defence instructors advocate, choosing a couple of techniques and drilling and drilling until they are second nature, however if you want to go deeper than a greater understanding is required. This IMO makes a better martial artist, rather than a pure combatant.

Sigh! This neighbourhood is really going downhill. I wondered why my property price had dropped.

Ah but it's not just about memorising forms; it's about recognising the principles behind the forms and finding out which principles are best for ourselves and our individual bodies, preferences and situations etc.

I have to disagree with this. The "X-block" is absolutely terrible to use as a block, and in fact will weaken the block, placing the arms against each other like that (Just ask the guy that came to our dojo having broken both his wrists at his previous dojo when his sensei told him to block a mae geri with X-block). The only block I would advocate using as a pure block, and can in fact be using going in on the opponent is the soft block. This is where the arm is flung at at an angle past 90degrees (Preferably at 135) and in a relaxed state. So still not meeting force with force. This is a great stopper for hook punches, and the bonus is the harder they hit the worse it will hurt them. Other than that in a real altercation I would not advocate any blocks, and instead would suggest shifting, parrying and redirecting.

Hiya

Except it wasn't even 95% in that - the actual number was something like 65%, and as you correctly said, that is in a situation where they were actively trying to restrain the atacker by taking him/her to the floor.

Thank god that isnt true. Nope, and in fact the reality is nowhere near that. That's where you are wrong AngelaG , it may not be 90% , but the fact of the matter is : most of the fights end on the ground or in a clinch , even in a pure striking environment like in boxing , Thai/kick boxing the fight ends in a clinch which may lead to a takedown , in kyokushin fighters grab each other all the times , if a pure striker ends up in clinching/garbbing a grappler then he will find himself on the ground Ok, I want bare facts - not just hearsay being spouted to promote the new popular MA. I also want it with regards actual altercations, not stuff going on in a training centre where there are nice soft mats, no risk of being stabbed, and no mates around to kick your head in whilst you are down. I can give you cold hard facts that back up my claim, by people that have actually gone out and researched it. But first I want to see some facts on your side, backing up your extraordinary claim; and I don't mean some dojo coming out with the bog-standard saying on their website, as sales hype.

Agreed, though it does illustrate the difficulty in defending against a knife. It goes both ways. You aren't responding to the attack in the way you would like in order not to hurt your training partner, however your training partner is not waving a 9 inch Kershaw at you trying to lop off your precious bits and pieces. Surprising what you can lop off with a Kaybar or proper wieghted fighting knife. ...or are you talking about balancing a tack hammer on your head? No, I am just saying that taking something as a given based on a simulated training exercise will lead to misconceptions, due to the limitations of any training where the health of yourself and the partner needs to be taken into consideration.

Hello It's like going on a school trip!!

How is that a fact? Anyway, if a striker manages to KO their attacker before they get a chance to grapple then there will never be a chance to see if grappling will "win every time". Anyway it's fairly obvious that a trained, skilled grappler will beat an unskilled grappler - when grappling - so that's why you try and work to your own advantages and skills.

Hey John, Gene, Angela et al. How are you all doing Jane Hiya How goes it?

Are you the people in Plymouth, Devon that occasionally come up to our dojo when there are seminars on?

Leave the music for the aerobics class

I'm going to try to get my act together and train with Dave Hazard. I wanted to go to a seminar of his a month or two ago but I was ill at the time. There's also quite a few forum buddies I'd love to go and train with.

Thank god that isnt true. Nope, and in fact the reality is nowhere near that.

White spirit might work - but it's extremely flammable so maybe not a great idea unless you can wash the belt after.

You do not expect to defend against something that you know nothing about it , if you want to beat them then you must learn their ways . BJJ guys are trained to beat professional strikers , are you trained to beat professional grapplers ?? Err, at the club I've seen train the BJJ guys are trained to work against other grapplers. I've not seen any one of them ever actually strike, so how can they be trained to deal against strikers? I think their is a lot of hype about BJJ as it is the current fashionable MA. But you can't believe everything you hear - like that old chestnut of 90% of fights ending up on the ground

Hiya John

Yes there are a few familiar posters on here, and possibly a few bewildered refugees stumbling in over the next few days as the KU bunch get blown the the four corners of the Internet world.

Actually if you watch a lot of those preachers they reach around to the back of the head and hold their hand against the base of the skull. They then slap the area by the widows peak and *boom* down the people go. This is actually a bona fida KO. Obviously at other times it is just hysteria at work.

Hiya Gene!

Occasionally I will turn off the lights, light a few candles, put on some soothing music and just lie on my bed and empty my mind. It unclutters my thoughts, calms me down, and generally leaves me feeling a lot more realxed and content. Unfortunately I have a very busy life, and don't have enough of this "me time" as I would like.