Humble Novice

Not really. So long as the attacker can be considered a serious threat. (iow your size or bigger, able-bodied, apparently competent, basic common sense) you won't be in much legal trouble so long as there is a serious crime taking place, you are allowed to use any force necessary to stop the crime. Be it knocking them out, rehinging an elbow, tearing a muscle, or taking their life. Note, I received this info from a former cop and my Kung fu Su-Xiong. Both are quite reliable but not completely infallible sources. The law may have changed in the forty or so years since my grandpa got off the force. A topic really should be started on this question of what is legal self-defence

I know the fanciest ( and in my vocab, fancy means cool looking, hard to do, and/or just downright awesome) move in Hsing I Chuan is the Dragon Whips his Tail. It would be difficult to describe over the net, but its an aerial inside crescent powered by the non-kicking leg jumping and spinning. Its designed to break necks. Also the motion of the non kicking leg can distract the opponent and make them look low when the attack is coming high. You usually do it when the attacker is behind you. I would think that would be doable in a real fight/confrontation, but those of you with more experience in real conflict than me (ie any) would probably know more. So what do you all think. Could the dragon whip his tail in a real fight.

I already posted this on the Chinese forum, then realized this was Japanese. So I'll post it on this forum. Has anyone ever taken or even heard of Hojo-Jitsu. It's a japanese martial art based on tying someone with rope. It was historically used for the samurai and japanese police to secure prisoners that were wanted alive. (interrogation and prisoner exchange purposes I would surmise) I'm curious if anyone's taken it, because it would seem useful for winning bets (hey, I bet I could tie you up? Ten bucks says you couldn't) or dealing with little brothers (I'm warning you, if you don't go away I'll tie you up) Just wanted to see if anyone took it. And if so, what the basic principles are.

Don't I feel stupid!!!!! I can't believe I called it a Chinese art, and then said it was for the japanese police. Actually I'm not sure, but if jitsu implies Japanese then it is probably Japanese. I don't really know, though.

I stumbled across a martial art called Hojo-Jitsu on the web. It's based on tying people up with rope. It was developed for the purposes of the Japanes police in the 1800s(?) for arresting people that were wanted alive. It's fairly obscure so I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with this. It would seem quite useful for winning bets, or dealing with good-humored little brothers. EDIT: I found it actually is Japanese so I started this topic on the japanese karate forum. My bad

I have read only the first page of this thread, and am oblivious to any conflict that might have ensued since. I agree with all those on the first page mostly. I don't believe Jesus has a problem with a self-defence. And also, several people in the Bible bowed to other people. Jacob bowed seven times to Esau. Morticai in the book of Esther said that he bowed only to his God and his king. Meaning that he did indeed bow to his king. I practice my Hsing I Chuan exercises right before I go to bed and then do my Bible study as soon as I get to bed. I like how the exercises focus my often difficult-to-focus mind. The one thing I question is that my exercise time tends to be 3-5 times the length of my Bible study time, but that is all. I enjoy the discipline, and feel that the martial arts may be one way for me to earn the humility that is so integral for true Christian living. The martial arts teaches you that you can always improve, and it also teaches respect. I would say that my limited exposure to this site has corroborated my idea of the martial arts making people more respectful, as this site is much more peaceful than other forums I've visited. That is all from this humble novice.

As my name suggests I'm new both to this site and (relatively) to the MAs. But I would think that for awareness purposes, instinct practice would be best. For instance, two friends (one is my 'older brother' teacher) and I goof around with different types of escapes. We don't do this just so that we know how to get out of a half-nelson (Oh, let me count the ways!!!) but any hold. We do this to train our mind to quickly think of the dangers and opportunities in each hold. (ie. in a sleeper hold, I'm told you have three seconds of conscienceness if you don't address your neck quickly) While, we take our time to think through them now, I hope to train my mind to be able recognize, assess, evaluate, and act within a split-second's time-frame. The whole reason that you do regular exercises and and techniques is to train your muscles to react on reflex when necessary. So, in conclusion, I think that our instincts should be trained not onlyt to react in a split second, but in some cases to think and react in a split-second.