Kaminari

I mostly block, but sometimes do catching/joint lock kinds of things. Parrying is very useful, as Shane described, and I'll use it often, but not as much as blocking.

The best way to win a fight: avoid it. Your girlfriend and friends shouldn't think you a coward by avoiding a dangerous situation--one that could get them hurt, even. I would definitely advise something like escrima, like Sasori said.

Note: I'm not trying to put down your writing or anything like that, this is just my opinion and my suggestions. Yes, it does seem as if she's the James Bond clone type of character. With a few flaws (not so gorgeous looks, less than perfect skills at something, etc. etc.). Everybody has their flaws, and the more believeable a character is, the more the reader will be able to relate to the character, hooking them in. Also on the subject of flaws, perhaps she could lose a fight, or at least come out of it hurting, to make things more believeable (from what I've read, it sounds like she wins everything and is good at almost everything, etc.). Once your reader can relate to the character and can see it actually happening (even if it is just a small chance), they'll really enjoy it, for there aren't too many out there who like to read stories about perfect heroes. Good luck with the book.

It depends. In some instances, they could be practical, if the opponent was stunned, not looking, far away, etc. (as has already been mentioned by others). Other times, though, it could just leave you off balanced and open to an attack. Not entirely practical, but not always useful.

Kimura Guy is absolutely right. Provoking this guy into fighting you isn't going to make him stop acting the way he does. That, and it's only going to make him angrier, and he might bring friends. By provoking him into this fight, the only thing you're doing is getting yourself into a dangerous situation.

Personally, I'd stay away from kicks to the head in street fights. I might throw some kicks to the stomach or ribs if I caught the person off guard. For the most part, though, I'd go low, because it's less defendable, very effective for getting people to go down to the ground, etc.

I'm looking into possibly studying Shideo Gong Fu sometime soon, but would like to know if any of you that study the art can tell me more about it/what is taught? Thanks.

*Edit* Posted something ehre that I thought would be better suited as a new topic.

My top favorite is Dragon, but I do like Tiger for it's power and Crane for it's gracefulness. I would be studying one of the above, but I don't believe there are any dojos that teach them in my area.

I haven't gotten into a street situation where I had to use MA. Because of my smaller size, I say something like, "Oh yeah, you'll look real cool for getting into a fight with the smallest guy here. Tough guy, aren't you?" Etc. etc., and people back off. Kind of amusing, actually.

I use joint locks all the time when grappling, but rarely when standing up. They can be used as good counters, though. Someone throws a strike and you dodge, use the strike against them. As one of my instructors likes to say, "If someone feeds you their hand, eat it."

I know of two types of dragon stances. One looks a little like hsia shih (snake creeps down) in Taijiquan, only both hands are in the hook/crane position and the arms are outstretched and slightly back. The other one has your back leg bent and pointing perpendicular to the direction you're facing, with the other one slightly bent and pointing in the direction you're facing. One arm points in the direction of the front leg, slightly tilted downward, and the other is behind the head and bent at the elbow, with the fist pointing towards the ceiling.

Harai Goshi, O Soto Gari, and Kata Guruma are three of my favorites.

I practice Pankration/grappling with a friend of mine every so often, and because of his size and experience, I'm usually stuck underneath him. From the bottom: Pull the attacker in close if you can, so his punches aren't effective. Headbutts work, but chinning requires less energy. Grinding the chin into a sensitive area (such as the Vegas nerve in the neck, into the pressure point in the collar bone, into the temple, throat, etc. etc.) works well, as well as elbow strikes. If you can't pull him in close (or don't want/decide to), there are pressure points in the forearms, elbow joint, bicep, etc. that you can hit as well. Another option is to roll him over (basically, carry him with you through a back roll. Wrap up a leg with yours, pull him in close, and push with the foot on the ground while lifting with the one wrapped around his leg.). Joint locks add another fun twist to things, and require very little energy.

If you continue to have trouble, when I was first learning rolls, I was taught to envision it like this: you're holding a huge ball (bent arms, imagine holding the ball), and you are going to form your body around the ball (to curve around the ball), and to roll with it.

I would have more trust in a preson of higher grade because of the greater control. They would be able to do it correctly and would know how to throw you safely (to a degree, a throw isn't meant for safety).

I like the idea of going to a different country for some amount of time and training there, which I might (and probably will do) someday. I'm like SevenStar in the fact that I train in MA for the physical aspects, not the spiritual, so a year in the mountains wouldn't do the same for me as it would for others.

I absolutely love the MA, because: 1) healthy hobby 2) self defense 3) it's awesome I started when I was about twelve.

I prefer a teacher that tells me what to do, and lets me do it on my own, but is there to show me how to fix my technique, etc. A bit of both, but more of me working it out on my own so I can get used to my body going through unfamiliar movements.

I agree with SevenStar. My sparring partners fight much differently in sparring than in katas. Most of my opponents fight tougher than they look in katas.

Very good article. I came to the same conclusions when I first started studying MA, and am glad that it was brought up in the forums.

If you practice a technique enough, you'll get to the point where you won't have to think about the technique before you do it, and your techniques will speed up.

Yes, I use it. It's powerful and useful in many situations, but I prefer snap kicks and roundhouses.

I lost count of how many times I do this a long time ago. During dull moments I'll find myself kicking or doing katas, hand movements, etc. When in public places I'll run through techniques in my head. It's surprising how many others do this kind of thing as well.