elbows_and_knees

yeah, long story short, he's a fraud. He still teaches to this day though, so apparently someone thinks he has somethng to offer.

contrary to popular belief, anger isn't a bad thing. ANY emotion, fear, anger, etc. are powerful weapons if you know how to use them.

perhaps. But that is something you don't really know until you are actually in an altercation, which statistically is something most adults will never experience.

no it won't. Not always. I've seen it too many times.

yeah, pretty much what I mentioned above. Some places allow guns to be carried, but that's about it. I also have a pair of knuckles that are made out bulletproof glass that are legal everywhere, but those are for the street, like when I'm walking to the car after work.

What do you guys get to carry while you are on duty? they don't allow us to carry knives, but ever since my buddy got stabbed, I carry one. I carry cuffs and freeze spray at all times, a tactical flashlight, which is actually the most useful thing I carry, and on occasion I have my ASP baton, but I never use it, other than as crowd control. That said, you are SUPPOSED to be licensed for whatever you carry. I'm working on that part now. Also, just because you carry it does not warrant you using it. The only thing I use with frequency is the flash light. I've only pulled the baton out once or twice, solely to make a group of people back up. I've never pulled the knife and it's rare that I have to cuff someone. spray is no good indoors, as there is too much risk that you will hit bystanders.

42 by march can be done, but it may not be easy. What you are doing now is likely not enough. Classes seem to be 1.5 - 2 hours, correct? How many days per week are you doing the circuits?

bingo. Contact with the ground is incidental. If we are fighting and you fall, oh well. It's drastically different from striking a person. I definitely agree with you guys about the numbers though - italways makes things easier.

no matter how much training you have, against that many people, you are pretty much guaranteed to lose. If they are always there, I would take another route home, as has been suggested. Or, be proactive. Call the cops before you walk. Let them know that a group of thugs has been over there harassing people.

I would suggest that don't try this. thinking and premeditating about the targets you choose will only make you hesitate. In addition, you can't assume a kick to the knee will drop him. If his knee is bent, it won't do much damage at all.

on my side of tennessee, that will only get you stomped on. there is a difference between not being scared and "sticking your chest out and acting bad". One may save you, the other will land you in the middle of a fight. Acting hard is blatant disrespect right off the bat. You will end up in a fight just so he can prove he's harder than you are.

to answer your question more accurately though: learn to choke from various angles. frontal chokes, rear naked, guillotine, baseball, etc. full and half nelson chicken wing all ground positioning - mount, side mount, scarf hold, north sounth, etc. become as proficient as possible in the clinch. learn various throws and takedowns. I have used harai goshi, tani otoshi, tai otoshi and morote gari on several occasions. Also, know how to hide strikes. We aren't allowed to strike, but let's face it, they are helpful in calming someone down: while going for a thai clinch, hit them with your forearm. while you have them in a chicken wing, slam their exposed head into a nearby wall a knee can be snuck in easily in any situation elbows can be snuck in while going for a thai clinch. the key is to make the strikes look incidental, so that you aren't blamed for it. punches and kicks are ruled out, but elbows_and_knees, forearms and headbutts are able to be used pretty easily.

From my experience bouncing, wrist locks and chin na type stuff has not worked well at all. I use bigger, multiple joint restraints, like the bear hug, full nelson, chicken wing and various other wrestling holds and chokes. This serves various purposes: 1. it allows me to control him without breaking anything, which could end up in a lawsuit. 2. I can completely immobilize them. Control is key. While I am trying to apply a wrist lock, he's got another arm, a head, two knees and two legs to swing at me. If I have control of one arm, after say blocking a punch, I either throw him down or get close to him and apply a hold mentioned above or one similar. The only time I worry with locks is if I have the guy controlled already and want him to calm down. For example, there have been several cases where I have taken guys to the ground. I will mount them and apply something like a kimura to keep him still long enough for another guy to come and grab is legs so we can carry him out, or for someone to apply cuffs, if that's necessary.

that's not true at all. I've taught seminars to MA and mentioned things like looking under your car as you approach it, and walking a few feet away from walls so you can see around the corners, and some of them were amazed, because these things had never occurred to them. Like anything else, awareness needs to be taught, not assumed. I never learned these things from MA, and I don't meditate. Even when I did, these things didn't occur to me. meditation makes you more self aware, not necessarily more situationally aware. I learned these things through either first or second hand experience. I've had a guy jump out at me from around a corner. I had a friend who was robbed by someone hiding under her car. Another friend was robbed by someone INSIDE his car, etc.

taiji has plenty of combat relevance - it's a fighting system. However, these days it's touted mostly for its healing side, and there aren't a lot of people teaching its combat side. Heck, there are many who don't even know its combat side. that said, if you are looking to become proficient in fighting quickly, I would still take boxing or muay thai in addition to taiji, as you originally intended.

we can't really say unless we know what your goals are.

dude, don't try to analyze it so much. In dragon ball z, The humans are the weakest race in existence. it was rare to find a human with a power level above 20, whereas saiya jin were in the hundreds and in some cases, thousands. A handful of humans made it into the thousands, but they were still MUCH weaker than the saiya jin, who were made it to the millions. It's not based on people who don't exercise - it's based on the premise that all humans are weak, as per the anime.

it's not really an issue of whether or not she was allowed to - if someone messed with her, she had no choice. we're really good about watching eachother's back. so there was never any real problem with it. the one time something did happen, she was close to the door where there was plenty of air and space, so she sprayed him.

In the event that you could pull it off, then sure, I can see that doing damage. How many kicks are we talking about?

right, but you are talking about being a bouncer... you won't intimidate most males, if any at all. If you do take the job, it would be wise to tend to the women and leave the guys to the guys.

Modern Arm Combatives it's about 40 mins long, but check it out.

IME, that only ticks him off more.

and actually, 190 isn't THAT far from 240. I know several guys in the 190 range that ARE stronger than guys who weigh 240. However, they are 190lb guys who lift hard, not who only train MA.

I'm willing to bet they weren't outmuscled - they were - for lack of a better term - out enduranced. for example, if we are rolling and you shoot for an arm bar and I try to defend it by grabbing my other arm and holding on for dear life, we are now in a battle of endurance - to see who will out last who and either get the armbar or lose it. there are sutations like this all the time in MA - they are situations of endurance, not strength. also, "grappling cardio" is anaerobic endurance. football is more of a cardio sport, if you are playing for any length of time. there is a different system being worked. Like I said, I understand the point you guys are making, but you are making it the wrong way. the guys you are referencing aren't stronger - in this instance they have better cardio and better endurance, which is different from raw strength.

this isn't a hypothetical situation - it's a debate between him and his friend about whose statement is correct. There was actually no situation given in the original post.