Tempest

I'm genuinely interested. How do you kick someone in the head while they are choking you? Very carefully.

I do know they're very restrictive with firearms in the UK but knives too? Will you get in trouble for carrying a knife? Even if you don't carry a knife I would think you can keep knives in your house so a knife might be a good weapon for home defense in the UK. Now depending on where you are in the UK, in Scotland I believe they play lots of golf so carrying around a golf club might not be out of the ordinary. A golf club can obviously be used for stick fighting. I think the law is pretty fair in the UK. It's all about intent. Folding blades under 3 inches are fine i.e.pocket knife but for anything else you better have a good reason to be carrying it. Anything you carry with the intent of using it as a weapon could land you in trouble. Even if it was for self defense. The UK Police are pretty clear about this https://www.police.uk/crime-prevention-advice/possession-of-weapons/ "If you are caught illegally carrying a knife or a gun, even an imitation one you will be arrested and prosecuted. It is no excuse to say it was for your own protection or you were carrying it for someone else. Remember - the law is clear - if you choose to carry a weapon, you put your future in danger. If you don't take it with you, it won't be used." Interestingly kubotan are also specifically mentioned in the Offensive Weapons Act so you couldn't even have one of those in your key chain for defense. As to the original question, I would say you wouldn't go far wrong with something like Arnis or Eskrima. Seems applicable to the types of improvised weapons you may be able to obtain. And see, to me this law is anything BUT fair. Self defense is a fundamental human right and the state choosing to say that it is not a sufficient reason to carry an object with you is essentially endorsing the idea that it is more important to do as your told by the state than to adequately prepare for potential violence. Which I suppose is fine if there is no violent crime in the U.K. I don't really know the stats... but this doesn't look good. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/04/04/suspected-burglar-dies-tussle-pensioner-78/ The fact that they arrested him at all is a bad look for U.K. law and law enforcement. I think it's different cultures. On the whole violent crime is lower in the UK compared to the US. Just look at the stats: http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/United-Kingdom/United-States/Crime According to the figures per million people, you are 4 times more likely to be murdered in the US compared to the UK. I think we just have a different attitude to self defense and violent crime, I mean it's very unusual for our police officers to be armed and is actually pretty shocking to most of us when we do see armed officers. As to that story about the pensioner.. I don't know the specifics but I would imagine there is more to the story than is in the news. You are allowed to use "reasonable force" to defend yourself so the arresting officers must believe he has gone beyond that. Not to scream "Fake News" but the BBC's Reality Check fact checker has some interesting statistics on this. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43628494 Yes London had higher murder rates for February and March this year vs New York but actually not that much higher (e.g. 22 vs 21 in March). In January the figures were very much the opposite with the NYPD investigating 18 murders, compared to 8 in London. All in all New York is slightly worse taking into account the whole of 2018 so far. Looking at the whole year, homicide rates for 2017 in London were significantly lower taking the full 12 months into account, you were 3x more likely to be murdered in New York in 2017. (1.2 per in 100 000 London and 3.4 in New York). And I can accept that it is different cultures. But oddly enough, the parts of the US where you are most likely to get murdered, on average, are those with the strictest weapon control laws. Like you said, different cultures. Where I live is MUCH safer than either London or New York. And some of the cities I travel to are safer still. But they are all places where people tend to be heavily armed. However, the caveat is that they are places where responsible ownership and use of arms is a cultural norm, and criminal behavior and known criminal subcultures are ostracized as a rule. Make of that what you will.

I do know they're very restrictive with firearms in the UK but knives too? Will you get in trouble for carrying a knife? Even if you don't carry a knife I would think you can keep knives in your house so a knife might be a good weapon for home defense in the UK. Now depending on where you are in the UK, in Scotland I believe they play lots of golf so carrying around a golf club might not be out of the ordinary. A golf club can obviously be used for stick fighting. I think the law is pretty fair in the UK. It's all about intent. Folding blades under 3 inches are fine i.e.pocket knife but for anything else you better have a good reason to be carrying it. Anything you carry with the intent of using it as a weapon could land you in trouble. Even if it was for self defense. The UK Police are pretty clear about this https://www.police.uk/crime-prevention-advice/possession-of-weapons/ "If you are caught illegally carrying a knife or a gun, even an imitation one you will be arrested and prosecuted. It is no excuse to say it was for your own protection or you were carrying it for someone else. Remember - the law is clear - if you choose to carry a weapon, you put your future in danger. If you don't take it with you, it won't be used." Interestingly kubotan are also specifically mentioned in the Offensive Weapons Act so you couldn't even have one of those in your key chain for defense. As to the original question, I would say you wouldn't go far wrong with something like Arnis or Eskrima. Seems applicable to the types of improvised weapons you may be able to obtain. And see, to me this law is anything BUT fair. Self defense is a fundamental human right and the state choosing to say that it is not a sufficient reason to carry an object with you is essentially endorsing the idea that it is more important to do as your told by the state than to adequately prepare for potential violence. Which I suppose is fine if there is no violent crime in the U.K. I don't really know the stats... but this doesn't look good. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/04/04/suspected-burglar-dies-tussle-pensioner-78/ The fact that they arrested him at all is a bad look for U.K. law and law enforcement.

25 years and people still don't get it. I took a look at those rules, and while they could be cool for an alternative to karate point fighting, that's about it. Viewing it as an alternative to MMA would require them to not eliminate grappling from the program. And you can say "but you are allowed to throw with an immediate follow up" all you want, but when you have rules statements like this: However, the match is reset if both combatants go to the mat, which is intended to keep the action focused on striking. You are not going to convince me that this is somehow going to compete with MMA. That said, for people doing Karate that want a more realistic competition arena than point-fighting kumite, this would be awesome.

I would, given the depth of LLLEARNER's response, pay close attention to what they have to say on this matter. Here speaks the voice of experience and professionalism. I have done security and custody work before, and currently train a number of law enforcement and security professionals, but I have never worked in the hospital environment. However I AM familiar with use of force laws throughout the US and several other jurisdictions. With regard to your point about the legalities of what you are doing, you should become as familiar as possible with laws in your area regarding these things as well as the hospital policies. Do not rely on second or third hand information for this. Look them up yourself, written in your states code. Now, once you have done this, if you have questions, I can help clarify things or point you to lawyers that can clarify things further. But if use of force is a potential outcome of your profession, there is no excuse for not having at least read through the relevant statutes on self-defense/justified use of force for your city and state.

Ok... So there are a few things to consider here. 1. You may be faced with some difficult choices in the use of force continuum as part of your professional life. That does not mean that you should stop training. It means you will have to be careful about when the use of force is appropriate and when it is not. 2. There is nothing in the Hippocratic oath that forbids striking techniques that would not also preclude most any effective fighting system. 3. That said, pursuant to wanting to do the least harm possible in resolving a possible violent confrontation, in my opinion Judo and BJJ give you the most tools for addressing that particular problem.

....and you just broke it! Have you SEEN the number of times I have been admonished for not following rules around here? Besides, the point of that rule is to break it.

You guys... Clearly it's because he remembers the first rule of fight club...

Very true. But not for the reasons people think. A better saying might be: "The will to win is useless without the will to prepare." How often have you skipped a practice or only did very little at practice because... any reason that wasn't an actual physical injury? All of those add up. And the people who can make themselves continue to put in the effort day-in and day-out, for whatever reason, are the ones that, as they say, git gud. They are also the ones that have the discipline to stick to a diet and make weight for competition. It all adds up. It's not any one thing. But the combination of psychological factors that effect your preparation for fighting that add up to that 90% mark.

http://mattthornton.org/why-aliveness/ and http://mattthornton.org/its-aliveness-still/ There. There is your answer. You know it works because you HAVE used it, or you don't know it works. If you cannot or have have never been able to execute what you are claiming to be able to do against an intelligently resisting opponent in an adrenaline-fueled state then you DON't know if it works or not.

Do they have a "Contact Us" button? Yes but should I have to ask? Wouldn't it make sense to state whether its greco Roman or freestyle? Or do most clubs train both? Most clubs teaching adults in the US train freestyle with SOME Greco thrown in for those that want to do it. Typically students go in with the idea of eventually competing in MMA, and then learn about UWW competitions.

The toughest? Depends on what you mean by that. A hard freestyle wrestling or Judo program will be the most physically demanding and have the highest rates of injury. If your goal is to become a competent grappler though, I recommend starting BJJ. Particularly at a school with a strong and verified lineage. We can help with that if you have a place in mind. BJJ has a REALLY good teaching pedagogy and an underlying fight theory that allows for easier free transfer of skills to other grappling or fighting disciplines. Once you have a solid grasp of the fundamentals, I would recommend supplementing it with a good wrestling or Judo program.

Well, the title of the videos says black belts. And I have seen Rener do the same thing to guys that win world titles. Here is him beating Jason Miller back in '03 at a competition. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZkcFdTWaaY

The basics are simple? Then why do so many of my white belts do them wrong for months at a time? Seriously though, the main problem is that most people do at least SOME of the fundamental movements of the art poorly, even after they are no longer white belts. This tends to lead to the idea that they need to add some degree of complication to compensate for not doing the fundamentals well. For an example of someone who does the fundamentals REALLY well, take a look at this video of Rener rolling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKVsqjE2lCs&t=12s Realize that 90% of what he is doing is on their white-blue belt curriculum. He just does it so well, that none of them can stop him.

I thought the ride was over once they were against the vikings. I thought the ride was over vs. the Falcons. The Eagles clearly have something going besides just Wentz. The Patriots had better bring their A game.

Why are they the basics? Easy enough. They are the most powerful moves you can make from those positions. They make the best use of your muscles in the most efficient manner to overcome your opponents superior leverage.

No. Just no. See, when you post things like this you help justify abusive content, specifically directed AT you.

Forgive my ignorance and not to keep this conversation going but I have a question concerning "grading given at the individual instructor level". So if a purple belt is teaching per the Gracie Garage rules. How do they promote their students if they do not have access to senior grades? In my art only a Sandan can promote students directly, although in the 60's and 70's it wasn't uncommon for a brown belt or Shodan to promote their Mudansha students. I guess what I'm asking is, I assume that a blue belt to brown belt would have to have a black belt of some level promote their students. If there is not a black belt in the area how would their students be promoted if they are cut off from the organization? No need to ask for forgiveness. There is no reason to assume you would know this as it is not talked about much outside of grappling circles The tradition in most grappling arts is that you can promote people to the rank below you. In Judo this assumes you are at least a Sankyu, which is an average blue belt equivalent rank. So Blue belts, in BJJ at least, cannot promote, but a purple or brown belt could easily. And keeping in mind, that if at all possible, even if they are running their own school, a blue/purple/brown belt should still be continuing their own studies toward black belt. It just means that once they are promoted they will have an advantage on the teaching requirements for things like professors bars. So they should have someone they can go to or bring in to do promotions for them. For example, my professor is part of Renato Tavares's association. Now, he is a black belt professor, so he can promote me just fine for a while, BUT if he needs more rank to do a promotion, he rings up master Renato on the phone, and we set something up.

https://www.karateforums.com/tips-for-the-bag-vt51265.html Here is the link I promised.

Ok. I have been kinda staying off of this one because I really wanted the people with more "official" boxing experience to chime in... But, here I go anyway: Look, there are several things that I can tell right away from someone's heavy bag technique that would ABSOLUTELY give me pause about sending them in with more advanced guys. 1. If your punches look sloppy on the bag, and the bag is not moving right, it means you lack the form and structure to generate enough power to stop a bigger, more advanced fighter. They may just walk through your punches and hit you till you fall down. 2. If the bag still moves, even with sloppy punches, it means you are making up for poor form with muscle. This means you will more likely injure yourself and others. If I am thinking about putting you in with one of my guys training for a fight, this is a no go. 3. If YOU aren't moving around the bag, then that means your footwork and distance management are not where they need to be yet. Now, earlier on here I posted some tips on how to work the bag to fix a lot of these issues. I will see if I can link to it in a moment. Additionally, the heavy bag SHOULD get some work during class, BUT it is also your primary solo drill tool. Spend at LEAST as much time on it as you do your shadow boxing.

Well the announcement is given by a governing body that only has any real authority over schools in the state of Rio De Janeiro Brazil. Jiu-Jitsu Federation of Rio de Janeiro headed by Carlos Robson Gracie made the announcement. This is important because this organization is one of, if not the oldest, governing body in BJJ. BUT like with other martial arts, as a governing body they only have as much authority as they are allowed. So far as I can tell, there is nothing they can do to a school OUTSIDE the state of Rio in Brazil. And keep in mind this is a rule that they have HAD for a while. It has not stopped anyone in the US, including the Gracie academy, from doing their own thing. People are acting like this is an announcement of a rule change, but so far as I can tell, there has been no reported change, just a reminder that in Rio, a black belt is necessary to be teaching at your own academy. That said, if you don't like the rule, don't follow it. Jiu-jitsu has a LONG tradition of either ignoring or changing rules we don't like. It just means you can't be part of their club any more. So what? Rank in jiu-jitsu is given normally at the individual instructor level anyway. It's not like validation of rank by a governing body is really important anyway. The ultimate validation of rank is your skill on the mat. I can typically tell right away when I get ahold of someone, what rank I have just grabbed. Even in no gi where there are no belts.

It is. I know it is long. But it really is pretty good and quite relevant to the other discussion. Plus, you get to see a Phd make Joe Rogan shut up for a bit. So, realistically, when I am rolling, I look for positions that make me more comfortable and my opponent more uncomfortable. And to be more, faithful, to what professor Danaher said, his suggestion is to isolate the positions of control from the actual attack and to focus on establishing a position of control regardless of your relative body positions, then attack. He uses the example of Gordan Ryan destroying Cyborg as an illustration of this principle with regards to his leg-lock system.

To be fair, this is our area of expertise. I don't go in to the Karate forums and start blathering on like I know the difference between Bassai-Dai and Bassai-sho, cause I don't. I expect that many of the practitioners here extend us the same courtesy. Though I am wondering where Tallgeese is. That fella is pretty experienced on the ground his own self.

Depends on if my opponent stands in my guard or stays low. If they stay low, I like knee shield, but if they stand I tend to work towards De Le Riva. Personally, I always work towards the sweep and if the sub presents itself I take it. I am pretty basic from half guard. I want the leg side underhook and out of there. I typically only do butterfly to throw people off or to set up my Del la Riva, so not much from that. I don't think one is superior, I tend to be of the opinion you have to play with all of them SOME to see what works with your game. Since I tend to play a very position heavy game, without many leg-locks, I don't tend to work the fancier guards very much. Though they are obviously effective for those that use them. Now as to what you SHOULD be doing? Please see the interview with John Danaher that I posted to our other discussion regarding this. I think we should be fighting for control.

To quote one of my favorite people, the great thing about science is that it works whether you believe in it or not. The fundamental techniques of Judo/Jiu-jitsu work, whether we agree on them or not. For example: There are 2 basic ways to escape mount. Either elbow escape to guard or trap and roll. That is because of the structure of the position and the realities of fighting from that position. Now, we may disagree on which one is better, what you should do in specific circumstances, how you should counter certain attempts to stop the escape... etc. etc. BUT, the structure of the position really only leaves 2 ways out that are consistent across body types, physiques, and size disparities in both directions. Even the "Diving for a leg lock" options are just variations on those 2 escapes that let you catch the leg on the way.