The best streetfight

[Northren Ogre]

Oh no...I missed the essence of Budo. I must now go bury my head in shame .

[ovine king]

budo?

 

are you serious?

 

if some drunken guy in a bar decides that i am wearing a blue t-shirt that looks like it might be a french football team t-shirt and england just lost to them so i'm going to have my face smashed in, do i have to follow budo?

 

is budo relevant if i am not studying a japanese art?

 

i like the way how people are so quick to jump to the conclusion that if you've ever been in a fight, it must've been your fault and so you must be a bad martial artist because you had to fight.

 

does it make him less of a MA?

 

no it makes him more because he has actually applied his skills and has real experience.

 

does it make him less serious?

 

no, it makes him more serious because he has faith in what he does and is willing to and is capable of applying what he practices.

 

the responsiblity of martial arts is knowing when you have to strike.

 

when you do strike, you do it with conviction.

 

as the little green man says, do or do not.

 

the best street fight is the one you survive.

[Northren Ogre]

Hear hear brother

[ovine king]

like i was trying to say in another thread, people are so quick to jump to the usual conclusions upon hearing certain things.

 

why automatically say it must've been your fault cos you were in a fight?

 

most of us are sensible people here.

 

if you got into a fight, i'm not that short-sighted to not see you might not have had a choice in the matter.

[Northren Ogre]

Not only that, this is a combative section of the forum. The question was posed to hear about others situations, not to be preached at about a philosophy that not all of us study, or even joined MA's for in the first place.

[ovine king]

and heck, how do you really know if what you learnt is valid if you've never tested it fully?

 

how do you honesty know how much control you have if you've never had to truely exercise that control?

 

that's something that i am quite aware of.

 

no matter how much pressure testing i go through, no mater how often i tell my friends to come at me hard i know 100% that it doesn't really mean a thing compared to the potential threat that might occur in reality.

 

sure it might not happen and if it does, it might actually be less dangerous than what my friends do but i can't be 100% sure that what i know 'works'.

 

compared to your fight experience i have absolutely none.

 

so who's more of a martial artist?

 

the one who has actually fought or the one who hasn't?

[Snakeeel]

Budo...shmudo. Never heard of it...don't care about it. No offense but that is your art...and your philosophy...not mine. I've had to use my training on only a few occassions...not were of my choosing...but I feel no shame. That is a rediculous statement for you to make.

[vertigo]

I'd say that if you didn't start the fight, nor provoked it in any sense prior to it happening.. you shouldn't feel shameful about defending yourself (unless... you crossed the line. i.e. someone bumps into you, so you barrage them with punches and put them in the hospital)

"To win 100 victories in 100 battles is not the highest skill. To defeat the enemy without fighting is the highest skill" Gichin Funakoshi

 

Exactly.

 

The best fight is the one you avoid.

 

and: going waaaay back to the beginning of the post.. I've never been in a streetfight, and hope I have the extreme fortune to never have to use my art outside the dojo; and I wish the same upon everyone else. (don't misconstrue this.. if you need to protect yourself, your family, or for any reason need to use your art for the RIGHT reasons, I understand that need... I would do the same in that situation.)

[ovine king]

so if you've avoided it, it isn't technically not a fight and so doesn't that actually mean it isn't a valid answer?

 

or should i point out the original intent of that phrase ('defeating the enemy without fighting'), as used during times of warfare, refers to the use of spies, espionage and other 'underhand' tactics to destroy morale and otherwise cause death and mayhem in the enemy from within their own camp and hence guarantee you victory even before the fighting has actually begun......?

[vertigo]

The best fight is the one you avoid.

so if you've avoided it, it isn't technically not a fight and so doesn't that actually mean it isn't a valid answer?

 

Umm.. maybe? It's one of those phrases.. a metaphor? (not sure if that's the right word)

 

Anyway, to the rest of your post... That is a reasonable interpretation of the phrase. When you look at quotes, phrases, ideas, usually they are open to interpretation.

 

I see it meaning avoid the fight as much as possible: avoid the situation to begin with, talk your way out of the fight (only in reasonable situations), etc.. If all of that is not possible? Then fighting is what you have left. Use your training well.