Proud to get into fights

[AngelaG]

Having read these forums for a bit I am quite surprised at the number of people bragging about the street fights they have been in, and who they have beaten up using their Martial Arts. When I started karate it was impressed on us that it was only ever to be used as a self defence and a last resort. If I was overheard in the dojo bragging about what fights I had been in and what I had done to the other person I would no longer be training. I know for a fact that my Sensei would have booted me out. Similarly, if I had been attacked and had needed to use my karate in self-defence I would be vindicated, but if I was then telling everyone about it in gory detail afterwards and seemed proud of beating someone else up I would be in big trouble.

 

The whole point of karate is to teach humility and to build up a better character. The first rule of self-defence is to try and avoid situations that may turn nasty. If you know a pub that has a reputation for having weekly fights and yet you are still going there then maybe you need to question your motives. If you are walking through dangerously lit, bad areas late at night then you are asking for trouble.

 

It seems to me that martial artists can sometimes become a danger as they start to become curious as to whether their skills will actually be effective in a street fight situation, and deliberately wind up situations that could have been talked down. To then go onto public forums and boast about how many people you beat up, and what injuries you left them with seems to go against everything a martial artist should stand for.

 

It saddens me when people talk about their martial arts that some people judge an art purely on how effective it would be in a real life fight. Surely there are many more facets to every art to make it meaningful and enjoyable? Just because something does not instantly apply to a street fight does not make it meaningless. There are many more things to life than being able to physically abuse someone. What about it being fun? What about the social aspect? What about aiding fitness? What about the increased confidence? What about somewhere to relax after a stressful day at work? What about getting together with a group of like minded people and training for the sheer pleasure of training. What about teaching your body new skills that once seemed imposssible? The list goes on....

 

Violence should only ever be the last resort.

[tommarker]

I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die.

 

[Northren Ogre]

Good ol' Reno...

[ncole_91]

Well said AngelaG

[HumanTyphoon]

Of course it's good not to talk about fighting, nonetheless brag about it. Though, some of us just try to tell of experience, instead of intetionally bragging. I do believe it is wrong to do such things, especially using MA skills to hurt someone. Anyway, just don't think that bad things still go on, just because some of us are still young and naive, doesn't mean we all are. There still is room for learning about martial arts in a non-violent way.

[Shane]

I see a little of that here, but mostly I see people discussing their experiences, and thats different from braging. Of course there will always be those who wish to go test their skills and use them for negative things. There always has been those types and always will be. I have heard stories of Jujitsu artists who would test their skills in bars and on sometimes innocent civilians when there was not much demand for them or there skills on the battle fields of Japan.

[ramymensa]

It is indeed a problem. The thing is like Murphy said .. when all you have is a hammer, everything turns into nails. Maybe that happens too with the MA people. We land techniques all day, learn how to hit, break, maim and maybe sometime some people feel the urge too see it in "real action". Media today is not helping us maintain a "decent" level as "heroes" are many times depicted like sadistic and terminator like human types. Youngsters are thrilled with this image and unfortunatelly it's difficult to set them another role model, as this is "cool".

 

I've seen many people take from MA only the brutal side. The truth is we, humans, are blood thirsty animals and philosophy and mental stuff are not for all "mortals".

 

I'm quite fed up with this tendency of showing off and bragging about how someone maimed another people instead of trying to avoid the conflict and use the minimal force possible. I've avoided conflicts everytime and I think a fight would only destroy my "inner peace". It would show me we are brutal and have lost all our beauty as spirits not just bodies.

 

I love MA because I can test my skills in a careful, respectful manner, I can play with danger and still see the beauty of it. It's a moral experience as well as physichal.

 

Sorry for the rant ... hope I wasn't quite off the line

[manuelito]

i understand your point angelag. sometimes ma practioners may come to a point where they want to know if what they are doing would work. and i stress the word "may". i have only been in ma for about 15 years and i am glad that i have never actually have used in a physical sense what i have learned. i have managed to talk my way out of a few situations and that to me is what ma is all about.

[Little Dragon]

Violence should only ever be the last resort.

it always is for me...its just..i say verbal things a lot to get the guys i get into fights with angry,so basically they're attacking me and im using self defense..(?)

[iolair]

The whole point of karate is to teach humility and to build up a better character.

It may be true that you and your club believe this ... but, sadly, it would be naïve to assume that this was every karateka's point of view.