TKD effectiveness

[Slydermv]

Along with being a good practitioner, alot of this self defence stuff comes with common sence. I train mainly for health, and the sport aspect of TKD, but I also understand that in a self defence situation, some of my training could be effecive. I can kick pretty hard and am alot quicker on my feet then I used to be. I also understand that one kick or punch is not gonna knock someone out a majority of the time... and that fact that real fights are very agressive and very violent, and since I've never be in one, that is a huge strike against me.

It is more of the way you train, rather then the style you train in. This is why boxers, wrestlers, and other similar arts are so strong. It is not a superiour art, but a superiour way of training. They always are taking shots, and know how to keep up a defence if getting pounded on.

I think if you want to learn to fight, you have to get hit. period.

Even in point sparring. If you don't know what a shot to the head feels like, when you first recieve one you're going to be in big trouble.

[TKDave]

I find TKD to be very effective if you train right. If you want to be in PRIDE of the UFC, you had better get some ground game to add, but on the street it has worked for me.. I took it all through high school and was a small kid, not one to pick fights.. I was also a "punk rocker" in high school at a country school.. so I had to defend myself a couple times.. the first I was a green belt, and a cowboy fella decided to pick on me and was pushing me in the face.. i threw a reverse punch and was shocked to see him hit the floor..

The second time was when I was a brown belt, later in high school. 2 guys had been picking on me for weeks. My parents talked to our principle... they said they could do nothing...finally, one got me cornered in a bathroom and was going to give me, a 5'4 guy 110lbs, a swirly.. so I had to defend myself, and ended up breaking his nose... just knowing to get in a good stance helped... my timing made me feel like I was Rocky beating up MR.T or something..

I am not saying you should fight, but if you have to it works. I am 23 and have not been in a fight since high school, but we often spar in the military and I am always the one teaching after I easily beat other military guys...

So yes, it works.. if you train hard, and train right!

[ranger1100ky]

As with any style there are other elements that make up our training that are native to and that have been "borrowed" from other systems and that can be used effectively as self-defense...we share a common history of sorts. For example, a side kick is a side kick and a punch is a punch. I agree with the sentiment that it is not about the art itself but about the artist. In addition, not all martial artists train for self-defense either, some train strictly for the -do...and this is not unique to any one style.

I couldn't agree more.

Training in martial arts... and training in SELF DEFENSE are TWO DIFFERENT SUBJECTS.

Sure... they're kissing cousins to each other... BUT... you're not throwing side kicks tournament style for the head, in a street fight...(unless having your head bounced on the pavement like a basketball is what you call 'fun')

Best advice I've ever gotten in self defense is this...

KEEP IT SIMPLE!

They attack... you bust their knee out, whale em in the head, and RUN. (don't 'play' with em... don't try to 'win a fight with em'... just TAKE EM DOWN and SKEDADDLE!)

Other best advice I got...

"If you get into a place where you have to 'fight' to defend yourself... YOU ALREADY MESSED UP... learn how to AVOID those situations first... get to be a MASTER at avoidance... THEN... if all fails and you're in trouble... WIN... and win NOW."

TKD is just as effective as anything... IF you ADJUST it to the circumstance.

My favorite technique in a 'street fight' is to plant the toe of my cowboy boot as hard as I can right into my opponent's shin. It's a surefire bet... they're gonna feel it in spades... AND it gives me a leg up, when it comes time for me to do the SMART thing and to RUN.

The ones who get whupped in a street fight, are almost always the ones who try to emulate their favorite action hero in an emergency... they fight their opponent with attempted flash... and they get STOMPED in no time flat.

And it happens to black belts JUST as, if not FASTER than a 'no-belt'.

<>> I'm living proof of that folks... --LOL--

I took a good whuppin because I disobeyed the rules of

Avoidance

SIMPLICITY

END IT 'NOW'

Needless to say... I don't intend to make those errors again. I'm too too too old, to spend two weeks healing from getting stomped like a grape.

Longest street fight you should ever see... is LESS than 20 seconds... WAY LESS than 20 seconds at that... it should be a big ole... "BAM!!!! (insert martial artist sprinting like a running back to get out of Dodge HERE)"

If it doesn't happen like THAT...

The cops and paramedics will have some cleaning up to do... and it may involve a chalk outline, if the martial artist in defense, fails to prevail.

Avoid... if caught, keep it simple... Hit and RUN... that's BASIC self defense in a nutshell. (and I recommend more training to BACK that basic up... )

Take care,

Paul

[Sam]

Also - legally it should be quick cos as soon as they stop attacking you you're no long defending yourself, your legally the aggressor.... [on a side note ]

[Sabumnim]

The martial art doesn't make the man, the man makes the art:

Only the person can make the art useful on the street, if you understand what you are taught then you should be able to apply it. That doesn't mean learning a martial art will make you unbeatable, especially the TSD guy who said his mate got floored by a drunk.

A martial art cannot express itself, it can't show itself in its purest form. It is up to the people who use it, to represent it.

The truth is you have to choose a style that is effective for you, Tae-Kwon Do has served me very well in the various scrapes I have landed in but I'm naturally flexible and have good leg strength.

It all depends on the person.

[ravenzoom]

Sabumnim wrote:

The martial art doesn't make the man, the man makes the art

I agree with this but up to a certain point, you have to respect the differences in arts. Lets face it, some arts are more street effective than others.

[Sam]

yes as always - and as a TKD practitioner - i would agree : some arts are just more adapted to real defense of yourself... I personally would not want to mess about with the jui jitsu practitioner of equal skill to mine in TKD... [just to name one art - not trying to suggest JJ is the be all and end all of self defense just hte first that came to mind]

[FETKD]

TKD is effective if applied correctly, (and I know this has been said before)

you wouldn't throw a high round kick to the face on the street, but a low side kick to the knee would work, we all know a side kick don't we?

and once again it all goes back to the training, at my school we even do some grappling excersises and that's not normally a charateristic of TKD.

[Sam]

you also wouldnt try 540 reverse turning kicks.

And ill say what i seem to say alot - its not necessarily what you learn but what it teaches you......

I.e. if i can kick a moving target at head height with full power, then im easily going to be able to hit a moving target at chest height....

If i can stay airborne long enough to do a 720 back kick, i can probably vault a fence...

You learn to do a technique itself or do it in a certain way, and otehr than just being able to do it, you also gain in other ways..... fleixiblity, power, accuracy, balance.....

Im assuming most TKDers know that a bending stance would be awful for Self Defense, but for balance its good practice.... same iwth a lot of things.....

So long as when you train in TKD [and im talking about WTF / ITF] you remeber that some techniques are just rediculous for self defense, you'lll be fine - try and work out what the technique teaches you.

With some WTF styles though i would recommend doing something about learning more hand defense and techniques, but thats a personal oppinion and doesnt relate to all WTF styles.

[Aodhan]

Well put Sam.

We have a student in our school, purple belt, who has some wushu background. He is amazing with aerial techniques, can do the 540's, 720's, side spins, yada yada.

I watched him spar in a tournament, where he lost because he kept trying to do his fancy spins. The other sparrers would see this, step back and then step in and punch an instant before his technique would land, and he couldn't understand how the judges couldn't see his points.

He also refused my offer to work with him (Including the video tape I made of his match). I figure about 5 or 6 more tourneys of him getting his butt handed to him and he'll come around.

So I agree, it is the man more than the art.

Aodhan