The True Martial Artist

[jaymac]

Very nice.

Eventually, anyone with knowledge of the Martial Arts, who continually puts himself/herself in a situation where strikes occur instead of restraints, will find themself in a bad situation legally. I had a police officer and a lawyer friend tell me not too recently that being a MA and a bouncer are sometimes bad combinations. If a true fight occurs and someone is injured by the MA during that fight, the injured person can press charges and the MA can go to jail. They said most of the time this does not happen because the person was drunk and feels stupid for getting into the brawl in the first place, but all it takes is that one time.

[MisterRadley]

I agree with Shui Tora.

[Jiffy]

There is a big difference between smacking up a woman and restraining them.... or any person for that matter. You can still maintain all the values of a Martial Artist and be an effective bouncer at the same time.... I've done it. In fact, by keeping your traditional Martial Arts values, you will actually improve your ability as a bouncer, remembering that you are a professional in the business of control, not domination.

Is that like in the movie Road House when Patrcik Swayze says its a job its nothing personal

Exactly like that. I loved that movie when I was bouncing!!

It's so true though. It's nothing personal.

[Jiffy]

That is an interesting example. I think that for the most part, being in a situation as a corrections officer or security officer is one of the most difficult things to do, because you are disadvantaged from the very beginning as to what you can and cannot do. In my job, I cannot strike anyone, even if they are being combative. We have to try to restrain people who are activley fighting us, and that is why the playing field is not level. If someone swings at me, and I block and counter out of reaction, I will most likely have a suit brought against me for striking the detainee. Is that fair?? Not in my view. However, that is the way it is, so we have to work with what we can, restraint and control. Of course, we do get some fun toys to play with, too, like Pepper Spray and Tasers. I have yet to pull those out, though.

I don't know about how it goes with elbow's job, but restraint I am sure is still a big part of it. The problem I have with maintaining my martial values in those situations is that I don't think they served me well if I get my face kicked in.

The beauty of restrainting someone is that by applying a good technique and putting them into the ground (notice I said "into", not "on" ) is that you can inflict just as much pain with a non compliant attacker as you could with strikes, sometimes more. Not that I enjoy hurting people, however, I sympathize with law enforcement personnel and their ability to counter a combative suspect and what the law will allow them to do.

So true. There always was and always will be little tricks you can use to help the situation. Things like a quick knee into the thigh or grinding knuckles into ribs on the way through when executing a lock always help and for the most part, remain hidden. It's amazing how when you look through incident reports at places I've worked just how many people "tripped over" or "fell into the wall".

[bushido_man96]

That is an interesting example. I think that for the most part, being in a situation as a corrections officer or security officer is one of the most difficult things to do, because you are disadvantaged from the very beginning as to what you can and cannot do. In my job, I cannot strike anyone, even if they are being combative. We have to try to restrain people who are activley fighting us, and that is why the playing field is not level. If someone swings at me, and I block and counter out of reaction, I will most likely have a suit brought against me for striking the detainee. Is that fair?? Not in my view. However, that is the way it is, so we have to work with what we can, restraint and control. Of course, we do get some fun toys to play with, too, like Pepper Spray and Tasers. I have yet to pull those out, though.

I don't know about how it goes with elbow's job, but restraint I am sure is still a big part of it. The problem I have with maintaining my martial values in those situations is that I don't think they served me well if I get my face kicked in.

The beauty of restrainting someone is that by applying a good technique and putting them into the ground (notice I said "into", not "on" ) is that you can inflict just as much pain with a non compliant attacker as you could with strikes, sometimes more. Not that I enjoy hurting people, however, I sympathize with law enforcement personnel and their ability to counter a combative suspect and what the law will allow them to do.

So true. There always was and always will be little tricks you can use to help the situation. Things like a quick knee into the thigh or grinding knuckles into ribs on the way through when executing a lock always help and for the most part, remain hidden. It's amazing how when you look through incident reports at places I've worked just how many people "tripped over" or "fell into the wall".

Good stuff! I am going to keep all that stuff in mind.