Looking for aniti-martial arts video...

[NightOwl]

BUT, there are planety of MA who DO know how to handle themselves properly in a fight

perhaps. But that is something you don't really know until you are actually in an altercation, which statistically is something most adults will never experience.

Yes, that is true (plus I'd imagine that weapons would usually be involved in a mugging which would make most unarmed combat training a moot point). However, would this course really prepare you either for that kind of situation? The closest thing you could get would be sparring with full contact and little rules, and even then there are constraints in place to prevent student deaths (always bad for business!). You can NEVER safely replicate what would happen 'on the street' (a term which has become a MA cliche) unless your gym is in a dimly lit parking garage and your students paractice against random people off the street who are allowed to attack with no-holds-barred. However, with the few actual fights that I have seen, the attacks are usually quite sloppy. One on one, if I was confident of a MA's training, I'd bet on the MA vs. a thug. The problem is that thugs know that there is streangth in numbers, so if you wanted to add more realism to the situation you'd have 3-6 guys (some armed with blunt objects, some with knives, some unarmed) in which case for the MA(unless they are some hardcore guy who carries around a katana) a gun is the best defense.

[elbows_and_knees]

Yes, that is true (plus I'd imagine that weapons would usually be involved in a mugging which would make most unarmed combat training a moot point). However, would this course really prepare you either for that kind of situation? The closest thing you could get would be sparring with full contact and little rules, and even then there are constraints in place to prevent student deaths (always bad for business!). You can NEVER safely replicate what would happen 'on the street' (a term which has become a MA cliche) unless your gym is in a dimly lit parking garage and your students paractice against random people off the street who are allowed to attack with no-holds-barred.

I agree with you here. I don't think these programs would teach you any better, unless they did detailed research on adrenal response and stress, are were able to incorporate this into the training, which would make it more real of a simulation on the body.

However, with the few actual fights that I have seen, the attacks are usually quite sloppy. One on one, if I was confident of a MA's training, I'd bet on the MA vs. a thug. The problem is that thugs know that there is streangth in numbers, so if you wanted to add more realism to the situation you'd have 3-6 guys (some armed with blunt objects, some with knives, some unarmed) in which case for the MA(unless they are some hardcore guy who carries around a katana) a gun is the best defense.

I used to think this way, then I started bouncing in a club. Now I think differently:

1. there is not always a weapon involved. Even in the encounters I've been in as an adult - in the street and not in the club - there were no weapons.

2. there are not always numbers of them. my street fights have been 99% 1 on 1. In the club, several of them have been multiple attackers, but it would still amount to less than half.

3. mindset is a powerful thing, and this is where stress and adrenal response start to come in. Theoretically, the MA SHOULD be better than the non trained thug, but chances are that the thug has had more fighting experience, which means enhanced adrenal control and more control of himself in the situation. His striking may not be as efficient as it could be, but his experience will keep him more level headed than the MA.

4. a gun is not always the best defense. Legally, shooting is not always the answer. From a tactical perspective, it's all relative to your speed and position. I read a study somewhere that stated if a man with a drawn knife is within 20 feet of a man with a holstered gun, the man with the knife can gut the man before he pulls his gun. Ever the cynic that I am, I tried it. I had a baton drawn and my buddy had his *unloaded* gun. I got back 30 feet, since the baton was extended. His gun was holstered. I rushed him and was able to get to him before he could have his gun drawn and trained on me.

[bushido_man96]

4. a gun is not always the best defense. Legally, shooting is not always the answer. From a tactical perspective, it's all relative to your speed and position. I read a study somewhere that stated if a man with a drawn knife is within 20 feet of a man with a holstered gun, the man with the knife can gut the man before he pulls his gun. Ever the cynic that I am, I tried it. I had a baton drawn and my buddy had his *unloaded* gun. I got back 30 feet, since the baton was extended. His gun was holstered. I rushed him and was able to get to him before he could have his gun drawn and trained on me.

I have heard of this test, also, and it is quite valid. There aren't a lot of quick draw holsters out there any more, and definitely not LEO issued. The holsters that LEOs use are made to keep others from grabbing their gun in a scuffle, or from behind. However, it does make the draw slower.

Even against a quick draw, the knifer may still have the advantage. If it were me with the knife, I'd rather the gunman was shooting from the hip than getting a chance to draw and aim.

[NightOwl]

3. mindset is a powerful thing, and this is where stress and adrenal response start to come in. Theoretically, the MA SHOULD be better than the non trained thug, but chances are that the thug has had more fighting experience, which means enhanced adrenal control and more control of himself in the situation. His striking may not be as efficient as it could be, but his experience will keep him more level headed than the MA.

So the mind is the greatest weapon...I'd better start working on those grades a bit more . Though I suppose you still gotta factor in MA training into that mindset unless you plan on usuing a dictionary as a blunt weapon....

[bushido_man96]

3. mindset is a powerful thing, and this is where stress and adrenal response start to come in. Theoretically, the MA SHOULD be better than the non trained thug, but chances are that the thug has had more fighting experience, which means enhanced adrenal control and more control of himself in the situation. His striking may not be as efficient as it could be, but his experience will keep him more level headed than the MA.

So the mind is the greatest weapon...I'd better start working on those grades a bit more . Though I suppose you still gotta factor in MA training into that mindset unless you plan on usuing a dictionary as a blunt weapon....

Although I agree that the mind is very valuable, experience is also valuable, too.