Showing off

[username8697]

I used to show off way too much when I was a teenager it is probably a normal thing to do when you are young and/or insecure however I find it also extremely stupid for the following reasons:

1) You never know who is watching and if do have to use your stuff it is better the other people not know your capabilities the element of surprise is often essential.

2) Every dog finds his master and eventually someone will want to one up you or worse yet challenge you, the outcome may not be to your liking.

3) I find that wanting to show off eventually leads to focusing on “spectacular” techniques this is often detrimental to efficient techniques.

4) The deadliest people I have ever met have rarely been show offs for example most military special forces of any country sas,navy seals,gign etc. psychologically screen out potential show offs, loud mouth brawlers ever wonder why?

Today only some my closest friends know I train and unless they are also martial artists they have probably never seen me do anything that would indicate what I can/cannot do.

As my sensei would say if you truly are something there is no need to tell people they will tell you…

This being said I have to be honest I still show off all the time … in my living room for my three year old.

[patusai]

Years ago I put a ball up on a box that stood over my head and went to jump and crest kick it off the box. The ball went off fine but my foot stopped over the outer edge of the box. Needless to say I landed and bruized by ego.

[karatekid1975]

When I was in TSD, this kid at work (well about 20 years old) found out I did MA. He came at me with a box knife. I evaded the stike, grabbed his knife hand and side kicked him in the ribs. I didn't hurt him, but it was enough to tell him "that wasn't cool, dude."

Another case of showing off was in class. It was when I had just moved to NY a month or so before. I had already gotten my yellow belt in TKD (my instructor was advancing me fast to where I was in TSD). I knew I wasn't a beginner. And my technique was better than most in that class (it kinda went to my head). Well, I decided to do flying side kicks to the heavy bag in open class (we used to do this in class in TSD). Then a couple others wanted to try it. So I showed them. They kept doing it low, so I kept going higher (showing off). Then I went to do it again, and my foot hit the bag, but my knee went the wrong direction. I fell on my butt, and I was out for two weeks.

Another wasn't my fault (well may be). We were doing breaking in class (it was breaking week or something). I did my breaks pretty good (I was a yellow belt green stripe by then). Then one of the black belts said "Try this one." He gets up on a chair and holds the board above his head. "Do jump axe kick." I almost didn't do it. But he said "You were in another MA. You can do it." By this time people were watching. So I did it. Big mistake. I jumped, did the axe kick, heard a "rip", landed and balled up on the floor. I ripped my hammy really bad. It took 5 months to heal. I did break the board though.

I haven't done any showing off since. Now I can't do those things anymore because of injuries (I hurt my other knee at work and hip after that). That's what I get for showing off.

[Havoc88]

Thats to bad Karatekid! Still injured Hope you recover soon.

Tom

[username8517]

I'm actually guilty of showing off yesterday.

In the office we have a female who works in the same department as me (let me prefece this by stating that we are friends outside of the office as well). She's not really a tomboy per se, but she's grown up surrounded by boys so she sometimes acts like one.

We give each other a hard time on a dialy basis and when I usually cross the line, she hauls off and hits me in the arm. Not hard, but enough to make her point. I usually just take it because as I said, she doesn't hit hard and she's a friend.

Well yesterday I was just in some kind of mood. I don't know exactly what it was, but apparently she was too and we were just picking on each other ruthlessly all day. As we headed for lunch I made some comment (in all honesty I don't even remember what it was) and the next thing I know I hear her call me a jerk and cocked her hand back.

Well as the punch came in, rather than taking it, I deflected it to the side and gave her a quick and light one-two tap on each side of her face with my fingers (my hands were open naturally) and then quickly darted around behind her to take better positioning.

Her response, "Hey, don't mess with the hair!"

[karatekid1975]

Thats to bad Karatekid! Still injured Hope you recover soon.

Tom

No I'm not injured now. That was 5 years ago. Eventhough I still have problems with my left knee and hip now and then (I injured those at work a year or so ago, not from showing off). But thanks I recovered from all the injuries pretty good. I calmed down a lot since then (I got older too LOL).

[lordtariel]

I remember my sensei telling us stories of how when they were young black belts, some of the people he knew would take turns knocking paper cups or apples out of people's mouths with 'chucks. Said they were lucky they didn't seriously injure someone.(and that it was long before people got sue happy)

[NightOwl]

Her response, "Hey, don't mess with the hair!"

Long ago I learned that that was the path to destruction that no MA can bail you out of!

[SBN Doug]

Someone at a party or at a bar hears your into MA, and then you get the challenge match. I don't want that.

Oh brother is that ever a fact!

I metioned it in another post I just made, so it may be redundant. Usually is someone asks me to show them some MA stuff, I say "Okay" and walk away smiling over my shoulder. They usually laugh, get the message, ad don't ask again.

Now when I was a few years younger, I was at a pool hall with a bunch of co-workers, and one was a Vietnamese guy whos dad was a high level Master in a Viet MA. He hadn't trained is a few years, but got drunk and when I tried to calm him down about some readnecks in the bar he got ticked at me and started boasting how he could kick me 10 times before I got him once. I slid my foot across and just bumped his shin, then said "you loose". He fell on the floor laughing and we all left and sobered up.

[nystangkid]

I'm not good enough to show off yet.