Your opinion on MMA these days?

[baronbvp]

That, my friend, is a great post. I love this forum. I like hearing all sides.

[Sensei Rick]

everyone here HAS made great points, and so have I..... (pats self on back.) I think we are really in more agreement then most people would think. I love these MA debates. Since losing my sensei, I have very few people to do this with.

there are those of us that train to fight--even if we never have to.

There many options of protecting yourself, that are better than MA training. Buy a gun. You can learn how to use it way faster than learning how to fight.

As for fault... as in who's fault is it that so and so can't fight. Read the entire thread. Some people just can't fight, no matter how much training they take. It's just a FACT of life. They just don't have what it takes. My brother has never taken a MA class in his life, yet I would want him on my side IN A FIGHT before most of the black belts i know. My brother can just fight. he has it in him. He's violent and looks for trouble too. But he can fight. Sometimes training just doesn't matter. If self protection is your goal, then you may want to supplement your art with a concealed weapons class.

I have also maintained that there are two types of karate. Old man's karate, and Young man's karate. when you get burned out on one, you do the other. I hape i live a very long time. I want to experience both. I finally am seeing many sides of this art that weren't there for me before. I love that I am in better shape than most of the men My age. And I love that I have so much to share with my students. And I love...... that i had such a good class today. Take care guys..... take care of your mind first, then take care of your body. Don't beat it up to bad, you may need it for a long time.

[username8517]

everyone here HAS made great points, and so have I..... (pats self on back.) I think we are really in more agreement then most people would think. I love these MA debates. Since losing my sensei, I have very few people to do this with.

Absolutely. Good debates are always refreshing.

There many options of protecting yourself, that are better than MA training. Buy a gun. You can learn how to use it way faster than learning how to fight.

Yes, guns are a handy self-defense weapon to have, I just do not buy the whole concept of protecting myself solely with a gun (note: this is not to say that I'm against carrying a gun. Believe me, I'd have a CCW permit if I didn't think my wife would use it on me ).

The problem I see with relying on a gun is that you need to be aware of the threat at a reasonable time and pace. Carrying a concealed firearm will do you no good if you're suddenly ambushed at a close proximety such as turning a blind corner or if some bumps into and then stands chest to chest ala "I'm more macho than you" manner.

In fact, just five months ago I had a conversation with a parent about this very thing. She was signing her son up for classes because she did a different style of karate for a few months many years ago (before having to stop due to time constraints) and thought it would be good.

I asked her if she had any desire to get back into martial arts. Her reply was that she had a CCW and that was all the martial arts she needed. Now she was wearing a fairly loose outfit where the gun could have easily been concealed so I politely asked where she carried her gun. She replied she kept it in her purse. I then told her that at the distance we were at (maybe a yard apart) she would never even get a chance to grab her purse, let alone open it, produce her gun, take aim, and fire. She just stood there silent for a second. I then told her that if she wanted a demonstration of how much of a disadvantage she was at by relying solely on the gun, she could stand across the dojo floor with one of our practice knives in small of her back (to represent a gun) and I would storm across the floor (20') to see if she could draw and fire before I reached her. She declined.

As for fault... as in who's fault is it that so and so can't fight. Read the entire thread. Some people just can't fight, no matter how much training they take. It's just a FACT of life. They just don't have what it takes. My brother has never taken a MA class in his life, yet I would want him on my side IN A FIGHT before most of the black belts i know. My brother can just fight. he has it in him. He's violent and looks for trouble too. But he can fight. Sometimes training just doesn't matter.

Absolutely. In everything in life there are those who it comes natural to and those who cannot succeed to save their life. But those people tend to be the exception to the rule rather than the norm.

If self protection is your goal, then you may want to supplement your art with a concealed weapons class.

Once again, I agree. I carry a pocket knife on me nearly anytime I leave the house. During work hours it's a tool to help me perform certain aspects of my job (opening packages for inspection) and during other hours it's a tool I use if I never need to defend myself (thankfully I haven't). But I also don't rely on the sole fact that it's a blade to save me--I studied kali for a bit to learn how to wield the blade properly, much in the way martial arts is used to teach us how to wield our body proplery. But neither the blade nor my bare hands will ever provide the advantages the other does.

[Sensei Rick]

Wow, another great post, and I haven't even left this post today. I wish all of us lived in the same state and could get together and kick each others butt. My TKD instructor and I can't get together without beating on each other and laughing about it for hours afterwards. What was this thread about anyway????

[baronbvp]

Fighting...or beer. I can never keep those two straight.

[username8517]

Fighting...or beer. I can never keep those two straight.

I thought it was both

[bushido_man96]

Fighting...or beer. I can never keep those two straight.

I thought it was both

Me, too! Great stuff! Yes, wouldn't an MA round table be great?

Back to the topic at hand. I agree that the CCW idea is a good one for defending oneself. However, being well rounded, as Bearich pointed out in his posts, is valuable as well. Now that the concealed-carry law has gone through in my area, everywhere I go I see the new signs in the windows that state that you can't bring your concealed weapon in. Now, what good does that do for the law-abiding citizen who can no longer defend himself when a criminal is going to come into the place with a gun anyways, if he sees the need.

Another thing that I have learned about the gun; it is no use if you don't have it pulled. If a thug has already drawn down on you, and you haven't pulled your gun yet, then you are not likely to get it pulled, either. You are going to have to make some things happen in order to pull it.

As for the fact that some people just can't fight; I think you have a good arguement here. Some people have it, and some don't. I have had a very good friend of mine tell me once that I don't have it; and I think I might have to believe him. He has it. He told me that my brother has it (actually, I think my brother may have enough for several people). However, that doesn't mean that you should not train for it. I am a firm believer that the training will improve you, should you ever have to use it. Remember, you don't have to win the fight; you just have to survive. Therefore, I train thus.

[baronbvp]

And with that gun discussion, back to the wild, wild west we go. Pretty soon you'll see dueling in the streets again. Oh wait, that already happens in places like Compton.

[Sensei Rick]

not that I want to get into a gun disscusion here, but an armed society is a polite society. And I live in the west. In AZ. you can open carry and you can get a CCW permit. I tell ya a weird thing. I have a harley. When I ride, every day, someone here tries to kill ya. they run ya off the road and what not. cut ya of in traffic, it's bad here. Now I don't know what it is, but if I carry my gun on my hip, people never cut me off. My gun is small and can barely be seen, but the bad driving around me stops. go figure, another good use for a gun.

The funniest thing I've seen was one night in a red lobster, this old cogger with his frail little wife were dressed very nicely, eating dinner. when he got up to leave I saw that he was strapping a rather large glock on his side. It was refreshing to see. But it did look odd, he must have been in his 70's.

[mantis.style]

The problem there is that people whould be polite without guns as well as with.