What does blackbelt mean?

[Throwdown0850]

it means you are in control of all of your emotions. and can control them, that includes fear. nothing against karate or TKD but, a punch is a punch and a kick will always be a kick. I have seen many BB's freeze in a real fight. they are not a blackbelt, they just payed their monthly fee and got it.

Just because someone still has some fears doesn't necessarily make it the fault of the style they are studying. It is very difficult to address the fear factor when you don't ever practice while you are afraid. There aren't a lot of styles that offer this kind of environment.

They weren't trained right.. period. that is what is wrong with martial arts today, you can go to class, leave thinking how well you did giving you a false sense of security. get your butt kicked and wonder why it didnt work.. why? because its 85 dollars a month and you have 12 year olds teaching class..

I am not trying to be rude bushido but, this is exactly what martial art was suppose to do.. PREPARE somone.

[bushido_man96]

I am not saying that they aren't supposed to prepare someone. However, most classes can only prepare someone physically. In order to prepare for how you will react in violence, you have to generate a violent environment in some limited form.

...And I have never been taught by a 12 year old...

[Throwdown0850]

I wish I could show you some places to see these kids teaching class.. trust me, you'd be outraged. and to get your pretty little yellow belt you had to break a plastic re-breakable board. I almost threw up..

and I noticed that you do Hapkido. are you allowed to throw and or grapple when sparring or tournaments? I have been looking at a school nearby.. so I was interested.

[bushido_man96]

The ony tourneys I have attended have been TKD tourneys, so now throwing or grappling was allowed. I just do the Hapkido along with it.

[DWx]

I wish I could show you some places to see these kids teaching class.. trust me, you'd be outraged. and to get your pretty little yellow belt you had to break a plastic re-breakable board. I almost threw up..

Actually plastic rebreakable boards can be harder than you think. You have to hit them dead centre or they simply wont break. They also require you to go through rather than just hitting the surface like you can do with a single pine board. I have an "advanced" board that is 1.5" thick with a stronger knuckle in the centre and I find it tougher to break than 3x 1" pine boards.

I agree with Bushido_man96. I don't really think any MA really trains you for the fear and the adrenaline rush. There is only so much you can do to prepare for this and quite frankly any senario where you try to recreate a real fight will have its flaws.

[Throwdown0850]

what good is it going to do if you cant control your fear and react instead of freeze because the adrenaline rush.. I disagree.. someone can train for this.. I have and it works.. it has actually saved my life once.. you havent felt an adrenaline rush untill a gun is put in your face.. I was almost robbed on christmas eve 2 years ago.

[DWx]

what good is it going to do if you cant control your fear and react instead of freeze because the adrenaline rush.. I disagree.. someone can train for this.. I have and it works.. it has actually saved my life once.. you havent felt an adrenaline rush untill a gun is put in your face.. I was almost robbed on christmas eve 2 years ago.

You can learn to deal with fear but I don't think its something you can train necessarily. Not unless you get one of your fellow students to try and mug you when out at night.. How did you yourself train? Maybe that would help me see how its possible. And IMO I don't think controlling your fear is something which defines being a blackbelt. Perhaps learning to work with your fears rather than shuttingthem off?

That must have been a scary situation to be in. However once a gun is put in front of your face I don't think that any amount of physical training or mastery over your fears is going to help, that is unless you are fast enough to dodge bullets. I would be interested in knowing how you dealt with the situation.

[Zanshin]

The "management of fear" is being discussed in another e-group I belong to. The gist of it is not so much about overcoming fear, but rather how you teach yourself to use fear to your advantage.

One of the guys posted some work he did on this and it’s an interesting read.

http://kirkhamsebooks.com/MartialArts/MartialArtsArticles/OverComingFearInSelfDefense.html

I don’t think it’s necessarily the complete answer, but it may help some people.

[Throwdown0850]

The best way to learn something is to do it.. I never said anything about re-creating a "real situation. nothing is better than the real thing.. I was a kid in my teens. I fought A LOT... I was stupid and have grown up. but I dont completely regret it cause sometimes to get the butterflies out of your stomach, you just have to do it.. the training can mean nothing if you cant react.

thats why criminals like murderers can kill without a second thought about it.. or see a gangmember try to fight 5 guys at once.. I am not saying to be a criminal by no means. I am just they dont fear cops or even fear being shot or killed, they dont care.. hope this helps?

Edited February 26, 2008 by Throwdown0850

[Throwdown0850]

I am sorry, I didnt answer your question DWX, I told my mom and my cousin ashley to get in the car and lock the doors, I walked away from the car just in case they starting firing and my family get caught in the crossfire. it worked, they followed me right where I wanted them. I told them I drove a seperate car and I would give them everything. but I lied to get them so they would get away from my family. right as I got to "my car" I turned and asked them how we were going to handle it. they walked right in front of the security booth and the security guards saw them, they were too focused on getting my money out of "my car" that they forgot about the security booth.. and as soon as the security guards came out, they ran off.