Who's values?

[bushido_man96]

Avoiding is the most important skills - its what we spend the least amount of time in the dojo because its not exciting and most of us probably don't have alot of knowledge apart from walk away and avoid a situation.

Geoff Thompson said "you teach a child to avoid cars on the road, by safely crossing the road, rather than teaching them what to do if they did get hit"

This is a valid point. I think for many years it was just assumed that those who came to study the Martial Arts already knew how to get away or avoid things, so the teachers taught what they thought the students came for, the actual self-defense techiques; kicking, punching, joint manipulation, throws, takedowns, grappling, etc. Only relatively recently has the ideas of training avoidance and awareness come more into play, and those tend to follow more along the lines of what Reality Based instructors package into their systems, as opposed to what many more traditional based styles do, or even the sport styles like Boxing, Wrestling, MMA, etc do. The fact of the matter is that those things probably need to be addressed more often than the actually are, and could be dealt with in minor sessions of each class, or a few classes per week.

[sensei8]

Many MAists don't know/understand that they're suppose to and/or can get out of the way before it's way to late. Deer in the headlight problem!!

[bushido_man96]

Many MAists don't know/understand that they're suppose to and/or can get out of the way before it's way to late. Deer in the headlight problem!!

Yeah, I think you are right about that, Bob. Once that adrenaline rush hits, many don't know how to deal with it, and they get that tunnel vision, and focus on one task, which becomes fighting or fleeing.

[sensei8]

Many MAists don't know/understand that they're suppose to and/or can get out of the way before it's way to late. Deer in the headlight problem!!

Yeah, I think you are right about that, Bob. Once that adrenaline rush hits, many don't know how to deal with it, and they get that tunnel vision, and focus on one task, which becomes fighting or fleeing.

Absolutely...and I believe every MAists has gone through this before training through it...I know I did...boy oh boy did I.

[Liver Punch]

Geoff Thompson said "you teach a child to avoid cars on the road, by safely crossing the road, rather than teaching them what to do if they did get hit"

See, I feel like I would be most likely just to hit my kid with a car myself. That way he can learn whatever lesson he can from the entire situation, be it about crossing roads, or never to trust anyone. But, I'm a bit of a cynic (and a jerk)

[LittleW]

My Sensei always says: It's the beginners way to fight, the advanced way to get out just in time and the masters way not to be there.

[sensei8]

My Sensei always says: It's the beginners way to fight, the advanced way to get out just in time and the masters way not to be there.

Your Sensei is absolutely correct!!

[MasterPain]

By the time you reach a master's rank you're old enough that beating people up irritates your arthritis. It's more a matter of pragmatism than values.