IT'S NOT ABOUT FIGHTING

The other day someone saw me reading a Judo book. I should have known better, becauase every time I read a book about the martial arts I get interviewed and/or badgered. We got into a discussion: he put his kids in it for the discipline and respect. Then he told me it's not about fighting. I told him that it IS about fighting; it's not ALL about fighting, but his kids should be learning how to be better FIGHTERS or he's wasting his money. Upset, looking like HE wanted to fight ME, he told me that violence is NEVER a solution to an encounter. I countered with yes, it is a solution, a RARE one, but there are RARE moments when you have no choice. I told him about the time I got attacked and all I did was dodge: had it not been for my training I'm sure I would have gotten DECKED AND/OR CHOKED. I then told him that people who CAN fight often don't want to; once you feel secure with your pugilist skills, you do not feel the need to prove yourself.

Folks, I am going to try to keep this brief: the martial arts ARE about fighting. Period. FIGHTING IS NOT THE TOTALITY of it, and if that is all you get from it then you are a moron. However, IF YOU ARE NOT LEARNING HOW TO BE A BETTER FIGHTER YOU ARE WASTING YOUR MONEY.

No, you will never be able to beat everyone up. Yes, there are people who have never taken a formal lesson who will kick a black belt's but. True, some techniques work better in the street than others, but come on; most people stick with training because at some level they want to be able to defend themselves. That does not make you a sociopath, that makes you able to DEAL with the sociopaths. People know who they can and can't pick on and if they sense (and believe me they usually can) that you can handle yourself, or will give them ANY trouble they will pick someone else to hassle over you.

I've been attacked by two crazy people in my life. I never hurt either one of them, but because I had some training, I made sure that I did NOT get hurt. These attacks were random because hey, those people were insane and insane people are not rational. Suppose you have to protect a loved one; not from a GUN but from a big, huge, fat, drunken asshole (which will be far more common than you getting robbed). Wouldn't it be nice to be able to have the skill and confidence to diffuse the situation or even fend the jerk off, even if it never turns into a knock down, drag out brawl?

The people who want to tell you that the martial arts are not about fighting are people who either one, don't want you to think they are a sadist, or two, want you to look at the health benefits that come from doing the physical movements. That is fine. But folks, let me break it down for you: if you have been studying a style for a few years, and you get bet up by someone who is your physical equal who does NOT have equivalent experience and/or training (as in you are not fighting a guy that lives in bars and gets into fights every week or has done some time in the joint and therefore knows every dirty fighting trick in the book, is an ex-gangmember, is a Navy Seal or Marine, or is so ghetto that they might as well have a black belt) then you have been had. Point blank. You have wasted your money and you need to find an instructor who really cares whether or not you can protect yourself.

Some of these people also think that every problem in the world can be solved by talking. Sorry, they cannot. How can you reason with an unreasonable person? The existence of the following occupations proves that there are people in this world who only respond to violence and will ignore reason on occasion:

• Bouncers
• Police Officers
• Security Guards
• Military Troops
• Military Police Officers
• S.W.A.T. team members
• Secret Service agents
• U.S. Marshals
• Self-defense instructors

So I guess these men and women should just go home and never show up for work. After all, we NEVER need to use force, RIGHT? Yeah, okay. Ask someone who has been the victim of a violent crime or an assault if they think that a little force would not have spared them some pain in their lives. TAKE OFF THE ROSE COLORED GLASS AND LOOK AT PLANET EARTH.

No teacher I have ever had has even told me I would be invincible. I have never thought I would be. But I know I am a better fighter today than I was years ago. Not just because of age and treachery, but because of TRAINING. I don't want to have to live in a war zone or frequent dives in order to have the instincts to duck if someone swings a bat at my head. I want to be able to protect myself and those I care about should push come to shove.

There are plenty of people out there who will tell you that classical techniques don't work. Well, they have never been knocked on their backside by someone who knew how to apply the training to the real world. If you've ever been dazed by a foot or a hook or uppercut in a real fight, or have ever pulled off a hip throw or shoulder throw on a dude (like I did when I was a kid) you have respect for ALL of the styles out there.