Things you should know about self-defense and the martial arts.
Martial arts are specialized skills designed to be effective in for specific purposes.
'Specialization' means that certain things have been selected for, or against. For instance, karate, judo, and MMA are specialized for specific types of competition. For instance, karate matches do not allow grappling, judo matches do not allow striking, MMA matches allow certain grappling moves and certain strikes, but not others.
Each of these sports has adapted to the rules of sport. For instance, in MMA or Brazilian ju-jitsu there is only one opponent. Fighters can spend considerable time on the ground since no unseen enemy will jump in to stomp anyone's head. Also, when on the ground, ones adversary cannot grab a rock and give you a wack, poke your eyes, bite you, or bend your fingers back (against the rules). These limitations allow some techniques to be very effective in sporting contests but poor choices when there are no rules.
What do you want? If you want to become a competitive fighter then you certainly should join some type of gym and learn sport-oriented martial arts. If, however, you are not interested in becoming a competitive fighter, you must recognize that rule-based sporting contests are not the same as an actual assault, and that fighting someone of your same size, weight and experience in the sanitized world of sporting matches is quite different from violent crime.
Learning sport fighting is not the same as self-defense training. Self-defense is legal, fighting is not. If you are assaulted the perpetrator will also claim self defense (yes, bad guys lie). When you meet again in civil and criminal court your techniques need to be justifiable, not in your opinion, but in the eyes of the law. So, do you know the difference between fighting techniques and self-defense techniques?
I don't want to suggest that there is no value in sport martial arts. Surely the pros are well conditioned and skillful athletes. But if you can't spend your days conditioning yourself in the gym and aren't ready to quit your job to become a pro fighter, you need to think about what type of skills you may need to protect your family or your self. My time in the Marine Corps and actual self-defense situations have taught me many things about smart training. While I enjoy sports, I wanted martial arts for self-protection.
In sports, contestants needn't guard against things that are against the rules- a thumb to the eye, a bite, a strike to the groin or throat. Knives or additional attackers aren't a concern, nor is being jumped from behind. This makes many techniques that are effective in sports poor choices for self-defense. It also means that the more common types of assault situatons are not part of most MMA, judo or Brazilian ju-jitsu training.
Here are a few other differences between sport training and our classes:
We assume that a second adversary may jump in at any moment. This changes everything.
We assume the enemy has a weapon. Always. A smart bad guy won't show his weapon openly. Don't wait to see if there is one, assume there is one. Again, this changes everything.
We use whatever we can as a weapon. Our techniques are designed to take advantage of weapons of opportunity.
We use our environment to our advantage. Snow, hills, stairways, curbs, furniture, public rest rooms and vehicles all pose unique situations that render many "popular" techniques useless.
We assume the enemy is bigger and stronger than we are. Skills musn't rely upon strength. Sporting matches are divided by weight because a small person can seldom defeat a larger one using sport martial arts.
We teach things that are against the rules. Violent assault is not a contest. Second place is not an option.
In self-defense you can't get saved by the referee or the bell. You must end it or escape, quickly.
We do not assume that the enemy will be in front of us and that our hands will be free. An assault can come from any direction and without you being in a "fighting stance".
We learn to protect ourselves from unnecessary lawsuits. Okay, you have the bad guy in a submission hold. He gives up....now what? In the eyes of the law you are no longer defending yourself once he gives up. So how do you let him go without having him resume his attack or without hurting him further (followed by you being arrested and sued)? Once he submits you are the attacker. Don't doubt this for one minute. And in this world where everyone has a cell phone with a camera, you will be held accountable for your actions.
We need to be able to earn a living. Injuries that keep you from work or make you vulnerable to attack are not good self-defense. While no method is without risk, our training methods are safe, time tested and less damaging to your body.
Dealing with multiple attackers, larger bad guys, or someone with a weapon is beyond the realm of what most schools offer- after all, you can't specialize in everything (if you do than you aren't specialized at all).
It is important to understand the difference between self-defense and sports- understand which type of training is best for you. If you want to become a competitive fighter choose a gym. If you want to focus on self-defense skills we might be the place for you.
(401) 762-2201 175 Eddie Dowling Hwy. (Rt. 146A, Park Square) North Smithfield, RI 02895
