What’s wrong with a martial art being ineffective on the street?
Not everyone cares about the self-defense angle. In fact, most normal middle class people do NOT get in fights after high school. They just don’t. To these people, martial arts can be a good hobby and offer an alternative to the boring drudgery of lifting weights at a gym.
To the people pissing on TKD, have you ever tried it? It is actually a lot of fun (except for the kata part).
Go show some flashy roundhouse kick to a friend, and they will be impressed. Demonstrate the rear mount to a friend, and they will think you’re a bit fruity.
And does TKD do a lot of point sparring? Yes. Does BJJ? YES!
BJJ is a SPORT! I have been to many BJJ schools, and the instructors are always talking about scoring POINTS. People are doing it as a sport.
There is nothing wrong with this. In fact, I think it is great. The chess match aspect of it fascinates me to no end, and makes striking seem boring in comparison.
Anyhow, the point to this rambling exchange is don’t just look at a martial art based on how effective it is in “real life”… examine whether it is fun. Do you get satisfaction from it? Do you look forward to going to class?
If you can’t answer yes to these questions, then what are you doing training? I cannot fathom the concept of spending years training just so I can duke it out with some drunk at a bar.
there is nothing wrong with martial arts being for sport or for fun - as long as its clearly the case. Taebo is good if nobody claims you will be able to kick someone’s butt by doing it. If not then it is dangerous.
Not necessarily in the strictest sense of the word if you equate martial to ‘military’.
For example, most would consider iaido or kyudo to be ‘ineffective’ in ‘teh str33t’ because you are unlikely to be attacked while carrying a sword, or to have the range necessary to fire an arrow. (And without a sword or your bow, your skills are essentially useless.)
However, wielding a sword or longbow effectively still requires learning military skills, however archaic those skills may be.
Of course, in that vein, I’m not sure how a jumping spinning flying kiai-shrieking Roundhouse Kick of Doom could be classified as military – so now I’m just confusing myself…
Not all people take martial arts for fighting. I take it for exercise, plus sparring or hiiting the bag is great stress release. But I find that if you can actually learn to defend yourself while training you have killed two birds with one stone. Maybe more. Self-confidence actually helps to avoid confrontations. You can get this from effective fighting styles.
Most people who train an innefective art or train ineffectively do not really appreciate how useless their training is.
(a) Some people do expect to be able to win fights and defend themselves with their MA training. Unless every bad school in the world starts saying “Oh, by the way, this stuff will get you demolished if your opponent is determined or stronger than you or knows how to box etc.” then it’s important to filter out the effective from the ineffective.
(b) I think it’s fair to say most ineffective martial arts instructors not only do not tell their students that their training will not stop a real attacker, they do not even admit that to themselves and futhermore will often tell their students just the opposite (the deadly chi pressure point nerve strike groin bite etc.), and most students to the martial arts are not qualified to tell truth from delusion anymore than I would be if I took up nuclear physics.
The OP will never read this since this is a zombie thread which was originally written in Sanskrit on a clay tablet or some shit.
Also, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with taking a “less effective” art for fun, exercise, looking good, etc. Those reasons are probably more important than combat effectiveness to the vast majority. Just don’t claim it’s the best for fighting.
Personally I can’t take my training seriously if I don’t think it would help in a “real” fight against an unarmed opponent of comparable size.
As long as the person teaching it says so up front, then there’s nothing wrong at all.
However, there are plenty of instructors who are happy to let the consumer assume whatever the hell they want as long as they keep coming back and paying on time.
If you can’t answer yes to these questions, then what are you doing training? I cannot fathom the concept of spending years training just so I can duke it out with some drunk at a bar.
And I can’t fathom training so you can drive out of your way over the weekend, pay $50, sit around all day, spar/wrestle once if you lose-up to 5 maybe 6 times if you win and drive home. I also can’t fathom breaking a sweat like you do in training in order to be able to impress my friends.
But that’s me. You already said you can’t fathom why I’d train for a bar fight that may never happen. No problem. Likely neither one of us can fathom how a color tv works - but I bet you got one in your living room too.
Considering that a certain portion of the people on this board take an “effective” style and still get there ass kicked in competition, and probably on the street, you might as well do an art that you have fun with. I’m not a big fan of Extreme Martial Arts, but i noticed that the guys that were actually pretty tough- Muay Thai competitors, etc, were like “that’s entertaining!”. I’ve also noticed a more “live and let live” attitude from other boards that are focused on MMA. Bullshido is a great site, but just because you critisize all the “larpers” doesn’t make you any better, or more deadly. Some guys can fight, and some guys can’t. There are plenty of internet bullies who would get pummeled on the street and in the octogan/cage/ring etc, that have a scary rubber guard or shin kick. As long as you know it’s for fun, who cares
I see no problem in studying whatever art you wish… from Greco-Roman Wrestling to TaeBo and everything in between if it makes you happy.
I do have a problem with instructors who say stuff like TaeBo will enable you to not only get in shape but level any possible attacker, even more so those that say just buying their vids and doing it in your living room will do that.
For instance one of my wife’s friends had been doing TaeBo(actually for pure accuracy Aerobic Kickboxying, as her “instructor” had no real certification from anyone) for five or six years. She came over to our place and wanted to show me how effective she was. She side kicked my 110lb Heavy Bag and she fell over(the bag didn’t move much). She tried a second time to the same result, and, having done TKD, I saw the problem… an unbalanced sidekick.
Now if she had been sold this “aerobic flailing of limbs in ways that roughly resemble something martial” as simply a means to get in shape… I would have no problem. However, as her instructor pushed it as a way of learning to “Defend yourself against muggers, rapists and miscreants while getting in shape,” I have a major problem. Not with her choice in MA, but in a vulture breeding and feeding off fear to pack out a class, while delievering nothing of value.
I may be wrong, but I think much of what is said here about XMA and such is just in good fun… however I also think the people here take serious issue with those that put forth these frauds.