Self defence or Martial arts...which is best or is it the same?
Strange question or is it?? But one I get asked all the time!
In my 27 years of being involved in Martial arts I have met several really great martial artists and some not so great. I have heard some crazy claims of how “My system will show you how to defeat an opponent with one strike” or “how to defeat someone twice the size without any effort” I have read books on some of the greatest practitioners of Martial arts and I have had the privilege to train with some of them, I have even had the honour of appearing in several books and training DVD`S ....but one thing that all of the good instructors will tell you is that if you don’t do realistic training you have NO idea of how it will feel if you are attacked for real, the adrenalin rush or dump or the feeling in your stomach when your faced with a fight or flight situation.....
The hardest part of doing this type of training is somewhere along the lines your going to get hurt and I have seen some serious injuries, I myself have broken the ball of my elbow in two, both wrists, several ribs, dislocated toes and fingers and have been knocked out from kicks and punches to the face and head, I have been choked out and resuscitated, had several stitches in my face, lost teeth and have had several trips to the hospital for concussion, all of the above injuries have taken place doing realistic training....... not practicing martial arts.... and all done in controlled situations! Don’t get me wrong, we got to try out the techniques that we had practiced however this was for real – or at least close to reality as it could be! We stood up and fought, we took it to the floor and we didn’t give in until we were told to or if there was an injury.... which there were several!
I was very fortunate to have instructors who had experience of real life situations and gave me some great advice, I was invited to closed group sessions from the age of 16, these involved a closed door policy.....the door was locked and anything went...literally!
Part 2 tomorrow!!
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