Eastern arts for streetfighting/selfsefence situations?

[red_herring]

I have seen In a lot of martial arts forums that traditional eastern styles are made down.It is ofthen said that they are not effective in a street situation and so on.To me it seems that a big part of people belive that for a street situation the ultimative formula is:BOXING+BJJ=VICTORY
And all the eastern styles like Karate,Kung Fu and SPECIALY Tae Kwon Do are too fantsy and useless.What are your thoughts on that?And why do you belive many people think so?Could it be that it is cause of the mac dojo's and the bad teaching in western countries.Or cause real TKD Is ofthen teached like OLYMPIC TKD.What are your thoughts about it in general.And could you also add what is the best style for you in a self defence situation and your experience on eastern martial arts(Chinese,Japanese,Korean,Thai).


Im sorry for spelling mistakes and grammar errors.

H.F.

 

[MJS]

First off, welcome to MT! This is a great forum, with many very good people who have alot to offer.

Ok, on to your question. People train in the arts for a variety of reasons. Some for self defense, weight loss, to meet new people, self control/disipline, or just something to do after work or school other than a health club or after school activity. That being said, of course people are going to have a different look on their training. I've taught some people and I can tell by their attitude and look on things, that their goal is just for something to do outside of work, while others are constantly asking questions and putting 100% into what they're doing.

So, is TKD less effecitve than BJJ? Is BJJ less effective than Judo? Is Kenpo less effective than the FMAs? IMO, it all comes down to the person, what they want out of the training, and how serious they take things. People always comparing the sport aspect to the real world aspect. Sure, there are many mcdojos out there and it can be hard to tell a legit teacher from a mcdojo.

Many things also come down to the way the training is done. Is whats being taught practical?? Is doing a cartwheel practical?? Well, some will say yes and some will say no. This kind of reminds me of the my style is better than yours debate.

So, what makes the style effective? IMO, things that are simple, easy to do, and effective are probably a few things to keep in mind. Well, of course people will say that what they're doing is effective, and yes, in their mind it is. Alot of times you'll hear, "Well, my Grandmaster did this 50 yrs ago to defend himself and it worked for him, so its gotta work for me too!" Well, thats fine, but we need to keep in mind that we're not clones, and what works for one, may not work for another.

I often talk about aliveness and resistance, and I feel that this is something that is very important and is often overlooked in many arts. You mentioned boxing and BJJ. Those are 2 that incorporate both of the above. Everything has its time and place and yes, some things are better than others. Will we ever be prepared for every situation that we come across? Probably not, but by keeping your training as real as you can, by addressing the 4 ranges of fighting, making sure that you're training has aliveness and resistance, and making sure that what you're doing is practical, most likely you'll have the key to success!

Mike

 

[Flatlander]

Good post Mike.

I just wanted to add to Mike's thought that irrespective of what particular art one chooses, the longer that you train, the better you get, the more effective that you will be. In terms of actual self defence, when you are being assaulted, most everyone here will tell you that the best method of defence is to remove yourself from the danger, (run away). Obviously, there will times when this may not be possible. Ultimately, the likelihood that the one(s) attacking you are prepared for a skilled opponent is slim, so the dedication YOU put into the enhancement of YOUR skills, regardless of which art, will be your most effective weapon.

Essentially, at the very core, all arts are approximately the same. They are all the art of moving your body. They all may take different paths, but the destination is the same. Most importantly, find a teacher that you can get along with, respect, and trust, and train, train, train. What you get out of it will correspond directly with how much effort you put in.

Best of luck to you in your training. :asian:

 

[rmcrobertson]

You might want to look at the history of these, "Eastern," arts, which did not exactly grow up in a bubble. Much of the problem you're describing, it looks like to me, appeared after their, "improvement," in the Western world.

It may also be useful to consder that a LOT of self-defense and street-fighting revolves around staying OUT of trouble.

 

[Cruentus]

I have seen In a lot of martial arts forums that traditional eastern styles are made down.It is ofthen said that they are not effective in a street situation and so on.To me it seems that a big part of people belive that for a street situation the ultimative formula is:BOXING+BJJ=VICTORY
And all the eastern styles like Karate,Kung Fu and SPECIALY Tae Kwon Do are too fantsy and useless.What are your thoughts on that?And why do you belive many people think so?Could it be that it is cause of the mac dojo's and the bad teaching in western countries.Or cause real TKD Is ofthen teached like OLYMPIC TKD.What are your thoughts about it in general.And could you also add what is the best style for you in a self defence situation and your experience on eastern martial arts(Chinese,Japanese,Korean,Thai).


Im sorry for spelling mistakes and grammar errors.

H.F.

Ah...yes. Eastern arts all suck, and BJJ and Boxing is the ultimate. Got it. Let me write that down...

 

[8253]

No art or training is better than another. It is simply the person is either trained properly or not.

 

[red_herring]

Ah...yes. Eastern arts all suck, and BJJ and Boxing is the ultimate. Got it. Let me write that down...

I really hope this is sarcasm:ultracool ...Last night i had a chatt like that with former wreslers who work in police now and they said manytimes things like that...first i thought they are makeing jokes, but then i noticed that they are going too far with it and then i just asked them are you seriouse and yes they were.
So I hope you are jokeing:uhyeah:

First off, welcome to MT! This is a great forum, with many very good people who have alot to offer.

thank you for the nice welcome Mike