How to people react to you being a martial artist?

[Ybot]

Explaining Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, when people find out I'm a martial artist, is sometimes difficult. It can be funny as the jump around doing their movie Kung-fu interpitation, but when I tell them that we don't kick and punch at all in the style I do you really should see the blank looks they give me. I often get "What do you do then?"

I use to take karate when I was younger, and at least could demonstrate something we did in class, to kinda show what my training was like. Try that with BJJ though. I'd pretty much have to take them down to the ground and have to crank something, which obviously I don't do. I sometimes mention the Ultimate Fighting Championships because of the BJJ that is included, but that isn't really a good example of what my art is and how it is actually practiced.

Anyway, just curious how people react to you when they find you do martial arts. Do they treat you different? Do they ask you to demonstrate stuff? Do they want to fight?

How do you explain your art to someone with no Martial arts background? What parts of your arts do you emphasize?

And, do you have any good stories about these situations?

Thanks.

 

[Kensai]

I generally don't mention it. Some of the guys at work know, and one or two of them used to do it, or still do one form or other of MA. I don't mention it to all and sunder though. Just easier. Many of my best mates do MA too, perhaps that's one reason why we're good friends, because we have an appreciation of the MA in all their forms.

 

[terryl965]

I never mention it and if they find out and ask, I just say come by the school and give it a try
Terry

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

I never mention it and if they find out and ask I just saycome by the school and give it a try
Terry

That is pretty much how I try to handle it to Terry!

 

[chris_มวยไทย]

hey good post , at school there are teachers (duh) so i just get asked to demonstrate , but my school trousers (we have to wear uniforms in england) wont let me kick higher than my knee!

but if im in the street people usualy just want to fight (i live in a rough area) , when they find out , the most popular reaction is "so that stuff sucks il kick your *** anyway you *****!" , and in more than 1 case ive had to prove them wrong.:angel:

the good thing about doing martial arts is that most of the people that know i do muay thai are scared of me lol , which helps.

and a lot of people have seen me fight and demostrate techniques ask me to help them out if they are gonna fght someone (fights are usualy arranged where i live). i say no and thats that , but if its at school il say no but watch from a safe ditance just in case. especialy if its a freind of mine , but at school, the fight never happens anyway.

one thing that winds me up is when people say "he does kung fu stuff" , or "he does kickboxing" , and il have to explain what muay thai is and they say "so its kickboxing then".

it really pisses me off when people give negative reactions when they know nothing about martial arts.


chris

 

[Andy Moynihan]

If they aren't MAists, they don't get told. *shrug*

Ma's are for MAists and no one else.

 

[Ybot]

Gee, no wonder there are so many mis-conceptions about martial arts out there. All people know is from the movies it seems, because real martial artists are so secretive.

Really, I don't go out of my way to tell people I'm a martial artist, but I'm not secretive about it either, and if someone asks I try to explain, and get them intrested even...

 

[Drac]

If they aske me or heard from someone I'll admit to it..However in the LEO community there are a number of old worn out responses to my admitting I study MA..

1. I know someone who kicked a black belt butt
2.I don't need any of that chop-sackey crap
3 I study .357 Magnum

 

[Xue Sheng]

Basically I don't mention it to people that are not Martial Artists.

I did once have to take my triple section staff with me to work years ago and one guy I worked with got a hold of it started doing those Bruce Lee movie sounds and proceeded to pretty much beat the living daylights out of himself and a nearby sign trying to show me how easy Martial arts is and as he said “Let me show you how its done”. That was probably the only time it was worth letting someone outside of MA know.

 

[Cirdan]

Funny stories.. well when I showed up for my first day at my new job I had to explain to everybody (my boss gave me the tour) that the cut running from my ear to my nose was the result of a little Ju Jutsu sparring.
However i got no negative responses, and some of my co-workers study or have been doing MA.

That I train in the arts actually comes up quite often in conversations. Our club is a small one and I try to do some recruiting. Actually every third person on the street seems to be a yellow belt in TKD, kickboxing or karate and we have a plesant talk. I have seldom been asked to demonstrate. The only annoying thing I encounter is fat people who never have trained and who wants to tell me about this and that secret deadly technique they saw in a movie.

 

[delicate Flower]

I kinda like the military approach "Dont ask Dont tell" which can be hard when trying to recruit someone, however some of the people at work know because I have to take time of for seminars and the need to know to arrange priority over other people, but most people dont know that are not close to me, because like so much that has been brought up in these post "I betcha I can Kick your @##" or "Oh ya just like the movies huh" get tired of hearing it, If they seem interested I send them to our web page and have them check it out, I never tell them my rank, and if they persist i invite them to class.

Funny story kinda? not really! One of the few people at work that knows my rank, told a new guy to watch out and to respect me or I would kick his @##, I laughed and pulled him aside and remined him to not mention my rank, and that I dont fight, and that respect is earned not given as far as the new guy I think he thought the other guy was just pullin his leg.

Na keep it to yourself, its yours you worked hard for it nobody needs to know.

 

[funnytiger]

I make no qualms about telling people what I do. *shrug* I've never had anyone challenge me or threaten me as a result either. Most of the time people relate to me their martial arts days or ask questions about what art I take.

I consider it a part of my life just as much as anything else.

- ft

 

[FearlessFreep]

I'm with Drac, people re going to have mis-representations of the art(s) if those who know the truth don't share it..

And prety regularly we get posts about people running schools trying to get more students....

I regularly go into the local little Ceasar's to pick up pizza fter class, wearing my dobok pants and school t-shirt. Last night I went to a mexican restaurant for some take-out in full dobok...no reactions.

I do Hapkido now so if someone were to ask for an example I'd be tempted to say "grab my wrist" but that sounds too much like "pull my finger" so maybe not....

 

[Drac]

Wanna good story?? Getting my tires changed and rotated..The guy working on my car sees my ying/yang button and questions me about MA and my discipline and I answer him..Big yuppie in doorway of waiting area overhears the conversation and announces that he studies .45 Automatic...The tire changer walks over to him and asks "Do you have your weapon on you?" The big lerp says "No"..The tire guy holds up both of his hands and growls "Too bad, I ALWAYS have my weapons on me"... It was a Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde transformation..

 

[SFC JeffJ]

If it happens to come up in conversation, most peoples reaction to me doing MAs is "why" as they look up at me.

Very few of the people I shoot with know that I do, and they wouldn't think too much of it if they did I know.

Jeff

 

[Haze]

Most of the people I work with know,,,use to take time off for tournaments, etc. Others that find out are basicly just curious as to why/how i got into it and how long I've been training, etc.

Never been challenged by anyone because they thought
"I can kick a BB's azz"

 

[ArmorOfGod]

I have always had this little game that I played with myself seeing how long I could work at a place without anyone knowing that I trained as heavily as I do.
Several years back, I went almost a year without anyone knowing that I taught at my teacher's school and recently closed down a school of my own. Everyone found at when one of my teacher's mother sat down near me at the lunch table. I had to say hello, which led to me and her talking in front of several of my coworkers.
The only thing I had to deal with there was people asking "are you any good" or "could you beat me." I always very seriously told them that I wasn't very good and I don't know who I could beat. For some odd reason that humility (whether it was genuine or not) made them believe that I was an amazing fighter and couldn't be beaten.
I always thought it was funny that me telling people that I was mediocre made them believe that I was incredible.
;-)

AoG

 

[John Brewer]

I just mention I'm with Martial Artists for Christ and they are either very interested or just want to get away. Go figure

 

[Andy Moynihan]

Gee, no wonder there are so many mis-conceptions about martial arts out there. All people know is from the movies it seems, because real martial artists are so secretive.

Really, I don't go out of my way to tell people I'm a martial artist, but I'm not secretive about it either, and if someone asks I try to explain, and get them intrested even...

Well it's the same situation as it was in the old west, what happens as soon as you get the reputation of being the "fastest gun in the West"?

That's right..

You're a dead man, because every maggot with an attitude and something to prove comes a'gunnin for ya.

You do not want to be known as a fighter( and when your average idiot non MAist thinks MA, they think it means a fighter). Cause then everyone wants to fight you and on the few ( or not so few) occasions you are forced to, your biggest tactical advantage( SURPRISE) is gone.

If you live in a place the only way you can get "respect" is that way the only advice I can give you is to move.

 

[FearlessFreep]

I work for the Consumer Credit Group for a Bank. So the people in my circle of associates whi know I doMA are just a bunch of white-coller types, so it doesn't come down to people challenging me or anything like that. When I go to listen to music, I don't go around telling strangers in the club that I practice MA

But since most of my family is in MA with me, it tends to impact our lives and scheduling quite a bit so it comes up in natural social interactions at work and such.