Limited thinking or martial arts fantasy?

[Bushido]

It always make me laugh ( :wah: ) when people DO NOT make the difference between movie martial arts and real martial arts. Not only that, some people do not make the difference between ring fighting (mma) and streetfighting (self-defense).

Limited thinking or martial arts fantasy?

-Bushido

 

[Bob Hubbard]

I pondered this question while hovering in mid air, pausing only occationally to let the lightning arc from my fingertips towards the TV which was showing real wrestling on Monday night Raw.

Some folks just have reality issues.

Seriously, most people think what they see in a Segal or Van Damm movie is real, but laugh at the Power Rangers. They watch The Matrix and suddenly want to learn Kung Fu so they can move like that, or CTHD so they can leap up walls. The watched the Karate Kid and suddenly think that a few weeks training will allow an out of shape wimp to suddenly take on full contact fighters in a tourny that they've spent years preparing for.

The fantasy is so much more fun than the reality. The hundreds of hours of sweating and bleeding. The days of pain, the cuts and bruises of real training.

Its sad too, because real training is its own reward, IMHO.
:asian:

 

[Bushido]

Originally posted by Kaith Rustaz

Its sad too, because real training is its own reward, IMHO.
:asian:

I hear wisdom here ! :asian:


-Bushido

 

[karatekid1975]

I agree, Kaith. Some people join a MA club because of movies. They wanna learn all of those fansy, flying moves. Then they get a wake-up call after training for real. Some quit, because they won't learn that stuff (sorry folks. Real MA isn't a game or for the movies). But others stay, because they find out what real MA is about.

 

[arnisador]

I might add the distinction between self-defense (Best option: running away screaming) and martial arts (Best option: kick the knee or similar). Martial arts can be used for self-defense but there's so much more to it.

 

[SolidTiger]

Yeah people think of the new type of martial art movies. they want you to do flips hundreds of feet in the air, and to fight a
hundred people at once. " I can only fight ninetynine at once".

Thank you

SolidTiger

 

[Dronak]

I'm not sure I understand the question, "limited thinking or martial arts fantasy". Kaith has a point though that the fantasy is generally more fun than the reality. I think most of the time people can tell the difference. But when it's something you're not familiar with, maybe you can't. People who don't do martial arts may not be able to tell how unrealistic movie fighting is. I'd still think that they can tell that some things are obviously artistic license though.

As for the training being its own reward, I suppose that's true. I think there's a saying something to the effect of sometimes the journey to the goal is more enjoyable/fulfilling/whatever than actually reaching the goal. Not everyone is able to do that though. Some people want instant gratification and can't or won't put the time and effort into long periods of training without being able to see any obvious results. My high school track and/or cross country coach(es) told us that once. As long distance runners, we're the kind of people who can put in all that time and effort without needing instant gratification. We see our efforts pay off in the long run. People who need instant gratification play basketball or something where it's immediately obvious that you've done something right/well, like the ball goes through the hoop. (Not picking on basketball, just an example.) I think MA is the same way. Since it requires a lot of time and effort into improving, people who do it have to be able to work through all that without needing any instant gratification. If you're that type of person, you'll be more likely to stick with it. If you're not, chances are you'll leave in favor of something else that doesn't work like that.

 

[Bushido]

Movies vs Reality is one thing, but dont forget MMA and Reality.


-Bushido

 

[Blindside]

Right, MMA is alot more real than many (not all) so called "real" martial arts.

Lamont

 

[Kirk]

Originally posted by karatekid1975

I agree, Kaith. Some people join a MA club because of movies. They wanna learn all of those fansy, flying moves. Then they get a wake-up call after training for real. Some quit, because they won't learn that stuff (sorry folks. Real MA isn't a game or for the movies). But others stay, because they find out what real MA is about.

With the exception of old Kung Fu Theater type movies, a lot
of the flash seems to be influenced by TKD. I think this explains
the huge popularity of this style, wouldn't you think? Those
kicks sure look purty!

 

[arnisador]

I remember my first tournament. My second opponent was a flashy kicker. He did a beautiful jump spinning back crescent kick at me. As I leaned back I truly thought, "WOW--What a beautiful kick!" Then I punched him in the gut for a point. A few exchanges later he did it again and again I thought "That's fantastic--really exciting to watch!" Then I punched him in the gut for a point. He was better looking, but I won.

Still, I think TKD succeeds because it's often organized like a franchise and always kid-friendly. They think about the business aspect of things. I talked about one angle of that in this thread.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Flashy kicking...now thats a thought...

One of the reasons why aI got interested in MA was due to pro-wrestling. (Brief pause while laughter dies down.....)

Guy going by the name Stan Lane... part of the Midnight Express (the 80's). He did some of the most fantastic kicks. I later found out he was a martial arts instructor, teaching Savate.

A lot of the stuff the guys in the 90's were doing, this guy was doing 100x better in the 80's.

But I digress....

TKD.... its everywhere I look around me...have seen 3 new schools open up recently... by numbers if there are more of em, theres more bad ones. Nothing against TKD.

Back to Fantasy vs Reality....

People watch these movies and think how cool it would be...sure the hero gets hit 20 times, but he shakes it off....lets go back to prowrestling a moment.... I'm sure anyone who's watched it has seen the famous chair-shot-to-the-head. Wow, that guy took 10...he's still up...

Ever taken a real chair shot? The hurt like hell...

People watch it soo much, they start to think its real...

Most people don't understand how much getting really hammered hurts, or how much they can really take.

The fantasy is that in 6 weeks they will be flying like Neo... The truth is most of em will quit within 3 weeks cuz its too hard.

People suck.

 

[Kirk]

Originally posted by arnisador

I remember my first tournament. My second opponent was a flashy kicker. He did a beautiful jump spinning back crescent kick at me. As I leaned back I truly thought, "WOW--What a beautiful kick!" Then I punched him in the gut for a point. A few exchanges later he did it again and again I thought "That's fantastic--really exciting to watch!" Then I punched him in the gut for a point. He was better looking, but I won.

Still, I think TKD succeeds because it's often organized like a franchise and always kid-friendly. They think about the business aspect of things. I talked about one angle of that in this thread.

hehehe ... When I was taking TKD, we did 1 step sparring, and
I got matched up with a b.b. (cause of my intimidating size) as
a white belt. I was so amazed at what he was doing I just
stood there like an idiot watching him do it! LOL