"So, you think you can take me?"

[Haze]

I never train outside. But once at work while having a disagreement with a co-worker over something he said about me. He told me that he did not care how long I had trained in karate, he was not afraid of "my karate" and would say whatever he felt like saying about me.

I walked over to him and told him that my karate was not what he had to worry about. It was "me" he should worry about. And if he kept up his childishness I would kick his "butt" until he cried like the child that he was.

He walked away. (this was many years ago)

Now someone might ask me if I could "take them" and I say "Probably not, I'm just and old man trying not to get too fat"

 

[BLACK LION]

We train in a public park and we get all kinds of different "interested" types...from female yoga instructors to tweakers who think they know you from the past... We have yet to get any "challenges" as people seem discouraged to do such by the various tools laying around our workspace as well as the nature of what they can see and hear from a distance...

Periodically someone will pose the question.."what style do you train" or my favorite "are you guys military or paramilitary" .... Instead of engaging in a drawn out conversation we just say "we are just training" and politely continue... some will just watch and some will just walk away...

I have yet to have to "educate" anyone becuase I am sure they saw in advance what the possibilites are...

I believe they are really afraid and they need some sort of security but they just dont know how to interact or behave...
Tactful and polite words often disarm even the most zealous and there are examples from other posts here that prove that fact... if you can disrupt thier brain circuits by careful words they normally short circuit and go blank...or just leave.

 

[Makalakumu]

We train in a public park and we get all kinds of different "interested" types...from female yoga instructors.

I really don't mind this kind of attention. In fact, if I can attract more of this kind of attention, that would be nice.

Seriously, I think when I am just practicing kata people look at that and don't really understand what is going on. When I'm wrestling, sparring or doing randori of some kind, it tends to attract attention, but people can better see what's happening and the riff raff can see that this is serious martial arts training.

 

[Touch Of Death]

Last week, during one of my workouts, I had an interesting thing happen. I am working out with my senior student and we are going over a new form. We are in a popular park where I have worked out for years and never had any problems. Suddenly, five boys from ages 14 to 16 come walking up and form a semicircle around us. One of the boys steps forward and is looking at me like he's got something to say.

Finally, I stop what I'm doing and look at him and say, "Are you looking for something?"

He says, "Naw, I'm just wondering what you are doing."

I tell him, "We are practicing karate and I'm teaching a student a kata."

And he says, "So, you think you can take me?"

WTF!!! My jaw hit the ground. I couldn't believe my ears. The kids friends were tense and waiting like I was going to jump up and fight this kid in the park with my gi on. I have never had anyone do this to me in all of my years of practice.

So I say, "What!" and this kid puts his hands on his hips and gives me a smug smile.

"So, you think you can take me?"

I tell him, "Get out of here, boy," and then begin to pack up my stuff to leave.

The boy is surprised that I won't fight him in the park or something so he says, "well, won't you show us some moves?"

I say, "No. You and your friends can leave, I'm done for the day, no thanks to all of you."

With a shrug of his shoulders and flip of his head, he gathered his friends and walked off to a couple of waiting cars, where a few girls were waiting.

Now, I can pretty much guess what was going on, but I'm still a bit mystified that this whole event actually occurred. I thought things like this only occurred in movies. The reality is this, in nearly 20 years of practicing martial arts, with all sorts of outside workouts, I have never ever had a single problem with other people. Most folks are polite and interested and maybe would like a business card or something.

This makes me rethink the whole idea of practicing outside. Have other people had similar experiences? What did you do?

That kinda thing happens a lot actually. This is why I train.
Sean

 

[zepedawingchun]

LOL! Hillarious!

Oh wait, you weren't being serious, were you?

Yes.

Soooo...you're going to egg this person on, to fight you? Seriously???

Yes, if my response offends them. It pisses me off they asked such a stupid question. If you attack me (verbally or physically) I'm going to defend myself. Besides, it's just another way to pressure test my art.

My krav maga teacher was asked by an obviously homeless man, "What would you do if I pulled a knife on you?" He replied, "I'd pull out my gun and shoot you." (yes he has a permit to carry). The homeless man had no reply to that and went about his business somewhere else.

I dont' think being outside attracts the loonies any more than being inside with a big Karate or Martial Arts sign does.

Just like an idiot to ask a stupid question then bring a knife to a gun fight. And training outside in public always attracts the crazies, weirdos, and morons. There is always some untrained idiot who thinks they are better than you.

Practising in public usually brings out the morons. . . . . He's one fo those guys who thinks he knows martial arts, he's an artist who's worked at Marvel.

Yes it does. Sounds to me like he needs to stick to art with a pencil and pen instead of his hands and feet.

.....But once at work while having a disagreement with a co-worker over something he said about me. He told me that he did not care how long I had trained in karate, he was not afraid of "my karate" and would say whatever he felt like saying about me.

I walked over to him and told him that my karate was not what he had to worry about. It was "me" he should worry about. And if he kept up his childishness I would kick his "butt" until he cried like the child that he was.

You always get someone who is a wise guy. I just love people who say 'I don't care if you take martial arts or not. Make me mad enough and I'll kick you butt. I don't care what you do'. Like they think if they get really mad, it will nullify all my. . . . . . . 37 years of training and learning to defend myself. But then when you threaten or touch those same people, they squeal the other way 'stop man, you hurt me, you take martial arts, that's not fair you have skills, you're trained to hurt people'.

 

[zepedawingchun]

That kinda thing happens a lot actually. This is why I train.
Sean

Same here.

 

[Bruno@MT]

I would just say 'are you that stupid that you want to find out?', so it would piss them off to make the first move. When the cops come, I can then say he attacked me and I was forced to defend myself. I was out numbered, him and his 2 buddies, and I felt my life was in danger.

That is not really a good option because one of the following is bound to happen:
a) you discover the hard way that he is an experienced MMA fighter who thinks TMA sucks.
b) you discover that one of them has a knife, too late
c) you beat the snot out of him, and discover that just because someone hits first, does not mean you can legally beat them to a pulp.
d) you beat the snot out of him but there are no independent witnesses to confirm this and you get sued.
e) you beat the snot out of him, and next week he comes back with a couple of his friends and a gun and kills you.
f) you beat the snot out of him, and next week he follows you home, and then hurts your family to get back at you.
g) ...

I can keep on going for a while here. So on one hand there is a ton of options that end up badly for you, and on the other hand there is ... what?

Additionally, you should never forget rule number one when posting on the internet.

Yes, I know it sounds farfetched, but if you would ever end up in a situation where you'd really have to damage someone who attacked you and they'd sue, then you had better hope that they don't get a lawyer who is smart enough to have someone dig up your background and find this post. Because instead of him being the bad guy, you end up being the bad guy unless there are enough witnesses to corroborate your story. 'See your honor, this man had every intention of escalating verbal conflict to physical conflict for the purpose of being allowed to assault them.'

 

[ATC]

Man, it took 20 years for you to get a challenge like that. We get them all the time at our dojang, during demos, and everywhere.

Our dojang is directly next door to a Pizza Sports Bar and we get a challenge almost daily. Always some drunk but every now and then we get some kids trying it too.

The funniest story is when we were doing falling and rolling drills and a teenager came running into the dojang and jumped and rolled on the mat. Our Subunim grabbed the kid and took him to the back behind a closed door. We heard nothing for around 3 minutes and wondered if the Subunim was killing the kid, then the door opens and the kid comes out and apologizes for interrupting class to the entire class, bows then leave all watery eyed.

I had one guy single me out from the entire class and point at me and say I want to fight "you"! I look around and say why me. I am not the highest ranked or best fighter. He says, "You look the toughest so I want you". The class just busted out laughing and the guy walked off.

I am just surprised that in 20 years of training you have never had anyone challenge you, regardless if only outside, pretty common thing where we our.

Great job in handling it though.

 

[Nomad]

I have a friend that was challenged in that way by a colleague at work... his response was "No, I don't think I can take you. I know I can." Apparently, the calm matter-of-factness to the statement, coupled with the look he gave, was enough to satisfy his co-worker's curiosity.

Worst I've had working out outside was a couple of idiots coming by, not saying anything, but "playing" at martial arts near where I was training. When I switched from open-hand to a weapon's kata, they decided they had someplace else to be.

 

[MJS]

Yes, if my response offends them. It pisses me off they asked such a stupid question.

So, do you challenge anyone that asks you a stupid question?

If you attack me (verbally or physically) I'm going to defend myself.

And I've had people tell me to my face that they were going to kick my ***, yet the majority of the time, nothing came of it, and for a few reasons. 1) In some cases, talking them down worked, while on the other hand, there may not always be time for that, so... and 2) many times they were more bark than bite. I wasn't intimidated by them, they saw that, and realized it wasn't worth it.

However in this case, they're asking a question..."Do you think you could take me?" They didn't say they were going to attack you, stab you or shoot you, but instead you encourage them to fight you. It'd be interesting to see what a witness would say, if they were to hear this, and tell the cop what really happened, rather than your fabricated story.

Besides, it's just another way to pressure test my art.

And I can think of a few other ways to do that.

 

[Makalakumu]

Man, it took 20 years for you to get a challenge like that. We get them all the time at our dojang, during demos, and everywhere.

Our dojang is directly next door to a Pizza Sports Bar and we get a challenge almost daily. Always some drunk but every now and then we get some kids trying it too.

The funniest story is when we were doing falling and rolling drills and a teenager came running into the dojang and jumped and rolled on the mat. Our Subunim grabbed the kid and took him to the back behind a closed door. We heard nothing for around 3 minutes and wondered if the Subunim was killing the kid, then the door opens and the kid comes out and apologizes for interrupting class to the entire class, bows then leave all watery eyed.

I had one guy single me out from the entire class and point at me and say I want to fight "you"! I look around and say why me. I am not the highest ranked or best fighter. He says, "You look the toughest so I want you". The class just busted out laughing and the guy walked off.

I am just surprised that in 20 years of training you have never had anyone challenge you, regardless if only outside, pretty common thing where we our.

Great job in handling it though.

I've had people challenge me in my own dojo, but never out in public where everyone could see. I basically handle all challenges the same way except that people who come to my dojo for a challenge usually get referred to either start a class or enroll in a tournament. I didn't feel like giving these little twerps the honor of the invitation. This was pure BS and stupid.

 

[zepedawingchun]

That is not really a good option because one of the following is bound to happen:
a) you discover . . . .
b) you discover . . . . .
c) you beat the . . . .
d) you beat the . . . . .
e) you beat the . . . . .
f) you beat the . . . .
g) ...

I can keep on going for a while here. So on one hand there is a ton of options that end up badly for you, and on the other hand there is ... what?

Additionally, you should never forget rule number one when posting on the internet.

Yes, I know it sounds farfetched,

Wow, all that just because someone smarted off to me and I smarted back. . . . . I get beat up or in the hospital, sued and or lost my job, my family and me dead . . .wow! Amazing how a martial artist can come up with all those negative possibilities instead of believing in a fellow martial artist. Maybe I should stay at home, don't go out, seclude myself, become a hermit because at anytime if I go out, I might come in contact with people, treat an ******* like he treated me, piss em off and end up dead.

Yeah, everything you've said is bound to happen. And then again, maybe not, at least it hasn't up to this point.

 

[Omar B]

I find that people who have no marital arts training usually think they are way better fighters than they actually are. They have no conception of what another trained person can do to them and have probably survived a few scrapes with unskilled fighters so they have this crazy level of confidence. A martial artist does not go around picking fights or acting proud about fighting because they understand in a realistic sense what they are capable of doing and handling. Being, fast, strong and able to copy a few moves off of TV is one thing, picking a fight with someone who actually knows is quite another, yet somehow to many people there's this huge disconnect.

 

[JadecloudAlchemist]

I have been asked this question I just smile and say no.

 

[Makalakumu]

I find that people who have no marital arts training usually think they are way better fighters than they actually are. They have no conception of what another trained person can do to them and have probably survived a few scrapes with unskilled fighters so they have this crazy level of confidence. A martial artist does not go around picking fights or acting proud about fighting because they understand in a realistic sense what they are capable of doing and handling. Being, fast, strong and able to copy a few moves off of TV is one thing, picking a fight with someone who actually knows is quite another, yet somehow to many people there's this huge disconnect.

One of the things that I think people (especially younger people) are seeing is the attitude among many of the seminal MMA players (in the days of the Gracie Challenge). They see a person with a gi on practicing kata and immediately think that this person is just a paper tiger because all of these guys on TV just walked right through their defense. Also, they may have trained in MMA or have seen it on TV so they could think that this is possible for them as well.

It's not fair to single out MMA as a whole, because only a small subset of the fighters actively disrespect or disrespected other arts at one time. Still, I sense this attitude growing out there.

 

[Aikicomp]

I would just say 'are you that stupid that you want to find out?', so it would piss them off to make the first move. When the cops come, I can then say he attacked me and I was forced to defend myself. I was out numbered, him and his 2 buddies, and I felt my life was in danger.

Yes.



Yes, if my response offends them. It pisses me off they asked such a stupid question. If you attack me (verbally or physically) I'm going to defend myself. Besides, it's just another way to pressure test my art.



Just like an idiot to ask a stupid question then bring a knife to a gun fight. And training outside in public always attracts the crazies, weirdos, and morons. There is always some untrained idiot who thinks they are better than you.



Yes it does. Sounds to me like he needs to stick to art with a pencil and pen instead of his hands and feet.



You always get someone who is a wise guy. I just love people who say 'I don't care if you take martial arts or not. Make me mad enough and I'll kick you butt. I don't care what you do'. Like they think if they get really mad, it will nullify all my. . . . . . . 37 years of training and learning to defend myself. But then when you threaten or touch those same people, they squeal the other way 'stop man, you hurt me, you take martial arts, that's not fair you have skills, you're trained to hurt people'.

Wow, all that just because someone smarted off to me and I smarted back. . . . . I get beat up or in the hospital, sued and or lost my job, my family and me dead . . .wow! Amazing how a martial artist can come up with all those negative possibilities instead of believing in a fellow martial artist. Maybe I should stay at home, don't go out, seclude myself, become a hermit because at anytime if I go out, I might come in contact with people, treat an as*hole like he treated me, piss em off and end up dead.

Yeah, everything you've said is bound to happen. And then again, maybe not, at least it hasn't up to this point.

You have been training for 37 yrs and these are the replies and mindset you offer from all that you learned?

It seems (from your posts in this thread) that for all your time and effort the only thing you HAVE learned is how to JUST hurt people. If that is all you have learned in 37 yrs of training, you have certainly wasted your time.

Michael

 

[Xinglu]

The only time I was asked this I responded with "do you really want to find out?" apparently that was enough. Now - I would probably just smile and walk away.

All in all I think the OP responded well.

 

[Xinglu]

You have been training for 37 yrs and these are the replies and mindset you offer from all that you learned?

It seems (from your posts in this thread) that for all your time and effort the only thing you HAVE learned is how to JUST hurt people. If that is all you have learned in 37 yrs of training, you have certainly wasted your time.

Michael

The martial arts are about so much more then introducing pain to an opponent. I see it as a means to stop fighting, not start fighting.

 

[Wey]

You have been training for 37 yrs and these are the replies and mindset you offer from all that you learned?

It seems (from your posts in this thread) that for all your time and effort the only thing you HAVE learned is how to JUST hurt people. If that is all you have learned in 37 yrs of training, you have certainly wasted your time.

Michael

I agree 100%.

OP, you handled yourself very well.

I train in public sometimes, and I think constantly about people coming up to me and asking me this very question / initiating something. I figure though I need to train and whats meant to happen will happen. Some friends have jokingly asked me this before and I just laugh and say, "Nah man."

I've done a flashy kick after someone play punched me before, stopping right before their face, in which everyone all said "Thats Purple Dragon for you!" Thats it for me, though.

 

[still learning]

Hello, Man's Ego's .....can make someone brave....not neccessary smarter!

For those guys who wants to challenge the Sensi or Instructor who is a train martial artist? .....reminds me of the " world's stupidest people...

Aloha,