Are any members here avid Martial artists? It can actually be any form of fighting, like Boxing, and not a strict MA. Also, have you ever been in a situation where it has saved your life, such as during a mugging? Even if you've never studied a fighting regime, is there anything you'd be interested in learning in the future? My apologies if this has been discussed before.
I do kickboxing usually WAKO rules - attend Cimac comps locally and the Irish Open every year, previous to that i boxed locally under the ABAE. Has it helped me in the street? - i willsay yes because i have my fair share of fights given my job but i am a bit lazy now and just go for captor, much quicker to gain control of a suspect and not as risky to cause injury to myself or them than using my fists etc.
I stopped about 3 years ago but used to do Shotokan Karate for about 5 1/2 years. It's not helped me in any sticky situations (luckily not had any) but I do (almost) always look where I'm going before I move. I tried chi gung for a while too. I didn't stick with it but that was also good (as was karate) for reminding me to breath properly. thelaw, what are you, a teacher?? Oh, and I wear kung fu slippers around the house
What line of police work are you in exactly? I wouldn't imagine you're allowed to dish out very much damage even if you have a thug and his friends trying to kill you, as I've only ever seen the police subdue suspects; I've never seen one in a full-on fight for his life. How often does something like that happen? Do you come across many trained suspects in your line of work, or are most of them drunken idiots thinking they're Steven Seagal?
I did 8 years of competitve Goju-Ryu Karate, 1 year of WAKO Kickboxing, and am trying to find someone who can train capoeira or Krav Maga here. Has it saved my life? Not that I know of. It has saved my rear a few times, though, as it's tought me not to try and fight fair, to fight quick, and to hit for softspots.
Yeah I did Judo from the age of 12 for 3 years then wu shu kwan chinese kickboxing for about 3 years and then kempo full contact katate for another 5 years got my black belt first dan in kempo and black belt in wu shu kwan. Have I had to use it, Far to often I'm afraid to say where I grew up you would get young kids with knives an iron bars only to willing to mug some old lady or rob some other youngster and the police never came near the place.
I boxed for about 5 years, was quite good at it ..lol. And have I used it as Bumrush says, far to often. I grew up in Paddington in London where pulling a knife on some one or using a bottle was considered quite normal in the pubs and clubs. I didn't learn to fight for that reason, my dad was a good boxer and won several titles in the army and he encouraged me to have a go. Having that behind me though has been a help at times.
I am a special constable so yes i am out on the beat - if someone is trying to assault me then Section 3(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1967 and other statue powers - i am allowed to use all and necessary force to defend myself or another if required till such time i can gain reasonable control which is why in alot of cases officers are "subdue-ing suspects" be it with restraint/handcuffs/captor etc however we are also trained to strike and or kick if the situation requires IE i cannot go for my captor and the person is too big for me to restrain ie strength on strength then a strike maybe necessary usually as a distraction because its all i will have left as a option - but no it does not mean that once a officer gain control then a officer can continue dishing it out. But yes if someone was trying "kill" me IE - someone with a knife trying to actually stab me and my back was literally to the wall and i have considered/tried lower force options and they have failed or they are ruled out as not suitable etc then with no other option then i will use lethal force if needed however any force is used then myself/another officer will have to justify as being proportionate and reasonable to the circumstances after the fact. But good police officers should never really find themselves in that situation and would have hopefully controlled it before it reaches such a stage. Have i come across people trained? - well not really some people have some basic boxing skills from when they were kids etc but most people soon forget that (usually drunk) and go back to swinging wide punches etc...but like i said a good officer should not really reach that point with a suspect if at all possible and when i have i just step back and use the captor but when a group of drunken adults kicked off at me and my colleagues when we arrested his friend i was unable to go for my captor safely when the person grabbed my stab vest and raised his fist so i had to strike first to gain control.
A rarity these days in my experience. I trained for 2 years in karate several years ago. Over the last three years, I've studied ninjutsu. I've trained less in the last year, as I broke my ankle in the course of obtaining my second belt. The organisation I train with, the Bujinkan, practices 9 different arts which can be traced back 1000yrs in some cases and there is no competition or sport element to what we do. It is derived from original feudal Japanese battle practices and is therefore not suitable for judging with points or whatever. Have I used it outside the dojo? Yes. But not to hurt others. Only to be more aware of developing situations and avoid them. That's part of my training. People trained in "fighting" without a full understanding of what martial arts are about, are extremely dangerous when drunk. They tend to have egos and big mouths in my experience and that does nobody any good.
It's interesting to see how many people have learned a fighting/self defence skill. Myself, I used to train Wing Tsun, and I've trained and continue to train in Krav Maga, which I've found is extremely effective as it places heavy emphasis on defence. Before, I had the usual "I can kick anyone's ass in a fight" attitude; if someone was looking for trouble, I'd mouth off at them in the blink of an eye, but after seeing how brutal it can be, I've gained a whole new respect for violence and wish to avoid it at all costs. Now I just walk away from troublemakers and ignore them, and would only engage if it were life threatening. Really, the chances of you walking away from an attack unscathed are very slim, and most people carry knives nowadays. A big ego isn't worth losing your life over. As for thelaw, you have my utmost sympathy at some of the abuse you guys put up with every day. The drunken public are vile and have no respect for anything or anyone. I will NOT be caught out in town after 10pm because of all the spitting, cussing and abuse drunken teenagers shout to random strangers.
I don't practise(sp?) any martial arts for the moment, but im very interested on Sambo, part of it because its very effective on self defence, where it counters common street-fight moves and knives too.
18 months of Kickboxing 1 Lesson of Krav Maga 6/7 months of BJJ so far under Roger Gracie Has it ever saved me on the street? Well no but I'd like to think I'm in a better condition to run away.
Done Boxing for a good while, Muay Thai for a good while, Judo for a good while, My dad's a 6th dan in karate though, He's always said the best thing to do is "punch the other person in the face as hard as you can" then repeat the process, If he doesn't go down in 3 punches, and doesn't look hurt, Run as fast as you can. I've used my boxing skills twice that i can remember, Once in the hotel removing some loud mouth lad that squared up to me, He went flying down the stairs out the front door. Then a few hours later when a drunk was in the front garden shouting at guest, I intervened and he ended up in a ambulance quoting the policeman "He doesn't even know his own name" It's funny in the 7 years i've been here, We've had around 3 people kick off? That's a pretty damn record in my books. I do them to keep in shape basically,
This is encouraging to read. This is fundamental to martial arts. Respectfully, I would disagree with your Dad. If you've hit someone in the face 3 times and they haven't gone down or been visibly hurt, the chances of you getting to run away unscathed are rather small. I would expect someone I had punched in the face 3 times to want to hurt me and if they're undamaged, they're likely to be able to damage me a fair bit. Also, a fist to the face is possibly one of the silliest weapon-to-target combos you can employ with the human body. There are far more effective strikes and take downs, situation dependent. The skull is very hard, your knuckles generally aren't. Always try to match your chosen target with an appropriate weapon. Forehead, teeth, fingers, hands, elbows, knees, feet and combinations thereof are far more effective when the appropriate target is considered. The "best" warriors, use their brains first and foremost.
Full course in Krav Maga and 4th dan Yagyu Shinkage-Ryu kenjutsu. I too grew up in a place where violence was commonplace, and while I never escaped unscathed, I ALWAYS handed back more than was given to me.
As I've said before, fencing must be one of the most useless arts ever unless you're facing up against someone with a sword then it's just a case of stab them while they're out of range which doesn't require much skill. The biggest help is probably from the ignore-anything-that-isn't-threatening attitude and the general avoidance of the opponent's weapon whilst attacking. If I'm ever confronted I'd still turn tail before anything else though, even if I did know how to hold my own.
People Harden their knuckles, Also a punch to the face works great so i disagree with you, You could always let them throw the first punch, Then use Combo's to counter, Grabbing, Throwing, Using there own weight and balance, But that's just too much effort, Now well your doing all these fancy moves, What's his mate doing? I prefer to keep both my feet on the ground in a fight, I'm looking to temporarily disable the guy, Not kill him. When your a trained boxer, a fist to the face is quite lethal on its own, and isn't silly, I hope we're talking about general fights in the street here, and not talking about the off chance you meet another trained fighter.
I was always taught to first try to talk them down, If that fails then to take them out as fast as possible. I found that it was best to let them make the first move once they have commited themselfs to moving forward a quick down kick to the knee would pretty much finish it.
Fencing's not a martial art, it's a sport. But that doesn't mean you can't learn anything practical from it. Fitness, good co-ordination and great observational skills are all transferable. People do harden their knuckles, yes. But there are still more effective strikes. As for letting them throw the first punch, if they're trying to punch you, you've failed in avoiding the situation. You can stay on your feet and effectively avoid and counter punches quite happily with training and practice. I don't train in fancy moves, I do train to be aware of everyone around me and use his mates where applicable. Granted for a boxer, a fist to the face is the go to strike, but it's overt, easy to spot and avoid and it's effectiveness is often down to strength as much as, if not more than, technique. If it works for you, go ahead, but I've seen very few punches connect outside pubs/clubs and whether they do or not, once thrown the 5-0 will know you intended to hurt the guy. There are subtler ways of going about it.... On the street, anyone could be an "average" guy, or an MMA/BJJ/insert appropriate style here trained expert. Better to assume they could seriously hurt you and act accordingly. You can't always count on them being weaker, smaller or less experienced than you.
