Poll: Martial Arts - Yay or Nay?

[SinisterGehe]

I do not.

I saw a Penn and Teller: Bullshit! episode on martial arts a while back. Pretty much proved what a bad thing they are. Interesting stuff.

But it still doesn't mean you CAN NOT practice them if you don't like. That episode focused primarily on self defense via martial arts, not that the whole idea of it is bad thing.
They bashed religion but still said that it is your choice if you believe or not, just do not enforce it to people who don't.
I got friend who is Finnish champion ship level on Karate, yet she keep saying it does bollocks for defense at the end of the day. She keeps saying that it is a great sport and fun hobby, even it busted her knee for rest of her life.

And no. I can not do sports really, I got weak knees and nerve damage on my right hand.

 

[Merkavar]

i got like a blue belt in taekwondo (sp?) like 15 years ago. does that count?

 

[Michael Risbridger]

Ok, Ive done Martial Arts for around 16 years im 24 right now and somebody saying its not going to work clearly isnt a fighter of any sort.....and there is a split in martial arts self defence (jiu jitsu, Krav maga) and sports (most MMA, Tae kwon do) and its firstly about what you want from training and next its about the teacher.
I would say everybody should learn something just to see if its for them.

Fact is were I live its important to know how to protect yourself cause if you just give your stuff to somebody they'll just try again later however if your trained and attacked by 2 guys trying to take you money and phone you've got a fighting chance,
This happened to me and both guys ended up in stretchers and I did have cuts and bruises but it could have been alot worse had I not fought back.
And you say P&T say just give them what they want......what if your a girl and what if there arnt trying to mug you what if they are trying to rape you? should you just let it happen or should fight back? training in something like Jiu jitsu or krav maga would give you a shot at least.

 

[UberNoodle]

I do not.

I saw a Penn and Teller: Bullshit! episode on martial arts a while back. Pretty much proved what a bad thing they are. Interesting stuff.

That's laughable. Did they 'prove' how much of a bad thing game stores are by profiling Gamestop?

There's nothing at all wrong with martial arts. I live in Japan where a large amount of them come from. I used to train at the Kyoto Budo Centre. Martial arts are great for fitness, self-awareness and esteem, challenge, patience, co-ordination, spiritual development (in the non religious sense), and so on. THEY ARE NOT, a way to 'learn how to fight'. That is not the tenant or maxim of perhaps ANY proper martial arts schools. The arts taught are a means to further self exploration and development. There's nothing wrong with that at all. That martial arts are primarily personal, allows people to learn self sufficiency if team sports are not their thing. Martial arts also a great way to make friends and connections. If anything is 'wrong' or 'bad', it is because of the teacher or the school.

That being said, if a person wishes to learn sports interpretations of martial arts, then I say, go for it. But even then, they shouldn't be going to to learn how to 'bust heads'. LIke any sport, the value is in the training and discipline. What you do with the result is your own choice.

If the connotation of 'bad' is that the martial arts aren't 'good enough' in a fight, well that certainly comes down to the combatants and every anti-MA/pro-OTHER 'expose' I have seen has been very onesided. A crap combatant is a crap combatant. A martial artist will probably never try to use the fancy stuff taught for display and co-ordination purposes, unless he's an idiot. In every martial art I have done, we've been taught that 'go large' is for show, but when it's real, techniques get quite minimal and direct.

 

[StBishop]

I study a system known as Jishukan Jujitsu. It combines elements of modified Jujitsu (joint locks, pressure points and soft targets), Judo (throwing), Karate (kicks and certain methods of punching or other hand strikes), boxing and recently one sensei has been suplimenting our grappling with BJJ. In short, they aim to train us in such a way that we are well rounded, capable martial artists who will unleash our inner mongrel when required.

Judo's not just throwing. Judo actually incorporates a large amount of groundwork. In my experience it is about 50/50 however some people use about 90% ground work and 10% take down style throws (Leg sweeps etc rather than shoulder throws).

Judo also incorporates chokes, strangles (there's a difference), arm bars and wrist locks in ground work.

More similar to Jujitsu than many believe. I have seen people who've only ever practiced Jujitsu compete in Judo tournaments and visa versa.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu comes from Judo Carlos Gracie watched a demonstration by Mitsuyo Maeda and became a student of his and from there he developed BJJ

Well that makes sense.

I've never studied any form of Jujitsu, only Judo.

(Capcha, why the hell are you including a lambda?)

 

[Lord Doomhammer]

I vote NAY! why?...
...I have a gun.

 

[UberNoodle]

I do not.

I saw a Penn and Teller: Bullshit! episode on martial arts a while back. Pretty much proved what a bad thing they are. Interesting stuff.

That's laughable. Did they 'prove' how much of a bad thing game stores are by profiling Gamestop? There's nothing at all wrong with martial arts. I live in Japan where a large amount of them come from. I used to train at the Kyoto Budo Centre. Martial arts are great for fitness, self-awareness and esteem, challenge, patience, co-ordination, spiritual development (in the non religious sense), and so on. THEY ARE NOT, a way to 'learn how to fight'. That is not the tenant or maxim of perhaps ANY proper martial arts schools. The arts taught are a means to further self exploration and development. There's nothing wrong with that at all. That martial arts are primarily personal, allows people to learn self sufficiency if team sports are not their thing. Martial arts also a great way to make friends and connections. If anything is 'wrong' or 'bad', it is because of the teacher or the school.

That's your opinion. You're welcome to it.

What a meaningless response. You obviously have no interest in learning or exploring the topic, but you sure love to throw out empty absolutes. How about addressing what I wrote and showing me where it's such a clear 'matter of opinion'. Or are you just going to regurgitate what some magicians on TV said?

You have to earn your seat at the table during discussion time.

Cheerio.

 

[brunothepig]

I only did Karate for a few years. Had to be in the "young teens" kinda class, cause mum couldn't come into town to pick me up any later than that. I quit after I hit orange belt, or maybe green... Anyway, the class I was in was really simplified, I learned how to punch and block properly, roll and stuff, and learned one kata. But the adult class had the interesting stuff. Wouldn't mind picking something up now that I live in the city.
The only question is what...
As for those saying it's useless in any situation you're being attacked...
If the guy is mugging you, and has a weapon of any description, you damn well should hand over your money. My friend has studied Zen Do Kai, Karate, Tae Kwon Doe, BJJ, Judo and Yoga (yeah, yoga) and even he wouldn't fight someone in that situation. By the way, I'm not talking one or two years. The guys a machine, he's qualified to teach most of those... He does.
If the guys unarmed, or after your life, out to harm you or whatever, then you damn well want to fight. Running from a guy with a gun is risky at best, you may be in a situation you can't run. At the very least, if he's faster and you turn your back on him, you're fucked whether he has a weapon or not.

 

[s0p0g]

nope, sadly i don't practice any; but i would sooo love aikido; the philosophy behind is just awesome

but working in 3 shift rotation system doesn't go well with evening-only training times :/

 

[Dr Snakeman]

Yes, a terrible self-defense tool.

More people are injured practicing martial arts each year than are injured in robberies and assaults. Running away is ALWAYS the best option. Fighting, regardless of how many years of some sport you have under your belt, is foolish. This, any law enforcement officer will tell you.

Again, Krav Magna is specifically designed for soldiers to disable armed assailants while being unarmed yourself. It's made to be as effective as possible and is proven to be just that. However, the problem with every tool is that in the end it all comes down to the wielder of said tool. It doesn't matter if the moves itself are amazingly effective and work superbly, if the practitioner can't execute them properly it doesn't matter how good the martial art is.

I agree with you here. There are a very few martial arts that "work", and that's one of them. Good rule of thumb? If it's used as the primary unarmed combat system of a military force, it probably kicks ass.

However, I'm going to be honest: I quoted you because it's spelled Krav Maga. There is no "n" in the word.

Sorry, but the spelling Nazi in me was not going to let me just ignore it.

 

[UberNoodle]

My opinion is at odds with yours and your most recent post makes it clear that a resolution is not possible. You also seem to be getting worked up and it would be best for that not to

Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not 'worked up', however, you're opinion appears entirely third hand. Mine and so many others in the forum are first hand. What one experiment by a pair of celebrity magicians (who have been publically incorrect before, mind you) has to say is overwhelmed by countless first hand experiences of people who have been helped by martial arts.

You are welcome to your opinion, but your stance appears to be that once set, your opinions must stay that way. Despite the examples cited and the testimonials, you still cling to your opinion and refuse to step away from it, even for the sake of exploration. I'm glad we're calling it quits, if you haven't yet gotten a handle on how discussion works. This isn't a debate in which you MUST hold a side regardless. Open your mind and unfreeze your 'opinion' and you might learn something. Grow.

 

[UberNoodle]

Rather than stray into personal quips, best you keep the discussion on topic. No need to bump the thread with such things.

They aren't 'personal quips'. That is exactly the persona you've constructed by your lack of effort. Your response to my genuine attempt to engage you in intelligent disgussion was the equivalent of a 'talk to the hand'. You didn't address my points, you didn't comment on them. You appear to be demanding others to 'come to you' but refuse to entertain the thought that you may have to 'go to them'. If you don't wish to be misconstrued, you will have to put in the effort.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Yes, a terrible self-defense tool.

More people are injured practicing martial arts each year than are injured in robberies and assaults. Running away is ALWAYS the best option. Fighting, regardless of how many years of some sport you have under your belt, is foolish. This, any law enforcement officer will tell you.

Again, Krav Magna is specifically designed for soldiers to disable armed assailants while being unarmed yourself. It's made to be as effective as possible and is proven to be just that. However, the problem with every tool is that in the end it all comes down to the wielder of said tool. It doesn't matter if the moves itself are amazingly effective and work superbly, if the practitioner can't execute them properly it doesn't matter how good the martial art is.

I agree with you here. There are a very few martial arts that "work", and that's one of them. Good rule of thumb? If it's used as the primary unarmed combat system of a military force, it probably kicks ass.

However, I'm going to be honest: I quoted you because it's spelled Krav Maga. There is no "n" in the word.

Sorry, but the spelling Nazi in me was not going to let me just ignore it.

Yeah I noticed when I looked up that video I quoted. My bad, I think I always heard it pronounce like that or something. In any case, thanks for the correction.

But I'd also want to list Jeet Kune Do under the list of martial arts that 'work', despite it not being a proper martial art according to some. It basically takes everything that is effective from other martial arts, even fencing, and ditches all the showmanship and things for sport for the simple sake of being able to defend yourself.

Given, I doubt it's so elaborate as the military Krav Maga art. I doubt Jeet Kune Do has collected anti-gun techniques, though I guess it being an ever-evolving art they could be used. Doubt it though, if I recall correctly it's supposed to be accessable for everyone, I don't think those anti-gun moves fall under that, that's real law-enforcement/military-grade stuff.

My opinion is at odds with yours and your most recent post makes it clear that a resolution is not possible. You also seem to be getting worked up and it would be best for that not to occur. For the sake of the forum, we will call it quits there.

I don't want to defend the other person persée, but I must also admit that you do just repeat your opinion and don't actually discuss it. I mean, me and other people have responded in a, I'd like to think, civil way on your opinion pointing out certain flaws in your reasoning. But while you don't really respond to that you do respond to people calling you out personally. That ain't very sporting now is it?

So for the sake of this discussion, what do you think of the things I and others have said about your opinion? Any comments?

 

[Artina89]

I do not.

I saw a Penn and Teller: Bullshit! episode on martial arts a while back. Pretty much proved what a bad thing they are. Interesting stuff.

Yeah, I watched that one too. I love P & T.

OT: I don't practice a martial art, never have and I don't have enough time or energy these days to do anything like that.

 

[UberNoodle]

Rather than stray into personal quips, best you keep the discussion on topic. No need to bump the thread with such things.

They aren't 'personal quips'. That is exactly the persona you've constructed by your lack of effort. Your response to my genuine attempt to engage you in intelligent disgussion was the equivalent of a 'talk to the hand'. You didn't address my points, you didn't comment on them. You appear to be demanding others to 'come to you' but refuse to entertain the thought that you may have to 'go to them'. If you don't wish to be misconstrued, you will have to put in the effort.

Again, this isn't helping anyone or anything. Best it end.

*sigh* What's not helping this forum is your attitude. Address what I wrote initially, with more than the dismissive pass-off that you gave me. If you can manage that, then you're on the path to mastering your first 'martial art' - the Way of Discussion.

 

[Screamarie]

Aikido for about a year. Didn't learn much cause it was a very slow class that was just being offered by my college so no belts or anything.