Poll: Martial Arts - Yay or Nay?

[Cobbs]

As the title say's, do you practice any kind of martial arts.
If so what kind, for how long and what belt/shirt/headband/tattoo/skin scarification are you?
EDIT: I practice karate from the age of 7-10, ninjitsu from 12-14 and have been doing karate for the last three months (since 17).
Also I did some parkour lessons for a few lessons, so that count's too

 

[Raven's Nest]

I do not but do want... I'd love to be flexible and fit enough to do capoeira but that's probably not going to happen. I like most eastern martial styles and have a respect for things like Krav Maga and that Spanish one what Nolan's batman does...

I'm more in favour of the ones which focus on acrobatics and agility rather than raw power or grappling though.

 

[Shade184]

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.

P&T are awesome. They can prove just about anything, those guys.

However, when I was still doing Zen Do Kai, I had never had more fun in my life, plus the confidence boost and the fitness aspects were both incredible. I can't wait to get back into it.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Sadly I don't, but I'd love to learn the ways of Jeet Kune Do. The way of thinking, fighting and overal philosophy really appeals to me. The moves are all so fluid, very beautiful.

That and Cowboy Bebop's Spike, who fights according to the Jeet Kune Do way, is a complete and utter badass.

I do not but do want... I'd love to be flexible and fit enough to do capoeira but that's probably not going to happen. I like most eastern martial styles and have a respect for things like Krav Maga and that Spanish one what Nolan's batman does...

I'm more in favour of the ones which focus on acrobatics and agility rather than raw power or grappling though.

Batman mainly uses ninjutsu martial arts; jujutsu, aikido, etc. In Batman Begins you see him train with ninjas and all.

And your avatar is freakin' awesome.

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.

Never heard of that show, care to explain what they said? I'm just seeing lots of good coming from martial arts, so you know.

 

[darth.pixie]

I wanted to when I was a kid. Then mom told me I was violent enough already without actually learning how to punch someone. Sadly, I haven't learned anything since then.

I'd prefer more of Krav Maga than martial arts. I like the Capoeira movements though. I would probably break my neck trying them.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Me too. P&T are amazingly intelligent and hilarious.

Basically, they proved martial arts to be a terribly ineffective self-defense tool. Not that there is anything wrong with fun. If it makes you happy and isn't hurting anyone, go ahead, right?

Terrible self-defense tool? There's tons of different kinds of martial arts, I doubt they all suck for self-defence. A lot of the famous ones are very flashy, that's true.

But Krav Magna for example is developed by the Israeli army for unarmed combat, Jeet Kune Do takes all the effective stuff from other martial arts for the sole purpose of proper self-defence. There's also the whole discipline and self-awareness thing.

 

[Shade184]

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.

P&T are awesome. They can prove just about anything, those guys.

However, when I was still doing Zen Do Kai, I had never had more fun in my life, plus the confidence boost and the fitness aspects were both incredible. I can't wait to get back into it.

Me too. P&T are amazingly intelligent and hilarious.

Basically, they proved martial arts to be a terribly ineffective self-defense tool. Not that there is anything wrong with fun. If it makes you happy and isn't hurting anyone, go ahead, right?

Pretty much, I don't expect it to be of any use against an attacker. In fact, the first thing they teach in Zeni is how to look for/make opportunities to get away from attackers, rather than to fight back.

But yes, it's fun, and that's why I love it.

 

[Soxafloppin]

Theres a few Martial Arts classes in the Leisure Centre I work in, I'l be honest most of them look like bullshit. Lots of time spent punching the air in sync with other people punching the air.

Theres a Wrestling class that looks far more interesting, because They actually grapple each other and bring each other to the ground, which just seems far more useful than what they do in the others.

 

[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.

Of course, because most people practicing martial arts aren't masters of said art and often think that they're more powerful than that they truly are. That ain't the fault of the martial art itself, their moves work but the practitioner doesn't. It doesn't help either that most of the real popular martial arts are a lot of show and discipline training rather than a proper self-defence tool. Your average karate dojo will never make you an anti-mugger punching machine.

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.

Fact is, some martial arts are fantastic self-defence tools. They're often just not wielded as such.

 

[Anah'ya]

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.

So, because a pair of popular smart-asses have an opinion, you believe practising Martial Arts is inherently dangerous (and that they are inefficient)? Very, errrr... intelligent.

No one can argue that the best defence is to avoid a confrontation to begin with, but to brush the ability to fend for yourself in case of an emergency under the carpet is ridiculous and as close minded as it can possibly get.

I am also fairly certain that more people hurt themselves practising [insert favourite sport with an inclination towards bodily harm] than getting robbed.

 

[baconsarnie]

I did karate for a few years a while, didn't stay long enough to do any proper sparring or something. Good for fitness and some form of self-discipline. For self-defence it was pointless, purely because of my nature, i never get into a fight/argument unless i KNOW i will win, perfectly demonstrated when, on the way back from karate one evening i got shouted at by a group of older looking teenagers who then started to run towards me, needless to say i pegged it as fast as i could before they got anywhere near me (didn't even look to see how many there were)

 

[Durotai]

Currently an MMA practitioner, however to be more specific, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Boxing and Karate.

Despite the hate it gets for being "impractical on the streets" MMA is actually quiet handy in terms of discipline and self confidence.

My teacher always gives us situational sparring including defence on the streets, from immobilizing to even maiming opponents if need be. Granted that I'd rather avoid such a confrontation, its always nice to have the knowledge necessary when such an extreme scenario

 

[zen5887]

I've been doing Martial Arts for about 10 years. I'm a Cho Dan Bo in Taekwon Do and am currently training in Jiu Jitsu and MMA. I flippin' love it. So much fun, so much to learn and its keeping me fit and healthy.

Now, I rant about this pretty much every time someone makes a Martial Art thread.. But anyways.. It really, really gets to me when people slam a Martial Art for being "ineffective on the street." People shouldn't assume that self defence is the only reason people do Martial Arts. There are so many other reasons to train. I did Taekwon do for 5 years, and right away I knew that the flashy kicks didn't work "in a real life situation" but I didn't care, I was having fun and eventually ended up doing Tournaments. I still had people critise me for doing it, but I never listened to them. Even now, when I do Jiu Jitsu, I still have people saying shit about it, assuming that I'm only training so I can be an unstopple self defence machine. What about like... Fun?

Remember that?

 

[Cowabungaa]

While facing a mugger with a gun, Penn and Teller say:

"If we had invested in martial arts training, we could try to go all Bruce Lee on their asses. But a few years ago, we did the arithmetic, and we figured that Karate lessons?even kids? Karate lessons?would cost us a grand or more a year, for each of us. And the hours we spent in class, and driving to the dojo, and practicing and sweating and bowing and Fuck that! We have a better, cheaper, and less risky self-defense system. [Penn hands over his wallet and watch.]"

I agree with the above.

I do too, and any proper self-defence expert who even could defend himself against a mugger will agree too, but as I've said before; the fact that many, if not all, of those popular martial arts courses don't do jack shit against muggers doesn't mean that that counts for every single martial art out there.

Saying that martial arts are a terrible form of self-defence is an incredibly silly thing to say, it generalises that tons of different martial arts out there are pretty much the same in nature and effectiveness, something that's simply not true.

Mind you, you're still right for the vast majority of the cases, but that's pretty different from just saying "martial arts suck for defence." Some are, most aren't, and you need to be pretty damn good at the some that are for it to actually be effective in self-defence, but that doesn't mean that it isn't possible as you seem to suggest.

 

[Anah'ya]

While facing a mugger with a gun, Penn and Teller say:

"If we had invested in martial arts training, we could try to go all Bruce Lee on their asses. But a few years ago, we did the arithmetic, and we figured that Karate lessons?even kids? Karate lessons?would cost us a grand or more a year, for each of us. And the hours we spent in class, and driving to the dojo, and practicing and sweating and bowing and Fuck that! We have a better, cheaper, and less risky self-defense system. [Penn hands over his wallet and watch.]"

I agree with the above.

"Do not bring a knife to a gunfight" (or your bare fists, for that matter). I did not actually believe I had to explain that I was not talking about defending yourself against firearms. This is reserved for movies and games, where realism has little foothold.

My apologies for forgetting that common sense is not always present in conversation on the internet.