Is it Safe?

[Mike ODonnell]

Originally Posted by James Evans

My girlfriend spent 2 months studying kung fu in a monastery in China. She is not Jackie Chan. (She abhors violence! Very Budhist)

That is seriously cool....how did she go about finding a place like that? One of those free room and board or pay to live there? Now that is something I would do just for the simple experience of it. Kung Fu or not.

As for the fighting...in college when things got rough at the end of the night at the bar I used to tell the beer muscles guy "Ok...so do you want to go outside and slug it out and both have headaches and black eyes for days...or do you want me to tell you right now that you are the winner so we can both go back to trying to get laid and make better use of our time". They always took option #2.

Only kind of martial arts that I would ever take is one that focused more on disarming opponents of weapons, defending an attack and then getting out of there. That is more realistic for survival in the world is nowadays.

[Dave Paton]

John,

There is a significant youth wrestling program in New York (based out of Queens I think) called Beat the Streets Wrestling. They may know more about an adult wrestling club. You can google them.

[Dave Paton]

Ben,

I just saw on Inside MMA on HDNET that Chuck Norris was World Champion in No Contact Karate. I think it's where you kick and punch someone really close to their face without actually hitting them. Hilarious in my opinion but may be up your alley.

[James Evans]

Originally Posted by John Alston

James, you're spot on.
I always laugh at the name of the workout called "fight gone bad" and don't see how anyone who has competed in any fight sport couldn't.
If all that happened at the end of your fight was you were totally tired and gassed then the fight went pretty damn well.

I believe Glassman created that to simulate the feeling of fighting through rounds. On the test run he asked one of the guinea pigs if it felt like being in a fight and got the answer "yeah, a fight gone bad".

I spent some time thinking over the possibility of a routine for rugby sevens. For those unenlightened readers sevens is played by 7 guys on each team for 7 minutes each way (10 in a final) on a full size pitch. Speed and conditioning are at an absolute premium. It sucks.

So I considered three 7 minute rounds with a variety of multi-directional sprints, drops to the ground, agility work, burpees, powerbags (or sandbags) shield hits etc. The coach could call the shots through the rounds and everything could be random.

But then I thought, no James, this is utter bullshit. Unless you have a 100kg guy smashing you every 30 seconds it's nothing like it. Screw how many burpees you can do, get up from that. And again.

[James Evans]

Originally Posted by Dave Paton

Ben,

I just saw on Inside MMA on HDNET that Chuck Norris was World Champion in No Contact Karate. I think it's where you kick and punch someone really close to their face without actually hitting them. Hilarious in my opinion but may be up your alley.

Isn't that the essence of capoeira? In Brazil I did see them making contact although the receiving protagonist looked pretty pissed off.

[James Evans]

Originally Posted by Mike ODonnell

That is seriously cool....how did she go about finding a place like that? One of those free room and board or pay to live there? Now that is something I would do just for the simple experience of it. Kung Fu or not.

As for the fighting...in college when things got rough at the end of the night at the bar I used to tell the beer muscles guy "Ok...so do you want to go outside and slug it out and both have headaches and black eyes for days...or do you want me to tell you right now that you are the winner so we can both go back to trying to get laid and make better use of our time". They always took option #2.

Only kind of martial arts that I would ever take is one that focused more on disarming opponents of weapons, defending an attack and then getting out of there. That is more realistic for survival in the world is nowadays.

I really don't know. It wasn't quite like the Shaolin Temple in Mathew Polley's recent book. This place seemed to take (Western) people on a fairly regularly basis but from what she tells me and the photos I've seen the monks mean business. I think it was as much the cultural experience as anything else that appealed to her and refreshingly I know she has never seen a Bruce Lee film in her life.

Krav Maga puts the emphasis on that. I approve of the idea that you should always look for the safest way out. Remember there was a thread a while back when the poster wanted to be Charles Bronson and we all laid into him?

[Mike ODonnell]

Originally Posted by James Evans

I really don't know. It wasn't quite like the Shaolin Temple in Mathew Polley's recent book. This place seemed to take (Western) people on a fairly regularly basis but from what she tells me and the photos I've seen the monks mean business. I think it was as much the cultural experience as anything else that appealed to her and refreshingly I know she has never seen a Bruce Lee film in her life.

Krav Maga puts the emphasis on that. I approve of the idea that you should always look for the safest way out. Remember there was a thread a while back when the poster wanted to be Charles Bronson and we all laid into him?

Yeah that would be an amazing experience....would love to do that someday. I agree on the Krav Maga as that is what I was thinking about. Although have you seen that show on Discover Channel (I think?) about the 2 fighters going around the world and trying different styles? I saw the one in Israel and Krav Maga...one was with the Israelian army and the other was with a private woman instructor....holy crap did they beat the living piss of out them....there was no training, there was like...ok, time to fight and you better know what you are doing. Wow....but it was real, as that is real survival for them. Disarm, knock the guy down and get out of there. That and NEVER get on the ground...as then you are screwed with people kicking and stomping you to death...of course that was dealing with more than one person...but that is usually how fights go down anyways.

I found my best defense was letting go of the ego of needing to be right....I don't need to act tough....I don't need to be right....I would rather walk away and get on with my day than sit in a hospital for days and feel I was right. That and people don't fight fair anyways nowadays....so I am allergic to getting any additional "holes" put in me. Defending yourself or someone else is one thing....anything else is just for the ego. Even nowadays....if a mugger comes up with a weapon....here.....take the $20 I have in my pocket....it's not worth getting stabbed for.

[Gant Grimes]

Mike, you're right that being on the ground is never a good idea. That's why I only practice BJJ for fun and (possibly) competitive purposes. Slapping a tight triangle choke on somebody doesn't mean a lot when his buddies are kicking you in the head. It also doesn't do much for 2v1 or 3v1.

Stay away from any art that talks about disarming weapons. It doesn't work. You'd have to practice diligently for years to even have a CHANCE of disarming a bladed weapon. The best you can hope for is protecting your sensitive areas.

As you said, it's best to put your ego behind you. I'd rather apologize for no reason (I'm married, I'm used to it) and buy somebody a drink than take a bottle to the noggin'.

James, I took the original post as an inquiry of a good art to take without being injured. Getting "beat up" and being injured (which causes weeks of missed training) are very different things. You can have a safe training environment and get your ass whipped on a weekly basis. You can also train with a bunch of hotheads and get an elbow or knee hyper-extended every month.

I agree with the rugby conditioning, but that's probably not up the original poster's alley. I gave my knee and a few pints of blood to the sport. I miss it.

[James Evans]

Originally Posted by Gant Grimes

James, I took the original post as an inquiry of a good art to take without being injured. Getting "beat up" and being injured (which causes weeks of missed training) are very different things. You can have a safe training environment and get your ass whipped on a weekly basis. You can also train with a bunch of hotheads and get an elbow or knee hyper-extended every month.

But I don't think that was what Ben was asking is it? Or am I being harsh? He highlighted the GPP potential of a variety of combat sports and asked which was the safest. I took that to mean he was interested in the GPP potential little else because, as he said he wanted to fill in the 'other half of fitness'.

I should probably let it go shouldn't I?

Fighting in the real world is not good. Lots of places I avoid going to here because you just know something is going to happen. It makes me uneasy. I was getting off the bus last summer and some fat kid in a group of about 10 twenty year olds made some remark about my girlfriend. I did point out the error of his ways but the heart said smack the little shit while the head said no walk away. She would have been absolutely horrified if I had done anything. Ironically years ago a girlfriend accused me of being a coward because I didn't pile in a similar situation.

These kids were all middle class and soft as hell but I'm seen guys facing up to each other on the same route who wouldn't back down and would be happy to put your head through the window. I'm sure Walshy would have an opinion on this but it's not worth it. I know who I am, I don't need to prove it that way.

I also got mugged about 8 years ago. I think the guy was on PCP or something. He wouldn't have caught me normally but I'd had a bit to drink and my 11 sec 100 metres (back then) went straight out the window as I slipped over. That's when I saw what he'd threatened me with as I first pushed him away: a 10'' screwdriver. Utterly pointless. No money in my wallet and none in my bank account that day. Plenty of sleepless nights after that.

Thread diversion I'm afraid.

[Gant Grimes]

No worries.

The last serious situation I was in at a bar involved me wearing a fur coat (long story) and an offensive lineman drenched in various liquids he accused me of throwing on him. I denied everything and asked him if he really wanted to take the chance of having his ass whipped by a man in a fur coat. He left, more disgusted and confused than anything. That's when I saw a tray of shots I had knocked over on him.

And that's why you should drink at home.