Martial arts discussion thread

[GoktimusPrime]

Goktimus, Is there anything you don't know a lot about.??

Dude seriously... my martial arts knowledge/prowess is EXTREMELY basic! I'm just a novice. You should see some of the other guys I've trained with... seriously put me to shame.

Yeah we do a lot of grappling. Our lessons usually revolve around either self defense or competitive fighting. Earlier I made someone tap with a kimura. I really enjoy the MMA classes.

Ah yeah, I find the BJJ stuff is pretty neat for one-on-one fighting... but I personally would find it restrictive against multiple opponents. I prefer standing grappling - i.e. grapples where you're still upright rather than going down to the ground with the opponent.

I know of a guy who was attacked my multiple attackers in a car park (racially motivated). His mate who was BJJ trained pinned one of the attackers down like this and started wailing into him, but then another attacker came up from behind him and whacked his head with a plank of wood. That position, like many BJJ positions, is great for 1 v. 1, but somewhat lacking when there's secondary attackers. The other dude used standing grapples, so he lasted longer - but he was also eventually taken down because he was outnumbered 10:1.

[Bartrim]

Yeah we only use BJJ for competitive purposes. When we study self defence we are taught direct attacks to pressure points incase you are attacked by multiple assailants to disable them as quickly as possible.

In tonight's black belt club my sensei and I sparred using MMA gloves instead the normal 10oz boxing gloves. These MMA gloves dont absorb anything. I took a shot to the ribs and he dropped me like 3rd period French. Great to toughen you up though.

By the way Gok, you have an open invite to our academy anytime you travel down the coast... Just be prepared for lots of kicks to the upper inner thigh

[GoktimusPrime]

Yeah we only use BJJ for competitive purposes. When we study self defence we are taught direct attacks to pressure points incase you are attacked by multiple assailants to disable them as quickly as possible.

Fairy 'nuff.

In tonight's black belt club my sensei and I sparred using MMA gloves instead the normal 10oz boxing gloves. These MMA gloves dont absorb anything. I took a shot to the ribs and he dropped me like 3rd period French. Great to toughen you up though.

Mmm... body conditioning fresh. I personally don't see the purpose of using fully enclosed boxing gloves for self defence training since they fully cover up your fingers (so you can grab or use any open hand techniques or any hand techniques other than a closed fist really). MMA gloves are much more preferable.

By the way Gok, you have an open invite to our academy anytime you travel down the coast...

Thanks dude.

Just be prepared for lots of kicks to the upper inner thigh

If someone hits me there that's my own damn fault for leaving myself exposed.

[GoktimusPrime]

Yesterday I heard this kid bagging out Karate - saying stuff like, "Who'd use that in a fight?" and talking about how impractical it was for self defence etc. He complained about how he used to do Karate and how he never learnt anything useful for it. I tried to tell him that it would be useful if he practised and trained properly... then he admitted that he never did pay attention to the Sensei much anyway - and yet he still insisted that it was the school's fault.

Alright, there are quite a few martial arts teachers out there who don't teach properly and as a result their techniques don't work well in a fight (it's like having a car in top condition, but unless you have the skills/education to drive it properly then you're not going to be very effective at driving it - but that's not necessarily the car's fault). It's different from say people who train earnestly but still can't defend themselves adequately (appropriate to their level of training of course)... in that case, sure, their criticism may be valid. But to bag out a martial art or school when you couldn't be bothered paying attention to the teacher? Right.

Gotta love kids these days and how nothing's ever their responsibility.

[Bartrim]

Went to UFC on FX 2 in Sydney with my Sensei yesterday. What a great experience. The atmosphere was amazing and having my sensei next to me pointing out the finer points of the techniques used was a great learning experience. The only downer were the handful of idiots in the crowd who "knew" more then the professionals. I remember hearing one guy yell out "Punch him in the face!" Brilliant idea

[GoktimusPrime]

Glad to hear you guys had a good time.

[GoktimusPrime]

........

One of my students is currently nursing a broken leg after an injury in his dojo. Now I understand that injuries will happen, but here are the circumstances:
+ He was participating in a tournament and had his leg broken after his opponent swept his leg and he fell.
+ I asked him if he'd been taught breakfall techniques -- he didn't even know what I was talking about.

Yes, martial arts is an inherently dangerous physical activity and there's always risk of injury... but martial arts teachers have a legal duty of care (the same duty of care that school teachers have) and need to take reasonable measures to avoid/prevent injury. Surely you wouldn't allow a kid to do open/free sparring or tournament fighting unless they've been taught specific defensive techniques for safety, like breakfalling. What does the sensei expect him to do if he does lose balance and fall over in a fight?? Just fall down and break a leg? I can understand that injuries will happen in sport, even with the best preventative measures... but what irks me more is when there appears to be a lack of preventative measures.

Why should I care? This student has now missed two weeks of classes due to his injury; so it's directly affecting his school life. Also, because he's a rather advanced student I prepare special resources and work for him (and another student) to do that's different from the rest of the class (these 2 kids find regular work too easy and boring and they finish it in a flash). So it's a waste of my time preparing specialised work for him to do when he's not even turning up to class. Also they have a test coming up this week too... *sigh* Now luckily he's just naturally strong in Japanese so I'm not worried about his results, but what about his weaker subjects??

Why should the rest of us care? When the parents go to the dojo to claim the medical cost of the injury, the dojo will lodge a claim with their insurance provider. If the insurance provider determines that the school was derilict in their duty of care, then the school will charged excess (just like being an at-fault driver in a traffic accident); then what often happens is that the insurance premiums for martial arts teachers everywhere increases. This in turn may contribute to the increase of membership, fees etc. -- so ultimately everyone pays for it and inconveniences all other martial arts schools who are do the right thing and try their best to keep their students safe in training/practice.

[Bartrim]

The latest episode of TUF: Live showed one of the reasons I enjoy it so much. Urijah Faber picked one of his favourites Darren Cruikshank, a man who had grown up in a martial arts family and had trained his life to take on an outsider in James Vick who prefers boxing. Sure enough Cruikshank dominated him for the early part of the fight. Then shot for a takedown, copped a knee in the face from Vick and was KO'ed. One shot is all it takes

What was funny was in the post fight interviews Vick said he saw Cruikshank coming in for the takedown and went for a kick, it's just his knee got there first. Better lucky then good I guess

Also something I found odd is taht since Vick won, coach Cruz has the pick of the next fight. So he picked the karate kid Justin Lawrence who displayed some awesome striking against a world class BJJ fighter in Cristiano Marello. I would think Marello would be too experienced for the 21 year old Lawrence. Either way whoever wins this match it will mean two of the favourites have been eliminated in the first two fights as Cruikshank, Lawrence and Marello are considered 3 of the top 5 fighters in the house.