Which brings me to my blog for this evening.:
I know that sometimes I can sound a bit harsh on alot of the "experts" in the self defense industry and people that teach others how to protect themselves and their loved ones, and I apologize if I offend anyone or hurt feelings, but I just have to be honest with you.
Every single Martial Art out there today, while having good intentions, is leading people astray. Oh I know, I see you there in the back row, jumping up and down and I know that you are probably calling for my head, but it is the way that I feel. Please let me say that I am not trying to make you believe that these classes dont have their place in the world as they do. What I am simply trying to point out is the few following points:
- How can a Martial art, take a child of 8, 9 or 10 years old who has trained for a while in a given style, and slap them with a black belt? If my 12 year old son, who is 5 feet tall and weighs about 90 pounds comes up against a pedophile who is 6 foot 5 inches and weighs 290 pounds, what do you think would happen? What good is that black belt?
- How can a Self defense class take a 120 pound woman and each her a 2 or 3 hour course on self defense, expect her to walk out the door with the tools necessary do survive a "real life" knife attack?
- What is going to happen to anybody in a dojo setting who is dressed in a gi, and learns to fall on a 2 inch thick soft mat and learns to "tap out" at the first sign of any kind of pain, gets jumped by two or three gang members and beat down in the parking lot of the school?
- What is going to happen to that student who trains regularly and practices his/her art daily, and is taught how to defend themselves against a co ordinated attack by other students in the school who know what they are going to do and what the counter is and how to fall so they don't hurt themselves, when they are walking home one night and are jumped from behind and thrown to the ground so violently that it knocks the wind out of them?
- And what happens to the new, timid white belt who took this class to learn to be more confident, and to learn to defend themselves and they are taught different forms and katas and techniques from this 1000 year old art, do when they are confronted by an attacker with a gun as they leave their first class and are robbed or raped? Are they confident enough to use what they learned in that first class, or even100 class to survive and go home?
If you are ever in a real situation, it is going to be damned scary, and violent, and bloody and painful because there is not one predator in the world who gives a crap about your feelings, or the police, or the consequences of their actions. All they care about is taking what you have at any and all cost TO YOU! Not to them. True violent criminals do not play by society's rules, they make up their own. And unless you are prepared to play by the same rules, which means throwing out the passive, non violent life that you have grown up in, and the "don't fight at any costs" way that your mother and father raised you in in then you will be the next victim that the attacker will claim! It is just that simple.
Whew! That was a load off my chest, and yes, you in the back, I hear you screaming that I am teaching people to be the next violent criminal and to go out and look for trouble! Well sit down and shut up! I am in no way saying that you should go out and find the guy on the street who looks like he is up to no good and just pound on him for a while, nor am I saying that the next time someone comes up to you on the street you should take a bat and beat them to death.
What I AM saying is that if a true attack were to happen, and you will know when that is (And if you don't then we seriously need to spend some time together), I am saying that you will have only two choices to make, survive or die. It is your choice.
Prepare to Survive, until next time.
