Fights

[Ryu]

I just sat down and tried to recall all the fights I had up until this point in my life, and wrote them down in a little book. I was thinking I had maybe 7 or 8 but as I started really remembering things I wrote down 20 fights I had from elementary up through high school. Including 2 more serious fights during my adult years after high school.
****, what kind of punk kid was I back then? It was strange seeing the number, and even though it was dumb kid stuff (well some were much more serious than others during my late teens) it still made me think.

I guess the experience is good in itself maybe, but anyway. Not that 20 is any real high number though.

Actually I will beg the question. How much real experience do you think is necessary to be able to defend yourself well?
Suppose someone has never been in a real fight, but trains and spars extremely realistically. Does it counter the inexperience on his part? What do you think?

Ryu

[ewallace]

I think they would be better prepared, but there isn't much that can simulate a good bare-fisted shot to the nose with no one around to say "Okay...that's enough". Not saying he couldn't win the confrontation, but there is just nothing that can really emulate the adrenaline, fear and uncertainty of a street fight. Especially if he was alone and the other guy has friends around.

[Tigerstyle]

You can have no real credibility until you hold the record of over 300 fights and have never been defeated.

[Ryu]

LOL@Tigerstyle.

[Ralek..]

Ryu,
Here's a spin off your question. If it's true that real fight experience is the only way to be sure you can defend yourself in a real life situation - what do you do?
Often I've heard stories in different MA circles, for example: Yip Man (WC) would encourage his students to go out and start real fights to see if their "stuff" really works. Ok, that's great and romantic and everything, but who would be stupid enough to do something like that in our society today?? There are problems with that on many levels. It's basically playing Russian Roulette because eventually your gonna pick the wrong fight (ex. 5 friends jump in and pound you, you get stabbed, shot, etc..)
Not to mention that we live in a society based on laws. You have the right to defend yourself, but you dont have the right to f@ck with someone just so you can test your MA skill. People who think that's cool are probably better off spending time in therapy rather than the dojo/kwoon.
So, if you train all your life and get into 1 fight, maybe you get your @ss handed to you by someone who's naturally tough but never trained MA. Wouldn't that suck?
So in closing, why waste your life training MA so you can defend yourself when you can just carry a gun? BTW - this question is intended to encourage further debate

[Johnny Hot Shot]

Who Cares,

Fights are something to be avoided.

The more you fight the better you get at fighting.

Practise does inhance fighting skill. The more realistic the better unless you are getting injured more than you are training.

Martial arts is more than just phisical conditioning, It is also Mental awarenes having the sence to avoid situations/environmenta that could lead to possible violent confrontations.

I think that the most important gain from martial arts training is confidence. Confidence and a positive attitude will get you further that a fast punch or a good takedown.

What I'm saying Ryu That it's better to be able to talk your way out of a situation than it is to fight your way out.

[Xebsball]

I think that if you train a lot, spar and stuff it doesnt make diference wheater or not you have had a certain number of real fights to be able to do well in them.

I had many fights with my brother.
The older ones i remember i defeated him by pulling his hair.
Our form of family combat evolved ever since and the very last ones include punches, kicks, takedowns...
I remember the last three:

1) At the time i was reading a Wing Chun book but on real training all i had learned were the basic stances from Eagle Claw since i only had one week training.
I dont remember the reason for it to start...
He charges at me and i sort of turn my head away and while he is behind he hits me with some hooks to the face, 2 or 3 actually hit so i turn away and push him i think.
We face each other, i punch him with a wing chun vertical punch i just learned it lands but has no power. He is a little stunned or distracted and i follow up with a double leg and take him down over to the sofa (see im nice, i could have hit his back on hard floor if i wanted).
So now i go to my brothers room and he follows, there we go blah blah blah, kick your ass, blah blah.
We start punching but we dont hit ****, until one of his lands lightly, then one of mine (roundhouse punch i think its called) lands on his teeth and gets him ****ed of.
I move to my room, and he follows me running. I have no space so i end up falling over my bed. He starts punching and im covering up the best that i can, he hits me in the head and stuff.
We break up then, end of fight, my face feels weird and stuff.
Either i won by superior technique or he won by points. Or maybe a draw.

2) He is talking on the phone with someone, i decide to tease him. So im doing a few finger jabs directed to his throat. One of them hits lightly but you know how sensible is this area of the body. He gets ****ed of and hits me with two roundhouse kicks to the tight. Im real angry and totally ready to kick his ass. My mom interupts us...

3) This one with kind of friendly. He provokes me and then i decide its time he learns the hard lesson of locking. None of us is striking anyway.
He tries to keep his arms near his body so that i cant lock him and ****. So i grab his throat, he grabs mine, i escape from his, he escape from mines. Somewhere on the prosses i got one of his arms and im not sort of at his side.
From there i do a standing kimura that is not really perfect (he is not feeling pain, its kinda like sakuraba did to Renzo while standing) and he goes: "What you doin" "I think your kung fu is not helping" then i show him i could easily throw him from there and make his face hit the floor (or sofa).

[koycymru]

I've been in only a handful of fights, but I've been luckier as far as being able to avoid them goes.

[KC Elbows]

To me, the following seems to have held true:

Low quality training, no sparring, no real fighting=terrible fighter, clean conscience

High quality training/sparring, no fighting=few minor injuries, maybe a major one, decent to great fighter, clean conscience

High quality training/sparring, fight background=definite injuries, great fighter, not lilly white, but not the devil either

Heavy fight background=too many fights for too few reasons, maybe great later in life, once the stupidity/posturing gets old

Mind you, I suppose a person could be stuck in a situation where they must fight many times, cannot escape from the circumstances, but there would have to be quite a few extenuating circumstances for the person to come away with a clean conscience(slave in gladiatorial arena, etc.)

[qeySuS]

On a sidenote ever notice how your friends with no training seem to get into a ****load of fights all the time? I havent been into a fight since i was 14 and that was basicly rolling around on the floor trying to hurt each other.

So my question is this, do non MA get into fights just because, they just talk smack and get into fights and dont really care, they have not much to prove. And on the flipside, do MA guys not get into fights because they think they'r above it and talk their way out of it, or is it because they are afraid they might not do so well? I know i have wondered if i'd get into a street fight if i'd do any good and if i wouldnt what that would say about my training (if anything)? Just a thought.

[fa_jing]

I have been in 15 fights, and was usually defeated. Oops, I'm still breathing, so, I was never defeated!! Take that Emin.
P.S.: All of my fights were before I turned 16.

Fah-Jing!!

[red_fists]

Hi Queysus.

So my question is this, do non MA get into fights just because, they just talk smack and get into fights and dont really care, they have not much to prove.

A lot of untrained People don't have the understanding of what is involved in a fight, possible outcomes, etc.
Also the haven't got the Discipline that most good MA got.

Liquor is also often involved
in those fights.

Liquor does't take the fear away, but kinda lowers the acceptable levels of social behaviour and thus we do stupid things we would never do when sober(dancing naked, fighting, sleeping around, etc.)

So we get drunk and do things that our normal social conditioning would prevent us from doing. Being drunk is often used as the "golden excuse" to justify those behaviours.

And on the flipside, do MA guys not get into fights because they think they'r above it and talk their way out of it, or is it because they are afraid they might not do so well?

2 things:
Most MA I know after years of study loose the desire to fight. (see below)
May it be realisation that fighting is useless, people only get hurt or simply knowing that they got a good chance of beating that Guy.

The other thing I think is Injuries we all love to train MA, but if we get injured in a fight we have to take off to recover from possible Injuries.

Also having developed good MA skills kinda gets scary(to me atleast), as I know that I can hurt somebody accidently if I happen to loose control.

Once I was so absorbed in what i was doing when my Girflfiend approached me an laid her hand on my shoulderr. I simply reacted and threw her halfway across the room onto the Coffee table via the couch.

It scared the living daylights out of me.

Example:
Kinda like that favorite sports car you been saving for 15yrs.
At the beginning you think you will dice all your Buddies in Town
Then you think of driving fast.
Picking up Chicks.

But one you get the car, you realise you waited 15yrs for it, and are lothe to risk that 15yrs investment/saving by driving fast or reckless unless in an environment where the safety is kinda guaranteed.
Also by now you have matured 15yrs (hopefully).

Yep, still a Sports car.
Yep, still can go faster than other Cars.

Not driving fast does not take anything away from the Car, still looks cool, impressive and CAN go fast when you touch THAT Petal.

Just my viewpoint. Other people might differ.

[PHILBERT]

I've been in probably, more or less, close to 100 fights in school. I use to be picked on alot when I was younger and so I got in fights like once a week, and most I lost,

I won several, and the one I remember most was when I beat the crud out of some kid in the library. He would constantly tease me and I finally got mad at him in the library one day and smashed his face into the wall. He never messed with me again.

[qeySuS]

Nice response Red_fists liked the Sports cars analogy.

[tsunami surfer]

Ryu when the time comes for action you will automaticly know it and you will react as you have trained to react. When we entered WW2 we got our asses handed to us at first but after hard training we were soon whipping battle hardend soldiers with years of experiance. If you have a hard quality training program going you will kick ass when the need arises. Just remember to train hard because someone else is training harder than you.