If you want to learn to defend yourself, you join a karate school, right? After all, anyone with a high-ranking black belt and a host of shiny trophies proudly displayed in their window should be able to teach you how to survive one of the worst situations that can happen to a human being … truth?
I think you and I are old enough and experienced enough in the world right now to know that appearances are often very deceptive. What appears to be one thing is often something quite different. And learning self defense from a karate expert, at least one from today, is no exception.
How can I say this? What do I have against karate students, teachers and black belts?
I will start by saying that I have absolutely nothing against dedicated martial arts students and teachers, regardless of their rank or style. In fact, I commend and respect you for your dedication, motivation, and discipline in achieving both skill and rank in the way you chose.
Why do I question your ability to defend yourself, even in light of having earned a black belt or received trophies in one or more tournaments or competitions? A word …
Statistics.
Crime reports and statistics abound in accounts of people trained in martial arts, many of whom hold the rank of black belt, who are victims of brutal attacks by common street thugs, fighters without formal training in martial arts or in other fighting arts.
How can this be? After all, aren’t these people learning how to deal with a violent attacker? Isn’t that what you learn in a karate class?
To be honest with you, it is very difficult to go into all the reasons why this logic fails. If you want to really understand how and why this type of situation occurs, and more often than you think, you really need to read the book, “The Karate Myth: Why Most Martial Arts and Self Defense Programs Are Wrong”. This powerful book, and its supporting materials, should be the first thing anyone who wants to learn how to protect themselves reads before taking a single step to enroll in a class.
For now, let’s explore the possibility that maybe, just maybe, being able to defend yourself is more than just learning some great moves. Maybe, just maybe, the color of the belt or the size or the number of trophies, tells us little or nothing about how someone will be fair in a real-world self-defense situation against an enraged or demonic attacker hell-bent on getting more out of you. than a plaque or a trophy. . Maybe.
Let me finish by saying that just as there are dozens of reasons why someone might start training in karate or martial arts, there are also dozens of benefits that can be derived from them. But, and this is a big “but”, if your goal is to learn to defend yourself effectively, efficiently, and confidently against a real-life bad guy, it will take more than a piece of cloth to represent how long I’ve been practicing. a series of punches, kicks and blocks. More than one or two big shiny trophies will be needed, unless of course you plan to use the trophies as weapons (I would …).
In fact, it will take many of the same things that the street fighter brings to the situation, things that I find seriously lacking in most mainstream karate programs that I have seen taught in North America. If you are going to win against an assailant who has nothing to lose and everything to gain, you will have to make sure you arm yourself with the same tools that he carries in his arsenal. And I’m talking about guns, knives, or any other weapon like that. I’m talking about …
-
A commitment to win, whatever happens
- Survival instinct
- Superior attitude
- A total disregard for “getting it right”,
and …
- No illusory beliefs about so-called “fair play”
Until karate students can separate the traits developed for sportsmanship and being a positive member of society from those necessary to survive in a dangerous and life-threatening situation, I am afraid the result will always be the same. And that is …
… the one who fights to win – to survive – Will forever Win over those who are simply complying with the movements.