Martial Arts, Self Defense, and Combat Sports

Mad Dog Vachon, RIP:






Beloved wrasslin villain will be sorely missed.

 

Wonder if Silva will call it quits after this?



No surprise here!

 

Probably his last fight. He was a great champ. Unlikely to recover from that at his age.

 

Hope your questions were answered. Silva was dominated in the first round and close to being put away within the first 2 minutes of the fight, and of course I'm sure you saw the leg kick that was checked by now that probably ended Silvas career. Like I said before, Weidman whips Silva 4 out of 5, if not more. He's just a more complete fighter.

 

Apparently Silva is looking to fight again. Not sure if he will be the same fighter, but I figure even with the injury he has at least two more fights in him.

 

Self-defense training has got nothing to do with sport; but sport is a great deal more fun.

 

Much of what's passed off as 'self defense' is utter nonsense which only works in static/controlled situations, and conversely, combat sports are actually the most reliable forms to study for effective unarmed self defense.

 

Hahahahaha! Yes, the art forms perfected for self-defense purposes over centuries of trial and effort and actual application and real body counts are absolute poo whereas sports arena stuff . . . well that's tried and true in every respect . . . with all its rules against striking certain target spots. Oh yes!

 

What art forms are you referring to?

 

The Philippine and Chinese arts mostly, but India produced some wickedly effective stuff as well. The truth is that it all works and that anyone crossing one of today's modern sports monsters would also be making -- most likely anyway -- a huge last mistake. But which arts are effective and which ones are mostly for show has been an ongoing and never ending series of debates since the 1950s when Judo was king in the United States and Okinawan and Japanese karate was being questioned as to their effectiveness with some 'experts' considering them to be the be all and end all of martial arts effectiveness and other equally credentialed 'experts' calling them exotic forms of modern dance.

The truth being that it always comes down to the individual martial artist or fighter. It always has and it always will.

 

If I wanted to carry a knife, expandable batton, or perhaps look for the nearest stick like object in case of a defensive situation, then yeah Kali or Escrima would be okay. Chinese arts are a pretty much a waste, outside of San Shou. Even Wing Chun is highly questionable. Judo/Karate are actually pretty decent provided that some sensible hand technique is added (both offense and defense).

For practical/reliable/nonsensical self defense, a person is FAR better off training MMA, or one of the main arts it's comprised of (boxing, jiujitsu, muay thai, judo, wrestling). Thanks to MMA competition, we've collectively sorted through the bullshido and what Bruce Lee called the 'classical mess'. These arts have risen to the top, simply because they work. These arts ARE battle tested. There is no room for theory, or flowery looking nonsense one might do in a certain situation, or secret techniques that are illegal in 49 states of the Republic... It has to be simple, spontaneous, and effective.

 

Sigh! Yes, of course; just as in turn the new king and end-all and be-all ultimate of martial arts was once generic Kung-fu (with each individual style vying for dominance in the martial arts world), which replaced Karate and then it was specifically Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do which replaced all other forms of Kung-fu as the "Ultimate Martial Arts System!" in the magazines and then it was Taekwondo which replaced all forms of Kung-fu (and wasn't that a giggle?).

THEN it was Ninjutsu which replaced all forms of Taekwondo and then it was (for a brief time) the Guardian Angel's training and then it was Brazilian Jujutsu and then it was Special Forces training and then it was Krag Maga and now (though I have skipped over some of the other FORMER 'absolutely can't be beaten' martial arts dominants of the past and gotten some of them out of their proper order) it is the "Tremble before me mere mortals!" MMA approach, which is actually the same sort of conglomerate martial arts approach that BEGAN in the 1970s with Bruce Lee. But of course, now it really and truly is -- no b.s. -- a perfected and transcended martial arts format and everyone practicing it is a potentially lethal street monster.

But I repeat: The truth being that it always comes down to the individual martial artist or fighter. It always has and it always will.

 

Chael Sonnen, Travis Lutter, and Dan Henderson all beat Anderson in the 1st, Chael 10-8'd him twice.

Chris Weidman is legit, but this finish wasn't satisfactory to me. I know he trained checking the kick and that ended the fight, but the odds of that happening are ridiculously low, and it's only happened once in the UFC in its 20 year span, to Corey Hill in 08.

I don't think Weidman was going to finish Anderson via conventional means in that fight, I'm not sold on his cardio. But hey, he did it, by hook or crook. Vitor Belfort is an interesting test, and we'll see where Chris stands after this.

 

It's truly hard to believe the things which people have accepted as legitimate methods of fighting/defense, over the years. I think we've pretty much reached the pinnacle with MMA. I'm sure there will always be some trends, and small evolutions, but I doubt we'll ever go back to the way things were before.

I partially agree, but the individual is only part of the equation, they also need to study something which is practical.

 

I suspect that we will never entirely agree on what is practical or impractical in regards to entire training systems; but then that's why most empty hand training methodologies include the label of 'art form' as well as that of 'self-defense system' and perhaps even 'sport'. I have nothing against the MMA philosophy in either training methodology nor results . . . but it's not my way.

 

Hand to hand... train: BJJ, Muay Thai, Boxing... and you will be damn hard to beat. If you can add wrestling, then even better. It's time consuming.

I find Tae Kwon Do, Kenpo, etc... to be mostly useless and if someone has only trained in it, they can expect a beat down unless they get that first kick in. There is only one Machida and he has trained a lot of other arts.

About twice a year, I watch a new kid that is a "black belt" in TKD come into my son's gym. It's quite an accomplishment for a 14 and under kid. But, the match always goes the same way. The coach will pick a yellow or orange belt NO GREEN too unfair.... put on the head gear only and let them go on the matt. The TKD kid rarely lands that first blow, sometime it has happened, but it is often blocked or minimized by the Muay Thai checks and blocks. Then the BJJ / Muay Thai kid will close the distance and use a take down from a variety of possibilities. Usually it's just a double or single leg, but I've seen Judo throws and Valley Drops used in these matches. The TKD Black Belt is pretty much stunned on the take down and 100% out of their element. The fight is over within 30 seconds from that moment by arm bar, rear naked choke, or some wrist lock. The lucky deal for the TKD kid is that the coach does not allow any ground and pound or it would be ugly. It's always amusing to see the shock on the father's face. Oppps! I just spent thousands on TKD lessons and tests for belts and my kid got schooled by a yellow belt in less than 1 minute.

New kids that come in with no training are put into an age group 1 below them. You can see the enormous size difference and that kid thinks... OMG I am going to tear this little guys up. That smile is gone in 5 minutes after they have been submitted in various ways. They usually stay with the younger group for about 1 month until they develop some skills. They then start to win some and are put with their own age.... time for some more losses. If they survive month #2... they usually stick. Now they can hold their own and not be totally dominated by kids their size. I watch my 10 year old last year submit an enormous 13 year old in 15 seconds with a guillotine. The shock on the kids face was real. Sadly, he didn't last.

My son recently got his second stripe on his yellow belt. He is 11 years old now.



If you have a kid. BJJ is a great place to start.

 

What is your way?

 

Yep!

Jiujitsu is an incredible art, a true equalizer. Instructors in arts such as Hap-Ki-Do, Wing Chun, and Aikido, will tell people that their art is designed for smaller people to defend themselves against larger, aggressive opponents. In theory... yes, in static controlled environments... yes, but in real application... not so much. Jiujitsu on the other hand... yes, absolutely. Like Muay Thai and boxing, there is no room for theory and 'what ifs' in Jiujitsu. If it doesn't work, then it's garbage and not worth wasting time on. That's why Jiujitsu is one of the best options for one who wishes to learn REAL self defense. Jiujitsu works because it's reality based. One who trains Jiujitsu, who grapples with other Jiujitsu practitioners, makes light work of people who know nothing about grappling... even those who have some idea about grappling.

An example from my own training experience - A high school wrestler joined up with our club a few months ago, he's 6' something, well over 200lbs. If I knew nothing about the ground game, this dude would destroy me in a fight if I couldn't knock him out or beat him into submission. At 5'8" and 160lbs, I'm at a significant disadvantage in this scenario. But, since I have a solid base of Jiujitsu BASICS, it's pretty easy to not only survive, but control and dominate. When him and I roll, I sweep, take mount, and submit without much effort. Conversely, I've rolled with much smaller people who were more advanced who did the same thing to me. In short, Jiujitsu is one of the few arts that's the real deal.

 

Let's see now, my original exposure to the martial arts consisted of cross section training in elements of a very nearly Shotokan style Karate, a very nearly Shotokan style Taekwondo (this was way back in the mid 1970s) Hapkido and several aspects of a very obscure northern style of kungfu that (apparently no longer exists); then years later I trained in Escrima and one unique style of YangTaijiquan.

Long ago I settled on a handful of techniques from each of the systems or styles to cobble together defensive techniques that work for my body type and temperament; and as I age I periodically go back over them and weed out anything that's more likely to hurt my aging body in the execution thereof than it would my theoretical opponent.

As for practical application I spent a decade doing unarmed security work in the toughest section of a very large city, at night, and usually alone. I had to use what I had learned on three separate occasions and had I gotten anything wrong I wouldn't be here today to irritate the heck out of fellow posters.

The older I get (I'm entering my late fifties) the more likely I am to begin flourishing an elegant gentleman's cane in public which should serve nicely as an Escrima stick upon need.

 

Yeah I know. When the South Korean government decided to take control of most martial arts in their country and severely water it down in order to create a show 'art' for the Olympics they pretty much gutted the form as a meaningful self-defense system. Sad, but there you have it.

Anyone training in striking, kicking, blocking, take downs and submission and escape (and counters to take downs and submissions) is on the right track so far as well rounded and effective martial arts training is concerned; though just for the sake of meanness I might add some stick training as well. After that comes exploration of the countless nuances as an art form. But -- yeah -- practical self-defense training first is the way to go.

 

I studied Kenpo Karate, Wrestling, and Boxing as a youngling. I have friends that are 2nd Degree TKD. It's good against someone not trained, but I watched my 6'4 230lb 2nd Degree Black Belt TKD friend get busted up by a 5'8 boxer in seconds. The only saving grace for him was that I was around to take down and hold the boxer off from totally trashing him. I did not damage to the boxer, just told him to chill that the fight was over... and he realized I was not letting him up and he couldn't grapple with me so he agreed. My friend had it coming, so I don't believe in retribution where it is not deserved. I let the boxer up, he bailed, and my friend had to get his nose straightened. I don't even know how that little dude reached so high. I swear he had to jump to hit my friend.

I teach my son angles for take downs like boxing. I make him circle to the backside of the front leg... if you can barely get around that corner, they can't strike you effectively if it were a real fight (unless it's a spinning back fist or kick) and you can hit a single leg take down quite easily as their base is compromised from the side angle. In BJJ tournies this technique has paid him huge. Always circle to the outside of their front leg. They can't land for power and you have the better angle.

 

Survive the flurry from Vitor and your chances improve. The one thing that has always plagued Vitor is his cardio, it's not good, mainly because he goes all out if he catches you. Granted, he has slowed his pace down a bit and has shown more patience in a fight, but we also haven't seen his cardio fail him many times in the past.

Chris' wrestling and grappling could give Vitor fits. Chris is a very good grappler for how long he has been training. I mean, when you can make it into ADCC with one year of training and only lose on points to one of the greatest grapplers of all time in Galvao(who finished 2nd), you have talent. The ceiling is very high for Weidman and he's shown really good improvement in his fights.

I still think this fight will answer a lot of questions though, win or lose for Weidman.

 

Jean Pascal vs Lucien Bute in Montreal this Saturday


While both are former champs it seems that their careers have not quite taken the paths that many expected of them. They lost matches and went into prolonged inactivity which seem to have dampened their reputations. Bute has a bit more punching power and is a southpaw which may possibly give him an advantage despite not being a natural LHW. But Pascal has a swarming style which he used to his advantage in bouts prior to his loss to Hopkins for the title in 2011. I believe the winner might get a title shot at one of the LHW titles.

Should be a half way fight as both have something to prove.

 

Vitor is an interesting test. I felt, vs Anderson, Chris needed to get him out of there in the first or early second, or Anderson would win via Chris slowing down and Anderson finding his range. Chris got him out of there both times in the early second. Vs Vitor, I actually think he needs to drag this to the 3rd and beyond, as I think Vitor has the advantage early.

 

Yeah, pretty much what I am thinking. Vitor early is dangerous against everyone in that division. Even if Chris loses, I think it could be good for him. Every fighter I have ever talked to that's in the game has said loses can be a good thing if they know how to handle it.