[MisterMills357]

I have the Gold belt in Tae Keon Do, which is the lowest. But, in a real street fight, I would give any thug more than he would ever want. I can beat a very tough man if the stakes were high enough, I have before. That is pretty tough talk for a fat old man isn’t it?

My instructors in TKD were all black belts, and I learned what I should from them.
I taught a 14 year old black belt that it ain’t all about doing katas: because I ran him out of the ring, and the men took over from there. Anyway I didn’t run either of them out of the ring.

OK, enough of an intro.

If the art that you are practicing cannot be used as an in extremis fighting skill, to take out an attacker, you need to work on that. What I am saying is that you need to be at a level and mindset , that if you have to kill and maim, that you are capable of that.

I have heard a litany of reasons to learn a martial art: it builds character and self confidence , and it does, but we live in a world filled with brutality. A brute is someone that must be dealt with in a brutal manner. My personal way of being brutal is to use sticks, or in my case a walking stick made of aluminum. I made it myself, I could take out a pit bull with it....or I think that I could.

There is a BJJ studio over on 34th street, and I am going over there and see what they charge. If it is too much, I will just teach myself. I did that with wrestling, my brother and I would wrestle up a storm. We had a great big yard to do it in, and we taught each other some hard moves.

Try getting out of a headlock when the guy that you are wrestling is an ox. And you ain’t lived until you have rolled over a dog turd, and it’s all over your shirt.
Jesus God In Heaven! To say that I stunk, just isn’t poignant enough.

Or, get your head rolled over a dang rock and see what that does for you. It delivered a TKO for me, and the match was over, just like that.

OK, let me stop for a while, and I will pick up later.

 

[Sasquatch]

I started learning Tae Kwon Do but it wasn't in a dojo or studio. I learned in a guys garage and he taught us to fight. I then went on to Kenpo where I did tournament fighting for a while. That was for most of my 20's and it's been a while since I practiced. But I do teach the boy moves and it all comes back to me. I learned to fight from people that had no problem with brutality if the situation called for it and they taught us to give more than we get.

I have no problem fighting dirty if its a life and death situation. Learning some fighting technique is better than nothing. People can argue until the cows come home which is better but I believe using what you know and using it effectively what will keep you alive.

 

[MisterMills357]

I started learning Tae Kwon Do but it wasn't in a dojo or studio. I learned in a guys garage and he taught us to fight. I then went on to Kenpo where I did tournament fighting for a while. That was for most of my 20's and it's been a while since I practiced. But I do teach the boy moves and it all comes back to me. I learned to fight from people that had no problem with brutality if the situation called for it and they taught us to give more than we get.

I have no problem fighting dirty if its a life and death situation. Learning some fighting technique is better than nothing. People can argue until the cows come home which is better but I believe using what you know and using it effectively what will keep you alive.

I knocked a guy out once by grabbing his windpipe; and I held on while he began to gurgle and his eyes went up into his head, or something like that. It’s hard to put into words really, but I followed him down to the ground, and I did not let go.

We were talking about our Army days, and he was making fun of me and telling me how he had been in real combat, and I hadn’t.

And the next thing that you know I leaped at him, and grabbed his trachea/ windpipe. And that was that, and he didn’t make fun of me anymore either. The people standing around talking, could not believe what had just happened. I stayed for a few minutes to make sure that he was alright: and then I just walked off and watched TV, and I could have cared less about what anyone thought.

 

[inceptor]

I have no problem fighting dirty if its a life and death situation. Learning some fighting technique is better than nothing. People can argue until the cows come home which is better but I believe using what you know and using it effectively what will keep you alive.

I learned street fighting. In a real fight there is no such thing as a fair fight, you either win or lose. When it gets that bad, losing is not an option.

 

[2020 Convert]

When I was younger, a friend was mouthing off in a bar and outside it tried to become 3 on 1. I took 2 by the shirts and said it was going to be a fair fight. My friend got his butt kicked like he deserved. I think the other 2 got a little scared by a 135 lb guy holding them off. How you carry yourself goes a long way.

Not that I didn’t know how to handle my myself. Wrestled in HS and College. Got back into the sport coaching my kid and ended up coaching HS and College Club teams. It was kind of fun being in my 50s and giving College kids a run for their money going live.

In my 60s, still throwing hay bales around. I think I will be just fine if I need to.

 

[Trihonda]

Ya, done TKD for years, taught, competed, meh.. it’s a sport. Other than sparring and learning to take a hit from time to time, it’s not overly effective at self defense.

BJJ.. did that for 6 years, taught, I think it’s one of the most effective forms of martial arts. What most people do t realize is that 95% of physical encounters go to “the ground”.. either somone is trying to put YOU there, or you’re trying to do the same to them... if you don’t have a ground game, you’re toast. Being comfortable on the ground is paramount to survival in a fight. most people just curl up in little balls and start crying...

 

[Sasquatch]

Being 6'4" and 200+ you get challenged a lot. Usually by the little guy with a chip on his shoulder. I'm glad my bar/pool hall days are behind me because it got really old. My first goto was to always try to deescalate but sometimes they wouldn't take no for and answer and the answer they got wasn't pretty.

I'm glad I got the training I did and hope I never have to use it again. Wrestling with the boy confirms I'm getting older. He doesn't understand leverage. I guess I should teach it to him. Dont want to teach him all my tricks just yet.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Kauboy]

The only training I've had in a "martial art" would be fencing.
I got started because I just wanted to play with swords. I kept doing it because I found the game that was intertwined within the moves to be thrilling.
I was a sabre fencer, which was the most "martial" of all fencing arenas, in that it was derived specifically from sword training for battles that were expected to take place within narrow corridors of castles and villas in France and Italy. The kind that would be necessary after a successful siege, but you still had to make your way to the throne room to decapitate his or her majesty.

The underlying lessons stuck with me:

• How to maintain balance under pressure.
• Stable footwork is paramount.
• A strong defense can lend to a devastating offense.
• Your opponent will reveal their weakness within the first few seconds of an encounter, learn to exploit it quickly.
• A fast miss is still a miss.
• As a man, bravado can get you killed. NEVER underestimate an armed and well-trained opponent, even a child or a woman.
• Keep your weapon in working order.
• Body armor is a necessity.
• In a knife fight, everybody gets cut.
• Know your opponent's, as well as your own, striking distance.

There are more, I'm sure. I would encourage everyone to find a fighting art, and seek out the underlying lessons they teach. Just knowing how to hurt someone is irrelevant if they know how to fight. You're beat before you ever start.

 

[jeffh]

Maybe someday. Something aggressive like Krav Maga. Maybe. I'm approaching 50 pretty quickly, and I've largely avoided street fights so far, and my bar-hopping days are behind me so I don't know if I'll ever be committed to training.

In the mean time, I have my CC license and carry my P365 and a switchblade (for opening Amazon boxes of course). Those are my black belt defenses.

 

[Megamom134]

At 66 I hope to never be in a hand to hand fight ever. I do keep a tactical pen and my gun at my bedside and a tactical pen in my purse. Mainly I have my CC and just have my gun and pepper spray but if someone surprises me at night, would be hard to do with my dogs I like having something handy like the pen, but I also have a panic button on the bed which would set off my alarm system. Also with my 40 years of nursing I know exactly where to strike someone with my pen to drop them fast.

 

[inceptor]

Maybe someday. Something aggressive like Krav Maga. Maybe. I'm approaching 50 pretty quickly, and I've largely avoided street fights so far, and my bar-hopping days are behind me so I don't know if I'll ever be committed to training.

In the mean time, I have my CC license and carry my P365 and a switchblade (for opening Amazon boxes of course). Those are my black belt defenses.

That's my favorite scene! Ford ad-libbed that and it was so good they kept it.

At 68 I don't think I'll be doing much hand to hand. Too old and broken now.

 

[The Tourist]

@Kauboy,

My "lessons" ran very similar to yours. I was invited by the high school instructor to take lessons in foil fencing. At first, I was excited. But then, the routine of "put the button on the red marker" became very tedious.

I did find a similar college instructor who also taught the members of the church. I guess they felt that "being 18 years old" was close enough. I was probably the worst case the instructor had; I had the problem of "hitting" the blade on the enemy, not the desired liquid flourish.

After three years of seemingly slow, repetitive exercises, I finally could hit a quarter (most of the time) with one single, "extend, lunge" command. And I really should search out and thank the instructor I had assumed was too slow, old and unsteady to teach me anything.

Everything old is new again. For some unknown reason, I was never robbed of my pocket change on way back to my college's freshmen dorm. Then again, the joke was usually on the mugger. You see, I was paying my own way to college. I never carried more than two quarters with me--and they were just to get soda out of the usual vending machines.

However, I liked soda. And I was never going to give up those quarters!

 

[MisterMills357]

@Kauboy,

My "lessons" ran very similar to yours. I was invited by the high school instructor to take lessons in foil fencing. At first, I was excited. But then, the routine of "put the button on the red marker" became very tedious.

I did find a similar college instructor who also taught the members of the church. I guess they felt that "being 18 years old" was close enough. I was probably the worst case the instructor had; I had the problem of "hitting" the blade on the enemy, not the desired liquid flourish.

After three years of seemingly slow, repetitive exercises, I finally could hit a quarter (most of the time) with one single, "extend, lunge" command. And I really should search out and thank the instructor I had assumed was too slow, old and unsteady to teach me anything.

Everything old is new again. For some unknown reason, I was never robbed of my pocket change on way back to my college's freshmen dorm. Then again, the joke was usually on the mugger. You see, I was paying my own way to college. I never carried more than two quarters with me--and they were just to get soda out of the usual vending machines.

However, I liked soda. And I was never going to give up those quarters!

It does seem like you could put up a hard fight with a rapier; or kill somebody with it, just run it right through them.

 

[The Tourist]

Rapier? An expensive foil like that amid 40,000 UW-Madison students? Yikes, it was lucky we never broke anything expensive!

As for padded clothing, I could not afford that. I had small black and blue marks on my chest and back even after I graduated from college!

 

[Grinch]

I've only been in a handful of fights, primarily I like to use brute strength and extreme violence. You change a man's perspective on life when he sees his friend's nose get chewed off. Never gotten the privilege to be apart of a fire fight yet. Have gotten stabbed and sliced, even did some slicing and stabbing of my own that night. Thank God a family quells those habits.

My wife is a petite woman though, she enrolled herself into a women's self defense course followed by six months of that krav maga and Russian one. She received firearms training from myself and a few friends, one of whom was in MARSOC and the other in Delta, they also taught her how to properly use a knife. She's also worked on improvised weapon fighting.

 

[dwight55]

I never was what you would call a fighter . . . a scrapper maybe . . . that's about it . . . and I learned early that I was not good at it . . . and I needed an edge.

Bought an old ugly 1911 on the back streets of Saigon at the ripe old age of 21 . . . and it has been my edge ever since. I mind my own business . . . steer away from worthless confrontations . . . but backed into a corner . . . I'm the guy up a little further in this thread . . . watching his opponent strut.

Bang . . . problem solved.

May God bless,
Dwight

 

[CapitalKane49p]

I am and expert in Knapping Panda. I've got my s**t strapped so tight and am so squared away that when I walk by Chuck Norris looks at the ground and holds the door for me.

Godspeed.

 

[MisterMills357]

I've only been in a handful of fights, primarily I like to use brute strength and extreme violence. You change a man's perspective on life when he sees his friend's nose get chewed off. Never gotten the privilege to be apart of a fire fight yet. Have gotten stabbed and sliced, even did some slicing and stabbing of my own that night. Thank God a family quells those habits.

My wife is a petite woman though, she enrolled herself into a women's self defense course followed by six months of that krav maga and Russian one. She received firearms training from myself and a few friends, one of whom was in MARSOC and the other in Delta, they also taught her how to properly use a knife. She's also worked on improvised weapon fighting.

I have never seen anyone get their nose chewed off or lose a part. I did see a fatality from a fight though, and like all violent deaths, it was ugly. Fighting is ugly, but there is a time and a place for it. In today’s world there are hunters and there are victims; and telling myself that it’s always the other guy, would be self delusion.

 

[MisterMills357]

I never was what you would call a fighter . . . a scrapper maybe . . . that's about it . . . and I learned early that I was not good at it . . . and I needed an edge.

Bought an old ugly 1911 on the back streets of Saigon at the ripe old age of 21 . . . and it has been my edge ever since. I mind my own business . . . steer away from worthless confrontations . . . but backed into a corner . . . I'm the guy up a little further in this thread . . . watching his opponent strut.

Bang . . . problem solved.

May God bless,
Dwight

You were smart to pick up a .45 during your time in Saigon. That was a really bad place in a lot of ways.
There were VC all over the place, and they would have liked to cut a GIs throat.

I have had a .45 for about 40 years, a 1911 Colt; and I have a few stories of how it came in real handy, in hard situations.

But I will spare you, since I have probably told them here already.

 

[MisterMills357]

This is some good grappling, but like everything else, while you are busy with one thing, some other thing is not being done. And I can think of some ways to get out of a grapple hold, especially against a girl.
Sorry ladies, it it is easy to get out of a lot of that, but it is great technique. And will work great on most guys.

Anyway, I don’t know what degree belts they have, one is a gold/white belt something and the other is a black and white belt something. But she is clearly the better fighter.

All of the girls are limber and stout in both videos, and relentless , they don’t give up. Darn good grapplers.