I would never disrespect one fighting art over another. I would recommend that you look into the various types available to you and ensure the one that you choose satisfies your criteria, whether you want to be more involved in a traditional art, a competitive sport, keep fit, a family recreation or purely for self defense. Go and watch a few classes and see what you think for yourself, talk to the instructor and if it’s Self defense that you are interested in and then ensure that they dedicate a large portion of their instruction specifically to self defense training.

The Martial Arts of the Far East have become systems of Sport or have become an art consisting of pre arranged moves and one step sparring techniques. This is far removed from their Martial beginnings. Traditional martial arts often dedicate a great deal of time to Kata, which are sequences of moves and techniques, simulating a person taking on one or more opponents. Often they involve speed, power, great poise and flexibility. These can be a good training aid but offer little assistance when it comes to practical modern self defense. Many arts do not prepare you for when an attacker comes in close contact or takes you to the ground as these may not be techniques that are allowed under the rules of a particular style. Remember in a street fight or attack, anything goes.

For a moment, picture two athletes in a tournament facing each other. They have prepared for weeks or even months, physically they are in great shape. Keep looking and first let’s take away the referee together with the rules that he was there to enforce, now anything goes, they’re not restricted to the same variety of moves that they are both accustomed to. Take away the gloves, the foot pads, padded head gear, groin protector and mouth guard. Take away the matting and replace it with concrete, let s add some brick walls and remove the lighting. Take away the crowd and anyone else there who may have been ready to jump in and break them apart as one guy is beat beyond unconscious. In fact let’s change the environment to a back alley, a back lane, maybe a kitchen, a bedroom or even a lounge and let’s make available all the weapons in each of these environments: glass, steel bars, screw drivers, knives and other items that you may not even recognize as a weapon. There is a different type of mind set required for a street encounter that is not necessarily covered by the average Martial Arts class.

In most cases it may not even be such an organized stand off but most likely be initiated with a blind sided attack, a mugging or even an attempted rape. Change the odds and replace one of the fighters with another who is fifty pounds lighter so it s no longer a match fight, change the attacker to two men or more. Now many of these competitive athletes may well be in great physical shape but are they prepared mentally for such an encounter? In most cases, the answer is no. Many experienced martial artists have gone to pieces in a street fight mainly because of the mind set required and also, what works in the training hall may not be practical on the street, especially if space is restricted.

Would you choose to hang around to see how you faired in a situation where the odds are stacked against you? I’d suggest right now that if there’s a front door take it, if there’s not then take the back door and if there are no doors then make one. If you prefer you can always be the guy remembered for taking on 4 guys and never made it. Avoid, Escape and Attack should be your options, in that order. The point here is that just because someone is considered an expert in the Dojo, in a particular style, it does not necessarily mean that they are an expert in Self Defense. In some cases they may well be but the two do not go hand in hand.

Violent situations are often glamorized by Hollywood with a hero using an array of fancy techniques against numerous attackers with an assortment of weapons but the reality is anything but, it’s bloody, gruesome, and dirty and often ends in death. Those lucky enough to survive may end up with broken bones, smashed in faces, or any number of serious injuries, in many cases causing physical and mental scars that may never heal. On the street the attacker has never read the rules and attack with surprise and cunning showing no mercy on victims who look least aware.

It is important to train and practice in a way that you would like to react if you ever did face a real situation. If you are always pulling your punches two inches away from hitting the target in training then the chances are that your natural reaction under pressure may well be the same. In training get your attacker padded up so you can react with some real full on blows. You don t want your training partners to always be compliant either, ask them to resist and make it difficult and you do the necessary to make the techniques work.

Malcolm Bale 2nd Degree Blackbelt in Jiu-Jitsu http://www.fightwize.com

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Tags: Wing Chun, Kung Fu, Las Vegas Kung Fu School, Las Vegas Wing Chun School, Lo Man Kam, Lo Man Kam Wing Chun, Martial Arts Self Defense

An overview of the reasons to study self defense.
Now.
I know this seems a little off the cuff considering it s such a serious topic, but I want to make it clear that there s no time like the present.
In July September of 2002 Martial Training Systems trainers had the honor of conducting several free women s self defense seminars in the Boston area. The seminars were packed; many times the rooms were over capacity. You see, during that time there were two serial rapists active in the Boston area. The local media had reports on every newscast every day.
Many women in the area were justifiably frightened which led to the popularity of our classes.
I have also known many people to take up a martial art, or start to carry pepper spray, or some other tool after being exposed to violent crime. Without being too flippant about a serious subject, the words too late come to mind.
When does a person need self defense skills?
Obviously, one needs them the very moment that they have to use them, usually during the commission of a crime. So, why on earth would people wait to learn these valuable skills?
Having talked with many individuals about this, I have gotten many answers to that question: I don t have the time It s too expensive I don t think it would work (won t fighting back make an attacker angrier) I have been meaning to, maybe next time.
Deep down, I believe that the thought of confronting violence is scary for most people. This is as it should be. However, many people resist learning how to deal effectively with violence because they are uncomfortable thinking about being victimized.
This is sort of like going to the dentist, you resist because you know it s going to be uncomfortable. However, if you never see a dentist, the risk is that your teeth are going to fall out.
I pray that nobody ever has to become a victim of violence, but I know that is unrealistic. The time to prepare yourself to stay safe is before you need to. You would not put smoke detectors up in your house after it burned down right?
Here is some good news to take to heart and pass on to your loved ones. First, studies by model mugging in LA show that women who took their course were 90% less likely to be mugged in the first place. I believe you would find this to be true of many self-defense classes that teach violence prevention. When you study self defense you become less of an attractive target to predators who sense your greater awareness and the confidence in your body language.
So, you can think of self defense training as less like seeing the dentist and more like brushing your teeth. It is preventative as well as curative.
Let s deal with the it s too expensive argument. Well I know that there are classes across the country that vary in price and some are even free. Here s a question I want you to ask yourself now how much would it cost you to be a victim of violent crime? Think about hospital stays, lost work, stolen property. Trust me, the financial costs are nothing compared to the potential emotional and physical costs.
So, how much is it worth in your time and money to prevent this? Wouldn t it be worth any cost?
So how about the it won t work argument? Well, studies show that the earlier you resist violence the less likely you are to be injured, and if you are the less severe those injuries will be. Most criminals are not looking for a difficult target, and many flee when confronted with active resistance. No, this is not always the case.
Many people ask me, if I fight back won t I just make the person angrier . Well, anything is possible of course. I think that this scenario is most likely to occur with domestic violence, and not your average street or random crime. The thing you need to understand is that self defense is not about standing there and having a boxing match with somebody your goal is to effect an escape to safety. This means you should be learning stun and run tactics. Sometimes a person only needs a split second to get away this is where self defense shines.
So, maybe you re not interested in taking up a martial art to study for the rest of your life. That s OK (although I highly recommend it). But I do recommend that every man woman and child in the United States who is capable do some kind of self defense training. The more you get the better, why not try out different classes.
It is better to have something and never need it, then to need it and not have it.
About the Author
John Moore is a self defense and fitness instructor and co-founder of Martial Training Systems LLC, providing professional training in self defense and physical conditioning. Click here now to find out more.

Tags: Wing Chun, Kung Fu, Las Vegas Kung Fu School, Las Vegas Wing Chun School, Lo Man Kam, Lo Man Kam Wing Chun, Martial Arts Self Defense

Every day we face the risk of being attacked. Attacked by the street robbers, home intruders, rapists and violent persons of other sort. If you, your relative or a friend are attacked, you have a right to ward off an attack by using a force. According to the terms of law, the reasonable use of force somebody need for protection against the use of unlawful force by other person, is called “self-defense”. This definition is quite simple and easy to understand, but we avoid to use it due to its evident scantiness.

The real self-defense is actually the complicated polyhedral conception which involves lots of various aspects. In a broad context we can consider self-defense as a person’s ability to resist different kinds of negative influence that somebody tries to exercise upon him (her). Repelling an attack of a street robber, shooting at a burglar, preventing Internet attack, responding to verbal abuser, exposing a fraud, surviving terrorist attack, showing political protest against antisocial law - it all can be referred to self-defense. Self-defense plays a great part in everybody’s life, but we often don’t give a proper weight to it. Self-defense embraces a huge variety of skills we use not only in particular defensive situations but in a thousand events of our daily routine.

To resist a negative external influence every self-defender must have a kind of inner core which gives him a power, makes him being strong in front of agressor’s eyes. You must be strong to say ‘em “Hands off! Go away from me!” It’s not a matter of physical strength - you have to be a person of a powerful spirit in the first place. There’s a kind of rebel in a heart of every real self-defender. The rebel who doesn’t want to take things as they are, who doesn’t allow you to bend the neck under surrounding pressure.

Traditionally, there are two general approaches to self-defense. The first defensive approach is relatively simple. Usually who fires first, wins the game. It evidently has some drawbacks. First, when you entirely rely on weapon, you become dependent on it.

The second approach to self-defense bases on martial arts training… Every combative school has some special features. And there’s virtually no use in giving any manuals for fighting - it would be much more useful to watch some of these videos or visit our discussion center. The principal benefit of martial arts training is that it really gives you the confidence in your strength, your defensive abilities. It’s the kind of weapon you carry every time and you can always rely on. Although martial arts training involves a large variety of extra skills which seem useless to many people who want to acquire only the physical aspects, that appear to be directly connected with self-defense.

Some tips for Self Defense :

Always keep control under your surroundings. Show potential attackers that you guess about their intentions - it could guard you from the possible attack.

Avoid dark, deserted routes, even if they’re the shortest.

If you’re attacked, don’t lose self-control, don’t fall into panic, don’t stop thinking. Fear is one of your most dangerous enemies. The key to successful self-defense is self-control and rational thinking.

Alcohol is also one of the worst self-defender’s enemies. Don’t lose control under yourself. Don’t expect unknown people to help you if you’re attacked or pursued. They usually don’t want to get involved in such cases.

Your weapon must be carried only in the pocket or holster, i.e. you should always be able to pull it out quickly. The bottom of your bag or purse ain’t a good place to keep a weapon.

Avoid to shake your weapon at the attacker. It can be used against you in attack if it is taken away from you. Weapons are destined to shoot, but not to menace.

Avoid to come to single combat even if your opponent is obviously weaker than you. The knife in his hand can suddenly alter the balance of power.

Don’t demonstrate your gun to police officers. Police have shot innocent people because they were holding weapons when the officers arrived.

Remember that courts often disapprove of the use of force, even justifiable, in the acts of self-defense.

Don’t pick up any suspect objects in public places. You can run against masked bomb. Don’t open suspect letters or postal wrappers.

Keep all the doors and windows in your house locked every time. Keep a loaded gun in a secret place you can easily reach in alert.

When you’re at the parking, going to enter your car, look around with attention to make sure that no one is watching for you.

Avoid to carry the strangers even women while driving the car.

Keep yourself within the law. Police don’t like wild cowboys and terminators.

The use of deadly force may be justified only to defend against force, or the threat of force of nearly equal severity.

Then you talk to police, remember that anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.

About the Author : For more information on Self Defence please visit the Self Defence resource center at http://www.easy-self-defense-guide.info Source: www.isnare.com

Tags: Wing Chun, Kung Fu, Las Vegas Kung Fu School, Las Vegas Wing Chun School, Lo Man Kam, Lo Man Kam Wing Chun, Martial Arts Self Defense