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Posts Tagged ‘self defense’

Don’t ask me how: I don’t know!

Perhaps some Expert can tell me? Perhaps YOU can?

My hobby – obsession actually – is the Martial Arts. In which I hold a 4th Dan Black Belt.

Though these days (after forty years) I’m really into Personal Protection using self-defense weapons.

Once upon a time – many years ago – it was Speed, Skill, Panache.

These days it’s all about SURVIVAL – on the street, in the Park, indeed even in the house and the bedroom.

Using weapons.

The Mugger has Youth, Hostility Aggression on his side. Perhaps Drugs and the desperate need for money to buy them.

I have (only) my legal survival weapons – the Walking Stick, the Umbrella and – the Sjambok. That 42” long South African ‘whip’ much used by their police in crowd control.

The ONLY way I would be able to survive a street mugging (or Park rape-attempt, if I were a woman) is by the use of a powerful, drastic but non-lethal – Weapon. But a legally permitted one, not on any prohibited police or Home Office list.

Forget about the Martial Arts as such. They are of absolutely no use whatsoever in self defence life survival situations. Unless you are a 4th Dan Black Belt, when the whole situation takes on a different aspect, and the Mugger will find himself at very grave risk.
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Brief History:

Wing Chun (also known as Wing Tsun, Ving Chun or Ving Tsun) is one of the most popular types of Chinese martial arts. Though it’s basically an unarmed combat technique, Wing Chun may include weapons as part of its course. The origin of Wing Chun can be traced back to China, but the real history of its creation has long been a topic of much debate. The most credible suggestion regarding the origin of Wing Chun dates back to 1700 AD in the Henan Shaolin Monastery.

When the Qing forces raided and ravaged the Southern Shaolin temple, a nun named Ng Mui fled to the distant Daliang Mountains, the only survivor. Ng Mui already had knowledge of Kung Fu in the Shaolin temple, which she assimilated with a new form she had learnt while observing a battle between a snake and a crane. She taught this new combat style to her adopted daughter whom she named Yimm Wing Chun. The new system was refined and then passed on from generation to generation, and was eventually named Wing Chun, after Yimm.

The modernization of Wing Chun started in Hong Kong during the 1950s under a Grandmaster called Yip Man. The discipline began to gain real popularity in Asia and the West when actor Bruce Lee became one of the most famous Wing Chun practitioners.
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Just about everyone knows about the popular martial arts, such as Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Kung Fu and Tai Chi…some people have even thought about trying out a class. Bt have you ever actually done it? Do you need a reason?

Just about everyone has thought about taking up a martial art at some point in time. Maybe as another way to stay in shape. Possibly as a means to protect yourself from the school bully. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of reasons why people choose to take up an art, but I want to take a second to outline what I feel are the most important reasons to at least try a martial art. Maybe it’s for yourself, maybe it’s for your children…whatever the reason, all martial arts contain a unique wealth of knowledge and discipline that you simply can’t get anywhere else. My hope is that this article will inspire you to get out of your chair and into a school to see what martial arts is all about.

Self Confidence
As you train in martial arts, you will notice a lot if improvements, such as your physique, balance, awareness, flexibility, and many other physical and mental characteristics. Martial Arts will teach you how to combine these capabilities and use them to succeed in competitions, attaining higher belts, building friendships and protecting yourself if necessary. The more you can do, the more confident you will be.

Self Defense
One of the most common reasons to study martial arts is to learn how to defend one’s self. A number of schools may dedicate class time and/or offer a scheduled class that strictly goes over self defense tactics. Also, depending on the MA style or school, self defense can be a large part of the curriculum, which can be beneficial to those interested in “applicable arts” (arts you can use in everyday life) as opposed to “traditional arts”.

Self Discipline
Webster defines self-discipline as the “correction or regulation of oneself for the sake of improvement”. Whether it be trying to make a high school team or meeting company deadlines, once you learn the focus necessary to succeed in Martial Arts you can apply it to the rest of your life. Success is mental, and Martial Arts will teach you the self discipline necessary to succeed at anything you put your mind to.

Coordination
Martial arts does require a lot of hand, foot, eye, and mental coordination, but all of this is developed over time. If you consider yourself as an uncoordinated person, training in the martial arts will help you grow those skills. You’ll be amazed what your body is capable of doing! Even if you are a natural athlete, standing on one foot, while kicking with the other, and blocking with your hands is quite difficult and involves coordination.
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The topic of how effective traditional martial arts is in today’s world as a way of protecting oneself is still a very sensitive issue to a lot of martial artists. What is even more sensitive is the issue of how realistic and street effective is the newer styles that have come out since UFC/PRIDE have come into the picture. I am a Registered Black Belt & have nothing against the martial arts and have also studied styles such as Pankration.

I know that the techniques I have learned in the dojo should stay in the dojo because they will only work there, that also goes with styles such as the “modern day or reality based systems” they are for sport only.I work as a bouncer/bodyguard & also teach tactical self defense. Many of my students are black belts or have trained under reality based systems & have learned the hard way that what they learned in the ring or dojo is not street effective.
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