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arrowdynamic: Could you explain your objections to online training? I agree it's not for everyone, but I'd like to hear the specifics of your opinion.

Great site, Hapkido is a good style for security and law enforcement, good mix of striking with joint locks.

My father had a nineteen year old employee of his teach our family Hapkido. I liked it, but in Utah I kinda lost faith in it when one of the guards shoved my fist right into my eye-ball. Due to how close your fists are to your face in the basic Hapkido stance, it's very easy for an opponent to use your own fists against you. Particularly if your opponent is much larger and stronger than you are. 

I prefer Krav Maga as a default style, but I'd like to learn more about other styles as well, including Hapkido. 


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The only issue I have with Krav is it's mostly a reactive style it can do a lot of damage but someone needs to throw something at you before you can respond

Huh, interesting; that's what I actually like about it haha. I've always been better at defense; I'm not good at offense. Mostly because Krav Maga showed me how easy it can be to counter offensive strikes. I'd rather let my enemies come to me, and deliver themselves into my waiting hands lol. 

If offense is needed though, there's always basic strikes and choke-holds, joint manipulation, and throws. In general though, yeah, I'd rather let them come to me instead of risk them being just as knowledgeable as I am; Krav Maga is incredibly easy to learn due to it being based on the body's instinctive reactions. It's a real world combat survival system that can be used effectively by individuals of virtually any age, size, and gender. And fights don't last too long if I let them come to me first. Once they throw a punch, I have their arm, and they're done lol. From there there's always an appropriate response to take control of the situation, ranging from simply numbing/neutralizing his arm, all the way up to just plain ripping it off and beating him with lol. The decision would depend on who's attacking me and why. If it's just some hapless guard that's just following orders, I'd go easy on them and try not to hurt them. If it was a Radical Islamic Terrorist trying to kill me and countless other people though, then I'd show no mercy or restraint; that's a threat that needs to be stopped immediately by any means necessary, and non-lethal techniques would probably just tick them off and escalate the situation. It'd have to be ended swiftly and rapidly, no time for dancing. 

But yeah...with Krav Maga, it doesn't matter how big one's opponent is, how strong they might be or how fast they are; if they test an even moderately adequate Kravist, they will lose, lol. Krav Maga can be summarized as "The Art of How to Take Control". Definitely a no-frills style. It's designed for the street and war-zones.


--204

Actually...if I have to be offensive, I think I'd probably rather just use a gun. That's about as offensive as I can be, and if I have to choose to be offensive, I'd rather not leave anything to chance.

Krav is more or less a system that takes from alot of traditional styles it takes the basics from several styles and blends them so their easy to learn it is quite effective at what it does I would say its best trait is most techniques are normally pressure tested in class on a daily basis building better reactions to situations

Systems work great until you're in a real fight. All martial arts got the same principles. The only differences is that some of them have been evolved by pasifists wearing pajamases, others by delutional wierdoes and a few by athlets.

Just learn some simple stuff that haven't been cultured indoors for to long. And make sure you don't make it useful.

I wouldn't say the issue falls with the system itself I would lean towards more how you're taught the system while a controlled environment is ideal for safety it won't prepare you for a realistic encounter

When you get in a fight, the only thing you'll know to do is whatever is instinctual. All thinking goes right out the window as your adrenalin and panic kicks in. So whatever you learn, make sure it actually works on the street in a fight with no rules, and that it's second-nature to you. So second nature that you find yourself doing it without realizing it in the heat of the moment. Otherwise, that cool move that was your favorite is mostly useless. Trust me on that.

That's where the repetition comes into play your training yourself to react in a more controlled manner that's why realistic training is very important or you're just training yourself to fail

Indeed; I've never been a big advocate of pads and mats and mirrors lining the walls; if I'm going to train for a car-jacking for example, the best place for it would be in a car with a guy who has a gun to my head. Try it from different seating positions.

Expect to get hit. The first thing I learned how to do was how to fall down and get my butt kicked lol. 


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The most important criterion for me when I decide whether a martial arts style is worth choosing or not is the life experience of the system's founders, and how well that's been transferred down to their successors. I look for something with a strong foundation that's been refined but not commercialized or left to stagnate.

When you find your style and you're practicing techniques to control others, that's also the time you practice controlling yourself. That's the role of padding, tap outs, mirrors, etc.

Forms and drills are like a flight simulator.
Practice and sparring are what you do in a real plane with no passengers except your training partner who's the copilot.
A real world martial arts application is this: surprise, the plane's crashing, save it.

It would be really dumb to start out learning to fly in a crashing plane. I mean, I'm a huge fan of sink or swim learning because it works well for me, but you shouldn't risk a fluke permanent training injury for what, in comparison to what you can achieve carefully over time, would be only marginal gains.

Also, when the plane's crashing, your copilot is actually Jar Jar Binks.

Great points Blue lol i would never want Jar Jar as my co pilot

I just have this mental image of him freaking out next to young Obi-Wan in a cockpit, tongue sticking out and getting in the way.

I'm mostly self taught. I train a few times a week on average. So far I've noticed a vast improvement in my speed and accuracy with my blades.

So how did you all come by your training and what level have you reached so far?