Hey all
So this being an MMA forum, everyone here has heard the debate a bazillion times about which martial arts are effective, which are not, McDojos etc etc etc
I thought MMA had basically proved the answers to these debates throughly, but recently had some mild epiphanies that changed my views;
My brother is a high-ranking AIKIDO master, and I've trained with him a few times with great enjoyment. It is a beautiful art and there is lots of badass stuff but of course we know even the top Aikido gods would likely get slaughtered in the Octagon. This is truth, sorry to say.
But; Is everyone's martial arts objective/motivation merely to succeed in the Octagon?
It has also been argued that the simple effectiveness of devastating strikes can not be ignored. All that wristlock shit will not work on a fierce opponent but a left high kick to the head will put him out.
But; Is everyone's martial arts objective/motivation really to knock the fuck out of people, risking killing them?
One of my brother's training partners/other instructors was a seasoned purple belt in BJJ, and he has also been a bouncer for many many years. He has stories of physical altercations as a bouncer that would go all night. But here's the interesting thing;
He said to me that hands down, in his experience, the most effective and useful martial art, in a civilized society as any folk who want to be able to defend themselves but don't want to go to jail for murder, is Aikido.
He explained that as a bouncer (or anyone really), we DON'T want to severely hurt anyone. We don't want to break their arms or teeth, or KO them cracking their head on the pavement etc... for both humanitarian reasons, and LIABILITY reasons; a bouncer is likely to get sued AF if he hurts people. You wanna pay for someone's teeth reconstruction? He explains to do his job well he needs to be able to manhandle people but without seriously injuring or maiming them.
He explained its stupid to drop to guard on the street or out front of the club etc and start doing jiu jitsu lol. He also explained its super risky to just KO people or use any sort of striking arts from a legal standpoint
So what is left? How can you be an effective bouncer, or not let people fuck with you, without A) risking killing them or major lawsuits, or simply crippling somebody who probably doesn't totally deserve such a beating or even possibly committing murder, or B) trying to berimbolo someone on the sidewalk, with his buddies standing around you?
I had the same sentiment from another oldschool martial arts guy who has done all kinds of styles for like 40 years or whatever, and he agreed if you are not trying to kill someone (which is a whole other artform in itself), stuff like Aikido (he also trains something called Bagua) is indeed actually the most realistic, practical and useful in most circumstances.
Unless you are planning to compete in pro combat sports, or planning to be attacked by Diego Sanchez, really what place do other martial arts hold for us in real life? In 9/10 altercations, is it really justified to rip into a Muay Thai stance and start throwing? Is it really practical to take the fight to the ground and start grappling? How many fights to the finish do we actually get in? VS how many times would just some simple techniques to keep motherfuckers off you would be enough?
They may be right.
?
So this being an MMA forum, everyone here has heard the debate a bazillion times about which martial arts are effective, which are not, McDojos etc etc etc
I thought MMA had basically proved the answers to these debates throughly, but recently had some mild epiphanies that changed my views;
My brother is a high-ranking AIKIDO master, and I've trained with him a few times with great enjoyment. It is a beautiful art and there is lots of badass stuff but of course we know even the top Aikido gods would likely get slaughtered in the Octagon. This is truth, sorry to say.
But; Is everyone's martial arts objective/motivation merely to succeed in the Octagon?
It has also been argued that the simple effectiveness of devastating strikes can not be ignored. All that wristlock shit will not work on a fierce opponent but a left high kick to the head will put him out.
But; Is everyone's martial arts objective/motivation really to knock the fuck out of people, risking killing them?
One of my brother's training partners/other instructors was a seasoned purple belt in BJJ, and he has also been a bouncer for many many years. He has stories of physical altercations as a bouncer that would go all night. But here's the interesting thing;
He said to me that hands down, in his experience, the most effective and useful martial art, in a civilized society as any folk who want to be able to defend themselves but don't want to go to jail for murder, is Aikido.
He explained that as a bouncer (or anyone really), we DON'T want to severely hurt anyone. We don't want to break their arms or teeth, or KO them cracking their head on the pavement etc... for both humanitarian reasons, and LIABILITY reasons; a bouncer is likely to get sued AF if he hurts people. You wanna pay for someone's teeth reconstruction? He explains to do his job well he needs to be able to manhandle people but without seriously injuring or maiming them.
He explained its stupid to drop to guard on the street or out front of the club etc and start doing jiu jitsu lol. He also explained its super risky to just KO people or use any sort of striking arts from a legal standpoint
So what is left? How can you be an effective bouncer, or not let people fuck with you, without A) risking killing them or major lawsuits, or simply crippling somebody who probably doesn't totally deserve such a beating or even possibly committing murder, or B) trying to berimbolo someone on the sidewalk, with his buddies standing around you?
I had the same sentiment from another oldschool martial arts guy who has done all kinds of styles for like 40 years or whatever, and he agreed if you are not trying to kill someone (which is a whole other artform in itself), stuff like Aikido (he also trains something called Bagua) is indeed actually the most realistic, practical and useful in most circumstances.
Unless you are planning to compete in pro combat sports, or planning to be attacked by Diego Sanchez, really what place do other martial arts hold for us in real life? In 9/10 altercations, is it really justified to rip into a Muay Thai stance and start throwing? Is it really practical to take the fight to the ground and start grappling? How many fights to the finish do we actually get in? VS how many times would just some simple techniques to keep motherfuckers off you would be enough?
They may be right.
?
