Reading through some comments on this forum, why do a lot of people lack confidence in the effectiveness of their martial arts when it comes to self defence? Is it the martial arts they lack confidence in or their own abillity? My own aim in martial arts is to enjoy myself, get fitter, but also become a better fighter. I have come from a background involving a lot of street fighting for the wrong reasons, so I feel I understand fighting to a degree, I've been stabbed a few times so I kind of understand the reality or mentallity of those situations, most of them are just random and there is no set way of them happenning from my own experience. I've left that life behind now, but due to this I understand the importance of self defense in todays society. I don't think because I practice a martial arts it's going to make me a badass who no one can beat up, but I do think martial arts give you more tools to use in those situations where your forced to fight. Also I find talking your way out of situations is a lot better than fighting and I've been able to do it, but again it's all relative as what will work in one situation won't work in another. What do you feel is the solution to give a person more confidence in there own fighting abillity?
It's because self-defence is a completely separate subject from mainstream martial arts training. Some of us at various stages of our martial development spar, some harder than others, some with armour and with full contact. Some do 2 onto 1, some use weapons. None of it though really reflects a real life situation. Mainstream martial arts don’t deal effectively with verbal de-escalation; therefore the student is left without the necessary skills to talk their way out of a fight. In fact without the necessary skills they may be talking the aggressor into starting a fight. That is their training letting then down before the fight even starts. Secondly is the language. There may be swearing in class, but classes have students of different ages, sexes, beliefs and so on. Some classes are in leisure centres and some in a hall with nearby classes in ballet or yoga going on. This really restricts the type of language that can be used. I'm sure most of us swear and aren't ignorant to the words used, but if you haven't trained for an aggressor who is sticking a finger in your face and being really disgusting with their language, then it is going to take you by surprise. This will have your legs shaking and your stomach in a knot before the fight even begins. Again the training has let you down before the fight starts. Situational awareness and scenarios You may be told in class to imagine a scene at a club, a 2 onto 1 situation maybe. The problem is you are sparring/fighting in a dojo/hall. How much space do you have to move around? Are you able to set up an area that is 2 metres by 2 metres, or smaller and have the students go for it. It is no good running around the hall if that doesn't replicate the area/scenario you are training for. You can't back off effectively if you are standing at a crowded bar. This is difficult to replicate in a normal class, so it leaves the student feeling ill prepared when it happens for real. Armour How much armour does the student/instructor have available? Armour and protective equipment is expensive. I've been at training days where the instructor has several thousands of pounds worth of equipment laid out. This is beyond many clubs, so the instructor has to make do with what he has. This may not allow enough protection to really have the students to go at it full contact, so again training doesn't reflect real life. Different types of aggressor Does the class teach how to deal with different types of aggressor? Not every situation can be dealt with in the same way. The drug addict or career criminal in unlikely to be talked out of not wanting to steal your belongings, so a fight is likely, however, if you spill someone’s pint in a club and they get aggressive, there is a very high chance you can talk them out of fighting. Not all situations lead to a fight and if they do in class, then there is every chance the student creates a situation that leads to a fight by poor body language or use of dialogue. Exposure to violence I think that there is a very good argument against using protective armour. It can lead to a false sense of security. The wearer can take blows that would normally stop an aggressor, so he carries on when a fight would normally stop. With that said, I favour the use of armour, at least to some degree. Armour lets you train at full, or close to full contact. This gives the student a chance to experience getting hit at full contact. That exposure alone should be enough to make you ask questions of how effective your training is. You don't need to walk away from your current art, but you should question how hard you train and apply it. All training is a compromise; we cannot all pad up and go for it. There are good and bad in all and not all of us train for self-defence, it just seems that self-defence has become a popular subject recently. How many of us worry about self-defence, but have never been in a fight? It's no good worrying or training for something that may never happen. It's just like the MMA guys saying that all other arts are failing because they don't do ground work. It's a foolish arguement. If your class doesn't do grappling in club competitions, then why train it? If your class doesn't focus on self-defence, then it is no good complaining that you feel wanting when a situation arises. I accept the argument that as the class is teaching a martial art is should be able to fight at some level, but not all of us want to train for the street. Self-defence is a separate subject away from regular martial arts training.
If you want to increase confidence in their own fighting ability then have them train in a very small group and positively reinforce how deadly this would be to other people do not cross train, do not compete, just believe in your newly found skills unquestionably and your confidence will skyrocket. Most good ninjutsu schools can teach you this.
Very good debate ! From my own experience, Karate has given me the ability to remain calm in a fight, the strong feeling of having nothing to prove to my verbal abuser. I always say that I learn to fight, so I never have to. I think a good fighter has an aura about him, a look in the eye that a wannabe aggressor can actually sense and stay away.Its not about the size or how badass you look, but more about your whole behaviour. This is not to say a fighter will not get into a street fight, or even get his ass kicked. But at least he should be able to inflict damage, protect better and recover mentally. Many get depressed after being mugged, its a hard wake up call to many, its a reminder of how unsafe they are. I know am slightly off topic, but my point is a good fighter, regardless of styles is in a better position to cope and perhaps even deter aggressors. The more you practice , the more confident you get. You get used to being hit, blood, black eyes...and you do it allover again few days later. Cisco
I know why I don't have total confidence in my karate when it comes to self defense. I don't have eyes in the back of my head nor can I read minds. I an untrained street thug wanted to fight me, stood in front of me and said "were gonna fight now" then I am confident I could handle that situation in the majority of cases (excluding weapons) But when somebody sneaks up behind you, and stabs you or jumps you with six friends, I'm less confident. I think I would have a better chance than the average guy in many cases, but nothing makes you totally safe.
There is a point where confidence becomes stupidity. Situational awareness is a great thing to have to avoid going from confident to stupid.
In some ways confidence is stupidity, it is something of bravado and focuses the person on choosing a specific route when others might be better. Better than confidence is a lack of it coupled with ability to deal with any outcome from an emotional perspective.
I don't think we should confuse confidence with bravado. It's called "false-confidence" for a reason. When you are as equally confident of your weaknesses and limitations as you are of your strengths and abilities, then you can start chipping away at that "fear" thing.
In my own training, it's been kind of a mixed bag. I mean, it's nice to know that even when some dude walks in off the street with no training, doesn't matter how big he is, I'm going to armbar the bejeezus out of him. By the same token, imagining how things might go if he had a knife makes the blood drain out of my face. When I didn't train live, I had a lot of confidence that if I perfected my technique, I could take out thousands of knife wielding attackers, but had little confidence in how perfected my technique was.
I think it's kinda like when you know a lot of things, it's that you will realize that you in fact don't know much at all. People without training or experience often think they could easily win a fight. It's only when these people are put into an actual fight that they get humbled. And by what I've seen from the people on this website, they don't lack confidence, they're just humble because they know.
