Ahh stretching. I'm not middle aged and I would love a stretch before anything ever broke out. The difference between street effective TKD, and non street effective TKD for me is mainly built around mindset. Yes there are many different ways and levels of "hardness" you can train to prepare you for the street; however when it comes down to it, how quickly are you able to assess the situation? How aware of are you of the surroundings? What do you plan to do? In this sense it is not so much the physical response, but the mental preparation you have. Anyone can learn how to kick, punch, kick and grapple, but it is knowing when you need to do this, when you HAVE to do this, and when you simply need to bluff. Finding an instructor who understands this is hard to come by, simply because I don't feel this type of understanding and awareness can simply be taught. It must come from experience. ***Discalimer*** I wouldn't recommend getting into bar fights to simply gain this experience :d BTW after about 2 and half years on MAP. . . . YAY 500 posts. I guess I read more than I contribute
For anybody who's ever wondered.... what happens if you get into a fight and you can't stretch (this question was posed to my instructor by a junior a while back). The adrenaline that gets dumped into your body in this situation more than adequatly get teh blood pumping... see any `Geoff Thompson` books, or read up about teh `Adrenal Dump`. I think the hardest part about self defense is controlling the adrenal dump to your advantage, keeping control of your reflexes and above all control of yourself.... just because you're defending yourself doesn't mean you won't do time if you're excessive, especially if you are an experienced martial artist! Grats!
I find the whole stretching thing a real pain. I'm real prone to straining tendons in the top of my legs, which are kind of essential to TKD, lol. I find that, for example, in gradings, I'll kick higher/faster because of the adrenalin, and I wont feel anything at the time. However, a couple of hours later and I know I've strained something. :cry: And that's with stretching beforehand!
If you don't get the muscles/joints warm beforehand, then you wont get anything out of stretching other than pain. Dynamix flex is the way to go, gradually increasing the intensity. IMO you should only do stretches to increst the range of motion after you have trained. The body is warmer, you will drain lactic acid from the muscles and you should be able to control the stretches more. Back on topic though. My TKD should be street effective, but I have never used it. I have avoided situations, but never been involved in a street/bar fight. I do play rugby and have avoided/blocked punches etc on the pitch. But its rare that I retaliate - play rugby back at them and let them get sent off.
Yeh, I think not warming down was my problem, however, I have learned my lesson and always do it after class and gradings and it seems better. Anyway, sorry for temporarily hijacking the thread peeps. :Angel:
Stretching... it was just a joke guys! nothing more. But as for Bar fights.. I think they should be avoided altogether! I would prefer most any other fight to a bar brawl. There is nothing to be learned by being blind sided by a pool cue in a bar fight! All you training will not put eyes in the back of your head.. You are at a complete disadvantage in a bar fight.. the variables that exist with regards to staying aware of your surroundings will overwhelm most anyone. A good bar brawler will most likely be an individual who will use every dirty trick in the book and if their friends are around you may wind up biting off more than you can chew. You also may wind up in a confrontation with the proprietor of the bar as well. My advice just the opposite! stay out of bars.. Your a Martial artist and as such you should hold yourself above such involvement in decadent places. Leave bar fights for the dreads of society and instead concentrate on becoming a "True" Martial artist in both you actions in and out of the Do-Jang.
I'd say if you want to enjoy a drink with some friends, find a well lit reputable place and leave at the first sign of things getting rowdy. Prevention is better than cure.
Personally when a bar fight starts I like to find a nice comfy seat, get my drinks in and sit down to enjoy the show. Oh, and maybe some peanuts. This slightly cavalier attitude may spawn from the vact that for some random reason more than half my mates do some form of MA so I cant even remember the last time I saw a barfight and didnt have 4 or 5 guys with me that new some MA
I think the best way to answer this question is simple. Everyone knows through watching UFC, or Full contact fighting that a mix of stand up, ground work, quick reflexes, hard work, and a little bit of luck is a persons best chance in a street fight. Now depending on exactly what situation you're in (a bar fight is alot different than a one-on-one fight) one of your best friends is a quick reaction time and the ability no not lose control. I have trained in Tae Kwon Do for 19 years, which puts me in the supposed predisposition to stand up and throw fancy kicks as I Kiyai fiercely. Thruth be told, if I get into a "street fight" I'm going to be the first guy to bring it to the ground. I'm going to bite your n*ts off if I have to. I'm smart enough to know that my opponet is not going to fight by any type of tournament rules. I know that I have to hurt them quickly or I'm going to be hurt quickly. I think any training in any martial art automatically helps in a street fight. You can up the odds even more by cross training in other arts and styles. And remember, no matter who you are, no matter how long you've been training, there is always someone better than you, and luckier.
That assumes the other fighter knows groundfighting techniques. I personally wouldn't take a fight to ground unless I could help it as I have very limited groundfighting experience. We have done some at TKD, but nowhere near enough to choose to do them in a proper fight situation.
I've cross trained enough to say I feel confident enough on the ground. There are much too many "mights" to worry about. I just take it as it comes.
My instructor has a very open mind when it comes to adhering to strick TKD. For example, we do alot of self defense (primarily because she is also an instructor of HKD) and we have also incorporated weapons into our schedule. I took HKD seperatly for fun and that really improved my "street effectivness." My philosophy is that if they can tackle you to the ground, they got to close to begin with. And to answer your original question yes.
