hI Folks, Having never been in a real fight luckily. I have one question for you on observatons i have on seeing fights happen around me. Im currently studying Kenpo and have been for 7 years, and although all the tecniques do work in the gym which ofc there bound to. I have noticed from fights ive watched or seen in the street that within seconds it goes to grabs and holds. Kenpo does not have this in its sylibus. Do all fights go to the ground or holds, if so then surely any martial arts that envolves standing fighting is a waste of time if the opponent just goes in to wrestle mode. Oppinions appreciated from people who have been caught up in the real fights on the streets. cheers,
Yes and No. Fights that do not go to grabbing and holding are fights that you or your opponent end very quickly with a sweet shot on the money. Most of the other ones do. Usually if you are administering a beating, and the other guy becomes helpless on his feet, the first thing they instinctively do to stop the punishment is to grab you. If they are even marginally trained, they will continue to try and take you down, but often you may just trip up and go down anyway. This instinct can also be abused if you have a good submission game, because when punching someone from the mounted position, that natural tendency to reach up and try to grab you or your arms to stop the blows, leaves them open to a plethora of locks and chokes.
Thank you for the reply, very helpfull. So from a kenpo point of view, how would that work. My instructor has worked the doors and 35 years of experience. Also from fights he has found it to be very effective. Do i interpret that as he was initiating action as its quicker than re-action. He has no groundwork, grappling traiing. But has training in locks and arm bars from standing postion as well as all the kenpo.. Kenpo is a very fast art, is it that kenpo fairs well in self defence due to fast attacks, then running from the fight. Or do you feel that in a real fight my kenpo training would not hold me in good stead? Im really confused now due to real life time limits i can only train twice a week and that after 7 years kenpo I want to stick at it as have mates there and enjoy the system rather than learn another. I know its a crystal ball issue on will it work will it wont, BUt some selft defence classes ive been to again all deal with stand up attacks, chokes etc.
No offence but I think that if you are asking these questions then the answer is "No, it wont work". I was saying the same thing to someone who asked a virtually identical question to yours again about their 8 years (I think) trainning in Kenpo. You can be confident you'll win a fight, and then go on to win, you can be confident you'll win a fight and then go on to loose, you can be un-confident about it and get youre ass handed to you but you can't win if tou don't feel confident. Not often anyway. If you've trained for 8 years in Kempo, the chances are you have seen most everything tat your teacher is going to offer and your worries simply aren't going to go away on their own with more kenpo trainning, you need to look into trying some other art that deals with grappling (Preferably a sporting one IMO as that will let you fight with what you learn) And then you need to re-evaluiate the trainning you've received.
Well your instructor is going to say what he's going to say. My old Kempo instructor was also a bouncer, and an ex-marine. I also know friends now that I'm older that are bouncers and I'm not quite so naive as I once was. Grabbing drunks at the bar who usually don't want to fight bouncers isn't the most difficult task, especially when numbers are on your side. Also striking isn't really a part at all for their career, so that takes out about 97% of your instructors Kenpo training from the equation. I'm sure he's a tough guy, but as far as his profession is concerned, it's not that much of a qualifier of his art. Kenpo teaches some good concepts that come into play for self defense, such as pre-emptive striking, and overkill with striking which leaves your opponent no break to recover and mount an offense back at against you. If your fears are that you can't handle a grappler....well do what I did and take up grappling.
Your instructor has experience... that is usually a very good thing. After 35 years, however, everything is probably kenpo to him. What he calls kenpo can be vastly different than what you think it is, even after your 7 years of training. He punches, he kicks, he grabs, he moves, he breathes, it is probably all kenpo to him. For you, kenpo is just probably what you have learned in class. He has experience... this is what you probably are seeking. Gain some experience and you will be able to answer many of your own questions. Might be time for you to do some cross-training in a weapons art and some full contact sparring, Muay Thai or MMA style. Does kenpo fair well in self-defense? Kind of backwards, I think rather than thinking the art is the answer, it is more the training, knowledge, experience, and your attitude that can make the difference. If your goal is self-defense and practical application, then your training should reflect this. Sincere training, not style of martial arts. Self-defense courses can only teach so much, they are more intended for knowledge and to "wake people up" so they pay more attention to things, build awareness and build some confidence. I've seen self-defense programs for women that almost exclusively worked the ground fighting, self defense courses focusing on using aerosol restraints (pepper sprays, mace, etc.), using knives and other weapons, you name it. What they all had in common was knowledge of local laws, awareness building, and the passing on of experiences.
Like I said in your other identical twin thread, if you kenpo doesn't address depth control (and grabbing and holding etc) then you need a better kenpo! "Control manipulation" "Contact manipulation" look'em up LOL. It's my favorite area of kempo, so I guarantee it's in there (for some teachers).
I agree with you 100%. Kenpo more than likely isn't going to teach you how to handle a grappler. That's why you go and study grappling and Kenpo at the same time. You can get some of the self defense ideas from Kenpo, and implement the grappling ideas into it...you know, fill in the blanks that your instructor leaves, so to speak. That's what I'm doing. I love BJJ and I see how my Kenpo instructors limited knowledge left blanks for me to fill in. Thank God for Kron! He's a great instructor.
