Martial Arts

[FullAuto]

Leaving the course early has left me feeling disconnected and as a result I didn't train on Wednesday or Thursday, nor did I go out on the regular aikidoka night out on Friday, and I skipped training this morning, too. I've come back missing it terribly and yet feeling firmly apart from it, as if I'm an outsider. Training on Monday will be the start of a new week so hopefully I can throw this feeling off.

 

No idea what the other results of the course have been, although I hear people have been avidly practising the things we were shown by the Japanese sensei.

[Pete]

Some time away probably isn't the worst thing you could do - of nothing else some of your bumps and bruises might have healed a bit (assuming you get knocked about a bit).

[FullAuto]

Actually time off seems to have the reverse effect, my right wrist really hurts now. We do get a fair few bumps and bruises, aye, but the extra endorphins released seem to take care of them. It's when you stop training and the background level of pain falls that you start to hurt...

[FullAuto]

You may remember my earlier quoting of Alberto, an Aikiweb poster. He's still a knob:

 

you may likely get killed or maimed my friend: rapists in the scenario you seem to envision (by a lady in distress however I had not that scenario in mind: many men are chivalrous and have romantic ideas about a lady in distress inclusive of a lady bugged by a couple of passerbys - yet most of the times they aren't even ladies...) rarely act alone. It is commendable if you decide to intervene, but please remember that you may have only one shot at it.

 

Too many aikidokas have misconceptions about how dangerous a real fight can be. If you have already been in a MMA contest or boxing contest and you are aware of how a real fight is, you should know your limits and know beforehand what happens. But if you have fought only against ukes in aikido dojos, please my friend remember that a real fight can be very, very different from what our ukes let us experience.

 

Keep this in mind: if you know beforehand what happens, you are ready. If you don't, you aren't. You see a guy approaching you and by his eyes you already know (by his eyes ) what he's about to throw at you (with a 60% certainty). If you are not aware of this thing, namely that from eyes you may have glimpses of what's coming and know exactly the instant he is about to start, consider not intervening.

 

And certainly, never with an iriminage.

 

An alleged lady's reputation may not be worth your life.

Call 911 immediately instead.

 

What a load of rubbish.

[Pete]

You're not wrong there. Talking out of his arse.

 

If you can see in a man's eyes what he's about to do you're standing far too close and not watching what his hands are about to do for a start.

 

As for assessing whether a lady in distress is indeed a proper lady before intervening - I think you'd assess the situation based on other things and not gender or whether you think they're worth your time.

 

What a douche.

[FullAuto]

He is a loon. I'm all for prudence, assess things on a case by case basis, but FFS. It's not an excuse for cowardice.

[Sunflash]

I need this guy's address and a plane ticket.

[Pete]

"Excuse me, can I just stare into your eyes for a few seconds to work out what sort of psycho I'm dealing with whilst you gut me like a fish? Thank you.".

[FullAuto]

"Look into my eye!" sez Apone.

[FullAuto]

Bit of aggression at the advanced class tonight, some very direct techniques made for an incredibly hot training session. Training with a chap who had taken some time off, at one point he looked at me in despair and groaned "Can I not just buy a bigger gun?"

 

I was hopeless for about five minutes with laughter.

 

Also got a pat on the shoulder and a few words of praise from our sensei, which is incredibly rare for anyone. So, although I may not be pleased, I'm obviously not shockingly bad.

[FullAuto]

Surely a joke.

[Sunflash]

...AFk buying stock in advil.

[Pete]

Turn the other cheek and I'll palm strike it?

[FullAuto]

Interesting stuff from Kali.

 

[Sunflash]

I like how they muted various parts, as if people can't figure out what they're talking about.

 

I realize its mostly to obscure details of names and such, but still.

 

 

Also that's some of the better info on, to layman it, dual-wield daggers. Very nice find.

[FullAuto]

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Great use of centre here by Hwang. Aikido is very different, but our focus on centre is very very similar.

 

Arguing with idiots online has been good for something, anyway, in that it's made me think about all the different factors in a fight. Not just the individuals, but the environment involved, the unforseen risks that crop up, and the things that go wrong. As a keen student of self-defence, I like to read widely and was reminded by such thoughts of the case of a chap called Mark Coates in America (thread here), who was a South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper. He was an ex-Marine, and a big chap (approx 6'5 IIRC) and I daresay he kept himself and his skills in good working order.

 

He stopped a chap driving erratically, Richard Blackburn. Blackburn got out of the car, and a struggle ensued. Blackburn was a big lad as well, although quite a lot of it was fat, and he had a .22 mini-revolver, which is as weedy as it sounds. IIRC he shot Coates twice in the chest with it, both rounds were stopped by Coates' body armour, and in reply Coates gave him five .357 Magnum rounds to the torso (.357 Magnum is a serious calibre, very well respected), which, even at extremely close range, is fantastic shooting. Blackburn wasn't incapacitated (I think he was lying down at this point) and he fired again. The stupid little .22 round entered Coates' armpit, where there is no body armour, and carried on to his heart. Coates died, Blackburn lived and got life in prison. There's an online memorial to Coates here.

 

Sometimes, it doesn't matter how skilled you are, it seems to me. It's not that Coates was suddenly attacked by insurmountable forces, or by an opponent more skilled than himself. I doubt very much that he was found lacking, either physically or psychologically. He was dropped by what we commonly call a "lucky shot". But it's nothing to do with luck. It's just probability. X encounters, y shots, z hits. Even if the chances of z happening are incredibly low, they still happen.

 

You can be placed in a situation where, through no fault of your own, due entirely to external factors, it becomes impossible to win. You may very well not recognise that situation for what it is. It may, in fact, look like a very winnable situation if not for one factor which it is impossible for you to forsee. RIP, Mark Coates.

[Space Voyager]

Great use of centre here by Hwang.

 

Very very nice. Stable stance, low centre, letting the gravity do the hard work. He only applied force to use the opponent's force against him and when the opponent was already destabilized. Great.

[FullAuto]

Slow movement builds co-ordination.

[Space Voyager]

Fact remembered, article not read due to length.

[FullAuto]

One of the best things about training so regularly is how self-aware it has made me of my own physicality. When you're not doing anything strenuous regularly, you can quite easily fall into a comfortable existence of taking it easy, eating and drinking too much, relaxing, and just generally being vegetative and sedentary.

 

It's much more difficult to do this now I have training most of the week, and I immediately know when I've eaten enough (coming from a "Clear your plate!" background, this is quite unusual), when I've been lazing around too much, and I feel a little guilty after more than a few beers. It's amazing how you can end up quite befuddled and in a sort of calorific haze, you have a big meal, sit around doing nothing much, have a beer, a snack, and end up doing nothing and yet eating and drinking quite a lot. Because of aikido, I'm watching what I eat and drink, not counting calories but just because I can feel when I'm high gear and operating as well as I need to be. I can still eat heavily and do aikido, I don't throw up, but I don't perform as well. I like to be light on my feet, which means eating lightly. Even on days when I don't train, I'm conscious of dropping myself into low gear with a big meal or booze, so I tend not to do it.

 

Maybe brown in October. Remains to be seen.

[Space Voyager]

All very true. When I was training, I had to be careful not to eat at least three to four hours before sessions or it felt like a huge stone in my belly. Sensei didn't care.

 

I actually think I ate less back then and was at least somewhat active, which makes all the difference from then to bearbelly I carry nowadays. My missus and me are determined to start exercising, effective tomorrow. It has been enough slacking and we have gained enough weight. Also, you have been an inspiration.

[silencer_pl]

I actually think I ate less back then...

 

Don't forget drinking

[Space Voyager]

That is not entirely true... I was always dr... a very social person.

[FullAuto]

Aikido's an ambitious way of fighting. At the highest levels one is supposed to end the conflict with no damage to either side. I'd say the chances of this happening with a determined attacker are tiny. Someone enraged, or resolutely set on hurting you, is not going to be stopped by a pin, and you may have to inflict damage to dissuade them. Psychological factors cannot be relied upon, and unfortunately everything shy of rendering an attacker unconscious, paralysed, or dead is basically psychological. If you punch someone in the face, and they fall over, it's not because you're super strong, it's because of a combination of pain, shock, and a mild disturbance of their balance.

 

If I pin/joint lock someone, that is a statement. I am saying "If you continue to move, you will hurt yourself/I will hurt you." An attacker might 'listen' or they might not. On a rational attacker, this will result in them behaving, for as long as the pin is on. On a determined attacker, they probably will not be dissuaded by pain alone, and may not be dissuaded by structural damage like a broken arm/wrist. Of course, if they do insist upon still fighting, the injury means they'll be less effective, and you'll probably be starting from a better position, but someone that focused/irate might be essentially impossible to discourage. They will have to be stopped.

 

One of the things I was thinking about was that given my temperament, I'm probably not going to stop at simply neutralising the attack and waiting until the attacker calms down. I'm going to be a little bit annoyed, and given an attack and an attacker without experience of aikido, I might find myself with someone who thinks they can get free and continue the attack. So, quite frankly, I can attempt to maintain the pin, which is almost certainly not going to be the dojo-perfect version one strives to attain, or I can break something and see what's what from then. This is the thing that worries me, that in trying to be merciful one increases one's own exposure to danger, and I'm sorry, but I'm just not willing to do that for someone who has just tried to hurt me. I also feel it will be a disincentive to the attacker, and that it increases the chances they won't attack people in future.

 

If someone attacks me, and I throw them, and they just get winded, there's nothing for them to re-evaluate, they will simply carry on as before. If someone attacks me, and I break their arm, there's a tiny chance they will not go out and be so silly in future. They will most probably carry on as before, and even if they do change it will almost certainly be into other forms of criminality, but I can hope. I'm not under the impression a broken arm will change them into an honest citizen, but perhaps they will stick to shoplifting instead of mugging? It's nice to think you could make a difference.

 

One of the things I've noticed recently is simultaneaity. I've been a bit slow picking it up, but it appears to share the concept with a few other martial arts (JKD, Krav Maga, et al) of a simultaneous block/counter-attack when attacked. It was explicitly obvious to me this Saturday when a certain lady showed me defence against a kick, which was a block/leg capture combined with a strike, as you moved in. Atemi (strikes) are actually a part of aikido, and it's nice to see them done so early.

 

My missus and me are determined to start exercising, effective tomorrow.

 

Good on you, and good luck. I cannot imagine how difficult it's going to be with the little ones to take care of too.

 

Also, you have been an inspiration.

 

Very kind of you to say, sir.

[Thorondor]

You're gonna go Steven Seagal on some poor bastard aren't you?

 

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