Why do street fighters beat up black belt martial artists?

If you want to learn to defend yourself, you join a karate school, right? After all, anyone with a high-ranking black belt and a host of shiny trophies proudly displayed in their window should be able to teach you how to survive one of the worst situations that can happen to a human being … truth?

I think you and I are old enough and experienced enough in the world right now to know that appearances are often very deceptive. What appears to be one thing is often something quite different. And learning self defense from a karate expert, at least one from today, is no exception.

How can I say this? What do I have against karate students, teachers and black belts?

I’ll start by saying that I have absolutely nothing against dedicated martial arts students and teachers, regardless of their rank or style. In fact, I commend and respect you for your dedication, motivation, and discipline in achieving both skill and rank in the way you chose.

Why do I question your ability to defend yourself, even in light of having obtained a black belt or having received trophies in one or more tournaments or competitions? A word …

Statistics.

Crime reports and statistics abound with accounts of people trained in martial arts, many of whom hold the rank of black belt, who fall victim to brutal attacks by ordinary street thugs, fighters with no formal martial arts training. or in other fighting arts.

How can this be? After all, aren’t these people learning how to deal with a violent attacker? Isn’t that what you learn in a karate class?

To be honest with you, it is very difficult to go into all the reasons why this logic fails. If you really want to understand how and why this type of situation occurs, and more often than you think, you really need to read the book, “The Karate Myth: Why Most Martial Arts and Self Defense Programs Are Wrong”. This powerful book, and its supporting materials, should be the first thing anyone who wants to learn how to protect themselves reads before taking a single step to enroll in a class.

For now, let’s explore the possibility that maybe, just maybe, being able to defend yourself is more than just learning some great moves. Maybe, just maybe, the color of the belt or the size or the number of trophies, tells us little or nothing about how someone will be fair in a real-world self-defense situation against an enraged or demonic attacker hell-bent on getting more out of you. than a plaque or a trophy. . Maybe.

Let me finish by saying that just as there are dozens of reasons why someone might start training in karate or martial arts, there are also dozens of benefits that can be derived from them. But, and this is a big “but”, if your goal is to learn to defend yourself effectively, efficiently, and confidently against a real-life bad guy, it will take more than a piece of cloth to represent how long I’ve been practicing. a series of punches, kicks and blocks. It will take more than a big shiny trophy or two, unless of course you plan to use the trophies as weapons (I would …).

In fact, it will take many of the same things that the street fighter brings to the situation, things that I find seriously lacking in most mainstream karate programs that I have seen taught in North America. If you are going to win against an assailant who has nothing to lose and everything to gain, you will have to make sure you arm yourself with the same tools that he carries in his arsenal. And I’m talking about guns, knives, or any other weapon like that. I’m talking about …

• A commitment to win, whatever happens

• Survival instinct
• Superior attitude
• A total disregard for “getting it right”,

Y …

• No illusory beliefs about so-called “fair play”

Until karate students can separate the traits developed for sportsmanship and being a positive member of society from those necessary to survive in a dangerous and life-threatening situation, I’m afraid the result will always be the same. And that is …

… the one who fights to win – to survive – Will forever conquer those who are simply complying with the movements.