Niketa Wells - International Taekwon-do Federation of New Zealand

More documents

Recommendations

Info

REGULARBy Mr Phil Thompson, Protect Self DefenceSELF DEFENCEThe sport of MMA is exploding all overthe world and has become the topic ofmainstream conversation among martialartists and fighters from all styles. Manypeople are choosing to cross-train invarious MMA styles and it has beenreferred to as a more “complete” systemof martial arts. This is a subject that I’ll bestleave to the martial arts experts to debate.What I am happy to discuss however is themisguided notion that MMA is the “ultimateself defence system”, or “as close to thereal thing as you’ll get” which, among otherthings, are commonly quoted by MMAexponents.That is absolute rubbish.MMA is so far away from the being the“ultimate self defence system” (if there isany such thing) as to be laughable.Let’s explore a few of the reasons whythis is…Firstly…It’s a SPORT! That should tellyou everything you need to know rightthere. In my opinion it is an excellent formof exercise and conditioning, it is fun (ifthat’s your thing), and has many positivebenefits including potentially adding toolsto your self defence arsenal. But it is asport and sport has nothing to do withprotecting ourselves against the realitiesof real world violence.Probably most importantly, in an MMAor any other sport fighting event, therewill be Consent, Prior Awareness, andPreparation. That is both parties have theconsent of each other to be there and totake part in the event, both parties haveprior awareness of what is happening, andboth parties have preparation time. Theseare luxuries we do not possess in a realself defence situation and, all by themselves,show how polar opposite these twosituations are.The focus is on winning. In an MMA eventboth opponents are focusing on winningagainst the other opponent. This is a verydifferent mindset to reality where the focusof your opponent may be to viciously,and without conscience or boundaries,seriously injure, rape, or murder you. Yourfocus may be to purely survive and gethome to your loved ones, or to protectyour loved ones in the moment. This willcreate substantially different emotions,thoughts, levels of fear, anger, uncertainty,and a completely different level of physicalarousal. Basically, it isn’t just a different game,it’s a different world.It is a physical “fight”. MMA, like most martialarts, only address the physical aspects of a“fight”. This is not even close to a complete“system” of self defence. Real self defencetraining must include the behavioural andpsychological aspects of self protection,recognition and awareness strategies, deescalationand defusion tactics, realisticphysical protection strategies whichaddress real-world situations, and posteventissues. MMA does not include thesethings. Why? Because it doesn’t need to. It’sgot nothing to do with self defence; it’s asport, so it focuses on training athletes forsport fighting and is very good at it.There are no weapons involved inMMA events. MMA is a sport with manyrules, regulations, and boundaries. Realworldviolence is not and has no rules andno boundaries, at least not on the part ofthe attacker. You can be fairly assured thatin an MMA fight your opponent won’t pullout a knife in the middle of your bout andstart gutting you with it. You can be fairlyconfident that he won’t crack your armwith a baseball bat or break a beer bottleand try to sever your jugular with it.He’s unlikely to try to smash your facein with a brick or beat you unconsciouswith a crow-bar. Weapons, either specificor improvised are commonplace in realworld violent situations and all self-defencetraining should assume the presence of aweapon on the attacker(s) somewhere.Your training needs to include the precontactstages and awareness of precontactindicators so that a weapon can beintercepted at the earliest point, as well asrealistic weapon defences and post-eventmanagement issues. If you’re training doesnot include this aspect, then it is not evenclose to real, plain and simple. Have youever seen any of this in an MMA fight ortraining?There are no multiple attackersin MMA events. In the ring, you arefighting one person and one person onlythroughout the entire fight. You can be fairlycertain that your opponent’s friend won’tjump in the ring and kick you and stompyour head while you have your opponent inthe guard position. His friends won’t jumpin and smash a bottle or crow-bar againstyour skull in the ring while you are focusingon your opponent, or stab you repeatedlyin the back while you are clinched withyour opponent. You don’t have to worryabout being blindsided by your opponent’sfriend or grabbed and restrained by a“helpful bystander” or bouncer whileyour opponent takes advantage of thatand viciously attacks you. In reality, thesethings can happen and if your training isnot preparing you for these things then itis not realistic self defence training.You fight in a controlled environmentin MMA events. In MMA events, likemost other sport fighting and sparringmatches, you fight on a flat, open surfacewhich is often padded. You don’t grappleon gravel or broken glass or cement inMMA events, which if you do in realitycan cause huge amounts of damage veryquickly. You don’t have to worry about aslippery surface, like spilled alcohol, rain, ice,gravel etc in MMA events. You don’t have toworry about darkness, rain, low visibility inthe ring. You’re not in a train, on a staircase,in an elevator, or in a toilet stall in a MMAfight. You don’t have to worry about beingpushed through a plate glass window andbeing disfigured by broken glass or gettingtossed off a balcony of a 5-storey building,or tripping on a curb and falling while youropponent starts stomping and rainingstrikes on you. There is no furniture orother obstacles around you which couldinhibit your movement and/or escape inthe ring. It is not too often you will findyourself on a nice, flat, soft, open and evensurface if you have to protect yourself forreal. A bit different, yes?Your clothing and other variableswon’t limit you in MMA events.Usually when you fight in an MMA or sportfighting event you’ll be wearing specificclothing, maybe gloves and other protective40TAEKWON-DO TALK MAGAZINE
REGULARgear, maybe no shirt or a gi/dobok etc.You’re certainly not wearing a suit andtie or skirt and heels in MMA. You’re notwearing winter boots, gloves and a big puffywinter jacket in the ring. It’s unlikely youwill have your shirt pulled over your headwhile your opponent buries punches intoyour head or that your tie will be used tochoke you.Your health and state of being isn’tan issue in MMA events. When youcompete in an MMA or sport fight (andmaybe sparring too) you are in a goodstate of health and a good mindset. Youdon’t compete if you have a flu or fever orsickness when fighting in the ring. You don’tcompete and fight if you have a sprainedankle, broken wrist or bad back in MMAevents. You won’t compete if you only hadfour hours sleep per night over the lastthree days due to a hectic work scheduleor crying baby. You won’t compete if youhad too much to drink with some matesthe night before and you feel like hell. Inreality you may very well find yourself thetarget of predatory aggression at a timewhen you are injured or unwell and thatcan have an enormous impact.Your opponent is not high on P,Heroin, Morphine, Cocaine, or anyother substance while fighting inMMA events. Have you been told thereis no difference? If so, it’s seriously time toexplore the source of that advice becausethese factors can make a significantdifference!In an MMA fight you know youropponent and what style of fightinghe trains in before the fight and cantherefore prepare for him weeks ormonths in advance.You know when, what time andwhere you are going to fight inadvance and you can train, eat, sleep andsupplement accordingly prior to the fight;you even have the luxury of warming upbefore the fight. In reality your opponentwill always choose the time and place ofyour attack, and that will usually be whenyou are at a perceived disadvantage.In an MMA fight you are by yourself.You are not with your partner, family orfriends. You’re not carrying your 10-montholdbaby in your arms while fighting in anMMA event. Your partner or mother isn’tnext to you while fighting. You are notconcerned about protecting your lovedones or getting them to safety amid thedanger, nor do you have to be concernedabout how they may react in the situationwhich may make things much worse.You can tap out. Yep, in MMA and othersport fighting you can “tap out” and stopthe fight. The referee can also stop the fightor your corner can throw in the towel.Ummm…These things don’t work in areal situation…There are RULES! In MMA andsport fighting there are rules which bothopponents must follow. In reality YOUmay have rules, such as certain boundaries(good or bad) which your training hasprogrammed you for, moral and ethicallimits, awareness of your rights/limits underthe law and others. Unfortunately youropponent may have a completely differentset of rules and boundaries, or in fact hemay have absolutely none at all.See the differences? This is not an exhaustivelist but each of these points are crucialelements in a real confrontation or selfdefence situation.MMA and other forms of sport fightingare great for what they are, but they areNOT a “self defence” system at all andit is dangerous for anyone to confusethe two as such. Could training in goodMMA enhance your self defence skills?Yes. It could add many additional toolsto your “toolbox” and also give you agreater understanding of MMA tacticswhich will help if you come up against anMMA trained opponent in a real situation.It could definitely be useful, but don’t fallinto the trap of thinking it’s the “ultimate”self defence system as that could put youin a dangerous position in a real situation.My advice is to never believe the hype or justfollow advice blindly based on someone’s“position” or rank. Instead intelligently askquestions, diligently research, challenge theprocess, and continue to grow. Remember,it’s your life and safety at stake and that isnot a game and certainly not a sport.Mr Thompson is co-founderof Protect Self Defencealongside his wife Athena, andinstructs classes, seminars andprivate instruction at Protect’straining centre in Auckland andthroughout NZ.ISSUE TWO, 201241
Page 3 and 4: NEWSFROM THE PRESIDENTMaster Evan D
Page 5: 18 World Cup Action OUR EXPERTSFEAT
Page 11 and 12: NEWS14-16 September 2012 at Campbel
Page 13 and 14: NEWSthe baby? Ahhh, I’ll just win
Page 15 and 16: NEWSincluded) led by Grand Master V
Page 17 and 18: NEWSHWA RANG WARRIORSBy Mr Norman N
Page 20 and 21: FEATURECarl van Roonamazing to see
Page 22 and 23: FEATURETHE 2012 WORLD CUP...BEHIND
Page 24 and 25: FEATURE24TAEKWON-DO TALK MAGAZINE
Page 26 and 27: FEATURENIKETA WELLS - UNLIKELY STAR
Page 28: FEATUREHOW TAEKWON-DO TRAINING CAN
Page 31 and 32: REGULARMr Mark Hutton - VII danand
Page 33 and 34: REGULAROFFICIALS’ ATTIRE- A DOBOK
Page 35 and 36: REGULARMr Ian Campbell V Danbe invo
Page 37 and 38: REGULAR to the Silla dynasty.
Page 39: REGULARPractical TipsThe goal is no
Page 43 and 44: REGULAROPTIMAL EARLY TREATMENT OF C
Page 45 and 46: KIDSGetting to know……Taekwon-Do
Page 47: ACTIONGlowingWhile this was a sligh

Niketa Wells - International Taekwon-do Federation of New Zealand

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?