Common Sense in the Martial Arts

When studying martial arts (for self defence, not sport), the best thing you can do is listen to your teacher. Especially if you are new to self defence training, always do what your teacher says, and perform the techniques the way he/she tells you. That is my advice to you, but luckily I had a teacher who knew what he was doing. Unfortunately there are lots of bad teachers out there today, who teach things that are completely impractical and can actually put someone in a worse situation in a street fight.

This is where I offer some more advice to you. USE YOUR COMMON SENSE. There are many times were you shall see something that is complete nonsense. For example, an elderly woman goes into a karate school to learn self defence, and she is taught a defence to a punch by blocking it then performing a finger thrust to the stomach. What are the chances that an elderly woman will defend herself effectively by thrusting her non conditioned fingers into a person’s stomach. Obviously the fingers are not meant to be struck at this target. A better alternative would be the throat or eyes. This is just one example. By using your common sense you will be able to find more examples of impractical teachings by so called experts. You are taught the basics by your teacher, but it is up to you to be able to apply these basics in a practical and efficient way. Good luck.

Marks

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