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Whenever a martial artist tries to argue that fights in
modern-day America seldom involve serious injury or death, I
immediately know that person has never walked the streets that
many Black Belt readers have traveled. Sometimes
it seems as though the martial artist is not even aware those
streets exist.
The issue of violence in America
reminds me of a friend in the 82nd Airborne Division who had
to leave the Army after he caught a crowbar in the face one
night at a burger joint in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
It makes me remember a guy who got his head kicked in for
messing with another guy's Harley at a club in the same town.
Then I recall the steel bucket that narrowly missed my head
one night and what kind of injury that would have caused.
I remember the guy I sent to the hospital because he was
trying to put me there, and I remember a close friend's father
who was killed by a pipe to the back of the head in a parking
lot. Just recently, here in Montana, two guys went
outside to settle a stupid little argument in a bar, and then
a knife was drawn. One went to prison and the other to
the morgue.
These are the situations serious
students of self-defense prepare for - whether or not some
people continue to deny they even exist. To stay safe,
we all need to think about them.
As we begin this undertaking, we
must first differentiate fights from combat. In Cheap
Shots, author Marc MacYoung introduces that concept to his
readers. Fights are the only things martial artists with
rose-colored glasses envision. These altercations are
quite common in some areas. I have been involved in a
lot more of them than in the more serious incidents.
They are usually over as soon as one person shows the other
who's boss, and often they involve nothing more than a few
bumps and a bruised ego. Friends will often intervene
before anyone is seriously injured.
The other type of physical
confrontation is best referred to as combat. It occurs
when two or more people are trying to seriously hurt or kill
each other. Even though many marital artists are
fortunate enough to never have to walk this path, it is out
there. MacYoung used to live right in the middle of such
an environment, and that is what he wrote about. I have
taken a few trips down that road myself; now, I always try to
find another route.
While this column does not offer
enough space to delve into the details of the two types of
conflicts, it is vitally important to know the difference.
And that brings up a related issue: martial arts instructors
who prepare students only for those less-than-lethal
encounters, the ones you might find yourself in at church or
in a schoolyard. Those teachers are making a fatal
mistake.
All instructors should address
fights that arise out of frustration, belligerence or ego.
They are avoidable, and since avoidance is our first line of
defense, it should be taught as such. A properly
educated martial artist who possesses courtesy, integrity,
perseverance, self-control and self-confidence - all of which
MacYoung identified as character traits that should be
fostered in the dojo - will avoid these petty conflicts
and not have to use any physical skills.
However, those instructors who
focus on self-defense must also address the reality of
physical violence known as combat. It is ugly, brutal
and savage. MacYoung wrote about that to illustrate the
difference between it and a fight for the benefit of those who
have not been in both. You may live your entire life
without ever being in a fight or in combat. But no
everyone is that lucky. Obviously, your chance of being
involved in a fight are greater, but if you are also concerned
about being prepared for combat, you must begin by knowing the
difference. Learn how to avoid the first and be prepared
for the second.
About the author: Alain Burrese is a free-lance writer
and self-defense instructor based in Missoula, Montana.
This article was written after a letter to the editor
appeared in Black Belt magazine criticizing an
editorial in Black Belt that Marc MacYoung wrote.
Read below and find out why the heck I mentioned getting into
fights at church.
The Letter: Real Fights Not So Deadly
After reading the January 2000 guest editorial about street
fighting, I find it hard to believe that author Marc MacYoung
has ever seen one or been in one.
On any given day there are
hundreds or thousands of bar fights, street fights and fights
for money, marbles or chalk. While they are sometimes
rough, there is normally an implied code that is observed by
both parties. Although the fight isn't over until the
winner says so, the winner doesn't kill the vanquished foe.
Street fights involve perfectly
normal people - the same people you go to church with or meet
at school. In anger or frustration, they become
belligerent, and a fight ensues. Seldom does one fight
in a thousand involve serious injury or attempted murder.
These less-lethal fights are the most common, and that's why
they are the ones good martial arts schools prepare their
students for.
John Townsley, Palatine, IL
From the Letters in the March 2000 issue of Black Belt magazine.
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