Just interested how many of you had to use you various skills in real life situations? As I feel martial art give you a sort of protective confidence aura around you so thus reducing risk of confrontation
Probably about 10%? That's not including situation de-escalation and the "confidence" of pulling off the moves. Its not like I was toe-to-toe, ring ready etc. It was more grabbing/bear hugging and dragging people away. The most technical move I've ever done really was a twisting belly to back suplex. I had a plan of wrapping up the arm as well but by then my fellow security colleagues had dived on me. In regards to your thoughts of "protective aura". Personally (and that might be the way I'm reading it) but that can be a dangerous thought. Martial arts is not some magical shield that can prevent you from confrontations. i admit, that at a point in my life, because I trained and been through some adversity, I had some arrogance. I wasn't belligerent, I just had the thought that with the "general joe public" I knew that I would win if things got physical. So I would be dismissive to anyone being confrontational to me.
Well it's weird but I'm 6foot and big built, before doing any arts, I'm 45 and last time I was attacked I was 15 yrs old at a fair, by 4 divs
Did you do a Sharpshooter on anyone? And if not...why not! Me and a mate of mine nearly did the 3D on a shoplifter back when we worked in [insert name of a corporate retail store here].
If you count martial arts techniques and de-escalation my numbers will about match Hannibal's. I would say 100% of the time though. One of the big things I think martial arts has given me is and improved bearing (posture, voice tone, bodily awareness) which results in better compliance and personal interactions in both my personal and professional fields.
I'd subdivide that 10% and say that a good percentage of them probably didn't necessarily need to use their skills...
"Feign" is a telling choice of words. You don't have to prove yourself because you know you could smash them. Let baby have his bottle. You've got bigger fish to fry!
Well it use to feel embarrassing sort of bowing down to other people but I think that's because I was still insecure about my own skills in fighting.
Exactly. The more insecure someone is, the more they have to prove themselves and dominate others. The more confident you are, the easier it is to walk away, because you've not lost anything by doing so.
I haven't been in a fight in nearly 20 years. I'm 34 now. I don't know that I'd call the few fights I got into in middle & high school "real" fights. I can only recall 2 well: - Guy who I didn't get along with was in a ****y mood (found out later) and walked up to me in the school hallway with 2 friends who flanked me. I was against a wall with no where to go (his friends to either side, wall behind, him in front). He walked up to me and cussed at me and shoved me into the wall. I asked what his problem was (in slightly more colorful language), and he basically said "you" and shoved me again, I told him to shove me again in that "and there will be consequences" tone. He shoved me again, I grabbed him and slammed him back into the opposite wall, we scuffled for maybe 30 seconds, both still standing, back and forth across the hall slamming each other into lockers and trying to get someone down to the floor, then a teacher broke it up. His friends didn't jump in. (Not really a 'real' fight--if it hadn't been broken up it may have turned into one though.) My graphing calculator in my backpack had a shattered screen after; we both got hauled into the principle's office, and the other guy basically said "It was all me I was in a bad mood and just took it out on him for no reason," and he (well, his parents) replaced the calculator. (I think we were both 15?) 2) I was in 5th, 6th, or 7th grade, not sure which. We had just had PE, which that day involved a game of dodgeball. There was this one kid who (as far as I could tell at least) was deliberately trying to peg me in the nuts at least 3 times, and succeeded once. (He & I didn't have much interaction, many years later I think he probably wasn't actually aiming for my nuts, but I was picked on a lot at that time and tended to view things differently.) I approached him in a hallway later that day, there were maybe 5 other people around who didn't interfere. I asked him (aggressively, I imagine, though I don't actually recall now) why he was pegging me in the balls. He basically told me to **** off and shoved me, I shoved him back, he hit me in the stomach/torso, I shoved him again hard and he went to the ground, I got on top of him and didn't do anything else, just told him not to mess with me again (while holding him pinned down), then got up and left. So aside from 2 stupid-kid fights where no one really got hurt at all, I haven't been in any fights. I'm a big, strong-looking guy. I don't imagine many people who see me think "oooo I wanna go pick a fight with that guy". I don't forsee myself in any self defense situations in the future. That said, you never know. I figure if I learn a bit better how to defend myself with MA, great. But my main focus is on fitness + learning--I enjoy learning to do martial things with my body, and that helps me stick with it as a fitness thing too.