Ive been in tae-kwon-do for about two years now and i'm a blue belt. Even though I've been doing it for a while I still feel like if i got into a fight on the street i'd get my butt whooped.
First of all if you get into a street fight you should only be trying to run away. Not beat the attacker up. People who attack you on the street may be armed so it isn't a good idea to stand and fight. My teacher says that if he got into a bad situation he would run away. He just says to kick them where it hurts and run. So no jumping back kicks or 180 kicks. Second of all maybe you need to train harder (joking).
Maybe you should consider corss-training. But first, you should talk about it with your instructor, he might be able to help some more Like Endless said though, the best defense is running.
I like booksie_girl's advice. I think many students go through periods of doubts and as a blue belt it can be difficult. You probvably have developed good basics and are now putting this stuff together... albeit maybe clumsily at times. Here's some tips I would share: 1. Take your concerns to your instructor. 2. See if one of the black belts (or other senior belts... or even same level) would work with you after class on "street style sparring". Put on some gloves and work hand techniques, work aggresive (resisting) grabs and takedowns. Practice getting taken to the ground and see if you (a) handle yourself there and (b) get back to your feet and use your striking 3. Arrange visits to other local schools (other styles preferably) and train for a bit... then see if you spar them as well. This will give you a new perspective on opponents "not of your style" and get you some hands-on practice. It will also give you an idea of where your skills are at. Also, check out this thread for some ideas: http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10787
1- TRAIN HARDER! SERIOUSLY! How often do you train so hard when you go home you JUST WANNA SLEEP YA HURT SO BAD?! That is my ideal workout. second of all, CROSS TRAIN, I would recomend Muay Thai. But even getting some friends that are streetfighters teach ya some stuff and do LIGHT CONTACT sparring with them does wonders.
I trained so hard in the beginning that all I could do was lie on the couch till work. Now I find that it's catching up to me, and I've got a burgeoning hip problem: Tends to pop in and out when I kick rather painfully.
Thanks Everybody. Lately Ive been practicing situations in my room by saying what if somebody would do this. And i'd figure out what I would do.
We do alot of ground fighting techniques and grab/release techniques. I feel these are more useful in an "attack" type situation since they are primarily designed for quick getaways. Speak with your teacher about possibly adding some of these to your training. TKDshane
'Ive been in tae-kwon-do for about two years now and i'm a blue belt. Even though I've been doing it for a while I still feel like if i got into a fight on the street i'd get my butt whooped.' You probably would, keep training. :bang:
I had been practicing Taekwondo for about nine years and felt my kicks were good, and I could use them in a fight. The problem I had was that I couldn't punch. Kicking is very good, but it is only one range of combat, the others including grappling, punching etc. Even if you are the best kicker in the world, and a wrestler gets in close on you, you're toast. For this reason I began to train in Hapkido, another Korean martial art. It consists of many joint locks, close combat moves that augment my kicking. I now find that I'm more confident about my ability in a fight than before. I am not saying you should go sign up for Hapkido. Maybe work on your punches/hand strikes first and then, if still uncomfortable, talk to an instructor about Hapkido.
I'm all for what HeadKick44 say. I had been doing (ITF) tkd for 5 years when two guys jumped me. I didn't get seriously hurt only because there was a lot of ice and because the police were not to far away. After that I started "branching out." I've gotten the "recklessness" from Krav Maga, the punching and low kicks from Kickboxing, the joint-locks and close quarter fighting from Hapkido and the "mundane weapons" from FMA. This time I come prepared! :woo: (With recklessness I mean the ability to inflict pain to another person! I was amazed when I found out after the fight that the two attackers had only been hurt by the police and not by me... And mundane weapons is anything you find lying about that will work as a weapon, a bottle, a stick, a bike...) I still go to tkd class though, as I love the people, the philosophy and the ability to kick really high!
When I was a blue belt I felt the same. It hink the problem was that before I started I was fairly ignorant. I had little or no idea abouit the sheer number of MAs available and therefore the number of MAist out there. The you do an MA for a few years, it makes you realise that there are so many more talented people out there, who look like everyday Joes. Thats because they are everyday Joes. The thing is that you are probably beginning to realise that you have weaknesses that you never realised you had, because they have either been exposed by someone more experienced than you, or that you have found them on someone else. I think its normal to have fear. Its a good thing, it separates you from eejits that think they can fight anything that move because they aren't scared of anything. They will end up bloodied and in a gutter somewhere. Which is nice.
My instructor says that the first defense in TKD is to run away. The only thing hurt is your pride which is MUCH better than your face. Work on cross training and also what Thomas has said, more 'realistic' scenarios.
Hap Kido. My instructer has been teaching us several Hap Kido moves. But I found it really hard to remember them.
I wouldn't worry too mmuch personally. even if you were Chuck Norris and holding a pistol in each hand someone can walk up behind you and smash your skull in with a hammer. Awareness, trying to be aware that a dangerous situation is going to occur and then avoiding it is paramount. Run, before you fight, if you have to fight, fight hard and assume your opponent is armed in some way. There's alot of luck in a street fight and circumstances you can't control and don't know about. You can train a Martial Art to get an advantage and you can tailor your training to increase that advantage, but that's all you'll ever have. I would suggest competing often, the difference when sparring competition and club is such that it teaches you to think on the spot a bit more and be used to fighting under pressure. As Thomas suggests, get a like-minded friend to help you, get the pads on and have a good scrap. Take the fight to the floor, use holds, punches, elbows, knees and sweeps, fight to submission. You can learn alot doing that, as you do it try and fight longer without submitting, if you get confident enough try it without pads. If you are willing to go to that level you will become better equiped to handle yourself in a street fight. Not everyones cup of tea going barefist though... It's personal choice at the end of the day... How far do you want to take it ?
