"Size(or strength) matters not"

He was a giant that didn't want to fall. So knock him down (BOOM!) and have a picnic on his head.

 

I would have but I did not have my baseball bat with me.


regards koyo

 

Why do you need a baseball bat? Shoes are enough for kicking soccer balls, His head mustve been that big.

:laugh: Man, am I goofy...

 

I think it might be true that we who are disabled may not last long in a real fight...but at the same time I think we should still fight. I personaly would not fight in a ring with another just for sport, I'm not saying that's a bad thing to do, but I just wouldn't. However I would spar with people without hurting them...but that would be training for a real fight would it not? Even if you'r in a sports MA it doesn't mean that you can't use it to defend yourself. One of the classes that I go to are for people with mental, physical or developmental dissabilities who have been jumped upon and fought down. I think with what they have experience first hand, I think that they wouldn't have any problems trying to defend themselves, or others. Now among kicks and punches they also teach different scenarios like trying to get out of the way, or avoiding confrontations. So sometimes it is the right time to fight, or the right time to walk away, but both times unfortunately do come up and it is not alwayse the time to walk away. One of the rules that was in my first martial art, and I will remember it alwayse is "We only fight to protect our lives and the lives of others." And if it comes down to it I will fight no matter knowing if I will get hurt because if I don't fight (like I said before) that would be giving up and that's something we can't do. But as a side note also I will not start a fight, but if it is absolutely necessary to end one then I will do my best to try.

 

How can you say we won't last long in a fight, Joshua? That is how they put it in the movies, but the movies were made by people who have little or no experience with disabled martial artists. They put in the movies whatever they want us to think. Crap on 'em!

We can last as long as we can endure. Endurance is a part of not giving up. So it's good that you won't give up. But we all know that not even Mr. Big Guy can last forever. Pain is part of a fight, and pain is usually the cause of our giving up. Nothing is supposed to be easy.

Oh, I just remembered. I was knocked out by a frisbee that came flying and hit my chin when I was a kid. ;D Strength? No, it was a frisbee.

And from what BentMonk says, there aren't any techniques that will always work. But I say knocking out works. And if your instructors seem to be babying you, you can learn what they teach you and when it comes time you can easily "upgrade" what you learned and prove to be a dangerous fighter. Take Mei Hua's MS student for example. If Mei was somewhat easy on his MS student for caution, then his student had "upgraded" what he learned when he was attacked at the bar.

Be a lion, never give up!

 

I agree with you as well. But what I am saying is who knows how long we can endure the attacks? It may be longer or shorter times depending upon the situation. As you were talking about upgrading, I think that's a good idea, but not until that student were ready to actually upgrade his/hers techniques. You wouldn't want to give a black belt to a beginner would you? Ofcourse not. It's the same for people with dissabilities. If we are ready for more techniques, or anything like that then I think we should be taught those things, but not until were ready. The problem with that is that we will have so many different things in our mind, but if those things have not been learned to the point where we can do them on our own, then the upgrading would be to quickly. So like I said I agree entirely with upgrading systems. But just at the point where they are ready to be upgraded

 

That's why you spar. Sparring is a "practical real fight", as I put it. You can upgrade them during a spar. And if they sparyou like a baby, you have the chance to prove yourself worthy of being sparred properly. And it is good to hide your endurance until the time. Expectations are part of how people fight you, aren't they? So, the more un-expected you are, the more you have them off-guard.

 

Actually, sparring like a baby can be good for you. When I was doing MMA, my tutor would get me to do very slow sparring with an emphasis on perfect technique. It helped.

 

Sparring

There are many ways to spar. All have something to teach you. We spar at various speeds, and focus on various aspects of sparring, ie: footwork, flow, etc. Regardless of the contact or intensity level, every martial artist should spar IMO. Without it, you have an aerobics class, not a martial arts class.

 

strength????

You are not training with the correct people then, i tend to train with people that are alot heavier than myself by choice so that i learn how to deal with them, its the only way of drilling it to your body. training with people the same weight all the time builds the illusion . by the way, i have scoliosis and although i am not wheelchair bound i do have issues, but again i train round them, i also know a guy in my locals area that is chair bound and have been told by a number of people that the guy is well hard!!!

 

Scolosis? I had my back straightened with rods because of it.

And yeah, I could try that.

 

i dont think its size or strength i think it is speed a larger person may not be as fast as a smaller person the smaller person may win the fight because of it

 

First Impressions

I agree to a point. Landing the first shot, or the first two or three if you're that fast, will possibly win a fight. If you miss or have an opponent who can take punishment, you're in trouble. Plan on getting hit, kicked, grappled, and train accordingly.

 

Size and strength do matter. All things equal, the stronger and/or larger fighter has an advantage, and it can be a big one.

Every martial art has techniques intended to use redirection and finesse to overcome brute force; part of what makes something a martial art is the emphasis of use of technique rather than outright reliance on power to win.

That said, don't think that size and strength don't matter in a fight. You can overcome a larger and stronger opponent if you're better trained (enough) or lucky enough, but if someone has a significant weight advantage, it will be near-impossible to win in many cases (obese opponents don't count ; ).

I don't want to lecture, but please don't buy into the idea that size and strength "don't matter" in fighting. It is more accurate to say that they can be overcome in many cases. A martial artist should try to be as strong as they can by conditioning themselves to fight.

P.S: I love when people conclude that larger=slower.

Size does have some disadvantages; it IS a little harder to match the speed of a "smaller" person, and even a large person in good shape may tire more quickly. Those disadvantages are extremely minor compared to the advantages of much greater power and toughness which a larger, stronger body typically provides.

 

Strength is like a machine. machines were built to make things easier to do. So strength is for making a fight shorter and easier to win. So strength iis like a weapon.

 

Large people are not slow, that's a myth put about by small people to make them feel better.
Look at Olympic sprinters. Linford Christie for example. NOT a small guy by any means. Big, muscular and hellishly fast.
Yamashita the legendary heavy weight Judo champion could run 100 metres in about 11 seconds. Big, strong and very explosive.
Muscles and size do not equate to being slow.
The difference in speed between most people (of all sizes) is slight and certainly not enough to base a winning fight strategy on.
Of course the difference between a fast person and a slow person would be marked. However most people don't fall to those extremes and it certainly isn't dependent on their size in relation to you (which is how you really judge a size advantage).