I guarantee you that some students of traditional martial arts can indeed fight and win fights with the skills taught them.
I can tell you that my study of Shotokan and Tae Kwon Do greatly increased my coordination and athleticism.
But are they are prepared to face MMA fighters?
Nope. Not even a little bit.
I was thinking of starting to learn Krav Maga.
Were traditional martial arts ever meant for down and dirty street fighting? We all know the karate scenes in movies are highly choreographed, and that an opponent in real life will not be sticking to the script.
Fighting, like everything else in the human experience, never goes that well the first time someone does it. I’m sure that the famous lover Don Juan’s first sexual experience with a woman was probably only 30 seconds long and mostly enjoyed only by himself. I don’t care who you are when you’re in your first fight and you get your face punched hard, it is a revaluation.
Maybe, maybe not.........
I had an uncle who was a fly weight boxing champion back in the early 1930's. The one thing I learned from him was to make sure you get in the first punch by smashing in his nose then treat the fight as if your opponent is trying to kill you..,..That means gouging out his eyes or grabbing his wind pipe and crushing it or smashing his balls...
When you have made the decision that you are fighting for your life, there are no rules........
As for your martial arts, you don't see any of that crap anymore, it's all MMA. And MMA is all about grappling and subduing your opponent while beating on him.........
My brother is still into Jeet Kune Do and the same with his Marines college buddy. He said there’s only one thing he fears more than a bigger opponent...a lawsuit.
Check out the Youtube vids of each martial artist. They ALWAYS WARN you about the “legal” repercussions and you better prepare for those too..
When I was regularly taking my karate class you would not want to have messed with me. I would have done some serious damage.
Yep - the training is to gain control over your mind and body and make both strong...the reality is that it helps prepare one to be a sophisticated street fighter and that requires an alteration of the mind set...pretty choreography and actual battle are two different things...I bet Chuck Norris would have wiped the floor with Bruce Lee....