I know this post is old and looks like it went all the way out into heated discussion between some people, but just in case other people may wonder about this and check in, I wanted to put in my two cents in from my PERSONAL experience. I have a black belt in Hapkido - got trained growing up in Korea. It's pretty cool some of the things you are able to do - when you are able to throw somebody so much bigger across room and can flip over in the air over some dudes to "avoid attack," etc. But it's is a martial "art" than a "sport." Hapkido doesn't really offer much real-life effectiveness. To be completely honest, I wouldn't even know what to do unless someone grabbed me EXACTLY where he is supposed to grab - a few inches too low or high, I can't do much of anything. For me, several months of muy thai class (not even hardcore one) made me feel stronger and more able to defend myself. Now I know how to kick, knee, punch, and elbow my way out of a trouble, rather than trying to gracefully flip the attacker over and put him into submission (yeah right!)
I've been taking a traditional form of karate for 3 years and can't say I feel confident that I could defend myself if I had to. But then, that wasn't my goal when I started. I wanted a fun type of exercise and discipline and karate certainly provides both. I think anyone thinking of taking up the martial arts should ask him/herself what their goal is and then research the various MAs and check out some classes.
I've been taking a traditional form of karate for 3 years and can't say I feel confident that I could defend myself if I had to. But then, that wasn't my goal when I started. I wanted a fun type of exercise and discipline and karate certainly provides both. I think anyone thinking of taking up the martial arts should ask him/herself what their goal is and then research the various MAs and check out some classes.
I usually teach women in self-defense seminars (as well as my own students) that the "tricks" (wrist releases, lapel and hair grabs, various leverages, etc) won't necessarily work on their own. However, they likely will after a "softening up" (kick, knee, elbow, eye gouge). The thing is, particularly for a woman at a size/strength disadvantage, if a guy has you/grabs you in some way, even if you strike in some manner, he may continue to hold on even if he's hurting badly (adrenaline, etc). Then, you want to know know to get out the grab/hold so you can be free and get the hell out of there.
Much of the hapkido we teach has a joint break/trauma as the final step if one wishes to go that far. Also, I see the traditional grab as just a learning step; one has to move to the point of executing the lock, lever or throw coming off of other attacks (a punch, kick, someone reaching before they even grab you). No, it's not nearly as clean or easy. In some ways its similar to the immobilization techniques taught to police/security; but we practice taking it to the next step/final step that police aren't allowed to do (legally, at least.).
Push comes to shove, I'm a punch 'em in the throat, kick 'em in the knee, gouge 'em in the eyes, punch 'em in the groin kinda guy (not necessarily in that order.)
Sparring has its place, but I think it is OVERATED for a "real life situation", particularly if you do sparring with gear.
Sparring "lets you" take hits that would injure you and is not good practice for a real life situation. The main benefit of sparring with "gear" is for sport, for "distancing" and feeling the impact with hands and feet (also it can be fun). If you are going to spar, for "real life" you would be better served by sparring with no gear and pull punches and kicks (semi-contact). But in general Sparring is not such a great way to train for being in a street fight.
If you want to "spar" then go somewhere where there is sparring, I think there is a great difference between wanting to spar and wanting to prepare for a fight. If you really want to prepare for a fight, you should get in some fights.
ANY art, sport, etc, will do you some "good" and I do not think that one is necessarily better than the other. A lot has been made out of MMA and its relation to street fighting, but it is still not a real fight.
MMA is more like boxing with all parts of your body. Would a trained boxer do well in a street fight - no shit - of course he would, would a trained MMA, no doubt. Would a trained hapkido-ist, - no doubt.
Some advantages of hapkido (I do not do hapkido, but another traditional MA, and IMO they are all similar in that your body only moves in so many ways) for a real situation is that practice things that would be effective like eyes and groin strikes, head butts and joint locks (more about that later). There are also no weight classes (not sure about MMA)
Some other comments:
What is the value of Kata
Kata is one way of developing good form, by practicing repeated you are developing muscle memory and a trained response. I also like paired kata, it is very good for focussing on distancing ( a most overlooked skill) If you have seen many "real" fights (by this I mean punch up in the street) you will notice that this is a very common "weak point"
joint locks
Many people think they are not effective when they study because at the early levels. For example, when the attacker grabs your right wrist in an overhand grip with his left hand and pushes down near navel level, could open your palm, rotate at the wrist while simultaneously pushing on his hand with yours, bring your elbow over his forearm creating an "s" shape in his arms and it is simple to make him eat he floor.
Then you go home and practice it with a friend and since he "doesn't grab you right" the reverse doesn't work and we can conclude it is rather useless in real life. Fair enough, but if you stick with it you will find most joint locks and reverses are built on each other and the early ones are pretty useless, but you need these and the "feel" to learn how to apply others. Basically if your buddy didn't grab you right, there is another joint reverse ( you probably haven't studied it yet).
ANother thing to consider is that before you do a real joint lock you usually get them off balance (in this example with an eye strike, groin kick, shot to the neck or perhaps a kick under the hand to the ribs) They do not need to even hit for it to make it much easier to use the lock.
Long story, but the point is if your skill level is high, joint locks are very effective, especially in a the university pub type fight where the guys want to push each other or grab each others wrist/ arms.
jumping over guys and other wierd stuff Is there no value in being able to jump over things and keep your balance in a street fight. or learning how to fall if you are flipped so your foot takes the fall and not your back, how to roll so your head is protected.
This is getting a bit long winded but the point is, take what you want- but whatever you take your skill at it will be much more important the which system you actually choose. (btw most MMA guys studied traditional MA and took the techniques that work for them - based on their body dynamics etc)
I think that you should be looking for something that is fun and what you want to do, rather than some thing for the street, because that is really a different deal than what most people take about when they throw out words like self defense, real life, etc.
cheers
Great post!
I have taken all different types of martial arts over the years, TKD, Hapkido, MT, BJJ, small circle JJ, Judo. All arts have value, and most techniques do have an application. I have tripped in a streetfight, accidentally spun around, and instinctively launched a hook kick at the same time and taken someone out. Sometimes techniques that you do in practice make no sense to you at the time, but it's best to have as many techniques as you can. Get good at most, get excellent at a very few.
Now, there are still some techniques that are outdated that were used in ancient warfare, but don't discount them, they might just be the technique that pulls your ass out of danger at some point.
I do have to disagree about the handgun as being great self defense protection. In my opinion, close quarter combat needs a close quarter weapon, the knife, chain, baton, yawara stick, etc. A gun is great from 15 feet away, but within 6 feet if you go for that gun you are either going to have it taken from you or you are going to be stabbed. Nobody is taking a knife from you, there is no place to grab it. I am assuming here that you know how to use the knife. And realistically if you know how to use a knife properly, your opponent will never know you have it until it's too late. I personally have a knife on my person at all times, just in case. You can carry a blade with you almost everywhere, and into places that you can't carry a gun legally.
Perrogrande - I agree that a gun is more likely to be turned against you if someone gets close in - it HAS to be used at a distance if you are going to use it... and I can't start to count how many times I've heard our Sensei say "I can take a gun out of your hand 9 out of 10 times, but it's NOT worth my life to find out that this was the 10th time").
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Originally Posted by Chris Correia
I usually teach women in self-defense seminars (as well as my own students) that the "tricks" (wrist releases, lapel and hair grabs, various leverages, etc) won't necessarily work on their own. However, they likely will after a "softening up" (kick, knee, elbow, eye gouge). The thing is, particularly for a woman at a size/strength disadvantage, if a guy has you/grabs you in some way, even if you strike in some manner, he may continue to hold on even if he's hurting badly (adrenaline, etc). Then, you want to know know to get out the grab/hold so you can be free and get the hell out of there.
Much of the hapkido we teach has a joint break/trauma as the final step if one wishes to go that far. Also, I see the traditional grab as just a learning step; one has to move to the point of executing the lock, lever or throw coming off of other attacks (a punch, kick, someone reaching before they even grab you). No, it's not nearly as clean or easy. In some ways its similar to the immobilization techniques taught to police/security; but we practice taking it to the next step/final step that police aren't allowed to do (legally, at least.).
Push comes to shove, I'm a punch 'em in the throat, kick 'em in the knee, gouge 'em in the eyes, punch 'em in the groin kinda guy (not necessarily in that order.)
Well said Chris! One thing I love about my school now (kajukenpo karate) is that we stress self-defense. I haven't seen many schools around my area that really focus on "would it work in a real fight?" Our Sensei makes a big distinction between classroom model and reality, and why we need to learn one first but then be adaptable in the other. We are often asked to figure out how we'd adapt something for a more realistic situation, and in testing we are penalized for not completing a technique. We stress doing something (anything) even if it's not the "right" move we were asked to demonstrate, because in a fight you never get to say "oops wait I meant to do it this way..." -- al;ways do SOMETHING and defend yourself...
As a woman who is on the small side (and working on being smaller), I think it's so important to understand HOW to use techniques. I'm never going to defend myself if I use only strength (although it doesn't hurt to be in shape and strong for my size). I have to learn vulnerable points and how to utilize them to my advantage. I teach women's self defense classes too, and we absolutely stress how important it is to go for eyes, knees, throat - the areas that give a smaller victim at least a chance to get away.
I do have to disagree about the handgun as being great self defense protection. In my opinion, close quarter combat needs a close quarter weapon, the knife, chain, baton, yawara stick, etc. A gun is great from 15 feet away, but within 6 feet if you go for that gun you are either going to have it taken from you or you are going to be stabbed. Nobody is taking a knife from you, there is no place to grab it. I am assuming here that you know how to use the knife. And realistically if you know how to use a knife properly, your opponent will never know you have it until it's too late. I personally have a knife on my person at all times, just in case. You can carry a blade with you almost everywhere, and into places that you can't carry a gun legally.
All valid. One should certainly not carry a handgun without knowing how to handle it and to have well rehearsed how and under what circumstances one might use it. As in any physical confrontation, controlling the distance is one of the single most important factors. With proper training, mental preparedness and control, a handgun is certainly a very good self-protection tool (and deterrent, potentially). Bottom line is that you don't pull it out unless you fully prepared to, or intend to, use it.
My point has been that debating which martial art is best for self-defense may largely be irrelevant. For most people, if real, imminent self-defense is a concern, then no unarmed technique/training is good enough, unless one has great physical attributes. The big question is, "Why do you so badly need to learn to protect yourself so quickly?" If it's that important and urgent, get the gun and some training. Otherwise, it's potentially all a wash determined by numerous factors (likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses, capabilities, preferences, availability, cost, need, etc, etc, etc). If self defense is so much a greater concern than overall personal and life development, then I think one has to look at their overall life situation.
Also, part of the effectiveness of a martial art is also how good your instructors are and how much energy you put into it.
A lot of self defense is luck and chance as well. I used to bounce at a club in Austin that was very dangerous. My most unlucky moment was putting a guy in a rear choke and then tripping over a table. Somebody in the crowd was a split second away from stomping my head when a bartender grabbed him. I was very very lucky.
Also, part of the effectiveness of a martial art is also how good your instructors are and how much energy you put into it.
A lot of self defense is luck and chance as well. I used to bounce at a club in Austin that was very dangerous. My most unlucky moment was putting a guy in a rear choke and then tripping over a table. Somebody in the crowd was a split second away from stomping my head when a bartender grabbed him. I was very very lucky.
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Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable. -- Sidney J. Harris
[Edit: this responds somewhat to some earlier posts that addressed forms]When I took Tang Soo Do, I was a big fan of the forms (Hyungs). No, I did not expect them to teach me how to defend myself. But, IMO, the forms are, in large part, the repository of the "art" part of a martial art.
And I love to watch some of them, such as the TSD version of Bassai, performed well. I know of no reason you cannot train for self defense part of the time, and train in lovely movements part of the time. You won't be as good at either as you would be if that was all you did, but so what?
I also think, as to self defense, that a lot depends upon the student. Some people are born fighters. Some people never will be, no matter what they do for training.
I have a black belt in Hapkido - got trained growing up in Korea. It's pretty cool some of the things you are able to do - when you are able to throw somebody so much bigger across room and can flip over in the air over some dudes to "avoid attack," etc. But it's is a martial "art" than a "sport." Hapkido doesn't really offer much real-life effectiveness. To be completely honest, I wouldn't even know what to do unless someone grabbed me EXACTLY where he is supposed to grab - a few inches too low or high, I can't do much of anything.
The problem with this is that is it really that hapkido is not effective or that you were trained poorly and your not effective. If your a black belt you really should have moved beyond grabs and learned how to apply the same techniques to punches and a variety of other attacks. Basically you were taught a catalog of techniques to specific attacks rather then the principles, which is a fairly superficial understanding of any art.
oh why don't I ever learn..... back into the thick of things
I think that one thing that we "virtual thugs" and "artists of death" (depending on of you do MMa or trad MA- LOL kidding) , back to the point: I think that in the virtual world of heroism that I exist in, my skill level is is much higher than that fake physical world where I get sand kicked in my face.
This is something that we really ought throw into the mix more often- reality. Particularly with joint locks and throws, every person (and every opponent ) is very different. Just because you "know the move" does not mean it will work for you against this particular person. However, you should be able to adapt and this adaptation comes from "dojo-time" and doing repeated throws, and locks. I think that Chris (TKD) best said is when he compared a black belt to a high school diploma (though I would be inclined to out it at a junior HS dip). You have the basics, and the tools to be able to learn.
I think the "black belt" is overrated by "entry level" martial artists as some sort of mystical indication of expertise. Getting a lack belt is in most MA a significant accomplishment, but it does not give you the 00 rating! It is just the first major step.
I would throw this question out to MMA people: How effective do you think MMA is for the real world when there are huge size, weight and strength differences. How do these skills play out when a 40 year old guy weighing 150 is attacked by a 220 lb 20 year old? (now in any defense form this is not a good scenario, but I am incline to think that "illegal eye strikes" are very good for of attack which in my MA we practice EVERY session.
I know I am a trouble maker.. all in good fun and good discussion
cheers
peter
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Peter
After all, diamonds are a girl's best friend…
Good questions Pete, and as a hybrid thug of death (Wachoass if I have a Tapout hat on!) with traditional MA and MMA experience I'll throw my piece in.
As for your hypothetical small guy vs. bro, I'll say that there are so many variables it's almost pointless - but the small guy better be mentally and physically prepared to be hit. I don't care if he's a 12th degree black belt, the reality is the smaller, weaker person will take some punishment.
This is why I think some experience with full contact sparring/fighting is essential.
This goes for throws/locks too, and why I like Judo/JJ/Sambo/wrestling where full force grappling against an opponent fighting their hardest is routine. You will know what it feels like to try and control someone that is not going through the motions, and is trying to put you down.
Anyone that has only done throws and joint locks at a controlled speed will have a very rude awakening - I've seen it many, many times. That goes for striking too.
Eye jabs are a great tool, as are strikes to the throat and other techniques not allowed in MMA, but full force sparring is another crucial aspect of training in my opinion - and this is where the MA/MMA line blurs. At my "traditional" karate school in Japan we did the eye and throat strikes, kata etc... and we put on headgear and 12oz gloves and went full force, we sparred with a Judo club, we worked BJJ, Thai roundkicks and so on.
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Working "hard," or the perception of working hard, doesn't really mean anything. Sweating, vomiting, and breathing hard could be a good workout or a tropical disease kicking in.-Dan John
Does Hapkido work? Take a woman (or me, a very small guy) being attacked by a big guy. He grabs her. She says stop. He doesn't. It seems serious. So, she can't get out of the grab with a release. Strikes also won't end it, because of the strength & size difference. Well. Hit him!! In the eyes or throat if necessary. He still hangs on?? Well, then use the release. It works!! No?? Then hit him again, then use the release. Until he lets go, you've got to use the release, but you might have to soften him up first before it works. It's not either/or.
Valid points by both Pete and Kuri re MMA and practicality. Sure there a lot of useful skills to be learned in MMA. Certainly can't discount it. But, an MMA guy can't easily protect against fingers or thumbs crammed into his eye sockets one knuckle deep. It all depends. NOTHING is completely comprehensive and perfect. Practice MMA if you want. But, the more one trains lots of stuff, the less one can get really good at all that stuff. So, work what you want. Increase your odds, one class at a time. Maybe buy and learn how to use a gun really well if you're that concerned about street assaults. Or, change your lifestyle and social situations! Don't be there!
Re full force practice, as a small guy at nearly 50 years old, I can probably guarantee that I'd be so injured most of the time that I wouldn't be able to defend myself on the street. LOL
The MMA/non-MMA pissing match is useless. 99.9% of people will never need it on the street and the half of the rest could avoid the situation when they might. I practice what I like, I increase my odds of defending myself every class, I avoid problems, and I occassionally carry a 9mm because, well, I can! (And I can use it!, and I train to use it better, just as I practice my punches, kicks, footwork, jabs, gouges, joint locks, joint breaks, whatever).
I'm get very sick and tired of these traditional art/MMA type pissing matches. The boundaries are not clear (or they are moving), the circumstances are a bunch of infinite "what ifs" and "yeah, buts". Let's just all respect and speak well of what we all do.
Spoken by a guy with only, oh, about twenty-five years total experience in three arts, with a total of eight degrees of black belt, and who has helped teach hundreds of student, including a few regional, national and international competitors and champions.
No, I don't want rebuttal from some guy who has studied a couple of arts for a year or two each (if that much, or if at all). If I piss you off, then come beat me up. If you do, well good for you. You can come back here and brag about it and show how talented and mature you are. TIME magazine might even make you man of the year.
Now excuse my while I slip a Ninja Turtle movie into the player. Actually, make that Kill Bill; I got that set for Christmas!
Thanks for your replies. AS for the thug Chris, I do not think that sparring does not have its purpose, I just think it is often overemphasized, as a be all end all. I would say size, strength, age and the physical aspects are often ignored in the "virtual fights" and they could be more important vaiables.
TKD Chris- again I think you put it well about the importance of size
"Re full force practice, as a small guy at nearly 50 years old, I can probably guarantee that I'd be so injured most of the time that I wouldn't be able to defend myself on the street. LOL"
Having met the Thug Chris- I can tell you that he is thugish and I think that gives you a different perspective on things, being at least as large and probably stronger than most of your sparring opponents.
Anyway guys- thanks for the fun/interesting comments
Peter
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Peter
After all, diamonds are a girl's best friend…
I always train with the biggest student or peer I can. I'm about 5-5 and 155. My instructor is 6-5 and about 260. My son is a very muscular 6-3, 230 or so. My student of choice to partner with is a black belt who is over 6 feet and very large/strong.
We don't grapple, but I make sure I can throw, sweep or lock up those guys (I am fortunate my instructor lets me do that; thank you, sir).
Regarding my earlier post and the "no rebuttal" comment, I don't mean to sqelch discussion or participation. However, the internet makes everyone equal, if not an expert, and, well, that's not the case.
The apprentice watches and listens to the master carpenter. The junior attorney listens to the senior partner on how to handle a case. The rookie officer learns from the 20 year veteran on the force. The best thing someone could do it get out there and get into an art and DO IT! And, don't dabble; do it for a while. To me, a while means at least three to five years. THEN you have some ability to start to ask some questions and make some assessments.
If all we're talking about is pure fighting ability or toughness, I know some big, usually drunk Norwegians and Swedes who frequent bars around here who work in logging and ore mines who probably can kick ass on most people, trained in martial arts, mma, boxing or what not. So many discussions in this thread come down to "yeah, but in a street fight." If that's someone's primary concern, and if it's a serious concern, then the particular skills they might learn are far from the primary concern they should have, IMO.
Fighting and being the best/toughest isn't the point. I'm not. But I'm a hell of a lot better than I was 15 or 20 years ago. And a hell of a lot better person, too, in terms of character and integrity. IMO, THAT's the proof of what an art delivers. Even if I am an (occassionally) cranky old guy.
Good points Chris & Pete. I agree the artificial lines between MA and MMA are pointless, and I don't see any pissing match. Most, if not all MMA guys I know do traditional MA - everything works. Sometimes
Quote:
Originally Posted by Correia
And a hell of a lot better person, too, in terms of character and integrity. IMO, THAT's the proof of what an art delivers.
Yep. And maybe another ten years and you won't be as cranky
As for thug hahaha. I was usually one of the smaller guys in my Judo club, but regardless regarding trouble I too follow Miyagi-san's maxim to no be there.
Good points in not to dabble. Then again a self defense course is going to be better for someone than nothing.
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Working "hard," or the perception of working hard, doesn't really mean anything. Sweating, vomiting, and breathing hard could be a good workout or a tropical disease kicking in.-Dan John
My 2 cents is that you just need to look at your goals and pick based on them. Martial Arts are great even if they don't directly teach self defense. They teach discipline, integrity, etc...
If self defense is your goal then you need to take self defense classes. MMA classes may get close, but there are still rules involved in an MMA match. In a real self defense situation there are no rules. Eye gouges, throat strikes, groin strikes, small join locks, etc... are all game when your life is at stake and those are moves not often taught in an MMA class.
I do agree that full speed sparring is very useful. Taking the surprise out of what it feels like to get punched/kicked/grabbed is probably the best part about sparring. I will say that at this point I'm a little old to be getting punched in the face, so I mostly stick to BJJ nowadays. We will often 'tap' people to let them know when they are leaving themselves open for a punch though.
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"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." -- T.S. Eliot
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit."-- Aristotle
Chris, I didn't think you were pissing.
But you looked liked you were contemplating whipping it out . . .
I'm here for discussion, and creating such a sense of awe would defeat the purpose.
Good stuff ECSurfer.
As for sparring, yeah I've done my share and know what it feels like to hit and get hit - and now don't care to get punched any more than necessary. Same thing for grappling with newbies that don't have control.
But back to dabbling, I think it's important for someone to get a base in something if only to really get an understanding of movement, strategy, and so on (put aside other qualities learned in MA). After that it is true that a punch is just a punch and there are only so many ways to apply a lock.
I don't know at what point, perhaps the magical 10,000 hour rule applies, but people with quality instructors and training partners generally seem to figure out what works best for them, whether it be punching, rolling, jumping axe kicks or what have you.
Better to develop a handful of techniques that you can really count on when going against the Norwegian logger than dozens of half-ass moves. I'm from a farm and factory town near Correia, one full of drunk Scandinavians, and have seen/been in my share. Of course I'm half Norwegian so catch me after a few pitchers of Leinenkeugels and we'll play a game of squash and see what works
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Working "hard," or the perception of working hard, doesn't really mean anything. Sweating, vomiting, and breathing hard could be a good workout or a tropical disease kicking in.-Dan John
Well, I was still one grade of red away from black (midnight blue, actually) when I was doing the Tang Soo Do, so my opinions on this may be worth even less than down in "Current Events", lol. However, I spent a lot of time on the heavy bag using my elbows and knees. NOt ideal, as you have to be in close to use them, but sill gives you a lot of bang for you buck, strike wise, IMO, and these are taught in the traditional arts. They also teach you kicks you can use on somebody's knees. I would venture to bet that a well trained 105 lb. woman has as good a shot with going for the knees or the eyes as anything else she can do. If you have a significant size difference between you and your attacker, a strike seems to me the best shot you have, IMO.
It is also worth noting that the average punk trying to rob or attack a woman is unlikely to be an experienced MMA fighter. I am willing to bet that more than one guy has been surprised when some petite Miss jammed her fingers right into his eye sockets, and then kneed him in the balls.
10k hours is referenced from Gladwell's latest pop semi-science book "Outliers". The idea while interesting is often misunderstood. What the studies found is that people who are masters at a skill often had natural talent plus the discipline to practice upwards of 10k hours. Think Tiger Woods: natural ability and the discipline to practice every day. I've read stories of him hitting hundreds of completely buried sand shots in a row even that he might hit that shot on tour once the entire year.
What the 10k rule doesn't say is that practicing 10k hours will make you an expert. Only that the difference between those with talent and are either great or just good is roughly 10k hours of practice.
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"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." -- T.S. Eliot
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit."-- Aristotle
I just think the more thought out goals the easier it is to stay on track, like points on a line, but I agree with you ECS that planning these goals is just as hard sometimes as doing them. Should we pick just one art? Or should we become versatile. Should we be able to play a guitar, and scale a building, or master one or the other? If we only have interest to go on, and our aptitude, then I just guess it goes without saying that: if you are interested in a lot of things, you should do them, and never be master at any of them, and if you arent interested in many things, you should master the one's you are.
Do yall think the mind automatically filters the world and incorporates it, or that we should actively self reflect and try to understand. Some say and live by the idea of the conscious mind just getting in the way of our true self, yet others get a shovel and dig a deep trench seeking knowledge. And a trench can be a lonely place, but it sure helps in war. So. Is life more war or is life more an adventure? A master of a trade or a jack of all trades, can do both, so what is really important here other than finding what we like and are good at? I suppose the only problem is being lazy to get out of bed put on some shoes, and go try out some dojos, and meet some new people... finding out what we want and like. I guess the easy thing to do would be hide in the dark, and not find out what we want, or like, or will enjoy to do. And in that trench of darkness, we can master survival, instead of adventure.
10k hours is referenced from Gladwell's latest pop semi-science book "Outliers". The idea while interesting is often misunderstood. What the studies found is that people who are masters at a skill often had natural talent plus the discipline to practice upwards of 10k hours. Think Tiger Woods: natural ability and the discipline to practice every day. I've read stories of him hitting hundreds of completely buried sand shots in a row even that he might hit that shot on tour once the entire year.
What the 10k rule doesn't say is that practicing 10k hours will make you an expert. Only that the difference between those with talent and are either great or just good is roughly 10k hours of practice.
Thanks for the update. I wasn't aware of that. I guess I should have practiced more these past 10 years.
I guess I should have practiced more these past 10 years.
It does make me think about what I have done over the last 10 years. If I had played a few less video games, goofed off a little less, etc... could I be better off today? I don't know. I feel that one needs downtime in order to maximize up time. I also think that I'm not entirely certain of anything that I want to be a master in, so if I had spent the last 10 years practicing it might have been for not.
The biggest takeaway I took from reading about the 10k rule is simply how important discipline is (a BIG thing in most MAs) and how important it is to apply that discipline and practice whatever it is you are doing. IMHO, that is what is often lost on todays youth. They want it all now without the work required to get it. They see the UFC fight where one person beats the other, but often don't see all of the work and fights that led to that moment, the 'practice'. Maybe instead of asking if Hapkido is effective at beating people up, the better question is to ask what IS Hapkido teaching a person? Is that person better because of it? Only each person can answer that question for themselves.
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"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." -- T.S. Eliot
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit."-- Aristotle
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