Quote:
Alex Lawrence wrote:
I was talking globally, the world is bigger than America. Oh yeah, fights are extreamly rare but if we're talking about the effectiveness of a martial art then we have to stick to examples of actual fights not just any violent encounter. It's simple really, if they had no intention of putting up a fight you can't really call it a fight; most instances of violence are rather aimed at achieving or demonstrating dominance and inducing compliance, much like a parent hitting a child, than an outright attempt to cause serious harm and these type of situations IMHO aren't all that useful for assessing the effectiveness of an art.
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Again, ridiculous.
By your definition, domestic violence is irrelevant to discussions of martial effectiveness, even though domestic violence is by far the most likely violent situation most women will encounter.
By your definition, situations where the martial artist's skill prevented escalation are irrelevant, even though dissuading potential attackers is an important strategic goal for every martial thinker since Sun Tsu.
And by your definition, situations where the martial artist managed to disengage and retreat are irrelevant, even though retreating under fire is far more difficult than staying and taking a beating.
I'm especially impressed by your ability to read an attacker's motives: it isn't a fight if the attacker runs, because clearly they couldn't have been that serious in the first place. Cindy Hayashi tells a story of how she fended off a pair of assailants who were serious enough to have already put three women in the hospital that night.... but that example is irrelevant by your definition.
I give up.
Katherine