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Old 12-01-2010, 04:28 PM   #21
Alberto_Italiano
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 296
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Re: Aikido in a street situation

Quote:
Ruairidh Percival wrote: View Post
hi im ruri ive never used aikido in a street fight although after a while of doing it i had fast reflexes so when a guy tried to hook me at school i blocked the punch but i froze afterwards because i didnt have the mind set to use aikido then. i (luckly) have never needed to use it since. what about you guys? just interested y'know.
I don't know if after 1 year you still read here, but for some reason i found this thread on top.

You stalled.
That's one of the most typical outcomes when a fight is ignited between two persons who are not used to fight (I don't fight, but I have a boxing background where, in the gym, we routinely punched each other seriously many many years ago).

It is generated by two factors: fear (oh yes!) and sudden realization that the protected (at times hyper-protected) setting of a gym invested you with a wealth of notions that seem to apply no more in a real situation. For instance, in a real street fight forget iriminage, unless you really see a stupid and obtuse bull charging you headlong, which I doubt!

However, I have seen also experienced boxeurs that stalled. Sort of: hit and watch.

But you should not hit and watch - hit and watch the (alleged) effect is the hallmark of the amateur. You must hit and hit.

I wrote that disagreeable (and questionable, I know) sentence ("hit and hit") not because I am enouraging you to fight (don't do it - the chances of ___permanent___ harm to yourself are enormous: you may get harmed, you may harm your opponent and have to face the legal consequences of it to say the least if not look your back for years to come, or you may harm _yourself_ by _yourself_ - the last being way more common that one may think!). But I said that ugly line because if you want to have a "street" situation in mind, you haven't to envision a guy who hits and watches you or who stalls like you, but set your standard higer: envision a guy who hits and hits and never stalls - that is, envision true danger, if you really want to talk of a _street_ situation: everybody can beat a drunkard and come home believeing his aikido is amazing.

If you want to have a chance of dealing with a determined opponent competently, you have to train for it. If you have a chance I suggest this: go on with aikido as your martial art but see if you can attend a boxing gym where you can spar. You need to be hit. You need to see a furious foe who keeps throwing blows at you and who is not intimidated by yours (provided you manage to land them).

Nothing educates you to be in a fight like being in one weekly, and the only way to do it safely is to find a gym where combat is allowed - normally boxing gyms are such, but you need to verify, for you have to pass medical tests first.

Your problem was a lack of experience.
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