Muay Thai and Self Defense

James put up a very interesting post about martial arts and self defense. He mentions my journey into the world of Muay Thai. Please read his post before you go further as I will be referring to it often.

James is a self defense instructor and receives a lot of questions from a lot of people about his craft. One man emailed James to inquire about what may be the best martial art for his daughter who was in college - he had ruled out her carrying a gun completely.

From James's post:

Dan has seen his general level of fitness become much improved in a short period of time, but he works out a great deal and controls his diet. Muay Thai provides the framework for his efforts, but it is entirely due to his efforts that he has come so far so quickly. And I doubt that it was easy.

Absolute truth. I have come really far in a relatively short period of time. My one year anniversary with MT comes in about a month and a half (May 1). I wish I had video of my first couple of weeks to compare with my skill level now.

The work does not stop when I leave the gym. I also work out at home on a treadmill or riding a bike to increase my cardio. Today I ran five miles on the treadmill in 38 minutes - this is something that just a few years ago would be insane for me to try. Over the past few years I have done countless pushups and ab work. But - and this is something that I mention all the time - my gym wants us to succeed, and get the most out of our bodies that we possibly can. I would feel like I was shortchanging myself and my instructor if after class I went home and chowed a huge bag of Doritos or a quart of ice cream. We are a team.

Talk to most people involved in a serious martial art, and they will bitterly denounce the "trophy gyms". These are places that teach form and provide a little fitness training, but their focus is on having their students look pretty so they will win trophies at national non-contact matches. Everything is learned by rote, with none of the swirling and unpredictable physical chess match that is actual combat. It is rare that a student from a trophy gym will actually hit another student during training, or even to work out on a punching bag. The focus is instead on teaching what are essentially elaborate dance steps.

This is an interesting section. There are many new workouts getting popular that incorporate boxing and kickboxing and I think that is great. Any exercise that a sedentary individual can get is better than nothing at all. But when I see McDojo's doing Karate in exhibitions or on TV, I do get a bit riled. I just don't see the point. If you are serious about learning a martial art, why not learn one that you can apply in the real world? From what I have learned in Muay Thai I estimate that in a street fight I could kick the living sh*t out of 99.99% of the people in the world in a hand to hand brawl. I am not bragging, it is just a fact. I don't think too many that learn the exhibition types of martial arts like Karate can apply as well on the street.

I dropped my daughters off at a local gym to have some fun a few days ago and they had a freebie Karate lesson going on. The instructor was teaching some basic things to the kids like Karate chops, then wowed them with a dazzling display of a form. At the end he did a ridiculous backflip and I laughed out loud. It was all just so seventies. A karate chop simply cannot compare to the force generated by a properly delivered knee or elbow.

The mom next to me asked what was so funny and I said that this martial art may be fun for the kids and something to give them a little exercise, but as a practical matter as relates to the street, that it was bullsh*t. I went on to explain to her that any student of Muay Thai who had been in it for just a few months would take that guy, put him into a clench and beat him like a ragdoll. The mom was interested, believe it or not.

So in the end, some exercise is much better than none, but most of these McDojo gyms don't really teach anything practically useful for the street.

I am not going to say that Muay Thai is the best martial art for the street, because it is not. But it is very good and a lot of it is quite practical. I would say that the very best one I have seen is Jeet Kune Do. This is also taught at my gym. They constantly go through scenarios of being attacked with a knife or other weapons, and how to defend, disarm and obstruct. Also in the JKD classes they practice lots of groin shots, eye gouges, and other destructive moves designed to stop a potential assassin. They also bring in parts of Muay Thai, Jiu Jitsu and other things that help them in their scenarios. I even saw them doing some two on one drills the other day. It is crazy. But they are most certainly the best prepared for street fighting.

Because few people are willing to withstand the very real physical pain that comes from realistic training.

Also very true. If you don't constantly practice and train, you will get rusty - and with practice and training comes bruises and bumps. I am at the gym for lessons five hours a week, and compliment that by training at home. My body now has a never ending littany of bruises, bumps, and soreness. But I am so used to it now the pain doesn't bother me too much anymore.

I have been hit - hard - by a lot of people over these last ten months. It used to be a big deal, but when it happens now in sparring, I just shake it off and continue. This really translates to the street. If some drunk hits me with his roundhouse it won't hurt a bit - I have been hit by people with perfect technique who fight for money! Also if that drunk doesn't knock me out, he is going to the emergency room, plain and simple. I don't fear him, but he should fear my elbows, knees and everything else he will receive in return. One of our mottos at the gym is that if they throw one, we throw three.

That is the reality of learning effective unarmed self defense. You have to train, you have to sweat, you have to be dedicated. Sparring has to be painful and conducted in a carefully controlled environment, with bruises and scrapes common without actually crossing the line into real injury. You have to hit other people while they are doing their best to hit you, and you have to do it often.

An excellent point.

James went on to recommend that the girl go to a boxing gym, which isn't bad advice. I would probably recommend a gym that teaches JKD since I have seen what that curriculum is all about. But his general thesis is right - you have to train hard, be dedicated and spar with people trying their best to hit you.

In summary, what James is saying is correct - there is no magic pill or any quick fix if you want to learn a martial art for self defense. It takes a long time of sweat, pain, and tons of reps for muscle memory to be able to understand how to throw devastating shots into a potential assailant. Even then, you don't know how you will act when actually approached or assailed by someone. The confidence you gain, however, is valuable - and if you can keep your cool and execute the moves you do know, you will be able to dominate the vast majority of assailants.

Just being in shape would help you in a fistfight as you have to assume that most of your run of the mill assailants don't spend too much time in the gym. If you can make it past their first few volleys, you will have a good chance to reply or run away.

Muay Thai has changed my life in so many ways. I originally got into it to hopefully give me more balance and strength riding my bike. Little did I know that MT would take over as my favorite hobby and prompt me to make lifestyle changes.

One other thing that is so very important - the gym and instructors. My gym and instructors are top notch. We have an organized curriculum and are highly motivated.

Of course, if your assailant has a gun and you don't, well, those contests are usually pretty boring to watch.