Amateur fighter knocks the lights out of tai chi master in about 30 seconds

[sk00]

@Bobo

I shoulder rolled out of the bail, to standing position, and my friend was like WTF just happened, and how are you Ok?

One of my martial arts buddies was on a motorcycle that got hit, and managed to roll out of it completely unharmed. The driver of the car was in shock, but he was just mad more than anything else.

[sk00]

@Carbonman

Every martial art is ultimately about principles ; most practitioners get hung up on techniques . A dangerous street fighter, soldier or other person involved in potential life and death confrontations doesn’t care about techniques - they just use principles they’ve trained into their responses without consciously thinking about footwork, hand position, correct distance or timing.

I think people tend to hero-worship and eventually make cults/religions out of things, which is why “Here’s some tips on how to not get killed in a fight” eventually turns into “We do this because this is the best ever” and eventually
“My chi breathing will defeat you.”

In some places BJJ is already starting down that path… I did some training with a friend who teaches, and I was shocked at how many blatant openings he had that would immediately be taken advantage of in a real world fight, outside a ring or a dojo.

[Grey_Devil]

People who practice martial arts get quickly used to sparring, which is not the same as combat/fighting. The ones that focus on keeping things practical fare better obviously but typically that’s not going to be the case.

[Wally]

@sk00

I was shocked at how many blatant openings he had that would immediately be taken advantage of in a real world fight, outside a ring or a dojo.

You mean, like, sitting on his butt and going in for the armbar? Well, guess what, the guy doing that in a street fight is getting kicked in the head by one of the other guy’s buddies. BJJ, while shockingly devastating 1 on 1 is crap for pretty much any other situation. I loved BJJ for the time I did it and wish I could go back. Got a major neck injury though which I am still unhappy about. Happy not to be paralyzed. But no more BJJ for me.

[Bobo]

Agreed. Depends on what your goal is. If it’s more of a meditational practice/physical exercise (like I imagine TaiChi to be) then great. My wife is never going to be a professional dances, but loves taking ballet classes. I’m hoping to never have to fight anyone, but if I do, it’s not going to be with Aikido only techniques (unless I use the #1 technique of “not being there to receive the punch in the first place”).

Bringing Aikido to a street fight would be like bringing a engraved damascus H&R single shot rifle to war.

[Loudmouth]

They just wanted the low-hanging fruit to be picked first.

[Fabio]

It’s sad that some people really believe that Tai Chi has magical powers. It’s also sad that it’s necessary to disprove it this way.

Tai Chi and so on are great for exercise and health in general but they’re not effective self-defense.

It seems like the moves could possibly work if the defender could use them at 5x the speed of the attacker, but that’s never the case, and here the defender is definitely older and slower than the attacker.

[sk00]

I’m sorry to hear that Wally, I’m glad you aren’t paralyzed. One of martial arts’ lessons is just how fragile we are, sadly.

[Wally]

Well, thank you. It’s good to know where one’s limits are. I got off easy. Friends have had catastrophic knee, Achilles, hamstring and groin injuries. My neck is just 5 ruptured discs and some shoulder pain. This happened in 2017. I had a solid two months of extreme pain, and then, with physical therapy, lots of other exercise and self care, I’m fine now. I think pretty much every guy who’s into sports or martial arts thinks he’s Superman at some point or other. This wake up call that I’m NOT a superhero was a lesson worth receiving. A little late in life, but I was not ready to receive and understand it then.