Practicing Martial Artists: What is your 1st line of defense?

O

odie-wan

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Sep 4, 2002
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I've studied various arts for a long time. Kenpo for the last couple. For me, my knife is a secondary aid in defense. Probably because there isn't as much room for non-lethal response, although Kenpo isn't as nice as others. What about the rest of you?

FWIW, I'm 34, 6'0" and ~200 lb.

Sean
 
#1 Walk away, I have done this many times
#2 Wing Chun, if the attacker is about my size (small) or my age (old) :)
#3 Knife or Gun depending on distance, how many of them, ...
 
WHO said it. I'm also a Kenpo practitioner, so #2 would reflect
that. Good luck w/ your training, Odie.
Ditch
 
Assuming I can't walk away, I'm going to use a knife.

If I was American, it would probably be a gun.

I studied Aikido for ~4 years, and I am currently studying Pekiti Tirsia Kali and Silat.

Pierre
 
It would depend on how the assault occurs.
I train in Pekiti Tirsia and concentrate on weapon to weaon encounters, our empty hands curriculum is basically there to aid us in aquiring or reaquiring our blade(s).
Most violence outside of say baroom environments usually involve a weapon of some kind on the attackers/muggers/etc. part, and that would justify going to bladed counteraction from me.
If I were attacked empty hands/brawl, I'd try to avoid using my own blades, and use an enviromentally available weapon. I'm not macho about going toe to toe emptyhand, I'm going to want to end the encounter quick. If there are multiple attackers, I'd say do whatever it takes, two or more aggressive attackers constantly trying to blast into your blindside is a losing battle emptyhanded, for me.

Ken
 
1st: Whip out my endura and be like "Want some of this?" then whip out my back up police and say " And a little bit of this?" ;)
 
well if your about to be attacked its probly somewhere on the street. and if its down a certain street thats bad, i would probly have the knife in my hand in the 1st place. so if someone comes up im already gone have it and start slashing.:p
 
My first line of defense is my wife.:D The last couple of near-confrontations I have had, she pulled me away. In my Kenpo(me too) class, we have been working a lot on the Center-Line concept. I attended a seminar a couple days ago titled, "establishing your fighting base". I now believe that I would attempt to establish control of the center-line asap, and keep control of it if possible. This would take a long time to elaborate on and there is not enough space here to do that. Anyway, number one, get the heck out of there if at all possible. I believe that weapons like knives and guns(lethal force) should be used only in cases where a life is in danger. I am in law-enforcement, so the "use of force continuum" has been drilled into my head for a few years now, and has become natural.
 
Forgive my ignorance, as well as my spelling because I am a tad dsylexic, but what exactly is Kempo? It sounds very intresting.

My 1st line of def. is my head
2nd my feet..cause I don't know any martial arts but I am hoping to pick some skills up soon :D.
 
Hopefully, after the Gunting seminar, I will consider using in that kind of situation......Using it as a blunt weapon and for life, maybe knife. However, for now, I'll have to resort to my kung fu skills and other skills I picked up on the way.
 
Cho,

Kenpo/Kempo is Karate style sometimes called Chinese Boxing. Different Kempo schools are more or less obvously influenced by Shaolin Martial Arts than other Japanese and Okinawan Karate styles.

American Kenpo is a style of Karate "originated" by Ed Parker in the US. It is designed to be brutally to the point but employs about 50% punches and 50% kicks. I study a variant of American Kenpo at Tracy's Karate studio where they also teach Shootfighting techniques for groundfighting and Thai Boxing for working at long range. It is designed to be very effective. If it has any weakness, I think that it is it's lack of offensive weapons training.

Sean
 
Oh I see. It sounds very intresting *_* as well as a lot of hard work and dedication.

Thanks for educating me. *_*
 
#1 - situational awareness, diplomacy, self control, wit
#2 - the ancient art of Run-Fu
#3 - aikido
#4 - knife
#5 - remington 870
 
CHO, if you are interested in learning a little more, got to www.kenponet.com and look in the Studio Net link on the left of the page. They have a listing of Kenpo schools in Canada and you may be able to find one in your area. I would definitely recommend Kenpo as an effective means of self defense. Sorry for getting off topic here guys.
 
There's also a neat article in the November Black Belt Magazine on Kenpo Pressure Point Strikes with Mr. Chapel, one of the arts top men. It gives a bit of a feel for how American Kenpo was derived and how it differs from more traditional arts.
 
odie-wan,

I have limited exposure to your style. From what I have seen, experienced, it is expolsive and devastating.
It does appear to an outsider to be "all-out attack"
Can you comment on this and address the issue of legal defense?
As a practitioner of this style, it would appear that you must have to develop incredible kinesthetic awareness or feel.

Do not get me wrong. I enjoy training with those trained in Kenpo.
It is a real wake up call for people whose orientation includes more throws, locks, and strangulations. As someone who prefers to go to the ground, there has always been an understanding that you may take some lumps on the way. A Kenpo practitioner can really show you that you may not have a whole lot left when you get to the ground!
 
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