Martial Arts VS Clothing and Environment

Aces Red · Yellow Belt

It has become apparent to my knowledge, that some martial artists have a HUGE weakness when confronted with the very clothing that the practioner may wear. I have trained in the following styles: Ryukyu Kempo, Muay Thai, Jujitsu, BBJ, and finally Tang Soo Do. During my Tang Soo Do Training, the kicks were often targeted above the chest level. Now what if the leggings of your pants were to tight and you could barley get a kick above the waist level? The answer? All of your training goes out the door and thus you will have to defend yourself with other skills learned from various styles you have trained, improvise, or the usage of other techniques within the same Martial Art. I know this from experience when me and some of my friends were just Sparring with our usual cloth, that being T-Shirts a pair of Jeans, and finally Shoes and Socks. My jeans were a little bit tight around the legs and thus I couldn't get my kicks in high enough and on top of that it slugged my footwork tremendously.

Also during my JJ and BJJ training we fought from the ground. What if there was some object lying upon the ground such as glass? Would you take the risk of being cut or possibly mortally wounded? This scenario has never occurred to me. So anyone who has any experience in that field let me know or post here.
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DWx · KF Sensei

Forget "Does my bum look big in this?". When shopping you ought to ask "Can I roundhouse to the head in these?" before buying.

Seriously though, this may make me sound paranoid but if I'm going to the rough part of town, I make sure I wear clothes that allow me to move. It doesn't mean you have to compromise on looking good but it does mean you don't limit yourself when faced with an agressor. I have a pair of jeans I can kick head height in and they look pretty good (well I think so anyway) and I tend to wear them if I know that there is a possibilty of conflict. Realistically no MA is going to cover every eventuality and circumstance but you can do things to make sure that it isn't as bad as it could be. Maybe thats a part of martial arts, being aware of what could happen and acting to minimise that risk.
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"Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it." ~ Confucius

Taylor · Yellow Belt

I've seen some pretty good practitioners who pulled off a high kick in a fight, but it's unnecessarily dangerous, ragardless of what kinds of pants you're wearing. I'm 5'7" and was able to kick a 6'5" person in the head without jumping in my prime, but I never tried in a fight. Never. Heck, I rarely went above the knees, and NEVER even tried above the waist. Why risk it?

ps1 · Black Belt

Respectfully,

Your question seems to derive from the fact that you have not trained any style for very long. I have trouble believing that TSD says to use a head kick for every situation. I KNOW FOR A FACT that BJJ does not say you need to go to the ground in every situation. In my 23 years of training, I have not found any system that has all the answers. Anyone who thinks their system does is just naive.
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Aces Red · Yellow Belt

The BB of C · KF Sempai

I either always wear sweatpants or buy slightly loose fitting jeans for the same reason. As for shoes, they don't mess with my footwork at all.
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There is little honor in going down. There is no honor in going down without a fight. --- Victory dwells in the individual, not the style.

bushido_man96 · KF Sensei

I try to train low kicks on my own, so that I don't have a problem with them when kicking. Ideally, if you can kick someone who is 6'5" in the head, then you should be able to bring your kicks below the waist without any problems.

The key to the footwork it to keep it simple. Nothing fancy; don't let your feet cross when stepping.

I have done a ground defense class put on by our LETC, and rolling around with a duty belt on is definitely an experience that you have to adjust for.
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Success is where preparation meets opportunity.

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armanox · Orange Belt

I never really thought about it. I know a lot of people that complain about not having the same range of motion in a gi as in regular clothes, or about how things fit them, but, my gi fits me as well as what I normally wear, and I can throw kicks just as well in jeans/slacks/dress pants/etc as i can in my gi.
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Shotokan-kez · Black Belt

Practice some kicks in the changing room when buying clothes, see how high you can kick!

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Walk away and your always a winner. www.shikata-shotokan.co.uk

ShoriKid · Orange Belt

And I was hoping for a parka vs. reverse punch thread!

Seriously though, you don't have to target things to the head when kicking, no matter what in class sparring looks like.

There are a few facts to face when it comes to self-defense and clothing. 1)You should keep in mind freedom of movement when dressing if you think you are going to have an increased chance of an encounter.[ie. your having to travel late through a rougher neighborhood]. This includes footwear for running the heck away.
2)For the sake of prepairedness{sp}, you should do at least some training in your common street cloths so that you are aware of the advantages and disadvantages they offer.
3)If self-defense is that big a concern, then it should inform your buying and dress habits.

Now the environment, such as debris on the ground, footing etc. can influence what you will do in a given situation. Your worry about glass and other things on the ground when employing ground skills should be a secondary concern anyway. The last place you want to be is on your back in a self defense situation. And if your pulling guard, or your instructors are teaching you to pull guard to get to the ground during self defense, they have failed to give you a solid and, pardon the pun, well grounded skill set. Self-defense requires situational awareness and part of that is footing ad throwing surface..I mean ground conditions. You need to know and pay attention to that curb you stepped down from if there are guys about to start trouble for you.

Self-defense concerns used to flavor my dress habits. When I went out I made sure I wasn't overly bound up in too tight jeans(luckly for my build they weren't in style much when I was younger) and that I had good footware one. I always wanted either my wrestling shoes or combat boots on my feet. Good footing, I can run well in both and I either had light, fast kicks, or hammers.
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"No one ever drowned in sweat"-Marine maxum

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