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LionsDen
Orange Belt
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Joined: 06 May 2022
Posts: 177
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Posted: Fri May 13, 2022 2:26 pm Post subject: Martial Arts, self defense, expertise and instruction |
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Idk if anyone else has noticed this, but a while back I realized there’s a lot of people who readily admit they’ve never fought, let alone fought in self defense or defense of another, yet they are self proclaimed experts on self defense, and often no one questions that.
No disrespect meant, but a prime example of this phenomenon is iain Abernathy.
He’s made hundreds if not thousands of videos, about karate and self defense, yet he’ll gladly admit he has 0 self defense experience. Despite this the karate community accepts him with open arms as an expert.
I don’t fancy myself an expert despite a scuffle or two when I was much younger, and two years in a field where I was averaging about .75 physical altercation per shift, but I use my personal experience to shape my current, and future training, as well as the way I teach.
Can anyone else think of another physical discipline where someone can only have an academic theoretical knowledge base, and get away with not only claiming to be an expert but also teaching others, and have few people inside or outside the community be critical of said person? |
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bushido_man96
KF Sensei
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Joined: 31 Mar 2006
Posts: 30347
Location: Hays, KS
Styles: Taekwondo, Combat Hapkido, Aikido, GRACIE, Police Krav Maga, SPEAR
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Zaine
Black Belt
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Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Posts: 2336
Location: Dallas, TX
Styles: Matsumura-Seito, Shobayashi-Ryu, Shudokan, Long Fist, American Street Karate, Southern Mantis, HEMA
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 1:38 pm Post subject: |
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You bring up an interesting point. My gut reaction is to say that I disagree with your premise, I don't know if it's entirely fair to call the knowledge base theoretical. I, however, am not sure how I want to go forward with explaining my position at the moment, so I am going to think on it and come back to it. _________________ Martial arts training is 30% classroom training, 70% solo training.
https://www.instagram.com/nordic_karate/ |
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LionsDen
Orange Belt
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Joined: 06 May 2022
Posts: 177
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 3:10 pm Post subject: |
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bushido_man96 wrote: |
Most college professors.... |
don’t know what professors you’ve delt with, but all of mine have actually done the stuff they teach.
Same with my gf… |
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sensei8
KF Sensei
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Joined: 23 Feb 2008
Posts: 16538
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Styles: Shindokan Saitou-ryu [Shuri-te/Okinawa-te based]
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 5:17 pm Post subject: |
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I'll keep this post of mine as brief as possible because each of us have their own thoughts about this topic. Here's my preface...
EXPERT: (Oxford Dictionary)
1. a person who has a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge of or skill in a particular area
2. having or involving authoritative knowledge
Authoritative knowledge is when a hypothesis moves from an idea into one that can be proven. Always with the proviso that there may yet be avenues unexplored. Until this happens, the facts, as perceived, are authentic.
I don't know how anything in the MA can be comprehensive when the ideology of Shu Ha Ri remains. Nor can an idea always move into being proven when effectiveness lies within the practitioner to be so.
Then, aren't accumulated knowledge and experience OF a certain subject, like the MA, purely subjective or widespread? Another opinion. Then, who's the expert of opinions, and how are opinions viewed by said experts?? Another opinion.
Once again, labels ruin the whole meat and potatoes of anything.
Imho!!
![](images/smiles/icon_smile.gif) _________________ **Proof is on the floor!!! |
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crash
Orange Belt
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Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 143
Styles: karate,
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Posted: Sun May 15, 2022 8:22 pm Post subject: |
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lets see, there are boxing coaches who have never fought, some who fought amatuer but never made it to the pro level, and a few who never fought at all, there are military instructors who never went to war, the list goes on, academia has its place, even in the combat arena |
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sensei8
KF Sensei
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Joined: 23 Feb 2008
Posts: 16538
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Styles: Shindokan Saitou-ryu [Shuri-te/Okinawa-te based]
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Posted: Sun May 15, 2022 9:17 pm Post subject: |
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crash wrote: |
lets see, there are boxing coaches who have never fought, some who fought amatuer but never made it to the pro level, and a few who never fought at all, there are military instructors who never went to war, the list goes on, academia has its place, even in the combat arena |
Solid post!!
![](images/smiles/icon_smile.gif) _________________ **Proof is on the floor!!! |
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Wastelander
KF Sensei
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Joined: 18 Oct 2010
Posts: 2750
Location: Salem, IL
Styles: Shorin-Ryu, Shuri-Ryu, Judo, KishimotoDi
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Posted: Mon May 16, 2022 10:45 am Post subject: |
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The thing about self-defense is that it more about mental skills and knowledge than anything else, and once you have been educated in the subject, that education can guide your physical training. You can also improve that physical training even further with exposure to contextually-appropriate pressure testing, which should not only be informed by the academic knowledge of the context, but also knowledge of effective pressure testing methods for other similar contexts. You can be an expert in self-defense training if you are an expert in these things, despite having never had to employ the skills in real life, because you're an expert in every aspect of self-defense that CAN be taught. There is no fully-accurate substitute for real life experience, and you can't teach it, so it doesn't really matter if the instructor has it, or not, so long as the information about real life experiences has been incorporated into the training.
Now, all that said, I will say that I could simply be biased, since other than getting beaten up several times growing up, and only defending myself from one schoolyard bully, I've been able to avoid physical confrontations--which I do attribute to my self-defense knowledge, for what that's worth. My instructor had some real-life self-defense experience, and he also trained with a couple instructors who had been active field agents for federal agencies, who encountered their share of violence, plus his own research and reading the publications of others who shared their own experiences. I've done my best to get similar exposure, but I'm not planning to go out and purposely get attacked, either. _________________ Kishimoto-Di | 2014-Present | Sensei: Ulf Karlsson
Shorin-Ryu/Shinkoten Karate | 2010-Present: Yondan, Renshi | Sensei: Richard Poage (RIP), Jeff Allred (RIP)
Shuri-Ryu | 2006-2010: Sankyu | Sensei: Joey Johnston, Joe Walker (RIP)
Judo | 2007-2010: Gokyu | Sensei: Joe Walker (RIP), Ramon Rivera (RIP), Adrian Rivera
Illinois Practical Karate | International Neoclassical Karate Kobudo Society |
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ashworth
Brown Belt
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Joined: 13 Nov 2006
Posts: 707
Location: UK
Styles: Shotokan, IJR Karate, Iaido, Kobudo
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2022 1:18 am Post subject: |
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If you put yourself in a position to have to use your self-defence so that you can gain real-life experience to become a more credible instructor then you have missed the point of self-defence ![](images/smiles/icon_smile.gif) _________________ Ashley Aldworth
Train together, Learn together, Succeed together... |
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sensei8
KF Sensei
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Joined: 23 Feb 2008
Posts: 16538
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Styles: Shindokan Saitou-ryu [Shuri-te/Okinawa-te based]
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2022 11:33 am Post subject: |
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ashworth wrote: |
If you put yourself in a position to have to use your self-defence so that you can gain real-life experience to become a more credible instructor then you have missed the point of self-defence ![](images/smiles/icon_smile.gif) |
Solid post!!
![](images/smiles/icon_smile.gif) _________________ **Proof is on the floor!!! |
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