Combat Sports

[SaidaiSloth]

Hey, let's talk combat sports! Karate, judo, MMA, cat martial arts, wrestling, whatever you want

And hey, to stir up some discussion, rate how well you can fight on a scale of 0 - 5

0 - Hadouken!.... where's the fireball?
1 - Bitch slap
2 - My grandma showed me how to punch
3 - I did some martial arts as a kid, and can still remember them / I'm doing martial arts now and I'm OK
4 - Doing martial arts now, decent at it
5 - MMA Expert


(I rate myself a 3.5)

[Gen_Glory]

I don't mean to brag but I have read a book on bartitsu

So if you come upon me whilst I have an umbrella or am on a bike... you have been warned

[Jubal]

I think I'm about a three. It's not that long since I did judo and I could still adopt the stance and execute basic throws with little difficulty; I tend to have a major combat disadvantage on account of being five foot six and very lightly built, though.

[comrade_general]

1

[Clockwork]

Well, I've been in five fights and won two of them, but they were the most recent two so I reckon I'm getting better. I read a marine combat manual though that my dad had but that has more kill moves than required for pub brawls. Despite my size I can actually take some decent hits now, just got used to it I guess

I'd rate myself about a 3 on how well I can fight, I don't know any actual martial arts but I can brawl ok. Also, being in an actual fight isn't exactly how you imagine it. The other person moves more and quicker and you can't pull off awesome combos. To win, you need to watch for the first swing then attack immediately also, always keep an eye on the person you think is most likely to start. Not fighting is better, unless you want to but even then only provoke someone instead of starting it yourself. And don't fight angry, it makes you do stupid things like run and jump for a flying punch but you get punched in the gut so hard you're sick. Or something.

[Phoenixguard09]

Some good stuff in there Rob.

I did combat fencing for a few years and got pretty good at it. Unarmed, around a 2.5 probably, but with anything from a short stick and upwards, I'd say maybe 3.5-4 in proficiency.  Probably closer to 3.5 now than 4 though. I've developed physically since then, but I'm rusty.

I once took down my significantly larger friend with a toy drumstick for example...

As for tips, when knife-fighting, go for the wrists. If you can disarm your opponent by disabling their primary hand, go for it. Easiest to do when they're using an icepick grip, just intercept with your own blade and let their own momentum do the damage.

[Jubal]

Yeah, I'm generally good at not being angry when fighting. And I do better if it goes to ground, and probably would do better if armed - anything that decreases my opponent's probable height, reach, and weight advantage is nice. Size makes much less difference when you're trying to armlock someone*, and none at all when you're in a strangle or choke hold.

As for armed fighting, hammers/axes would probably be my weapon of choice more than blades. I have no finesse/skill at all, but I'm pretty good at maximising the force of an impact from years splitting logs with hammers & wedges. (Fun thing to do; stand around near one of those "test your strength" machines at a fair, watch big people thump it with two hands at a bad angle/height and fail, then go in and do it one-handed. They're surprisingly easy if you get the pre-swing right and can maximise the speed of the hammer; which is of course the trick, they're not testing strength at all, they're testing the application of force.)

With all that said, not fighting is massively my preference where possible; Saruman-style, my greatest weapon is probably my voice (and ability to talk things out).

*Note that a big enough differential here can still be a problem. I once got into a good armlock position on a guy who was a bit over 6 foot and about 126kg (well over twice my weight); he just sat up then stood up, with me still clinging onto his arm. Embarrassing, but hilarious retrospectively.

[comrade_general]

Never had any formal training, never been in a real fight, never even got any pointers from grandma, so yeah; 1.

[Clockwork]

That's all you need matey, bring guns, lots of guns

[TTG4]

I'd go for 4, been doing ITF Taekwondo for 11 years now, with 3 years dabbling in WTF as that was the university club. Recently graded to 3rd degree.

Having never actually been in a situation where I need to use it, I can't predict how I'd react, you can have the best training in the world, but if you can't keep cool in a combat situation it'll count for nothing.

Though since they put WTF Taekwondo in the olympics I keep having to point out that although they have the same name they're massively different with a hugely complex set of tangled roots!

At the other end of the scale you get people who mock it for being useless in a bar brawl, we know that, and we wouldn't be stupid enough to try a flying kick in a street situation, which is why we have elements of grading sylabuses and such like that are more practical.

[Clockwork]

Didn't mean that TTG4, just somebody like me who goes through fights in their head with how they're going to destroy somebody with this awesome thing they saw in a movie is going to get a slap of reality (like I did). On what you said initially though, I've seen decent size guys that you think would be good have just flaked and pulled punches because they've got no killer instinct, they just don't want to hurt the other person. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that btw, just saying it does take more than what you know *and* how big you are.

[TTG4]

Yeah I wasn't targetting it at anyone, just ranting in general. It is a decent point though, if I only cared about applying it to a fight it'd be more efficient to go do something like MMA or Krav

[Jubal]

I get the impression a lot of MMA fighters wouldn't be much use in an actual fight because everyone involved in that sport who I've met is on such a permanent ego trip that they'd think they could charge a tank and win (I'm sure there are good people who do it, but it does seem to attract people who like the idea of being tough guys).

[TTG4]

I get the impression a lot of MMA fighters wouldn't be much use in an actual fight because everyone involved in that sport who I've met is on such a permanent ego trip that they'd think they could charge a tank and win (I'm sure there are good people who do it, but it does seem to attract people who like the idea of being tough guys).

Yeah that's a point, but they do practise constantly in a more realistic scenario with fewer rules. I wouldn't enjoy it, too much testosterone floating around, but I suspect it's more applicable.

[SaidaiSloth]

I got my blue belt black tip in Kyokushin Karate, and have studied some basic judo, boxing, jiujitsu, taekwando, and Shotokan moves