Martial arts are often considered as a type of sport and self-defense technique. However, many martial arts practitioners find that street fighting styles often break the rules, causing them to struggle when they need to defend themselves on the street. Although martial arts could provide us with important basics for self defense, it is also necessary for us to learn about proper self defense methods based on situations on the streets. In some big cities, there are self defense groups that are designed to provide realistic methods, preparations and techniques to defend ourselves on the street. In reality, we shouldn’t focus too much on traditional-style techniques; because there are no referees and rules in the street.
When choosing self defense instructors, we should make sure that they have proper martial arts background and significant experience on the street. They should know how to deal with real fights. We should check with people who know the instructors personally when they are much younger. Some instructors could actually fabricate an entirely new martial art or create a false background with some fake legends behind it. We should also stay away from self defense instructors who talk down traditional forms of martial arts. In any case, any self defense method should be based on traditional forms of martial arts. Judo is often the most maligned of them all, because it is considered as the most useless in any street condition.
Technically speaking, it can be quite true if an attacker on the street use long stick of wood to attack while keeping their distance from us. However, good instructors will use best elements of judo to grapple and incapacitate attackers when we manage to get closer to them. In order to survive on the street, we should make sure that we have proper training. From the technical standpoint, surviving on the street could be quite easy. We should develop the attitude and resolve. With proper preparation, we could even avoid fights entirely. On the street, people tend to use mixed martial arts techniques and people with some good basic martial arts should find it easier to train with other techniques.
Learning traditional martial arts techniques shouldn’t be one dimensional. Unfortunately, many people do this and it could make routine training sessions become boring and monotonous. Martial arts trainers and gurus should also focus on external factors and this actually an important element of any martial art. In any case, martial art practitioner should know how to defend themselves, even if their primary motives are only for sports and improving their fitness. Another element is internal. It actually takes years of corrections, self- criticisms and self-examination to make ourselves more mature in determining the right type of self defense technique for us. This can be a gruelling and long process; that can be achieved only with years of traditional martial arts training. There’s no easy and quick way to turn traditional martial arts technique to allow them defend themselves properly on the street.