Sometimes, you’re returning from a late night visit from a friend or party, alone. And your heart just can’t stop pounding out of fear. Fear that you may not be able to defend yourself. Possession of firearms usually comes in handy. But there’s a downside to keeping weapons; you need a license in most countries which must be renewed on a regular basis. Come to think of it, you can’t always carry your gun around like the police. To parties and hangouts? How frightening is that? And besides, you don’t want to kill anyone, you just want to protect yourself. So if obtaining a weapon is so hard and killing is so bad (you might end in jail), and yet you have to defend yourself, what do you do? Well, I say you join me in practicing martial arts.
What is Martial Arts?
Well, in my own words, I would say martial arts is a sport where people fight using their hands and feet. It is more of unarmed combat than armed combat (weapons such as swords and staffs may also be used). There are just so many different styles of martial arts out there, almost all of them have roots buried deep in Asia. Martial arts comprise different styles; and while some feature hard, strong punches and kicks like Karate and Muay Thai, others adopt a rather fluid movement using less force and a lot of technique to execute effective punches and kicks. An example is Tai Chi and Aikido. Depending on the style you are attracted towards the most, and that which you can learn quickly, the process of choosing a particular one to study would not be so hard. I started gaining interests in martial arts when I was little. I watched a lot of Kung Fu movies and I was always fascinated by kids displaying their Taekwondo skills at National Celebrations.
Why study Martial Arts?
while some people practice martial arts just like any other sport for keeping fit and/as a hobby, the answer is quite simple. For defense. While most people tend to hurt others with the knowledge of martial arts, the most essential reason for training in any one martial arts style is so that you can defend yourself against attackers. I remember reading a book on martial arts back in the day, and I came across this rather important principle about martial arts; The first principle of martial arts is to avoid conflict. To take action is only as a matter of self-defense. I have always respected this principle, and though I’m not actually a master of any style of martial art (I just couldn’t discipline myself enough to attend and complete courses). Simply put, don’t throw the first punch. When you have knowledge of martial arts, fear would no longer be your worry, but the broken nose of an attacker would be..lol. I usually recommend my female friends take a little self-defense classes because all over the world, women are the most vulnerable and are often the victims of sexual abuse and robbery. It wouldn’t take much of your time to learn pressure points of the body and correct punching techniques for quickly and effectively immobilizing attackers. You don’t need a gun to feel safe when you know martial arts; you are the one behind the gun, the trigger and the bullet. You just need your hands and feet.
So which do I study?
There are just a lot of fighting styles out there that choosing one to study can become quite the headache. I recommend choosing a style you can easily get tutorship for in your place of residence, so you don’t have to move long distances to learn how to fight. In Africa, and where I’m from (Ghana), the most commonly taught martial arts style is Taekwondo which places a lot of emphasis on kicks rather than punches. There are a lot of schools where you can register for a small fee to learn self-defense; from basic to more advanced moves. While this is the easiest and most popular way to learn any particular martial arts style, a lot of people including myself for example take to watching video tutorials on the internet to learn martial arts. While this is more frustrating and difficult (rewinding and no one to practice with) than attending a school, you get to learn techniques and styles not popular in your locale, making you quite the unique one. It would also most likely suffice in case of a fight with a martial artist of whose style you’re familiar with(because it’s so popular there). His moves will be predictable and you will have an upper hand and most likely win the fight.
Suggestions?
Well, I have only two suggestions though. Many people are of the perception that knowing martial arts means you have to be a gymnast; be able to perform flying kicks and complex flips. NO! While knowing how to do flips may come in handy sometimes, flip kicks and many jumping kicks are not so effective as we see in the movies. These stunts are performed to make the movie look good. And sometimes, it takes more than five tries to get it right. In real life, there's no five tries. You just get one shot; blow it or screw it. There’s only a 60% or less chance your stunt move may succeed while natural on-ground moves offer 80% success or more. So yeah, flips are not compulsory. Some styles don’t even feature flips or difficult movements at all. Aikido is one of those styles which has many self-defensive moves than offensive ones. It uses the own force and energy of the attacker to immobilize or overcome him or her. No super strength needed. Pretty cool. That is the style used by popular actor Steven Seagal. Another popular style I recommend is Wing Chun. Originated from China, Wing Chun uses more of punches and hand attacks than any style. And it features mostly low to mid kicks. Not so many high kicks, so no stretch and no stress. This is the style used by famous actor and martial artist Donnie Yen in the Ip Man trilogy. So for anyone, anywhere, looking to learn cool and no-jumpy self-defense martial arts, these are my two picks; Aikido and Wing Chun. There are lots of others, and I know you will find them if you do a little digging. And oh, it takes hardwork, dedication, time and practice to master. Train daily, and who knows, you might just be the new Jet Li.
It has been a pleasure presenting to you. Till next time…
