So what? How do you know that HE just wasn't a good fighter. I see a wide range of talent in my KM classes. There's dudes in there I'd be afraid to piss off, and there's dudes in there I think would get their asses handed to them in the streets. But I'd say this about other martial arts disciplines I've taken too. You can give people the technique but not everybody is going to become good at it. Just like Phil Jackson can coach me, but that doesn't mean I'm going to become another Kobe.
That's not true. Krav in Israel is taught for military techniques. I've seen documentaries on this. So for example, you might be taught how to use your M16 as a striking weapon, and things like terrorist disarmaments. But as far as the fighting itself, it's essentially the same. They incorporate killing techniques which they don't teach to civilians(and I don't think it's legal to teach civilians in the U.S. anyway). But saying U.S. KM is crap is nonsense. How can it be? It borrows the best techniques from system. Another thing, he may have been taking KM at a McDojo that offers it alongside other techniques, rather getting it straight from an offical KM training center. From what I've heard, the former is crap. But where I go, it's pretty good. It's no different than any MMA school, except with things like gun and knife defenses and other self-defense techiques that you might not get in a pure MMA class.
So a minute ago you were telling me that his techniques looked weak, now you're telling me he could survive a four man attack? People can make up anything. Has he actually been in a four man attack? I don't think any martial art is going to save you from 4 dudes pounding you at once. 2 probably, 3 is pushing it, 4 I highly doubt it.
I've been taught the technique in class. Did you ever think that maybe just HE sucks? You are basing your entire opinion of a system on ONE guy you met?? How dumb is that? So if I meet one guy who sucks at Hapkido, I can assume that Hapkido sucks?
Well keep believing that, and if your head goes rolling down the sidewalk after he squeezes the trigger, maybe you'll wish you learned something. In fact, you shouldn't talk about things you apparently no nothing about. First of all, the gun defenses are ONLY effective if at point blank range. Obviously if someone is shooting at your from 20ft away you're f-cked. But if someone puts a gun at your head or chest, you CAN thwart the attack. National Geographic Channel had a documentary on self-defense techniques and one segment they were showing the KM gun disarm methods. What you have to understand is that the very first rule of gun defense is to deflect the line of fire. He can squeeze the trigger all he wants, but if you are out of the line of fire, you won't get shot. It takes about .10 of a second to deflect a gun, quicker than the blink of eye. It takes him about .25 seconds for his brain to register what happen, then send the single down to his finger and squeeze the trigger. Try it yourself, have a friend get a water gun, aim it at your head, tell him to spray you the second he sees your hand moving to deflect the line of fire. He WON'T be able to do it. Your arm will ALWAYS redirect the weapon faster than he can fire. It once the weapon is redirected, you are out of the line of fire and then you go into disarming techniques. For example look at these:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUlc1W95nDU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnwroUXFtvc
Also, and importantly, the first thing they teach you is that if someone is robbing you on the street, just give up the money, it's not worth the risk over the $50 in your wallet. If you haven't mastered the techniques, you are risking your life for nothing really. Give him the money and he'll go away. Now there are circumstances, where the person with the gun doesn't want to rob you. Maybe he found out you banged his girlfriend a month ago and finds you and sticks a gun in your face. Now what? You'd be better off with some techniques under your belt than without.
BJJ is good for only one thing, that's ground fighting. Some people are very skilled at avoiding take downs, like Chuck Lidell. If the BJJ fighter can't get you to the ground, he's useless. You might be able to get by with some clown on the street who can't fight using only BJJ, but most MMA schools(and my KM school) incorporate takedown defense. So if the BJJ guy can't take you down and BJJ is all he's got, he's toast.
Huh? I can't find real fights on youtube of ANY martial arts discipline. The only one I've ever been able to find was this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O07u7KdRVo0
And even in that video, he didn't really do any technique, he just seemed to have got a lucky punch in at the end. All other fights on youtube are just normal brawls. And what would a KM fight on the street look like anyway? It would look a lot like a normal MMA fight. Which is pretty much what it looks like when we do sparring rounds at my school.
That's like telling a Karate guy to grapple a blue belt in jujitsu, that's f-cking stupid. If you come from a striking discipline like KM, Muay Thai, etc, you trained to stay OFF the ground. And in a real situation, if you go to the ground, it's like going to mean you fighting the guy with his friends running up kicking you in the back of the head. BJJ is ONLY useful when it's one on one and if the opponent doesn't have good takedown defense skills.
Same response as above.
If I was fighting a boxer on the street, I wouldn't box with him, I'd send a roundhouse kick to his head. No matter how long a boxers arms are, they're never going to be longer than my legs. No boxers punches are going to be stronger than my kicks. Secondly, boxing is a competitive sport, not a survival sport. KM is not about competition, it's about ending a fight as quickly as possible. There are no rules, strikes to groin, to the throat, to the eyes are all fair game. KM is about nothing other than doing what you gotta do to walk home safe.
I've taken a fair share of BJJ classes myself. It's not hard to get off the ground when you are taken down. BJJ is primarily a COMPETITIVE art, once again. It has rules. If someone has me in their guard, what's stopping me from using my fingers as daggers and skewering his eyeballs? That would end a fight very quickly. And like I said, you can be tough sh-t on the ground, but you won't be when his 3 friends run up and start kicking you in the head. BJJ is good for what it is and everybody should know at least some, but don't be under some illusion that that's ALL you ever need to survive on the street. If the guy your fighting knows how to avoid take downs or he has friends across the street, it's over for you. With other systems, Karate, KM, Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do, if you're really good, you should be able to take on multiple attackers at once and having a fighting chance. There's no such thing as a BJJ guy taking on multiple attackers at once. BJJ is good, but it has its weaknesses. Don't make it out to be more than it is!