The Right Martial for the Right Reason

There has been a steady inclination of interest and promotion of the so called ‘killer’ martial arts that boast and promote devastating techniques.  Gouging eyes and striking vital parts of the head can be effective but how good will they be when you have to answer for your actions?  If these ‘devastating techniques’ are the only options then people better be prepared to defend themselves in court as well.  The legal system does not always take too kindly of people inflicting unnecessary injury even if it is self defence.

Inflicting serious injury, in a particular situation might end you in more trouble than you can ever imagine.  If all you know is striking, the excuse of ‘this is all I know’, might not always cut it in a court room.  Idiots who openly boast about doing MMA is like a waving a red flag at the legal fraternity who will have a much harder time trying to justify themselves because the public associates MMA with Cage Fighting, not self defence,.  Any idiot can claim to know MMA; they don’t need certificates, belts or anything else so students are going to be taught irresponsibly.

More and more schools will include Jiu Jitsu as part of their training to ensure students have access to passive techniques which may be more suitable in less hostile situations.  We also have a – ‘Duty of Care’ which means a legal obligation which is imposed on an individual requiring adherence to a standard of reasonable care while performing any acts that could foreseeably harm others.  In Jiu Jitsu choking someone out in self defence may be reasonable but care must be taken that the attacker does not hit their head on the ground which can lead to serious injury or death.

I believe all martial arts have a purpose and I take my hat off to anyone who wishes to indulge in their particular art but, in this day and age, it is becoming increasingly important that self defence involves Jiu Jitsu which may be more appropriate in many situations.  Also, another consideration is that a fight might end up close quarter or even on the ground; there is no referee to break it up.  Including Jiu Jitsu with your standup game is certainly going to increase your chances of survival.  One has to look at some of the hostile situations on Youtube then you will understand that we need to be prepared in more ways than one.
GA.