Monday, November 16, 2009

What are some Black Belt/martial arts/self-defense misconceptions you've encountered?

I%26#039;m doing an essay called %26quot;Black Belt Myths%26quot; and I already have a few ideas but I would like to get some input from other martial artists. (non-martial artists are always welcome to answer, too.)





So far, the ones I%26#039;ve got down are:


-Being a black belt makes you invincible.


-The sole purpose of martial arts is to transform you into a killing machine.


-___________ is the best martial art ever invented.


-___________ is better/crappier than ___________.





Pretty obvious stuff, as you can see, but I%26#039;d like to expand it more and try to cover the most common %26quot;myths%26quot; about martial arts, especially pertaining to fighting and self-defense.





And please do NOT tell me stuff like %26quot;Muay Thai is the best system for fighting%26quot; and %26quot;I could kick any TKD dan%26#039;s butt any day.%26quot; If you%26#039;re not going to be objective, don%26#039;t bother answering.





Thanks to all who answer.





(I%26#039;ll probably ask this again later to get more answers from more people so don%26#039;t be surprised if you see this question again.)|||my fasvorite is %26quot;hand registered as lethal weapons%26quot; (if my put my hands in my pockets is that a concelled weapon) thats a funny one and my responce when people ask me





another favorite is %26quot;i have a black belt I know everything in which ever art%26quot; no one no knows everything in the art unless you the perosn who invetnted it





%26quot;Black belt makes me a good fighter%26quot; not really the art you study will help you but the belt is self has no magic your not any better with or with out it its a rank does not mean much compared to ecperience





%26quot;I got my black belt in a shorter time then you did so i am better%26quot; no maybe your dojo makes it easier to recieve a balck belt|||well a couple of questions i used to get asked when i was teaching -can you fly %26amp; can you run up walls?haha by kids obviously.theres so many misconceptions it would take all day to list.


EDIT%26gt;the give a warnings stuff.only a fool would give a warning,if you warn them and then hurt them youve already admitted your guilt.|||Practicing martial arts will make you healthier.


Traditional martial arts don%26#039;t work in the street.


Black belts are more liable for injuring someone in a fight than non-black belts.





Pretty much any statement that says %26#039;martial arts will do this, or won%26#039;t do that%26#039;. Fighting is a chaotic thing. Nobody knows what will happen. Having training in martial arts will give you an advantage, but it is not a guarantee.|||The best one of all is when someone says you need to get your hands registered as lethal weapons when you become a black belt.|||%26quot;Tai Chi is a kind of weirdo slow dance for senile Chinese.%26quot; Tai Chi, properly Romanized Taijiquan is one of the three major martial arts in the nei jia (internal family) of kung fu, along with Xingyiquan and Baguazhang. In proper execution, it not as slow as you would see during a training routine.|||I think one of the most prominant misconceptions out there is that many martial artists believe that %26#039;because I have a black belt%26#039; now I won%26#039;t get hurt or cut, or something if I get into a fight. Sometimes you can%26#039;t avoid getting hurt, but in most cases you CAN control WHERE you get hurt or TO WHAT EXTENT you get hurt. If someone pulls a knife and I%26#039;m unarmed, there%26#039;s a strong chance that I%26#039;ll get cut. Where I get cut is up to me. Is it better to take a cut on my hands or arms while disarming my opponent, or to take a knife in my lung, which could be a life-threatening injury. The answer should be clear.


That%26#039;s why you should train by making actual contact from time to time. If you know what it feels like to get hit, you%26#039;ll be less likely to be stunned if it happens on the street.|||I just had to respond but I don%26#039;t know if this will help you with your paper.





I am a married woman who started taking tae kwon do with my children because I always thought it would be fun. Well, it%26#039;s still lots of fun (of course it%26#039;s also a challenge and of course it also hurts a lot sometimes).





I get really ticked when my dad or my husband%26#039;s friends tell him things like, %26quot;Oh, I bet you really watch it now because now you know who can kick your butt.%26quot; Those comments are SO IGNORANT! I believe I could defend myself to some extent but why would I be stupid enough to make a joke out of my training or make a joke of the ART of my martial art?





My husband and I love and respect each other. Anyone who is even slightly acquainted with us can see that so their misconception is that as a martial artist I am stupid enough to pick a stupid fight with my husband. What do I look like? An egotistical cocky teenage boy?





Yeah, that misconception ticks me off.|||That there can ever even be one stated purpose to martial arts. Any phrase that goes %26quot;People do martial arts because...%26quot; is wrong, because different people enter the martial arts for different reasons. Some want to learn self-defense, while others want to do exercise, others feel it%26#039;s a good way to meet people, others are interested in the challenge they present, while others come in with other myths and enter the dojo thinking they will become killing machines, others yet aren%26#039;t quite sure why they%26#039;re there, but they%26#039;ve felt attracted to martial arts for a long time and felt it was time to give it a go.


And the main reason why this is a myth is that most people change their reasons along the way. This is the real magic of martial arts which awaits the more open-minded students. You might come in to the martial arts thinking you%26#039;re going to become a fighting machine, only to find out you really like the peace and harmony that eventually comes from mutual respect and training with other people who are making efforts as well.


There%26#039;s more then meets the eyes.|||I have come across many self promoters,they read a few books and they think that they are a black belt.This takes years of intense training to become a black belt in any true style.Just because you hold the rank of black belt does not mean you can fight,I have seen many get mopped up on the floor letting their mouth over load their ***.This is just the beginners stage it takes many years to become sufficient enough to handle yourself in a street fight.Some never can.|||%26quot;Black belts make great fighters%26quot;. thats another myth. all a belt does is identify your understanding of the system compared to other people in that system. it is not an identifier of fight ability. sure, it should be more than lower belts, but too many people think that the BB can kick @ss every time. wrong. we can all fight the opponent or style that we know, but it isnt really fighting is it.|||If you are a black belt your knowledge is infallible.


this is a big misconception.





The hand registering one that someone has mentioned, that one is common too.|||%26quot;Once a person has earned a black belt they have learned all there is to know and they are ready to move on to another martial art... %26quot;





Actually, once a person has earned a black belt they have learned the basics and are ready to START LEARNING about the specific martial art itself.


.|||that you will get in trouble if you use martial arts and that they will classify you as a lethal weapon....this is ridiculous...you got into a fight...nobody died..and now you are the blame....who knows...what if the other person was the person who started causing trouble? that a black belt can use anything as a weapon.....so that means i give him/her a couple cotton balls..and they can kill someone? get real....even if i give them a long stick...they might even get beat up..let alone trying to kill someone with a couple gum drops...|||If you%26#039;re in a striking art, being a black belt is suppose to mean that you%26#039;re also excellent at tricks and high flying moves. You%26#039;re suppose to know advances moves and combos, but that doesn%26#039;t mean you have to be able to do 720 kicks, gainer x-outs, and raizes. Everyone seems to think the upper level people always know how to throw out the tricks, when many don%26#039;t for whatever reason. Unless you are really good, they aren%26#039;t going to help you in a fight.|||The idea that a high dan means it%26#039;s holder is incredibly proficient. Usually if someone is a 7th dan or something like that they received that rank to honour their long term service to their chosen style as a teacher, administrator, etc.


Also I agree with David N; shodan should be see a starting point, not as an end in itself.|||No two black belts are the same. It is a completely subjective form of identification within the martial arts world. Experience and talent are the true measures of one%26#039;s ability. This goes without saying. And yes. Once you have entered the Dan ranks of a martial art then the true understanding and potential of what it has to offer starts to come to light. And as far as the actual black %26quot;belt%26quot; is concerned, it is there simply to keep your gi from falling off.





S|||Martial Arts is for defense only.





That%26#039;s a myth I%26#039;d like to see squashed. While we don%26#039;t encourage kids to start a confrontation. As adults we are free to choose when and how we use our training. Sometimes the best thing to do is initiate the confrontation. There is a time and place for all things, a time for peace and a time for war. When it%26#039;s time for war.. be the first to strike.

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