Greetings All,
I’ve been looking at several different videos that I own on martial arts and notice some of them advocate a ‘weapon disarm’ against sticks, knives, etc. And that all of them are empty hand to weapon. Some of my other videos are on the opposite side of the coin, holding the position of ‘Forget the disarm, shut down the attacker.’
Having played with both options, I have to say there is also a third option, ‘Get an equalizer’, be it a stick, garbage can lid, bag, flashlight, etc. I really like this option.
One thing I did note in all the videos is they don’t discuss the severety of getting hit with a weapon. They all assume that you are the one that gets to do all the hitting. Has anyone been accidently hit with bat or hockey stick? Well I have. And all I can say is, ‘Ouch’. The last thing you are thinking about is what do I do next.
Secondly, I noted that they all do it in slow motion. While this may be good for showing the technique, it lacks the ugly realism that violence sucks, and that Mr. Murphy likes to work on your side.
If you want to try and see if your technique has any merit, give this a try, get the following:
1) A helmet
2) Foam sparring sticks
3) A friend
Now do the following, pick any disarm technique that you know, and do it slowly with your friend a few times. So you get the ebb and flow going. Do this with 3 or 4 techniques that you know.
Once you’ve done that, put on a helmet (preferrably one that has a face cage, along with top and side padding, motorcycle helmets are good), and have your buddy stalk you (like you are in a real fight), and do any of the 3 or 4 attacks that you practiced earlier but at full speed and power. Remember that your buddy can fake you, move, etc.
Most of you found that you got hit. That sucked, but now imagine getting hit with a hard baseball bat, tire iron, pipe, etc. In most cases, it’s game over (unless you are on drugs or something).
(BTW – If you attempt the above training exercise, I do not accept any responsibility for any injury, dismemberment, or death that may occur. You do so, at your own risk.)
Now keep this in mind the next time you think you can take someone with a weapon, and remember I haven’t even accounted for tunnel vision, auditory exclusion, or multiple opponents (to name a few). What I want you to understand, is training disarms (of any type), is great for working on attributes, and can be fun, but don’t forget the real world is a lot less forgiving.
Keep Training, Keep Praying, Keep Learning,
Chuck
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