do you think martial arts is necesarry/an advantage in a street fight?

Answer 1

Absolutely! No doubt about it!

Knowing that you know how to fight is always better than thinking you can fight because you watched it on TV.

Answer 2

In a street fight martial arts is not neccesary or necceasrily an advantage, in a street fight things can go down so many different ways, in a steet fight it can be a total brawl where no amount of training can help you, plus bring in the involvement of weapons which happens often in a true street fight and then martial arts really doesnt give you an advatage, even the most trained and skilled martial artist can have a tough time when a weapon is involved. A street fight is a dangerous game that nothing can neccesarilly prepare you for.

Answer 3

It would have to depend on the art. If it's a sport type of martial art then it could become a liability as you tend to react only in the way you were trained, thereby limiting yourself. Some art like Krav Maga for example are more geared towards a real life fight situation, so knowledge of these gives you a slight advantage, but in a street fight anything can happen, so I wouldn't be too overconfident about it. Although ideally, any martial arts that teach the use of weapons especially bladed ones do tend to be of more use in the street than empty hand styles.

Answer 4

Yes, a major advantage. Some arts are better than others, but even bad ones are better than no experience at all in conflict... However, there are self-trained fighters as good as most martial artists out there, so it's best to avoid street fighting if you can.

Answer 5

Since most street fighters have no Martial Arts training, it obviously isn't a necessity. It certainly is an advantage.

Answer 6

judomofo.

I've done both and I can say that a a d1 wrestler will not beat a shaolin monk anyday. Try throwing a punch or shooting on an instructor that has studied in the temple. Shaolin monks practice physically and mentally. They don't just go through motions and meditate all day.

The training is a lot different too. Wrestling is part mental, but your not getting hit with bamboo and smelling like rice wine from using dit da jow all day.

Answer 7

It is not necessary, but it can be either advantage or disanvatage depending on how realistic they train.

If they train against resisting opponents with lots of sparring it will be a huge advantage Examples: muay thai, boxing, bjj.

If you train in a martial art with non-realistic sparring it will do more harm than good, as you'll encounter an opponent doing things you've never seen, and your techniques are not effective.

I hope this info is useful.

good luck!

Answer 8

Necessary, definately not. There are plenty of drunken streetfights, and people street fighting with no training what so ever (and it shows).

Is it an advantage.

Like Frank said, (he does have good answers)

It depends on how you train. Aside from the first posters answer which tends to be a traditionalist point of view, most sport fighters are entirely more effective as they have realistic experience utilizing technique.

Read these articles if get bored that emphasize everything I could say about that..

http://www.straightblastgym.com/street.htm

If you train any art with Aliveness, strong resistance training with sparring, and as close to 100 percent as you can get, you will have a distinct advantage over someone, not only in having truly effective and devastating technique, but also the ability to utilize that technique under adrenaline (especially for the amatuer fighter or someone who has participated in tournaments against total strangers who are going at you 100 percent).

A great article on aliveness (resistance training) can be found here http://www.straightblastgym.com/aliveness101.html

Somewhere I have to dig up the link for the video, the guy gives some great demonstrations on dead patterns, vs. live resistance that will just truly open up your eyes.

Anyway, despite what some traditionalist. It doesn't take years of practice to rake/gouge someone's eyes, kick or manhandle testicles, or chop at someone's throat. Unless you are actually doing it to someone everyday who is also trying to do it to you, you aren't going to be any more effective at it then anyone else.

Streetfights are unpredictable, people are unpredictable, and the best way to be prepared is to come as close to that as you can. So predetermined attacks, cooperative opponents (no matter how much you fake at gouging their eyes, cupping their balls, or kicking their knees) and practiced movement does not prepare you.

The only way to be a better fighter is to actually fight. Whether it is limited by rules or not, anyone who has done MMA, Kickboxing, boxing, Judo, Wrestling, BJJ, and has competed in a tournament level can tell you the intensity and adrenaline, and what it feels like to go up against a total stranger who is going after you full force.

I would take a Division 1A College Wrestler against any Martial Artist who has never competed or sparred in a fight any day, hands down.

D1 Wrestler vs. Shaolin Monk = D1 Wrestler by a mile

There are no great mysteries to punching or kicking, there is better ways to do than other ways. But anyone can hit someone in the face, regardless of training. How hard, how often, and how accurate, depends on training, experience, skill, and luck.

But a wrestler would quickly take down the monk, mount him, and pretty sure would figure out how to punch them repeatedly in the face while maintaining control of them on the ground.

Anyway, that is a whole other thing. My own things about people who think Aikido, Kung Fu, and other non contact, non sparring arts, are more effective for the street then an art that fights everyday.

Yes, they fight under rules. So when you lift those rules they are even better, because now they can do all the other stuff too.

That's like thinking you can take on Mike Tyson in the streets because he is used to only boxing, and it has rules...

yes, you lift those rules and Iron Mike is even more dangerous (especially with biting).

So,

Certain Martial Arts, really not arts... Certain training principles are a distinct advantage in a street fight.

Other training principles are distinct disadvantage, as they give the practioner an overinflated and delusional view of his own abilities. He begins to think he can take out knife weilding oppoenents or can handle more than one opponent, or that he is some how going to be more brutal and effective than the other guy.

Then he gets hit in the face for the first time, and finds out that all his pushing hands, knife hand defensive blocks, side stances, and kicking are pretty uneffective against an aggresive hard charging opponent who gets in close, slams him down, gets on top of him and starts pounding him.

Luckily for those guys, street fights are a rare and mostly avoidable occurance, so they don't have to have their delusions brought to light.

Anyway, sorry for the book. Frank is right, good training is an advantage, bad training a distinct disadvantage, to the point that it can cost you life and limb, when you go reach at some guy's eye and he then feels the need to pull out the knife since you have just elevated this to a loss of life or limb situation.

Hope that is of some help, sorry for the novel. But that is a good question, should get some fun answers here.

Answer 9

nope. some marital arts are, but the stuff thats all flash, not so much. would you do a jump spinning reverse outer crescent kick in a street fight? probably not.

but (here it comes) a martial artist knows how to strike properly and effectively versus some thug just waving the hams at the ends of his arms around. many have also had training to know where to strike. when openings present themselves, pressure points, blind spots ex cetera.

Answer 10

its definately an advantage, unless you really suck and are RALLY full of yourself, then its a huge disadvantage, but most martial artists would fair much better in a street fight than they would in the same situations if they didnt know any MA

Answer 11

Necesarry - no.
An advantage - yes.