
Bruce Lee and the Art of Scientific Street Fighting - kschua
https://flipboard.com/@vice/-bruce-lee-and-the-art-of-scientific-str/f-657b670989%2F
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peatmoss
This article talks a lot about what is effective versus what is not. It's
worth pointing out that there are lots of reasons to train a martial art that
have little to do with street effectiveness. Having done judo, a more
traditional jujitsu, and now having settled into a comfortable 6-10 hours of
aikido training a week, I can honestly say that street effectiveness is way,
way down on the list of things that I get out of training.

In terms of practical skills, the only thing I think is immediately useful is
the ability to fall safely. Maybe, some day I'll be attacked and my attacker
won't be dissuaded by gifts of my wallet and cell phone... or me violently and
intentionally soiling myself. Until that day, I'm rather uninterested in
combat. For me the amazing interval training workout plus the zen-like
concentration required to make any of these ludicrously subtle techniques
actually do what they say on the tin is more than enough. Plus the people are
nice.

Random drunk throw a haymaker at me? I'm probably better prepared than the
average Joe, but then again I've never had this happen and don't anticipate it
happening. Hand-to-hand combat with a trained adversary on the street? Ain't
happening.

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WeaselNo7
It's interesting that the article doesn't delve into non-Asian martial arts
like Krav Maga, which, in my limited experience, offers an extremely
reductionist 'does it work' mentality.

Interesting also that the gold standard of the article is 'in the ring'. I
would have thought messy 'real world' combat is gold standard (but obviously
less reproducible, from the science perspective). Additionally, multiple
opponents.

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tdb7893
As someone who does martial arts (ranging from muay thai to aikido) if it
doesn't work in the controlled environment of the ring it often won't work in
the messy environment in the world. Krav Maga is really variable in quality
and the best gyms are still ones that have a lot of "aliveness" in training,
which is generally sparring or some close facsimile thereof.

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cagey_vet
he got tired of punching people in the back of the head as they ran away from
street fights. the dude really had it together, sometimes a fluke of design
happens and someone derives a framework that simplifies and streamlines
centuries of pugilistic assumptions. spending decades of my own time pursuing
this specific ideal, i realized that Bruce had it right and deserves more
credit for his revolutionary approach that i still havent been able to find
fault in.

