

The Pleasures of Drowning  - sriram_sun
http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/the-pleasures-of-drowning

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bradleyland
I remember the very first UFC. Maybe it was pre-UFC, I can't be sure, but I
remember that it was very, very early in the MMA days. There were fighters
entering the ring citing their discipline as "Shaolin Tiger Kung-fu" and the
like.

One-by-one, we watched the fights devolve in to a standing clinch, with many
athletes sporting a confused look, glancing at the referee as if to ask
"aren't you going to separate us?" The fact was that many of these fighters,
althogh well respected in their individual arts, had absolutely no idea how to
"fight".

We even saw a few self-defense specialists enter the ring. One guy had formed
some self-defense art with "bear" in the name. I can't remember the specifics.
He was refreshing. During the pre-fight interview, he was confident, but
humble. His comments could be summarized as, "I feel pretty confident that
what I've developed works, but we're about to find out for real."

It was a unique time with a lot of the layers of delusion being stripped away
with the swipe a leg and a thud on the mat. Sometimes I wish we could turn the
clock back, just to watch it all over again.

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sodiumphosphate
The Aikido videos are indeed sad. The saddest part is knowing how surprisingly
representative they are of the Aikido mythos, originating with the founder
himself. Accounts of Morihei Ueshiba and his supernatural adventures in ki are
perplexing at best.

That being said, I don't think Aikido is as ineffective as the videos may lead
one to believe. I recall a similar experience to the one described in the
article, when I strolled into the Aikido dojo with a new black belt in
TaeKwonDo. The sensei saw my colossal attitude and broke my confidence
repeatedly in front of his students. It was entirely open ended; I attacked
and he countered. Each attack landed me in a painful pin. And while my
strength and stamina were utterly exhausted, he managed me effortlessly. I was
made an example; humbled.

The core techniques of value are not exclusive to Aikido, however, being
borrowed from prior arts, and I believe more practical sources of them are
Bujinkan and Krav Maga.

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arjn
It made me cringe to watch that. This isn't the first time I've come across
this. There are plenty of such people going around deluding themselves and
their "students" (or maybe they're just liars). Youtube has several such
examples.

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sriram_sun
It's a great article on Brazilian Jiu Jutsu (BJJ) and MMA with a couple of
mind blowing examples highlighting blind faith in martial arts. Watch the
videos. They will make your day maybe in a sad sobering sort of way.

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bootz15
This is all moot, of course, if the opponent brings a gun.

~~~
WettowelReactor
If the other party is armed and you are not then chances are your fate is
sealed. Still a sudden violent attack when no option to escape is present is
still likely the correct course of action. As Harris states in his early
post(1) if they shoot you during the struggle (or escape attempt) they where
likely going to shoot you anyways.

1\. <http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/the-truth-about-violence>

