"Size(or strength) matters not"

Discussion in 'Disabled Martial Artists' started by Joshua Powell, Jan 28, 2007.

  1. Joshua Powell

    Joshua Powell A white knight

    I've spoken in a couple of threads just about the beariers that i've had to break in martial arts. Including one of finding out what I could do in a self defence way. For instance, since I was in a wheel chair for the most part of my younger life, I didn't have a whole lot of strength, I don't have much now by the way. So when sombody would try to wrestle me to the ground my guess is there thoughts would be like"I can take this guy, I'm probably a ton stronger then he is" or something like that. Well there are more ways to protect yourself with just your bare hands even if you don't have alot of strength. I've been doing a martial art called Kuk Sool Won, and among other things, one of the things that they teach are pressure points, and how to use there opponents strength against them. I think there are alot of ways that martial arts can teach people with and without dissabilities to use different parts of the body to there advantage. Do any of you have any examples of this in your particular martial art?
  2. Mei Hua

    Mei Hua Banned Banned

    Aye we do.

    There are ways you can redirect a opponent's energy against them, ie. they throw a punch and you do a deflective block pushing their arm across their chest, it takes little strength/energy to do this as you're using their energy against them and in so doing have restricted their movement and ability to strike back.

    That's just but one example, but we teach many different aspects of things like this, simple movements which work to control another person.
  3. Joshua Powell

    Joshua Powell A white knight

    What martial art do you do?
  4. Mei Hua

    Mei Hua Banned Banned

    Northern Shaolin Honan Mei Hua Chuan is the one I teach where we do as I described.

    I also do MMA and CQC Combatives(MCMAP)
  5. Joshua Powell

    Joshua Powell A white knight

    Sounds like something I might like to get into.
  6. Mei Hua

    Mei Hua Banned Banned

    I can't speak highly enough about it :D
  7. Joshua Powell

    Joshua Powell A white knight

    I think that's cool:) It's the same with me. Martial arts has helped me in more ways then one in my life.
  8. Light123

    Light123 Give Up On Giving Up

    Hey, speaking of "wrestling to the ground", I've wrestled two friends at once before. I executed a pretty good move with speed and little effort. (Man, was I laughing :D )
  9. BentMonk

    BentMonk Valued Member

    Size & Strength Matter A Lot

    I don't want to steal any one's thunder, but size and strength mean a great deal in a physical confrontation. Yes there are ways to redirect an opponents force against them, and there are valid pressure point targets. However, it takes a good deal of mobility on the defender's part for redirection to work well. As to pressure points, your targeting has to be very precise and you have to be able to hit with a fair amount of force for them to be effective. A larger and stronger opponent will always have the advantage over a smaller weaker opponent. IMO there is no substitute for strength and conditioning training combined with as close to full contact sparring as you can handle. This is the only way that you will know for sure if redirecting techniques or pressure point striking will work for you. Of course as my 14 year old son just pointed out, the most effective means of self defense is :woo:
  10. Mei Hua

    Mei Hua Banned Banned

    Then what do you suggest to disabled martial artists who may not have what you say matters, though in all honesty I disagree, cause I've seen much different.
  11. Smitfire

    Smitfire Cactus Schlong

    Not wishing to sound harsh but I'd hazard that most disabled people would probably get beaten up in a fight with an able bodied person.
    It's hard enough for an able bodied person to win a fight against a commmitted and aggressive attacker let alone someone already at a physical disadvantage.
    Sorry if that offends anyone.
    Also note that doesn't mean I think disabled people shouldn't train in the arts. More power to them I say. You should still remain realistic about what you're able to achieve though.
  12. Light123

    Light123 Give Up On Giving Up

    Dudes, if you're judging by the body, you've got the wrong eyeballs. A disabled person can just as m uch beat up an able bodied person. Strength isn't on the skin, it's under it.

    And I agree with Mei Hua. You can give your attacker a good poke in the eyes and beat them down while they're blind. Stuff like that.

    But if the attacker has a weapon...well, you tell me.
  13. BentMonk

    BentMonk Valued Member

    Common Sense

    If size and strength do not matter, why do combat sports separate competitors by weight class?

    I have been on the losing end of a real fight. My opponents oddly enough were bigger and stronger than me.

    I have used my own strength to avoid being arm barred, and land heavy punches in competition.

    Strength can be gained by working out hard. Techniques can be honed to a reflex by drilling them constantly.

    Heart will serve you well, but it will not overcome the laws of nature and physics. A disabled martial artist must find techniques that they can execute well, condition their body until they are strong enough to apply them against a fully resisting opponent, and drill those techniques until they are reflexive.

    The old, small MA masters you see defeating larger opponents are much stronger than they appear, and are able to utilize their entire body when executing a technique.

    My legs do little more than hold me semi-upright, and hobble me from point A to point B. I know this, and train accordingly to compensate.

    I have asked this question on this board before, and it has always met with little or no response. How many of you train against a truly resisting opponent? How many of you spar with even moderate contact? If you don't train with resistance and spar...why not?

    I advise my students to travel with a friend when possible, stay out of rough places, and don't start any crap with anybody. This simple bit of common sense will keep most of us out of harms way. If it doesn't then they have one or two techniques that work well for them, and they drill them with me a lot. I don't let them do anything. If they can't do it with me resisting them, then they can't do it yet, and we drill more. IMO to tell someone that technique x will work against any opponent every time is very dangerous. There is no technique that will work 100% of the time against every opponent. This is true regardless of ability or disability.

    I am not trying to discourage anyone from training MA. It has too many benefits to list. What I am saying is that we all must have a realistic view of our ability. A false sense of confidence will get you hurt or worse. Peace. :)
  14. Light123

    Light123 Give Up On Giving Up

    Yeah...We all got pockets
  15. Mei Hua

    Mei Hua Banned Banned

    Huh, I teach a guy with MS bound to a wheel chair, has little use of limbs.

    He was in a bar a while back and some guys thought to rob him as he was disabled, he broke one's knee and fought the other off till help came.

    This BS that people say strength/size matters shows they know nothing of which they speak and have no experience, grow up and join the real world
  16. kmguy8

    kmguy8 Not Sin Binned

    Mei Hua,

    do you always have to be such an obnoxius jerk? your opinion is only one of amny and others are entitled disagree (in the current topic and political ones I've read recently of yours).

    if you want others to listen to you.. other than this site being for you to enjoy reading your own text... you might try changing your manner of expression....

    take it for what it's worth

    anyone that believes that size and strength are not an asset in a fight is an idiot... as is anyone that thinks they are all that matter....

    there is room for people to weight the middle ground as they see fit.....

    relax.. and learn reason
  17. Mei Hua

    Mei Hua Banned Banned

    Take it any way you want, but people that say size and strength do matter and if you're disabled you wont be able to do anything are fools, it honestly shows they know not of what they speak.

    Sorry you view that as being a jerk, I dont putty foot with BS like others do, I say what's on my mind, especially when dealing with people who do not know of what they're talking about.

    Deal with it.

    In fact, I guess technique and skill are nothing huh?

    Jeez, what a surprise, I guess all them folk that had such fighting bigger/stronger people and won were actually a fantasy? AMAZING!!!!!

    In fact, those political discussions you speak of come from people who have neither been to the areas they talk about, have had nothing to do with the people whm they talk about, know nothing of the reality of those people's ideas/decisions/feelings and yet make claims they do, in fact they know nothing! So yes, sorry you view that as being a jerk(I guess this post will triple that in your eyes but TS) if you do not actually know something, do not make boisterous claims, do not come into a disabled forum and say you all can't do anything and you'll lose everytime, such idiocy is incredible.

    Size/strength are all good, more so in MMA where they play a bigger factor, in real life it's skill/heart that determine who will win and come out on top, size/strength play less a part in reality than people claim, they just haven't dealt with real life yet.
    Last edited: Jan 30, 2007
  18. Smitfire

    Smitfire Cactus Schlong

    Why do size and strength play more of a role in MMA than in other sorts of fighting? That's an odd comment.
    If anything the advent of MMA has shown us that with sufficient skill and awareness of options a good small guy can beat a bigger guy (Royce fighting anyone, Genki Sudo fighting Butterbean for example).
    With the advent of weight limits it's even less of a factor as everyone is about the same size.

    I'm not saying that smaller people or disabled people can't train or defend themselves successfully. Such a statement could easily be disproved.
    I'm just saying they need to be realistic about what they can achieve.

    Fighting is never as definate as "skill/size/heart/insert thing here is what matters". It's a mix of all things.
  19. Mei Hua

    Mei Hua Banned Banned

    Ok, perhaps I misunderstood you previously.

    Please accept my apology.
  20. BentMonk

    BentMonk Valued Member

    Still Curious

    MH - Do you train with resistance and spar with some contact? What technique did your student in the chair use to break the guys knee? Did you see this or hear about it? What strength and conditioning methods does he train? Was the technique used something he drilled on a regular basis? He must be able to use his limbs fairly well to come out on the winning end of a two on one situation. We train this scenario quite often, and it is difficult for even an able bodied person to avoid being bested by two opponents. I am also curious as to what other extraordinary examples of skill and technique so dramatically overcoming not only size and strength, but superior numbers as well that you have seen, or perhaps experienced first hand.

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