The biggest lie in the martial arts is that once you get your black belt you will be able to defend yourself. You will dispatch much larger, scarier enemies without hurting yourself or your assailant. This romantic notion that once you have achieved the rank of black belt you will be able to walk without fear has been perpetrated by instructors and school owners ever since people realized that you could make a buck at teaching it. The idea of subduing armed, determined attackers is has been dangled in front of everyone who ever went in to a martial arts studio. Sure, there are always exceptions and there are always some who knew someone. But in the majority of cases of black belt success they were either very lucky or extremely lucky. There are far more instances of black belts getting their lunches packed for them, then applying what technical expertise they learned in the dojo to life in the street.

The truth is, for a majority of black belts, they have serious doubts about their abilities to save their own lives. The other fact is, the black belts who are capable of handling themselves were generally tough customers before they started training and would be fine even if they never set foot in a dojo. In fact, there are more instances that the martial arts inhibited someone’s ability to fight. Simply because he or she bought into the load of goods taught in the typical dojo.

This goes for the majority of all martial arts taught today. They are reaction based. They don’t take into account the physiological and psychological changes that happen to you when you are stressed. They are sport oriented. To put it simply, if there are rules, time limits, protective gear and a protective environment. Don’t get me wrong. There should be rules to protect people from themselves. Anyone who wishes to really fight for real, gouges, biting , hooking, etc. should seek professional help.

With the advent of the UFC, people think that is real fighting. Now, most people won’t know real fighting if it snuck up behind them and grabbed them by the throat.

To their credit, the Gracie’s realized what lacked in the majority of martial arts in America and seized the opportunity by creating a venue in which they could excel. By using a modified system of Judo (yes, Brazilian Jujutsu is modified form of Judo = note I use the term “modified” in place of the term “a fraction of”). The Gracies called out every commercial style of martial arts and kicked some ass. Other than the established, more popular systems in the US (Wrestling, Boxing and Judo) – in that venue, nothing stood a chance. To the general public that didn’t know any better thought “That must be real.” You can punch, kick, grapple, choke and do everything you can do in the street!” This is reality. So everyone who was interested in getting punched in the face started training and “mixed martial arts” was born. Now people think mixed martial arts is real street fighting.

Now, if you think mixed martial arts is something new, try picking up a book. Look at any higher level Judo kata; strikes, strangles, neck and leg dislocations, its all there. Even mid and late 1800’s prize fighting included hooking, throwing and submissions.

During its inception, the Kodokan in Japan was no only the world headquarters of Judo, but in its heyday, pre-world war II, you could go to the Kodokan and study a wide variety of courses from judo to karate, swordsmanship, kendo and more.

The problem with mixed martial arts is that it’s still a sport. You have time to train and prepare for it. It happens at a specific time under specific condition. You also know that the guy across the ring isn’t trying to take your life. It’s a sport. No matter how difficult and how trying it may feel, it’s still a sport. The following is a list of actions not allowed in UFC competition:

1. Butting with the head.
2. Eye gouging of any kind.
3. Biting.
4. Hair pulling.
5. Fish hooking.
6. Groin attacks of any kind.
7. Putting a finger into any orifice or into any cut or laceration on an opponent.
8. Small joint manipulation.
9. Striking to the spine or the back of the head.
10. Striking downward using the point of the elbow.
11. Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the trachea. Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh.
12. Grabbing the clavicle.
13. Kicking the head of a grounded opponent. Kneeing the head of a grounded opponent.
14. Stomping a grounded opponent.
15. Kicking to the kidney with the heel.
16. Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his head or neck.
17. Throwing an opponent out of the ring or fenced area.
18. Holding the shorts or gloves of an opponent.
19. Spitting at an opponent.
20. Engaging in an unsportsmanlike conduct that causes an injury to an opponent. Holding the ropes or the fence.
21. Using abusive language in the ring or fenced area.
22. Attacking an opponent on or during the break.
23. Attacking an opponent who is under the care of the referee.
24. Attacking an opponent after the bell has sounded the end of the period of unarmed combat.
25. Flagrantly disregarding the instructions of the referee.
26. Timidity, including, without limitation, avoiding contact with an opponent, intentionally or consistently dropping the mouthpiece or faking an injury. Interference by the corner.
27. Throwing in the towel during competition.

This brings us to the reality Self Defense Group. This group is near and dear to my heart. They are correct in when they say there are no rules, no ref in the street. They also believe that anyone who wastes time with martial arts is missing the point. And the person who wastes their time and money training in a traditional style or sport oriented martial art is incapable of fighting their way out of a paper bag. They base this on the fact that they have personally studied various styles and have concluded that they are all useless.

Here’s a little secret: the VAST MAJORITY of reality self defense “experts” who have claimed to have “traditional martial arts” experience have never spent more than a handful of years studying a few martial arts here and there. Maybe they were unfortunate enough to spend a great deal of time in a martial art, thinking it was getting them ready for a real fight and when the rubber hit the road, well you know the story. Or some guys forego the real training and just make up a false background or fabricate an entire martial art system and mythology behind it.

Now, most people who are quick to talk down traditional styles of martial arts really couldn’t hack it in a real dojo. The work is hard and thankless. They know deep down, it was their ego that couldn’t take it. The most maligned of all is judo. I hear it time and time again, well, we really didn’t learn any “self defense” or it was useless in the street. Technically speaking, they’re correct, they didn’t learn an eye gouge and you won’t. What really happens is, these people go in, get the snot beat out of them and think of an excuse to quit; an excuse that their egos can handle. Now if the forced themselves to continue to train and show up every day, take their lumps and slowly over the course of several years get tough, develop their skills and get through the hell that is real training. Once you arrive at that point, the rest of the stuff is easy.

Learning how to fight to survive from a technical standpoint is easy. Using weapons and improvised weapons are technically easy. Developing the resolve and the attitude come from either training or environment.

So why do people study martial arts? If you want to learn how to fight or you want to cut through the B.S. and want to learn how to stab a man so he dies in less than 10 seconds, I can show you in about 1 minute (with 57 seconds to spare). It’s easy. I think Jigoro Kano said it best when he said, “Jujutsu is the art of self protection and judo is the art of self perfection”.

Why is it that in spite of the UFC, Reality Martial Arts do traditional style martial arts and boxing and wresting still exist? Why are they more popular than all of the mixed martial arts and close combat training centers? Simple, because learning how to fight is one dimensional. The reality of doing it day to day becomes monotonous and boring. It focuses on the external. It’s only one phase of the martial arts. It’s the first phase. When everyone begins that martial arts you have the same thought, I want to learn how to kick someone’s ass or defend yourself. It’s about beating the person in front of you. That’s the first and shortest phase. That’s where reality martial arts and mixed martial arts are stuck. The second phase is internal. This takes years and even decades to get a handle on. It is about changing yourself through self examination, criticism and correction. It is a long, grueling and rewarding process. It has a soul. There is no quick and easy. It prepares you for life and if done in the right environment, dares you to become a better person. When Kano developed Judo his purpose was to help prepare people to be better citizens.

The third and final phase is teaching someone else how to do it.