Getting Hit On the Head Lessons

Hi!

I normally refer to this bit of the silly Monty Python "Argument Clinic" sketch when discussing "better get used to it" explanations for why kids are subjected to standardized tests at younger and younger ages. For a martial arts blog, though, it's a bit more literal. In the sketch, a man walks into a room and is immediately whacked on the head with a large mallet. He screams, "OWWW!!!" The man who hit him say, "No, no, it's 'WAAA!!!'" and then hits him again...apparently trying to teach him how to get hit on the head...

In 1995, I moved to Arizona for a six-month internship. Because I didn't think I'd love it and want to move here permanently, I sought a martial arts school that could also be a short-term deal. What I ended up practicing for those six months was muay Thai. I trained at Fairtex, which is now mainly in California but used to be on Chandler Boulevard near I-10. It was pretty brutal, but I was a 22-year old black belt!! While at Fairtex, I learned how to use my knees and elbows. I learned how to kick with my whole body. And I learned how to get back up after being knocked down. The former two were pretty useful, the latter, not so much.

You see, I'm a regular guy, who works a regular desk job. I don't work as a bouncer at a biker bar. I don't have a side business as a body guard. And I don't enter into MMA cage matches on weekends. In short, I don't get in a lot of fights. In fact, I've NEVER been in a fight (knock on wood), and the older I get and the more I train, the less likely it seems that I'll be in one. Why, then, would it be useful for me to learn how to take a punch? That seems a lot like getting hit on the head lessons to me. True self defense isn't having the skill to ensure that you always come out ahead in a fight. True self defense is having the skill to avoid getting into fights in the first place!!

I know what you're thinking... "But Matt, what happens if you get attacked on the street and are FORCED to defend yourself?? What'll you do then?!?!??" First off, part of true self defense is avoiding those situations. The likelihood that I'll be alone in a dark alley waiting to be mugged is nil. It's just not going to happen. Second, if someone pulls a knife or a gun and says, "Your wallet or your life," I'm just going to hand over my wallet. It's just not worth it. (Note: Chuck Norris said he'd do the same thing.) Know this, though: If I am FORCED, to defend myself or my family then pity the fool who forces me to because I won't be the one taking a punch.

This kind of leads into my thoughts on sparring... I think that low contact point sparring can be a good training tool as part of a balanced martial arts curriculum. I have a whole post on this, so I won't get into it here, but suffice it to say that sparring is not the same as self defense. In a self-defense situation, you won't bow, touch gloves, and get into a fighting guard. I realize that some people really like full-contact sparring. If you do, that's your choice. I just don't think it makes a whole lot of sense to try and teach people how to take a punch when the reason people train in martial arts is because they don't want to get hurt. I'd leave my muay Thai classes battered and bruised and unable to hold my head up. While I was supposedly learning how not to get beat up, I was getting beat up!! It was like getting hit on the head lessons, and in hindsight it was just as silly as the Monty Python sketch...

Thanks,
Matt