A few years ago I started a blog called Truth in Martial Arts but I’ve since taken it down because I didn’t have the time to keep up with two different blogs. There were a handful of posts that I really liked and wanted to keep so I’ve decided to post them to my blog here. While this doesn’t have anything to do with politics, philosophy, or religion, these posts do have something in common with my blog: reality. For those who also enjoy martial arts I hope you enjoy these few upcoming posts. – 1-20-12Reality-based martial arts are martial art systems that are geared toward gaining combat proficiency for self-defense situations. They do away with the traditional dojo (martial arts school), eastern philosophy that is often a part of martial arts, traditional gi (uniforms), and often focus purely on the physical side of martial arts. They are usually practiced in street clothes and the techniques and training drills are geared toward what a person will face in this day and age, such as an attack involving a baseball bat, gun, or modern terrain like concrete and public restrooms, or a sudden sucker punch attack. Most of the drills are more “live action” and not choreographed.Here is a perfect example of what I mean by drills being choreographed:In the above segment this individual is demonstrating a popular grappling art called Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, made famous by the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the Gracie family.In the first segment it would be too risky to attempt a throw like this against a stick. Even more it’s unlikely the defender will be able to time the throw just right and the opponent’s momentum will likely not be as exaggerated as shown in this demonstration in order to provide the defender with the energy he can use for the throw.As for the knife defense, catching the blade hand/arm can be risky, though has been done in actual situations so I wouldn’t discount it entirely, however adding in the flashy turn and throw is dangerous and pointless. If you manage to catch the weapon arm to begin with it would be better to get low, clamp down on that weapon arm with one arm while smashing the attacker in the head and/or throat with the other arm. And obviously the closer the opponent is, the less reaction time you have, which is often a major problem that many so called self-defense programs do not take into account. The closer the opponent is, the less time you have to react to zero in on the attacking arm to catch it.In this video the techniques done are simple and to the point, which is what any good self-defense system should use. Some may argue that an eye gouge in the first segment wouldn’t be justified, but if you are a smaller individual or a woman the increased use of force should still be within your rights. However, your martial arts skills will likely be used against you by a prosecutor by arguing that you should’ve been able to use a lesser amount of force since you’re a marital arts trained individual, but that’s just not realistic in some circumstances. An excellent book that covers this subject is called Real World Self-defense: A Guide To Staying Alive In Dangerous Times that I recommend.Here is one video showing a segment of a recent Pen & Teller Bullshit episode about martial arts (FYI the statements inserted into the video are from the guy featured in the video; I got this from his website):I agree that there is a lot… no, a ton of bullshit in martial arts. People trying to sell you the “secrets” of chi and the ability to become virtually invincible. Many of these systems are pure nonsense, like Systema, which is a Russian martial art that just looks silly. Here is a video clip I saw online of a (supposed) knife defense seminar:But let me get back to my point. Even with reality-based martial arts there are still “good, better, and best” systems that one can find and from what I’ve seen of this guy’s martial art it is OK. I’d replace the back-handed forearm/knife hand strikes with more linear attacks since those are faster and harder to stop by comparison, especially for a first strike. But other than that it seems OK from what I saw.Many martial artists like to present themselves as super bad asses and the guy who is featured in the show sure fits that bill. When he said he’d be happy if a student killed someone using what they had learned he said he’d be happy. I’m not sure if he meant that he’d be happy the student was able to protect themselves from harm with what they learned, or if he’d actually be happy they killed someone. But either way, I would hope he would feel some remorse, but with him seemingly being one of those bad asses I mentioned earlier he may not admit it. One thing is for sure, if he is not teaching his students the legal and moral use of force I think he’s doing a huge disservice. As I learned, not only must you protect yourself from the attacker but from the attacking prosecutor afterwards if there is any doubt you acted purely in self-defense or used too much force.These things a true reality-based martial art must teach.However, I do not want to seem as if I’m bashing all martial arts that aren’t reality based. It just depends on what you personally want to get out of it. If you want to learn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and go fight in tournaments or become a cage fighter that’s your business, but don’t try to pass that stuff off as highly effective self-defense because it isn’t. If you want to go to your average marital arts school and learn the high flying kicks of Taekwondo, have fun. It’s a fun martial art and it was enjoyable to learn, but don’t call it what it isn’t. It isn’t effective self-defense. Most of the “self defense” techniques I learned there would not work, but if someone wanted to train for fun and fitness go for it.This brings me to my main point. There are three different kinds of martial arts that Richard Ryan explains to his students in order to explain what reality based martial arts are. They are as follows:Exhibition: Martial arts that are purely theatrical; for entertainment.Competition: Martial arts that are sports like kickboxing, cage fighting, etc.Survival: Also called reality based martial arts, these systems prepare a student for real life self defense; must be complete, meaning it must teach the student how to defend against and use weapons; teach the student to fight in all ranges of combat; confrontation management skills, the legal and moral use of force, etc.Depending on what you want in studying a marital art gaining knowledge of exactly what you will be learning will help you decide what category the school you’re looking into is in.This is what reality based martial arts is and what will be the focus of this blog.
What Are Reality-Based Martial Arts?

Read more here: ARIZONA ATHEIST: What Are Reality-Based Martial Arts?