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Ask HN: A martial art for a programmer

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Re: Ask HN: A martial art for a programmer

#91

Post by metamemetics »

ryanelkins wrote: post #47

I study Krav Maga. I prefer a practical self defense oriented approach. It is the system developed by and taught to the Israeli military. Moves are generally very simple (important so you can be effective without years of training). The problem with pretty much all other martial arts everyone is mentioning is that they have morphed to work ideally in a competitive environment. Sure, knowing just about any martial art…

For practical defense in mugging type situations, one of the biggest things to worry about is KNIVES. This video gives a lot of great points, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFr30p0aZl0 be sure to watch it to the end and not just the first half.

Re: Ask HN: A martial art for a programmer

#92

Post by praptak »

gilesbowkett235 wrote: post #43
praptak wrote: post #25

Depends on what kind of programmer you are. If you do a lot of concurrent programming in C++ then chainsaw fencing should be right for you. An advanced Lisp programmer can practice blasting opponents with pure Chi energy.

I recommend chainsaw nunchucks over chainsaw fencing. It's a personal preference.

Ah, the multithreaded assembly programmers who use self-modifying code for synchronization. Sorry about having forgotten about you guys.

Re: Ask HN: A martial art for a programmer

#94

Post by ryanelkins »

joe_the_user wrote: post #87
nazgulnarsil wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

one of the problems with grappling that BJJ doesn't address is that in many holds your opponent has the opportunity to stab you if they have a knife/shiv etc. this is most apparent in rear chokes. real self defense is not at all glamorous which is why it doesn't have the market that martial arts does. typically you're crushing or breaking something as fast as possible and then RUNNING. I remember I was particularly i…

"typically you're crushing or breaking something as fast as possible and then RUNNING" Typically , you're avoiding without getting involved. Occasionally, you're facing someone down or pushing someone away as quickly as possible and then running. Breaking bones? Is that something you expect to do easily? Also, if you manage to get one mega-pain-inflicting blow in mugging type situation, you might give the guy and his…

Ideally you want to avoid any confrontation. We were taught things like if you get into an altercation (non physical) it's best just to leave because that guy that stormed off might just be looking for a weapon or friends or liquid bravery. If someone wants to mug you give them your money. If they want your car give them your keys. No one gets into a fight unless they feel pretty confident about winning - maybe it's because they are much bigger than you or maybe its because they have a knife, a gun, or 4 friends. It's generally better to not find out which.

That being said, if you do end up having to defend yourself we were taught to disable them then back away quickly. Ideally, don't turn your back to them and run. The only thing I'd really be aiming to break is their will to get back up and come at me.

Re: Ask HN: A martial art for a programmer

#96

Post by ryanelkins »

metamemetics wrote: post #91
ryanelkins wrote: post #47

I study Krav Maga. I prefer a practical self defense oriented approach. It is the system developed by and taught to the Israeli military. Moves are generally very simple (important so you can be effective without years of training). The problem with pretty much all other martial arts everyone is mentioning is that they have morphed to work ideally in a competitive environment. Sure, knowing just about any martial art…

For practical defense in mugging type situations, one of the biggest things to worry about is KNIVES. This video gives a lot of great points, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFr30p0aZl0 be sure to watch it to the end and not just the first half.

A practical defense to a mugging is really just to give them your money (or avoid places where you might be mugged). Even very skilled people have a high chance of being cut if attacked by someone with a knife. It's just not worth it over your wallet.

As for that video - all of that and not a single Shark OR Jet.

Re: Ask HN: A martial art for a programmer

#97

Post by zitterbewegung »

ryanelkins wrote: post #47

I study Krav Maga. I prefer a practical self defense oriented approach. It is the system developed by and taught to the Israeli military. Moves are generally very simple (important so you can be effective without years of training). The problem with pretty much all other martial arts everyone is mentioning is that they have morphed to work ideally in a competitive environment. Sure, knowing just about any martial art…

I was taught in hapkido to hit the person in the balls. We weren't allowed to do it in class obviously but we were told that was a valid technique.

Re: Ask HN: A martial art for a programmer

#98

Post by coryl »

My vote is for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (Gi or No Gi), Boxing, or Kickboxing (Muay thai).

I think BJJ will especially appeal to the nerd in you, I'm not sure why, but it does. The awesome thing about BJJ is you don't need to be very athletic to be good. Its also a very practical art and you'll get to spar everyday. In terms of self development, BJJ will crush your soul and teach you what your ego is all about. The BJJ journey is just a rewarding and frustrating as the startup journey, and you'll never stop learning new techniques and things about yourself. Good luck

Re: Ask HN: A martial art for a programmer

#99

Post by nazgulnarsil »

joe_the_user wrote: post #87
nazgulnarsil wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

one of the problems with grappling that BJJ doesn't address is that in many holds your opponent has the opportunity to stab you if they have a knife/shiv etc. this is most apparent in rear chokes. real self defense is not at all glamorous which is why it doesn't have the market that martial arts does. typically you're crushing or breaking something as fast as possible and then RUNNING. I remember I was particularly i…

"typically you're crushing or breaking something as fast as possible and then RUNNING" Typically , you're avoiding without getting involved. Occasionally, you're facing someone down or pushing someone away as quickly as possible and then running. Breaking bones? Is that something you expect to do easily? Also, if you manage to get one mega-pain-inflicting blow in mugging type situation, you might give the guy and his…

avoidance is a whole separate thing. sure you may talk about it in your martial arts class, but the majority of your time is spent learning about what to do when it fails yes? I'm just ignoring the avoidance scenarios.

in a mugging type situation you hand over your wallet. in an imminent death situation yes you do aim for eyes, breaking bones etc. and yes, it is easy to break bones with certain holds, so much so that accidentally breaking them is a genuine concern in class. properly applied joint locks are pretty nasty.

basing your arguments on counterfactuals seems kind of silly. things always could have been worse. the point is to minimize your risk of grievous bodily injury or death.

Re: Ask HN: A martial art for a programmer

#100

Post by philwelch »

joe_the_user wrote: post #89
philwelch wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Heh, that reminded me of this practical self defense oriented approach: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2REG3-Wb5gM "First you're going to want to get wrist control. Then, you pull out your gun."

You get that the video is comedy, no? Aikido gets a lot of bad press but it's worth remembering that comes from Aki-Jujitsu, which was created to allow armed samurai to gain control of unarmed opponents. It seem pretty obvious that if you've got a gun, you should put yourself in a position where you're wrestling with your opponent - keep them at the minimum at arm's length. I've heard that why Akido uses straight-arm…

I get that it's comedy.

Actually, if you've got a gun you want to stay about 20 feet away from your assailant. They've done tests on reaction time, and someone inside of 20 feet can easily close and attack with a knife by the time you draw your gun. Conversely, if you have balls of steel and want to defend yourself against an armed assailant, start within 20 feet and have a knife. Corollary: be capable of hitting a target at greater than 20 feet range. (Not difficult but requires practice.)

There's something to be said for concealed weapons as a self defense technique--it's among the easiest to learn and the most effective. A month of firearms training can defeat someone with years of training in traditional weapons (which is kind of the reason militaries switched to firearms in the first place).

Awareness, keeping your distance, and not getting into dangerous situations in the first place are most of what you need. If you're focused on winning a fight at all you're not focused on effective self defense. There are a lot of good reasons to get into martial arts, but being able to win street fights isn't one of them.

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