Street Fighter Moves - Interview With David D"Antonio - You Don"t Need to Train For Years, Just Days
Charles:Now, there's a myth going around, we'll find out if you think it's a myth or if it's real, but a lot of people believe that when they enroll in a dojo or wherever it is that they're learning martial arts that they are actually on a program that usually takes them several months if not years to get to the point where they feel that they're masters and are able to protect themselves.
What is your take on that?Do you think a person needs years and years to learn how to fight to be able to protect themselves.
David:Absolutely not.
And here's the thing, Charles, and I'll be very brief on this.
Basically, there are a few ways to look at that.
Well, if you want to learn a traditional martial art for all of its beauty and what-have-you, then you're going to spend years in a dojo learning all of the intricacies and secrets of that art.
Charles: Hmmm.
David:But to really learn how to fight, you don't need to spend 3, 5, 10, 20 years in an art learning how to fight because true fighting is all about learning the minimal amount of techniques as opposed to the maximum techniques.
Charles: Wow.
David:The less techniques you learn, the less you need to recall in a time of a defense situation.
Charles: And, so how long would you think a person would basically need in order to be able to fight to protect themselves?How much time would they need? David:Well, truthfully, I know that someone can train with a good instructor in reality based fighting, and on a weekend,walk away from that weekend with fifteen to twenty techniques that will be ingrained into their DNA as automatic responses, involuntary responses to common attacks and to some uncommon attacks.
So in three or four days, you can walk away as a pretty decent fighter and to be able to defend yourself.
Charles: Wow.
So, then in other words, you don't need years to learn to fight.
You just need to learn to fight effectively in a very short amount of time which can be as little as, maybe, a weekend.
David:Exactly.
I like to call it "smart fighting".
Charles: Ahhh.
"Smart fighting".
That's in difference to just learning an art.
David:Right.
If you're going to spend a lifetime learning an art, that's great, and no one's going to fault you for that, but don't fall all over yourself with a false sense of security thinking that traditional katas and fancy silk pajamas equal self defense because they really don't.
Charles: Wow.
Well, David, now we know, and we feel much better that we don't have to spend the next three or four years of our lifetime to learn to defend ourselves during which time we may have to use what little we may have learned, and what we have learned may be very ineffective.
So, now we know that less is best in terms of street fighting, and we thank you again for this interview.
David:Thank you.
What is your take on that?Do you think a person needs years and years to learn how to fight to be able to protect themselves.
David:Absolutely not.
And here's the thing, Charles, and I'll be very brief on this.
Basically, there are a few ways to look at that.
Well, if you want to learn a traditional martial art for all of its beauty and what-have-you, then you're going to spend years in a dojo learning all of the intricacies and secrets of that art.
Charles: Hmmm.
David:But to really learn how to fight, you don't need to spend 3, 5, 10, 20 years in an art learning how to fight because true fighting is all about learning the minimal amount of techniques as opposed to the maximum techniques.
Charles: Wow.
David:The less techniques you learn, the less you need to recall in a time of a defense situation.
Charles: And, so how long would you think a person would basically need in order to be able to fight to protect themselves?How much time would they need? David:Well, truthfully, I know that someone can train with a good instructor in reality based fighting, and on a weekend,walk away from that weekend with fifteen to twenty techniques that will be ingrained into their DNA as automatic responses, involuntary responses to common attacks and to some uncommon attacks.
So in three or four days, you can walk away as a pretty decent fighter and to be able to defend yourself.
Charles: Wow.
So, then in other words, you don't need years to learn to fight.
You just need to learn to fight effectively in a very short amount of time which can be as little as, maybe, a weekend.
David:Exactly.
I like to call it "smart fighting".
Charles: Ahhh.
"Smart fighting".
That's in difference to just learning an art.
David:Right.
If you're going to spend a lifetime learning an art, that's great, and no one's going to fault you for that, but don't fall all over yourself with a false sense of security thinking that traditional katas and fancy silk pajamas equal self defense because they really don't.
Charles: Wow.
Well, David, now we know, and we feel much better that we don't have to spend the next three or four years of our lifetime to learn to defend ourselves during which time we may have to use what little we may have learned, and what we have learned may be very ineffective.
So, now we know that less is best in terms of street fighting, and we thank you again for this interview.
David:Thank you.