CommonShore posted:

I'm not disputing that this whole picture is dumb and sad, but I sorta agree with this last statement, or at least one of the underlying premises. A punch thrown by a typical untrained computer programmer will be worthless and more likely to hurt said computer programmer's hand (his money maker!) than the attacker's face (especially if we consider that the attacker is probably at least a bit competent).

But this is why when I get asked self-defense questions I tell people to throw elbows, not dumbassed open-palm strikes which are only slightly less likely to hurt the computer programmer and no more likely to hurt the attacker.

quote:

I’m a MMA fighter and have done other martial arts too, I CrossFit as well. Will I really learn anything in a one-day course?

If you’re interested in mental & physical skills to help bridge the gap between MMA and street defense, then absolutely you should attend. There’s always something to learn about awareness, mind-set, fear management and close quarter defense.

If you’re coming to look for some hook or angle to apply to MMA and you aren’t attending for personal safety and skills development, you may leave unfulfilled. This is NOT a sport class.

Having said that, if you are a legitimate CrossFt athlete, you’ll love the course.

The Human Crouton posted:

I think the funniest self defense classes are always women's self defense because every defense is aimed toward exploiting attacks to the balls. Choke defense: balls. Wrist grab: balls. Head lock: balls.

The attacking male will always either attack balls first or stand open-legged once the attack has begun. Then the female victim will knee the attacker in the balls because the balls are a super weak point. Sometimes they will also try to scratch the attacker's eyes while attacking the balls.

JaySB posted:

Why are we encouraging people to strike in a self defense situation? Break the wrist and walk away.

Neon Belly posted:

The Human Crouton posted:

I think the funniest self defense classes are always women's self defense because every defense is aimed toward exploiting attacks to the balls. Choke defense: balls. Wrist grab: balls. Head lock: balls.

Whiskey A Go Go! posted:

It was just the instructor's attitude and claims during the whole session that was making me cynical about Crossfit Self Defense being practical. He kept pointing out how it was highly usable in any dangerous situation unlike like most martial arts, which I felt like he was mkaing a dig at me for wearing a rash-guard with my girlfriend's BBJ club on it. He also kept saying that having a "body forged by CrossFit" will allow you to make more sense of the motions and movement, which again, makes no sense. There was no sparring because it was "not a sport techniques" course.

kimbo305 posted:

[...] and got told that it was actually a women's only class because they taught techniques that they didn't to reveal to men.

CommonShore posted:

To get someone to let go of you so you can run away.

I guess that's another problem with punching and kicking in self-defense - if you're at a range where those can work, you're at a range where your Just Bought* Running Shoes can do their job. (excluding the "you're trapped in a dead end ally no options but fight to get out" fake scenario.)

kimbo305 posted:

I've said this before, but my friend in college tried to sign up for a self-defense class for PE credit, and got told that it was actually a women's only class because they taught techniques that they didn't to reveal to men.

JaySB posted:

I'm gonna be a pedant here. If someone grabs me and I punch or kick them we are officially fighting. If someone grabs me and I'm able to neutralize their grip and create distance there's a chance the situation can de-escalate.

Encouraging a 100lbs girl to punch or kick a 200lbs attacker will most likely end in utter disaster.

Defenestrategy posted:

Not limited to womens self defense. Also applies to dudes that learned grappling from historical Germanic texts on the art of wrasslin.

Ask me how biting and ball tapping = the best grappling historically.

Liquid Communism posted:

Tacos Al Pastor posted:

If I am in a fight and you attack my balls I am choking you the gently caress out.

The Human Crouton posted:

If attacking the balls is the counter to being choked, and choking is the counter to being attacked in the balls, then what happens?

willie_dee posted:

How debilitating is a ball strike? Is it literally impossible to not double over or can some guys power through?

willie_dee posted:

How debilitating is a ball strike? Is it literally impossible to not double over or can some guys power through?

old.flv posted:

Apologies willie but you did line that one up nicely.

Defenestrategy posted:

I took a foot jab to the balls while sparring one time without a cup. I finished out the two minutes remaining and then doubled over sucking for air. So I have to assume unless the strike is physically debilitating, i.e breaks, ruptures, or physically knocks you out you can fight through it.

Edit: liver shots maybe the exception. Ive taken one of those and have been dropped.

Defenestrategy posted:

Edit: liver shots maybe the exception. Ive taken one of those and have been dropped.

The Human Crouton posted:

I think liver shots actually cause a physical need to lie on your side to get blood to your brain.

http://fightland.vice.com/blog/fight-doctor---the-liver-kick posted:

Dr. Michael Kelly:
The capsule around the liver has a lot of nerve fibers. It’s directly linked to the autonomic nervous system. When there’s a sudden blow, there are dynamic pressure changes in the actual organ itself, and that stretching of the organ – if you compress one side it stretches on the other because it’s pliable – causes these nerves signals that go directly into the autonomic nervous system and can cause a complex cascade of events. It's something you can’t control mentally, and it causes a sudden dilation of all your blood vessels everywhere except for the brain. At the same time, your heart rate decreases. Normally, to maintain blood pressure, if your blood vessels dilate, your heart beats faster to maintain the pressure in the cardiovascular system, but if you dilate the blood vessels and drop the heart rate, the blood pressure suddenly drops dramatically. Essentially that’s what’s happening with the blow to the liver: The fighter takes a shot, you get this nerve signal going into the autonomic nervous system, your blood vessels dilate, the heart rate decreases, the blood pressure suddenly drops, and the athlete collapses. You can’t control it. You’re down.

The reason for the collapse is, when your blood pressure’s going down, your body tries to instinctively control the blood pressure, and if it can’t raise the heart rate or restrict the blood vessels, it puts the body in a supine position so that it can maintain some blood flow to the brain. Because if you lose blood pressure to the brain, obviously it’s not compatible with life.

Tacos Al Pastor posted:

If I am in a fight and you attack my balls I am choking you the gently caress out.

ihop posted:

I recall reading, possibly on these forums, that getting hit in the liver makes the receiver instantly feel like they've been lethally poisoned.

Defenestrategy posted:

This looks like the same book the weirdo I learned the aforementioned fact about ye olde grappling had pasted on his wall.

Of course, it could just be there are millions of these kinds of books and they all look alike.