People often watch martial arts movies and get a false impression about martial arts, unable to separate fiction from reality. They see actors with flashy moves and trick photography and believe it is so easy. Some even get a false sense of bravado and go around to challenge other schools. We had our share of challenges at the Authentic Karate Club on 35th Street in Norfolk, Virginia.
It never ceased to amaze me how people could just walk off of the street and have the nerve to challenge someone in a martial arts school. Such a person had to be terrific or delusional. I think some watched at least one too many karate flicks. They overestimated their skills or underestimated ours, but they would come in and challenge the instructor.
Sometimes a battle would break out over who would fight the intruder. Sometimes Master Hankins would offer the challenger the opportunity to pick an opponent. A few fools even managed to try to fight the instructor (which was the most folly choice of all). No matter what the choice, there was a no win situation for the challenger.
There is a proper way to conduct yourself if you want to go to someone’s school and test your skills. It begins with respect and humility, not with arrogance and false pride. It seemed many of the challengers were talented, but self-taught mostly. They judged their skills against untrained or little trained practitioners. It is a whole other level to face a person who is trained well in martial arts and knows how to fight and not just spar--there is a difference.
Some techniques which work well to score points in a tournament, don’t translate well in the street against determined and motivated fighters. Sadly, far too many people have mistaken these diluted techniques and tried to utilize them in a real fight, only to get their feelings and body hurt. I know, because I have inflicted such pain on too many disillusioned black belts and fantasizing fighters (they put me into that position).
I have a treasure trove of incidents where people came off the street, walked into the Authentic Karate Club, and got a rude awakening to what martial arts were all about. But I’ll save them for another time. Just realize there is a difference in tournament and real fighting, movies and reality.
