The
VITAL Tour -- Street Fighters
Well, if we really want to be
able to fight (sarcasm), we should get some hardened street
thugs and gang member to show us how to do it. These guys
have to know what they are doing, because if they didn’t
they would be dead by now, right? I’m sure they have been
in hundreds if not thousands of brutal gang fights. They
know best what violence is all about because they have
dealt it out over the years. But now that they are
reformed, they are trying to teach you what to do to save
yourself from thugs like them.
Sounds good doesn’t it? Again, poor solutions being offered
up to the public that is thirsty for something that really
works. All you have to do is come up with a line of logic
that makes sense in only the most superficial way. You get
some people who buy (literally) into it hook, line, and
sinker. How about this one:
A fighting style discovered from the German think tank that
invented the Nazi’s fighting method of WWII. Now, for the
first time, you can learn the deadly SS fighting secrets
that elite Nazi soldiers were taught in secret. It’s
guaranteed to work because it worked time and time again on
the German warpath. Each of the 35 DVD’s can be yours for
just $49.99 each. Just enter in the coupon code: “Sucker4u”
to get your discount.
Actually, we don’t really need to make up our own sales
pitch for these so-called street fighters. Here’s one
example straight of the back of a Hardcore Street Fighting
DVD cover:
“You
see, has studied martial arts since he was five years old.
Multiple black belts in Korean and Japanese martial arts. A
certified expert in a hand-to-hand street combat that
scares the rest of the world. Won the “Master Instructor of
the Year” award, and is in the International Black Belt
hall of Fame. His resume just goes on and on. This guy is
the REAL THING. He won his first fight before the end of
kindergarten… and hasn’t lost yet, almost thirty-two years
later. Got that? He’s NEVER LOST a fight. He’s been in
hundreds of brutal street brawls. Hundreds. And a total of
97 of them ended in a matter of mere seconds with his
opponent lying sprawled on the street unconscious. In one
fight alone took-on and defeated 60 street-hardened
gang-bangers in a vicious two-hour “witnessed-and-verified”
battle. He can take down ANY fighter, trained in ANY
system, in just seconds. But what he EXCELS in is defeating
multiple attackers. And it doesn’t matter if they’re armed
and you’re barehanded. [He] developed the most kick-a**,
guaranteed-win, simple-yet-deadly system the world has ever
seen. With this knowledge, you can demolish black belts,
and humiliate multiple attackers twice your size. And… it’s
all EASY to learn.”
Wow… where to begin with this
load of tripe. Do we even need to dive into it at this
point? We hope you can clearly see what garbage this is.
This is just one example of a sea of products and programs
out there that claims to be able to make you a street
fighting master. Just like most industries, the
self-defense industry has it fair share of snake oil
salesmen.
Would you want your kids to be trained by a guy who
couldn’t get himself out of hundreds of street fights?
Either he is lying (most likely), or he has a despicable
character (or both). We have heard a quote one time that
stated “A true master could defeat their enemies with one
move before they even realize it”. Here at VITAL, we say
that a true master has no enemies.
Again, maybe the street fighter instructor really does know
how to brawl. However, what about all the other parts of
violence that aren’t brawling? We would trade being the
world most awesome fighter for being the world best
circumventor / avoider / diffuser any day of the week.
Plus, even if you just learn from this thug about the
physical fighting part, we bet it relies heavily on skill,
athleticism, brute strength, nimble speed, and definitely a
whole boatload of machismo. It would be the right choice
for may ordinary people out there.
SIDE NOTE: Most of the 10 flaws with martial arts used for
self-defense purposes also apply to Street Fighting:
#1. Narrow vision of violence with limited response options
#2. A foundation built on fighting with techniques
#3. Lack of psychological and physiological considerations
#4. Omission of preventative and pre-contact
counter-measures
#5. Exclusion of medical, legal, and emotional aftermath
issues
#6. Male-centric with size, speed, strength, and macho
aggression prevalent
#8. Ineffective and antithetical educational methodology
#10. Absence of criminological and violence mindset
information