Differences between the shooting and martial art communities

[Jericho941]

Probably because nobody spars with live ammo. I've seen people discount certain techniques like Ueichi-ryu simply because they rely heavily on torso strikes in sparring and katas for everything else, but there's really no way to usefully practice eye-gouges on a sparring partner without risk of serious, permanent injury.

That said, I have seen some people (usually with little to no experience with guns) view certain kinds of shooting with the sort of mysticism that usually stays in martial arts communities, like center axis relock, or weird notions about "meditation" and "earning your next shot" with bolt-action rifles.

[Kommander]

Probably because nobody spars with live ammo.

Granted, and it's fairly easy to hurt someone while sparing (ask the girl I kicked across the room last night after the instructor insisted that I kick the pad she was holding harder) but it's rather difficult to put holes in your femoral artery while doing so. Both activities are dangerous, and require certain safety measures to be taken, but blacking out info because it's "too lethal" while anyone can buy a gun strikes me as being a bit off.

That said, I have seen some people (usually with little to no experience with guns) view certain kinds of shooting with the sort of mysticism that usually stays in martial arts communities, like center axis relock, or weird notions about "meditation" and "earning your next shot" with bolt-action rifles.

Never heard of that "earning your next shot" business. I do know that when shooting for accuracy with a bolt action it helps if I can keep calm an "get in the zone" or what have you. There is a definite difference in my mind when I am just plinking versus trying to hit the steel at 300m.

[JAG2955]

I was very lucky in that my dojo (Isshinryu) was very realistic. Short of "Don't do this unless you have to, because it will kill a man.", they taught everything. I distinctly remember being taught how to choke someone out with a pair of nunchaku, along with how to break their neck with the same.

[The Wizard]

I was very lucky in that my dojo (Isshinryu) was very realistic. Short of "Don't do this unless you have to, because it will kill a man.", they taught everything. I distinctly remember being taught how to choke someone out with a pair of nunchaku, along with how to break their neck with the same.

My former shotokan dojo was much the same. "This is something you can do in sparring, this is something only done in a real life or death fight"

Things like the axe kick and throat strikes are a no go in live sparring, they are only practiced on the sparring dummy, groin strikes on the other hand... Well that's why you make sure to let everyone know if you aren't wearing a cup in class that day.

[BDK]

Shooting in a mental state akin to meditation is a pretty common idea - and one common to many/all athletic endeavors.

[PawPaw]

That said, I have seen some people (usually with little to no experience with guns) view certain kinds of shooting with the sort of mysticism that usually stays in martial arts communities, like center axis relock, or weird notions about "meditation" and "earning your next shot" with bolt-action rifles.

Uuuh, yeah, utter bullshit.

While I admit that there are days I can't shoot for crap, those days when I'm off my game, mysticism has nothing to do with it. Gunfigths are a "come as you are" event, and we don't get to chose when those things happen. The best instructors will tell you that a master shooter will make the shot, on demand. IT's simply a matter of technique and practice.

[MarkD]

No martial arts experience here, so I may be talking out my butt (wouldn't be the first time), but just a suspicion: Everyone knows that guns are dangerous. In fact, the uninitiated generally think guns (especially handguns) are MORE deadly than they are, from watching movies where people fly 20 feet backward from being hit with a 9mm. Among the first lessons we're taught is "Don't point a gun at anything you're not willing to destroy". So discussing defensive shooting technique with someone presupposes that the individual on the receiving end needs shooting. Of course when we practice such techniques we do so with targets that (a) we ARE willing to destroy and (b) don't bleed when hit. On those occasions when force-on-force practice is done we make damn sure we're not using lethal weapons (airsoft for instance).

Hand-to-hand is different. First, beginners often don't realize just how serious some of these techniques can be, so unless they're trained in "Don't do this unless you're life is at stake" they may be tempted to do so. After all, it's "just" a strike to the (insert body part), what could go wrong. Again, movies, a guy gets hit over the head with a 2x4, gets up, shakes himself off, and gets back into the fight. In reality he'd be laying there counting the birdies and stars. Second, people DO spar with other people, so it's safer to keep the newbies from knowing techniques that could kill or maim someone, until they have the level of training (and have demonstrated that they're not jerks) to use these techniques appropriately.

[Cybrludite]

Mark beat me to it. There isn't any sort of non-fatal techniques for the firearm. At best, a wound to the shoulder is crippling and a round in the leg can result in them bleeding out through the femoral.

[D5CAV]

Just look at the CDC statistics.

Most homicides are committed with blunt force trauma - administered with fists and feet. As PawPaw said, most violent encounters are "come as you are" events, and everyone has their hands and feet with them.

Firearms are number 3 on the list.

The nice thing about firearms is just flashing a firearm is usually enough to stop any violence - Something that is lost of hoplophobes.

[PawPaw]

Stumbling around the intertubes and I found a great video of a brachial plexus strike. One hit, guy goes down.

CLICK TO WATCH

What's hilarious about this sort of strike is that the guy walked across the street to get knocked out.