Michael Brown
12-13-2005, 02:35 PM
If you ever hear someone, or yourself even, say something along these lines, know that you ought to reconsider listening to that person or rethinking your own strategy.
"I don't practice a lot or work out but if you get me mad, I'm a mean SOB!"
"All that training don't mean nothing against a tough ol' boy like me."
This is the thinking of the uncommitted and delusional person. Interestingly the people who use this type of logic never seem willing to prove their "thesis".
This is not to say that you CAN'T survive in combat without training. It just means you have increased your odds dramatically if you engage in realistic training on an on-going basis.
As the common saying goes, you will not rise to the occasion. You will default to your level of training.
Only in personal combat does anybody believe they don't need to practice in order to be effective. There is no other worthwhile activity where people believe they can participate without practice.
For instance, Mark McGwire is one of the best home run hitters of all time. He says that when he's not practicing physically, he's visualizing his swing. Does anybody really believe that Michael Jordan is JUST a physical phenom or did he take extraordinary talent and hone it with a work ethic beyond belief?
Both of these individuals have God-given gifts, but neither would be a serious pro athlete without intensive practice.
The reason most of us can fly safely on a major airline is because the pilots spend endless, mind-numbing hours in a flight simulator practicing the stimulus-response skills that will save the plane in the event of disaster. Does anybody really want to fly on a plane where the pilots say, "Aw I can do this, I don't need to practice"?
Why would you do so when your own safety is on the line in personal combat?
Why do we think that just because we are red-blooded American males that we have the ability to fight like a wolverine, shoot like Davey Crockett, drive like Dale Earnhardt, and make love like John Holmes?
The answer is unless you are one of a VERY select few, you probably can't without a lot of practice. If you think you're one of the select few good luck, but you're probably deluding yourself.
That's not intended to be a challenge to anyone's manhood. Its simply a fact. I include myself in this group and that is why I train daily. I try not to let a day go by where I don't do SOMETHING to increase my readiness. I do this because I am NOT one of the select few. I need every edge I can get.
You will not be able to operate in the fore-brain unless you have practiced doing so. Watching a John Wayne movie and being able to quote him doesn't count. :wink2:
Being a great talker and verbal tough guy doesn't help you after you get hit in the mouth.
For this reason I spend thousands of dollars each year and uncounted hours of time trying to get better. I'm not an expert on these matters but I am definitely an extremely serious student. Its definitely a personal choice and not everyone need or wants to be this committed but you do need to realize the consequences of the choices you make.
I certainly don't have all the answers but I am constantly seeking those answers out. I generally find that if I listen to other people (i.e. seeking out other instructors and remaining a perpetual student) I find more and more pieces of the puzzle.
If you choose not to practice the skills you need in a fight (if you have even sought the skills in the first place), you cannot expect them to save you when the chips are down.
You can certainly win a fight with no training at all. You can also survive a jump from an airplane without a parachute. The odds are simply greater if you DO train and wear a parachute. If you believe that your adversary will be the lowest common denominator, you are asking luck to handle your problem for you.
Personally I consider myself very lucky but I also find that as Louis Pasteur said, "Chance favors the prepared."
The choice to get training or not is yours. You can certainly learn to navigate the Alps by yourself, but its easier with a guide and a map. An instructor is your guide and map. It doesn't guarantee anything but the odds are with you by doing so.
Even if you choose not to get professional training, consider the need to practice the needed skills on your own on an on-going, regular basis. Reading American Handgunner and buying a cool blaster doesn't count either.:wink2:
If you don't train, those skills won't help you when you need them.
Opinions vary but only YOU will have to answer when YOU are faced with the problem. I'd love to be there to help you when the chips are down but odds are I won't be.:nolike:
Train hard and train regularly. You're the only one who will live with the consequences of your choices.
Personally, I'll take Pasteur's advice.
Michael Brown
"I don't practice a lot or work out but if you get me mad, I'm a mean SOB!"
"All that training don't mean nothing against a tough ol' boy like me."
This is the thinking of the uncommitted and delusional person. Interestingly the people who use this type of logic never seem willing to prove their "thesis".
This is not to say that you CAN'T survive in combat without training. It just means you have increased your odds dramatically if you engage in realistic training on an on-going basis.
As the common saying goes, you will not rise to the occasion. You will default to your level of training.
Only in personal combat does anybody believe they don't need to practice in order to be effective. There is no other worthwhile activity where people believe they can participate without practice.
For instance, Mark McGwire is one of the best home run hitters of all time. He says that when he's not practicing physically, he's visualizing his swing. Does anybody really believe that Michael Jordan is JUST a physical phenom or did he take extraordinary talent and hone it with a work ethic beyond belief?
Both of these individuals have God-given gifts, but neither would be a serious pro athlete without intensive practice.
The reason most of us can fly safely on a major airline is because the pilots spend endless, mind-numbing hours in a flight simulator practicing the stimulus-response skills that will save the plane in the event of disaster. Does anybody really want to fly on a plane where the pilots say, "Aw I can do this, I don't need to practice"?
Why would you do so when your own safety is on the line in personal combat?
Why do we think that just because we are red-blooded American males that we have the ability to fight like a wolverine, shoot like Davey Crockett, drive like Dale Earnhardt, and make love like John Holmes?
The answer is unless you are one of a VERY select few, you probably can't without a lot of practice. If you think you're one of the select few good luck, but you're probably deluding yourself.
That's not intended to be a challenge to anyone's manhood. Its simply a fact. I include myself in this group and that is why I train daily. I try not to let a day go by where I don't do SOMETHING to increase my readiness. I do this because I am NOT one of the select few. I need every edge I can get.
You will not be able to operate in the fore-brain unless you have practiced doing so. Watching a John Wayne movie and being able to quote him doesn't count. :wink2:
Being a great talker and verbal tough guy doesn't help you after you get hit in the mouth.
For this reason I spend thousands of dollars each year and uncounted hours of time trying to get better. I'm not an expert on these matters but I am definitely an extremely serious student. Its definitely a personal choice and not everyone need or wants to be this committed but you do need to realize the consequences of the choices you make.
I certainly don't have all the answers but I am constantly seeking those answers out. I generally find that if I listen to other people (i.e. seeking out other instructors and remaining a perpetual student) I find more and more pieces of the puzzle.
If you choose not to practice the skills you need in a fight (if you have even sought the skills in the first place), you cannot expect them to save you when the chips are down.
You can certainly win a fight with no training at all. You can also survive a jump from an airplane without a parachute. The odds are simply greater if you DO train and wear a parachute. If you believe that your adversary will be the lowest common denominator, you are asking luck to handle your problem for you.
Personally I consider myself very lucky but I also find that as Louis Pasteur said, "Chance favors the prepared."
The choice to get training or not is yours. You can certainly learn to navigate the Alps by yourself, but its easier with a guide and a map. An instructor is your guide and map. It doesn't guarantee anything but the odds are with you by doing so.
Even if you choose not to get professional training, consider the need to practice the needed skills on your own on an on-going, regular basis. Reading American Handgunner and buying a cool blaster doesn't count either.:wink2:
If you don't train, those skills won't help you when you need them.
Opinions vary but only YOU will have to answer when YOU are faced with the problem. I'd love to be there to help you when the chips are down but odds are I won't be.:nolike:
Train hard and train regularly. You're the only one who will live with the consequences of your choices.
Personally, I'll take Pasteur's advice.
Michael Brown
