A couple of minor encounters, one major encounter which resulted in the other guy visiting the hospital before he went to jail.
Two guys tried to abduct one of my students. One got a broken wrist and a cardoor slammed on his head.
I use it every time. Does it mean that I [Shang Tsung]FINISH HIM!!![/Shang Tsung] with some ridiculously slow and complicated butterfly kick to the head, a la Jean Claude Van Damme*? No, but the simple principles I’ve learned, to wit:
- how to make a fist so that you don’t break your wrist or fingers when you punch someone (thank you, Tae Kwon Do!)
- how to roll with a punch so that it dazes me instead of knocking me out cold (thank you, Western boxing!)
- how to use an aggressive opponent’s momentum and mass to put him down without seriously injuring him or myself (thank you, judo!)
…come into play every time. And I’m not an especially tough guy, and I’m definitely not one who gets in a lot of fights.
- Van Damme. Was there ever a movie martial artist whose technique looked more real-world useless?
The slapping is not a good idea in real life even on a flat solid floor it will jar you arm and is unnecessary as long as you have enough presance of mind to not try to brake the fall with your outstretched arm or fall onto your arm.
Slapping stops you from trying to break the fall by putting your arms straight out (which would tend to damage or break your wrist) but it has no advantage over having your arms tucked into your body when falling and has a great disadvantage if falling on an irregular surface. Judo is surprisingly bad at dealing with falls because the rules of judo allow only throwing an opponent onto there back whilst fighting on padded matts. Unless Jujitsu training is added or the Judoka take time to learn how to roll safely on hard floors then there breakfalls may not translate well to the real world.
Since everyone’s doing cool non-fight anecdotes as well, I’ll add some…
I had a very drunk homeless guy in a park come up and pull out a knife and approach me. Not much of a knife, just a foldable Swiss Army, but he did have the blade out instead of the can opener, so I felt threatened.
I dropped into my best ready stance, and was surprised how my brain instantly clicked over from “startled” to “I’m ready to clinically and methodically destroy his appendages”. I fortunately didn’t have to try, as the guy was more shocked than I at that point, and wandered away muttering to himself.
Learning MA greatly helped my soccer game on the field. I can easily unbalance and control opposing players with very subtle hip and knee positioning, making much large and stronger guys tumble off/over me while I keep going with the ball.
Also, as a goalie, I use a Wing Chun ready stance. The loaded spring-energy of the stance is designed for instant side/side/fwd/back reflex motion and has improved my goalkeeping greatly. I even stopped a hard PK kick near the post last week 
Shaolin Soccer, baby!!!
My Tae Kwon do instructor taught us early on that running away is the best defense, and that you should stand your ground only as a last resort. In the only situation in which I felt I was in physical danger, I did that and it worked.
Your instructor is quite correct. The art of Haul-Ass-Do is the best defense.
I was a TKD instructor for years, and never once had to fight outside a ring. For most people learning a fighting art wont make them a better fighter, but it will get you in shape. And considering the vast majority of fights end up on the ground wrestling anyway, best thing you can be, is in shape.
And like ITR’s instructor did, I always told my students “You may not be able to outfight everyone, but keep working out and you will be able to outrun and outlast em!”
Yep - my Hap Ki Do instructor said as a woman (and probably a man) the best thing to do is kick someone in the shin and run like hell. While delivering a WWE style smack down makes for a much more satisfying fantasy, it’s probably just doesn’t have a lot of real-world applications.
FWIW, I’ve also used my training to fall better. I fall down quite a bit, so this is a good thing.
I’ve never needed to use my martial arts training. Not in my civilian identity, anyway.
How much wheedling would it would take to get you to tell this story?
I studied Karate for less than two years, but it was there for me when I needed it.
Once, as I was walking down a dimly lit street in DC, I approached two young guys, who I’ll refer to as “the basketball player” and “the bull”, on the sidewalk. A moment after I passed them, I had an urge to turn around, and as I did, I saw “the basketball player” throwing a haymaker aimed at my head. I reacted instinctively, intercepting his arm and toppling him with a palm-heel strike to the solar plexus. I turned my attention to “the bull” who, as he took a step backward, didn’t seem to want to engage me, so I quickly fucked off, and that was that.
Another time I was entering a bar as four drunks were emerging. As the last of them walked past me, he decided to try to grab me, so I spun him around and flung him at his friends, stepped quickly into the bar, and again, that was that.
When I compare the cost of the karate classes I took to the potential costs of the medical bills I avoided, I tell myself that I gotta get back into the dojo.