# martial artists defeating muggers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [June 19, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-defeating-muggers/500311 "2009-06-19T18:30:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-defeating-muggers/500311/181 "2009-07-02T21:45:01Z")
> [@Tymp](#): > > Query: YB? “Yellow Bamboo”. Of the “stop any charging attacker with your chi without physically touching the target!” mindset. There’s a famous video on Youtube where the Australian skeptics society took them up on it. It’s several rounds of the YB practitioners standing on a beach in their special stance and then getting unceremoniously dumped into the sand by a dude. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-defeating-muggers/500311/182 "2009-07-02T22:54:44Z")
> [@Tymp](#): > > Regarding the hypothetical 50kg woman, I think that striking is effective for creating and maintaining space from an attacker, allowing for greater mobility and more opportunities for escape than grappling. That said, I think that take-down defenses and ground fighting skills are even more critical for women than they are for men. > > Query: YB? Well, so long as you have a rational basis for your stance then we just have a difference of opinion, which is OK with me. My real argument is with the irrational set; the ones who believe technique doesn’t matter, that size and strength don’t matter, and the ones (who haven’t posted to this thread, thank god) who think they can do stuff with the power of their chi. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2009, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-defeating-muggers/500311/183 "2009-07-03T06:52:40Z")
One aspect not mentioned is that kick-boxing is probably quicker to learn than Judo. So for Joe or Josephine Average, an hour spent at gym might have greater applicability than an hour at the Dojo. I used to train in Judo. I practiced for about 6 months when I was 7 years old and attained the rank of yellow belt. I was a scrawny kid lacking in balance, coordination and strength. I’ve never been in a street fight or a barroom brawl, but stuff happens in elementary school. I tried to avoid trouble, but sometimes my natural charm (ha!) wasn’t sufficient. At my level of mastery, Judo throws worked in the Dojo, but were not reliable on the rare times that I used them on the playground. The trips were effective, even with my poor technique. And learning how to fall was the one thing that actually stuck with me throughout my life. I’m just pointing this out, since while I know squat about the full range of martial arts, I am a world class expert at being a spaz. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-defeating-muggers/500311/184 "2009-07-06T20:17:46Z")
Thought this would be as good a place as any to post this link: [Criminal mugs 72-year-old boxer](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1196479/Pictured-The-battered-bruised-face-burglar-got-wrong-72-year-old-boxer.html) ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-defeating-muggers/500311/185 "2009-07-06T22:05:46Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > Thought this would be as good a place as any to post this link: > > [Criminal mugs 72-year-old boxer](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1196479/Pictured-The-battered-bruised-face-burglar-got-wrong-72-year-old-boxer.html) That’s funny. I wonder if his wife gave snuggle bunnies that night? 😛 The dude looked pretty tough at 16. Still does. Look at the guns on the dude in that boxing pic. I’m jealous! ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-defeating-muggers/500311/186 "2009-07-07T02:27:30Z")
Sorry about all the “dudes”. **DrDeth** , on the cell phone driving thread, got me started. ---
**Author:** ![Kenyth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kenyth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenyth)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-defeating-muggers/500311/187 "2009-07-15T16:10:25Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > God yes, same here. When I was 18, I had taken classes in female self defence. I had learned to deliver a killer backwards kick. Then, one night a couple months later, I stood waiting at a gas station, when I felt a hand stroking my butt. > > I don’t know why I looked behind me before I delivered that kick. As I wore heavy booties, my kick could have crushed a shinbone. But I looked over my shoulder before kicking. > > Behind me, his face on knee height, was a little toddler smiling up at me, his hand raised to pat my butt again to get my attention for whatever it was he wanted to show me. When you have little children of your own, these are the visions that terrify you at night. My 3 year old once put his hand on a pretty waitresses bottom while trying to get into a booth. She turned around looking as though she was going to strike someone. I know women have reason to be sensitive to unwelcome contact with their buttocks, but please look before you attempt to deliver a killing strike. ---
**Author:** ![Kenyth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kenyth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenyth)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-defeating-muggers/500311/188 "2009-07-15T16:35:25Z")
Also, please do not attack someone with a gun who just wants your wallet. Hollow point slugs do not merely “pierce”. They are designed to transfer the energy of the exploding gunpowder into the targets body in the form of hydrostatic shock. Ideally, the slug will actually stop inside the body, meaning that the energy has been completely transferred to the body. The concussive force shreds soft tissues and causes massive internal bleeding. The entry wound is only the tip of an injury iceberg. Gunshot wounds do not work like they do on TV or video games. A single shot to the torso or head is enough to kill anyone if it hits vital soft tissues. ---
**Author:** ![Tymp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Tymp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tymp)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-defeating-muggers/500311/189 "2009-07-15T17:12:31Z")
> [@Kenyth](#): > > Also, please do not attack someone with a gun who just wants your wallet. Assuming 1. that I know with absolute certainty that the gunman only wants my wallet and 2. that I know with absolute certainty that he will not change his mind after receiving said wallet and 3. that I know with absolute certainty that he will not get nervous and do more harm than he intends then, sure, I’ll take that as a rule. A .22 can kill you just as dead as a .45 hollow point. When you’ve judged that you must fight for your life, the type of ammunition you’re facing is merely a technical detail. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-defeating-muggers/500311/190 "2009-07-15T17:28:11Z")
> [@Tymp](#): > > Assuming > > 1. that I know with absolute certainty that the gunman only wants my wallet > and > 2. that I know with absolute certainty that he will not change his mind after receiving said wallet > and > 3. that I know with absolute certainty that he will not get nervous and do more harm than he intends > > then, sure, I’ll take that as a rule. > > A .22 can kill you just as dead as a .45 hollow point. When you’ve judged that you must fight for your life, the type of ammunition you’re facing is merely a technical detail. I’m not sure if **Kenyth** meant that the attacker had the gun, or the defender had it. ---
**Author:** ![Kenyth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kenyth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenyth)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-defeating-muggers/500311/191 "2009-07-15T18:26:30Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > I’m not sure if **Kenyth** meant that the attacker had the gun, or the defender had it. Assuming the attacker has the gun and only wants your things. That covers most muggings and robberies I’m guessing. ---
**Author:** ![Kenyth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kenyth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenyth)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-defeating-muggers/500311/192 "2009-07-15T18:41:39Z")
I only used the hollow point round as an example. Standard ball ammo does significant damage as well. The point was that a gunshot wound is a very deadly thing and “things” aren’t worth risking your life over. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-defeating-muggers/500311/193 "2009-07-15T18:57:23Z")
I don’t know about nowadays, but it used to be very rare that a mugger would shoot you once he got your valuables. ---
**Author:** ![SeanArenas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeanArenas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeanArenas)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-defeating-muggers/500311/194 "2009-07-16T04:48:01Z")
> [@Kenyth](#): > > I only used the hollow point round as an example. Standard ball ammo does significant damage as well. The point was that a gunshot wound is a very deadly thing and “things” aren’t worth risking your life over. A phrase many of us know: [QUOTE=Suze Orman] People first, then money, then things [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-defeating-muggers/500311/195 "2009-07-18T21:21:32Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > I don’t know about that. Watch America’s funniest Videos for a while. 😉 > Oh, you said “kicked”. It’s different when it’s a whiffle ball bat. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-defeating-muggers/500311/196 "2009-07-18T21:35:28Z")
I don’t understand why the guy who had the no-touch knockouts got all those students to go along with it, and why he agreed to fight the real martial artist if he knew he was a fraud. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-defeating-muggers/500311/197 "2009-07-19T00:27:44Z")
A follow up to Bob Sapp beating the kickboxing champion. Here is Mirko Cro Cop Filipović beating Bob Sapp. Bob Sapp outweighs him by about 100lbs. [http://www.wat.tv/video/mirko-cro-cop-filipovic-vs-a9up\_a9nj\_.html](http://www.wat.tv/video/mirko-cro-cop-filipovic-vs-a9up_a9nj_.html) ---
**Author:** ![SeanArenas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeanArenas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeanArenas)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-defeating-muggers/500311/198 "2009-07-19T08:40:47Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > A follow up to Bob Sapp beating the kickboxing champion. > > Here is Mirko Cro Cop Filipović beating Bob Sapp. Bob Sapp outweighs him by about 100lbs. > > [http://www.wat.tv/video/mirko-cro-cop-filipovic-vs-a9up\_a9nj\_.html](http://www.wat.tv/video/mirko-cro-cop-filipovic-vs-a9up_a9nj_.html) Wow what is that kick+strike he uses to put him down? That’s amazing. Bob Sapp looks like a giant, mean, muscular dude. He looks like a cartoon caricature of an unnaturally large fighter, not a person. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-defeating-muggers/500311/199 "2009-07-20T06:06:48Z")
Looked like a roundhouse a feint(jab) and a left hook to me. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-defeating-muggers/500311/200 "2009-07-20T10:03:27Z")
Looked more like Bob Sapp is a big crybaby, to me! 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-defeating-muggers/500311.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-defeating-muggers/500311.md?page=11)