The skills taught in the Maai Hyoshi Dojo’s Combat Ninjutsu class are designed for use against a committed attacker. During a street confrontation you will not be given warning, nor be given the option to warm up. The common criminal will attack you from a blindside and will strike to knock you out and do serious harm. He will not fight like a martial artist and give you a fair chance or give you the opportunity to shape up and defend yourself. Also the attack may be preceded by verbal threats and intimidation intended to induce the ‘victim state’ and give the attacker dominance and control.
These people have no thought or care for anyone but themselves, drug addicts and junkies will rape, cheat and steal from anyone including their own families in order to get their next fix or rush. Under the influence of alcohol and drugs, logic goes out the window and trying to reason with someone in this state may get you hurt, seriously hurt. Do what has to be done to remove yourself from the situation, if you feel bad about having to hurt someone just look at the statistics for violence in the news, it’s not a pretty picture. Would you really rather be the victim?
Our goal in the Maai Hyoshi Dojo’s Combat Ninjutsu method is to end the fight or escape as quickly as possible. The last thing we want to do is go to the ground and wrestle for ten minutes trying to gain a submission nor do we want to dance around like a boxing match, as both situations may leave us open to other threats. The street fighter trains to end the fight as soon as possible utilising deception and distraction to set up his victim and may use only one or two techniques to fulfil his objective, whilst the martial artist trains numerous techniques, all with a different purpose, that in the long run may end up creating more confusion rather than allowing them the ability to control and dominate a confrontation.
The common martial artist trains in a safe environment with numerous rules and equipment to ensure safety, though this can be good, it can be very limiting in scope and may have dangerous consequences. If our goal is realistic street defence rather than a MMA style match. In an MMA fight I have prepared for the fight and I am taking part by choice or consent, this is not necessarily so in a street fight or real life confrontation. For example; an arm lock that is standard learning in Brazilian Jiujutsu, and sport Jujitsu is not effective in a street fight. Why would I want to give up a top position to fall on my back for a arm lock, am I going to break the arm, can I explain this to the police (“He looked at me funny officer and I thought he might hit me”) and do you really think that someone under the influence of alcohol and/drugs is going to tap out?
The techniques that are banned from most sport systems also seem to be the ones that can end a confrontation quickly, though possibly with injury to the attacker (But that is what you get for starting fights) and legal consequences for the defender if the actions do not suit the situation.
Our jails are full of people doing time for violent crimes, they are not there because they were skilled at doing arm locks or could twirl a stick three times and do a pretty technique, they wanted to hurt someone for one reason or another and just did it, it is that simple, really, the pretty jumping spinning back kick you train to defend against in the dojo will be replaced by a drunken dickhead who didn’t like you looking at his girlfriend’s arse and then smashes you in the face with a beer glass, I have seen this happen and it is not a pretty sight.
