Martial Arts

[Guest guest]

I am so glad that the list has touched on my other great passion, the Martial

Arts. I am also glad to read the

value that some of you put on the mental and spiritual aspect of those arts. I

started in the Martial Arts at

the age of fourteen, but it was not until I was in my forties that I began to

understand these aspects.

I don't believe there is any true-best Martial art, although for street fighting

I tend to prefer a combination

of kickboxing and grappling. Having taught these techniques to police officers,

I have some real first hand

knowledge of what works and what does not.

My true passion is for Judo which seems to go hand in hand with powerlifting.

In our police academy we teach

the new combination Pressure Point Control Tactics including strikes to nerve

areas, etc. These are quite

effective on those who can feel pain; however, many of our clients are self

medicated and do not respond to pain well.

I have studied the Gracie system and have found many of the chokes and joint

locks to be quite effective.

I agree with the comments about it being quite hard to hit the nose in a fight.

In fact I was a kickboxer for over

ten years and generally worked the body of my opponent very hard until the head

became a target after his hands

began to lower. My favorite target at that point was the lower right side of

the jaw. A spinning backfist delivered

to this area with a powerlifter's strength usually finishes the fight with a

knockout.

Hope I don't sound too brutal here. My first line of defense is always to walk

away, secondly to try to negotiate,

and only as a last resort to fight. The older I get the wiser the walking away

choice becomes.

Eddie White

Blue Springs, Mo.