I’ve been asked some questions more than others over the years. This Fearless Fighting Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document has been made to answer these common questions.

Question #1: Which martial art do you think is the best?
Answer: It depends on a lot of different things. Some martial arts are more brutal than others, but simply being more brutal doesn’t always make it better. A lot of it depends on your body type. Some arts lend themselves better to people with a certain kind of build. Wing Tsun, for instance, was created so that smaller, weaker martial artists could win against larger, stronger opponents. In this it accomodates many different body types. I’d have to say that kickboxing favors larger, stronger people. It’s still one of my favorites, which brings me to the next condition. Your personality has a lot to do with what is “best”. You’ll do better in a fighting system that you relate to. How do you know what you relate to? Go to some schools to check them out. Most will allow you 1-3 free lessons to see if you’re a good fit. Some arts have, over time, changed into more of a sport or health exercise. In this they have lost much of their combat value.

Don’t choose a martial art that has a lot of flowery, super-cool looking moves. They’re great, but they’re not directly meant for fighting. Yes, every martial art is based on combat moves, but adhere to the KISS principle. Keep It Simple Stupid. The more basic movements are better.

If I had to cast my vote, I’d say that kickboxing and Wing Tsun are my 1st choices.

Question #2: What training is the best for getting a person ready to fight?
Answer: The best training I ever received to prepare for real fighting was in a kickboxing class, and took about 1 second. The class was asked which of us wanted to participate in sparring. A lot of us jumped up immediately. The instructor told us there was a requirement that had to be passed before sparring. He lined us up, put on one glove, and walked down the line, punching each person in the face. He wasn’t punching to knock us down, but he hit every person hard enough to rock them back a step or two. When you aren’t used to the feeling of getting hit, it’s a serious shock. Your entire system just freezes for a half second or so. That doesn’t sound like much, but it’s more than enough to get you killed. Also, people not used to being hit often blink. It’s an instinctive reaction to save your eyes. Unfortunately, when you do that the next thing you often see is a large set of knuckles roughly 1 inch from your face. In a real fight, only blink if a strike actually hits the area of your eye. Even then, keep the other eye open, always.

Question #3: Should I start conditioning my hands?
Answer: Not if you’re just starting out. If you do it incorrectly, you can really screw up your hands. I’m talking nerve damage and arthritis. Hitting a heavy bag for a few minutes a day is plenty in the first phase of training. Make sure you wear bag gloves. If you don’t, you’ll tear the skin between your knuckles, and split skin takes a long time to heal. If you don’t know how to throw a proper punch, get some help prior to hitting the heavy bag. It’s easy to injure your wrists if you don’t hold your fist correctly. If you have some training experience, and hitting the heavy bag for 10 minutes doesn’t leave your hands feeling bruised, you can consider hand conditioning. I said consider. It’s best to start with Iron Palm Chi Gung. I’ll post that in a video link later. It’s not complicated, but it must be done correctly.

Question #4: If I become really good at a martial art, will I really be able to defend myself in a real fight?
Answer: That depends entirely on you. You must train your body if you want to be able to fight, but most of a fight is in your head. If you’re a black belt, and someone gave you some grief in the ticket line for a movie, and you were scared and uncertain, the answer to question #4 is probably no. Your state of mind will win or lose most fights. You must not only have skills, but you also have to believe in them. There are other considerations. You must be willing to cause injury to another person. That sounds stupid, and most people will think that they certainly would when the time came. You’d be surprised at how many people hesitate at the critical moment. This hesitation is noble, because it means you value life. Don’t give up your values, but realize that, in some situations, you have to “flip a switch” in your head, and decide that it’s OK to cause pain and/or injury. ONLY in the context of preserving life and limb. This is not a site dedicated to training sociopaths.

Question #5: I’m ready to get started. What do I do?
Answer: If you’re not training with weights, start immediately. Machines that guide the weight for you are mostly a waste of your time. Grab the free weights. If you’re not currently studying a martial art, you may want to think about it. It’s not strictly necessary in order to be able to fight, but it really helps. Choose something geared towards actual combat. Refer to the answer of question #1 for ideas. Get yourself into the Fearless Fighting mindset. You have to set aside the thoughts that aren’t useful in a fight, and develop those that are. Think in terms of doing, rather than being. What do I mean? When someone is trying to hit you, it’s common to freeze up and cover your face. A person doing this is thinking of “being”. They are afraid of the aggression, afraid of the possible injury or even death. They are trapped in this thinking. You must think of “doing” instead. When you avoid a strike, at that moment you’re not preserving your life and limb. You’re simply moving. That’s an important distinction to make. You didn’t just narrowly avoid getting hurt. You dodged an object. I’ll talk more of this in a future post.