[POWERJIM]

But it is my experience that without constant and lengthy training in mental and physical methodologies, it is really hard to inculcate the rapid response reflexes needed in a real self-defense situation. I'm not saying such focused short workshops are entirely useless; I'm sure they serve some purpose, but as they are often structured, I don't think the benefits are as great as they are often touted, or as they could be if the whole situation was further studied by specialists in the field over a longer period of time.

Such short workshops may give a brief introduction to some simple safety and self-defense "tips," but students should always be forewarned that it will not turn them into a Jackie Chan overnight.

Nor should any of the aerobic-martial arts instructors give students a false sense that they can "kick butt" after doing aerobics-based martial arts, such as Tae Bo or kickboxing aerobics. I'm sure Tae Bo and the other spin offs are a great workout, and it will slim down and tone students, but unless it's augmented with traditional martial arts training, that emphasizes focus, power punching, proper balance for striking a real physical object, reaction drills and so on, aerobics-based martial arts' primary focus is on body fitness and toning, NOT self-defense. Ditto aerobic kickboxing. You may look great in a Spandex outfit, but it doesn't mean you can really kick butt in the street.

But if instructors in those courses are honest, they will admit to the limitations, as well as the possible benefits, of such courses. If so, then I have no quarrels with them.

For example (and here I know I'm going to get clobbered by some advocates), in some self-defense workshops a favorite practice is to have a guy dressed up in protective padding from top to bottom "assault" a student. The student fights back with punches, kicks and all the methods he/she learned in the few weeks' worth of training that the class offered. All other things being equal, that's not a bad exercise. But it's not a be-all and end-all.

You usually don't get attacked by someone in such padded gear unless you're on a football field carrying a football. Attackers will come in all shapes, sizes, assortments and numbers. They will come at you unarmed, armed with bladed weapons, and/or with guns. Heck, you could even be attacked by someone trying to run you over with an SUV in an instance of road rage.

So I concluded by telling the young man that self-defense courses may be good for a quick dose of self-confidence, and possibly some simple techniques that may or may not work. But it's not the be-all and end-all of everything; it's a quickie stop gap band aid for people who don't have the time to invest in long-term martial arts. And quickie stop gaps can't guarentee you anything permanent or long-lasting.

Thus, if he really was serious, he should take up martial arts, but realize that he should accept whatever martial arts he studies as having more than the limited goal of self-defense. He should realize that everything goes hand in hand; learning the mental and physical discipline, the body dynamics, the basics, all will tie in to his need to learn self-defense, by giving him a firm foundation that will accumulate over the years, like compounded interest in a bank account.

And like compounded interest, there's no quick road to profit. You just have to keep training and training, until the martial arts becomes a part of you. But which martial art is the best, he reitereated. I replied (getting into my dumb-jokes mode again), heck, even learning baseball is great. If you learn how to swing a bat and throw a baseball, then you can swing a stick or throw things at the guy. Or run like heck away from the attack.

Maybe he would enjoy the grappling and free-for-all randori of judo. Or he might prefer the clean and intricate techniques of aikido, or the punching and kicking of karate. Or he may opt to do something like Tae Kwon Do or Chinese Kung Fu, or Filipino Escrima, or Western style boxing. What mattered was that he find something he could stick with and study for years and years. I'm real open about that. I don't think my own martial arts is the best for everyone. He had to find something that would best fit his character and tastes.

I close with a true anecdote, relayed to me by a student of an aikido sensei long since passed away. One day, the sensei came into the dojo with a torn T-shirt. As everyone changed to their training gi, the student said, "Sensei, what happened to your shirt?"

The sensei said that a petty thief had accosted him in the street just before he went to the dojo and tried to rob him.

"What happened?" the student asked.

"I have to study aikido more..." the sensei said. "He tried to grab my shoulder and pull my wallet from my pocket, so I grabbed him and threw him, and he tore my T-shirt when I threw him. The punk was so surprised he got up and ran away. Oh, but I have to study aikido more..."

"Oh, but sensei, that's great. I mean, you threw the guy!" his student said.

"No, you don't understand. I threw him, but it was with a seoi nage (over-the-shoulder judo throw). That's not aikido. I have to study aikido more."

The sensei had studied judo as a young boy for years before he devoted himself to aikido. When faced with an immediate situation, his most basic reflexes kicked in and rather than react in an aikido fashion, he reverted back to the imprinting he received as a child. That is what disturbed the sensei; he realized he hadn't truly integrated aikido into his gut level reflexes as he had done with judo. And this is a sensei who had studied aikido for decades.

So the moral of the story, I guess, is that true self-defense is based on long term training, over and over again. Like a lot of things in life, there really is no quick, short term solution that lasts very long. You simply train. What is the best martial arts for self-defense? One that you have trained in for years and years and years.