Getting mugged

[Tomek]

Ouch!. Did they manage to catch the culprit?

Nope, and I'm not counting on that. They're probably too busy hunting cults...

 

[kenlee]

This attack also serves its purpose as a shock. As several members hinted, I've checked a dojo to attend martial arts training, I'll subscribe to it as soon as my financial situation will improve, by the end of the month.

That's really good Polonel! Even if you can't train right away because of finances the very act of thinking about self defense training and preparing yourself for it is a good start IMO. This will make you more aware just from doing that. But my advice is to be sure to actually follow thru with actually doing it at some point, with whatever you decide to do. Some dojo's want a contract signed so if your financially strapped you might want to find a dojo that will let you pay weekly or monthly. Also you might want to also consider just taking a basic self defense course tailor made for street level attacks. That might be cheaper and it's good because it's still practical. The most important thing, the hardest part, the true test, is taking a punch and then coming back and your doing exactly that by posting here after your experience and then actively looking for practical ways to be more aware, confident and defending yourself. Good luck! :)

 

[Knobbingham]

I see this thread is a few months old. As several people mentioned, the study of self-defense and physical awareness should be closely linked with any any pursuit of self-improvement.

One was a little back, silent, the other has started to knock of questions:

Good observation. This guy is the one who (in 1 out of 10) will usually initiate the fight and the one you should be watching closely. He is not there to take part in the conversation. He may also be readying a weapon.

I have been studying jiu-jitsu for a short period of time (about 1 year) and highly recommend it. It has quite a few theoretical (human anatomy, weak points) and practical applications. Wrestling can also help you build physical confidence, as it teaches you how to get the most results with a minimal application of force.

The worst thing you can do is to start carrying a weapon when you leave your house. Chances are that you will more readily use it if you do (especially being a victim of past muggings) and there is a chance that someone can take it and use it against you. If you use a knife in 'self-defense', crime investigations will indicate that not only did YOU initiate the fight, but you also responded with lethal violence. And the mugger will come off looking like a victim of the crime.

I can recommend anyone to study improvised weapon techniques. There are many videos available online. Most people are armed with a few weapons when leaving their homes. As always, expect the unexpected.

 

[Knobbingham]

He's the one who (in 1 out of 10)

Meant to be 9 out of 10, if you remain passive during a the conversation that usually precedes the mugging. Oh, I'm looking forward to being able to edit my own posts.

 

[darksai]

Well... There's so many martial arts classes available in my city, I'll do some researchs before signing. If you have some suggestions, that would be great !

Any Karate or Gung-Fu school should be OK IMO. You might want to tell the instructor why your there and what happened to you and I'm sure that he'll have specific advice for you on how to deal with and prevent these kind of situations from happening. Maybe try to find a dojo where you might eventually do some sparring so that your body gets the feel of dealing with an aggressive opponent attacking you (actually it's only an approximation to that since its much more intense in a real street situation where the adrenaline is pumping) but its still good training for the body so that your body intelligence learns to 'understand' these kinds of situations and gets the feel of it all.

When you become somewhat proficient in the training then your body will become more sensitive to the kind of bums that jumped you the other day. It's like if there is a situation forming around you that's potentially threatening then your body might start to pick up on it because of the training (like an antennae) even though your everyday 'conscious' mind is not aware of anything unusual. Kinda like a warning system. Then your conscious mind might start to suddenly notice things because its more connected to the body because of your training. Your attention, even though it might be occupied with something, may suddenly for no reason shift it's focus in this direction or that direction because your body may be telling you something and now your a little more sensitive and responsive to this communication. This doesn't mean that there is necessarily anything threatening around you but if there is then your chances of picking up on it will have increased. Your training can be a lota fun too!

The problem with these is that are still sports, and as such, one trains to "fight" in artificial conditions (rules like not attacking in certain ways or parts of the body) only and these conditions give biases to physical stature, depending on the style as well was that some styles would be ineffective vs others. Having done some training in Bujinkan Taijutsu (literally "body technique"), I would go so far as to say that it is a "true" martial art of self defense, or at least closest you'll find today. I would highly recommend that anyone wanting to train for defense look into the Bujinkan first and see if there are any dojos/qualified teachers near you. Be sure to check their training lineage, that it goes back to Masaaki Hatsumi (still going strong!).
What really sets it apart from other martial arts is that the emphasis is not on specific maneuvers (while this is necessary to learn to begin with) but rather on understanding your own and opponents' bodies and fundamental principles in order to survive, as the actual physical training is (in general) always under the assumption that your attacker has already shown or may be likely to cause grievous harm to you or a loved one (yes, strong emphasis is placed on discernment and vigilance in this regard).

Here's a short video briefly describing the 9 schools of martial arts that Bujinkan has been built upon, though I emphasize.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlKhygs3yuI

And personal history on the original founder (>1 hour):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMy312IoJIk

 

[supriyanoel]

Something happened that you were aware of and it seems you were not disconnected from this reality, but rather removed yourself from their reality. I n other words, you refused to get involved without trying. Maybe that IS due to the WORK you are consciously doing. IT worked YOU. All that happened is some material was removed that has nothing to do with who you really are. And thankfully of a lesser degree of attachment than a wound of the body. Of coarse it is the nature of the ego to judge subjectively after the fact. That is a choice that you have control of and can make a decision about who you choose to be because of it. Another step in a lesson learned however long it take to realize. You cannot NOT realize it with the tools you have been given. I hope you feel lighter soon. And you will. The egos no match for the truth.0 match.