Keysi is designed specifically for street fighting against multiple attackers, so if it isn't better in those situations then it has a fatal design flaw. (Jason actually demonstrated some Muay Thai too showing the (dis)advantages of that method too.)

All styles have their (dis)advantages and in my experience most people with a genuine interest end up studying a whole range of different fighting styles.

For me Keysi was the one I was most attracted to for three reasons 1. its philosophies are grounded on free-expression of the authentic self, which is the grounding of my own philosophy of social interaction; which makes sense for me as combat is a form of social interaction 2. I wanted a form style designed for dealing with ambush situations where you are outnumbered and outgunned and Keysi is designed predominantly with those situations in mind 3. I was looking for an instructor whose attitude and approach I feel kinship with and certainly felt that after having a lengthy chat with Jason.


Mark, I'm not surprised you are interested in Krav Maga, I think it translates into English as Filthy Yid Style

There's a place that does it up your way in Fallowfield, if you are interested. I found a place in Hulme that I need to check out. I think my bus goes past it on the way home from work so it could be perfect for me. Just need to chat to the instructor and get a feel for his attitude and approach.


Peace,

kowalski

Forget all this 'matches my philosophy' bullshit K is on about, he doesn't understand philosophy anyway. I think the main reason he wanted to go was to avoid having any more of his thinning Michael Bolton perm pulled out.

^ This is what he wishes, hopes and prays it was like

Also he doesn't want his face to get any uglier, I found out he uses concealer to mask his true form from the world, true story!

I showed a bit to my flatmate you did karate for 5 years and I accidentally knocked him back into a shoe rack and he broke it. It teaches you to use your aggression and I found after he tried punching I got right in his face straight away so he backed off and into a wall.

I think Keysi wouldn't work well at distance but once you get up close its devastating, also the strikes lead into the next and Jason demonstrated how it could be used against a counter puncher who expects you to pull back (in this case the hand) after the strike instead of continuing forward (with the elbow) whilst still blocking.

Tom's only jealous because he's significantly younger than me and already thinning uncontrolably. This is Tom transitioning from an open stance to the Pensador ...



Peace,

kowalski

K, it sounds like its for Homosexuals.

Master A's has a great reputation, hes the son of Master Toddy who is a Legend in the Sport

K sounds interesting if as you say it was designed for taking on multiple attackers. I train Muay Thai myself and have had few interclub matches and before that I Boxed for quite a few years competitively and trained in MMA and submission wrestling (essentially BJJ without the Gi).

We did a drill in MMA class once where we took on three attackers. I think it was just something our instructor wanted to try out. The attackers were told to go all out with strikes to the body and 50% with head shots, the same for the defender. Basically what we discovered was that you'll get mullered 10 times out of 10 against any group of guys even approaching a similar skill level. Your biggest ally was movement and positioning. Basically try and keep an attacker between you and another attacker and avoid getting encircled or taken to the ground at all costs.

Multiple attackers always equals bad news. The only times it works out ok is if there is a significant difference in the level of fighting ability between the attackers and defender. If I ended up in a scrape with two trained guys even half my ability I'd be planning on writing my obituary.

True true Creed.

I did a knife class ages ago, the instructor was shit hot, could effortlessly snap the knife out of your hand and judo throw you on your arse.

At the end of the class we were chatting with him and we asked if he's every had a knife pulled on him. He said yeah a few times.

We said so... Did you fuck them up. To which he replied he did the smart thing and ran away...

MFI, that is your 1st post in 6 months, good one! I googled Master Toddy turns out he's a Muay Thai instructor. So let me get this straight ... you are advising the no-holds-barred ruthlessly aggressive and pragmatic fighting style I'm learning is for homosexuals and I'd be less gay if I took up a sport where contenders wear pads, gloves and (more pertinently) headbands, arm tassels and a skirt?!? Yeah ... that's not gay at all.

In seriousness though I have quite a lot of respect for Muay Thai (Tony Jaa is sick for starters), like many styles, it was originally created for self-defence in real-life situations but, like many styles, it has become entrenched with tradition, form, rules and restrictions as it was popularised and mutated into a sport. I suspect the same thing may happen to the disciplines I am currently interested in given time and popularity.

You are quite right about angles creed and much of the method involves moving in ways that shut down angles and, as you observed from your own training, getting very close to one opponent is one way of doing this, so Keysi teaches ways of doing that. An ideal example would be - turning one opponent around and laying into him from behind whilst simultaneously using him as a shield. It makes it a lot harder for anyone who is fighting with him, and therefore does not want to hurt him, to attack you if their bezzie mate is in the way. I remember when I was about 17 trying to help my mate who was being attacked between cars in a car park and struggling to get an effective shot in by going over and around the friend I did not want to hurt.

You and Simple Dave are also quite correct in your combined point that two or more skilled fighters would have a good chance of destroying you and that your best bet is to get the fuck out of any dangerous situation post haste.

Keysi is about split seconds not lengthy brawls. The style will rattle and confuse most opponents but, as Jason pointed out himself, a skilled fighter will work out what you are up to and adjust to compensate within a few seconds so you need to use the temporal advantage it gives you by filling it with ruthless debilitating aggression and, as Dave's highly skilled instructor told him he does, getting the fuck out of there at the first available opportunity. If such a situation arises I fully expect to Usain Bolt down the street rather than skillfully manage multiple opponents and find myself standing triumphantly in a circle of unconscious bodies. Still, the Sun Tzu advises you should learn the best ways to do the latter in preparation for a time when the grounds of battle do not allow the former.


Peace,

kowalski