| |
|
Firstly, the law is the exact last thing you should worry about. The exact last thing.
Good Intentions (and you may well have 'em), with respect, that's bollocks. Any self-defence instructor worth, well anything should be familar with the laws of the land regarding assault and self-defence and should be able to instruct you in them, and how they apply to the situations you might face. For instance, not being familar with these laws is responsible for the lametable state of a lot of martial arts defences i.e. he strikes, then I block, which normally work as well as a chocolate fireguard. Familarity with UK Law will tell you that if - and only if - you are convinced you are in genuine danger, it is legal to strike first. Thus the doctrine of pre-emptive striking which is a lot more effective than having to defend yourself while someone is trying to hit you.
Another instance - if you have been involved in a real confrontation, you will required to give a statement to police. Knowing what to say here and how to present your case i.e. referring to genuine fear of an assault that was imminent may well save you from doing jail time. In the aftermath of a fight, the police will not normally look favourable upon the person left standing, unless he can convince them that he was not the aggressor which can be shall we say, an uphill struggle. Loudly proclaimeing your non-violent intentions and desire to be left alone before witnesses is also useful here if it's possible.
A final instance - knowing the laws about reasonable force. If you stamp on someone's ankle when they are unconscious, or otherwise incapciated, you will go to prison. If you carry out this ation and then cannot give a reasonable justification for it, one that emphasises, convincingly, why it was justified in the cause of your continued safey, then you are fucked, basically. UK Law states that you must cease any assault immediately when the threat is nullified. There's plenty of people doing time in UK prisons because they didn't heed this. Tony Martin is probably the most famous example of disproportionate use of force in the UK, but there's plenty of others.
As they saw, "ignorance of the law is no defence". If you're interested in self-defence, not being familar with the law is fucking stupid, to be frank.
As for your other criticisms, I find them nitpicking to be honest. You're ignoring what the video actually is, a short promotional tool for her, probably provided free of charge to give Video Jug some content. All it offers is brief coverage of some simple techniques. It's not "Definitve Street Fighting Vol 1" and doesn't deserve critque as such.
Does anyone here have experience of regular, life-or-death street fighting?
Good question. No, is the short answer. A couple of undignifed sprawling messes dating from before I started training, but twice in the last 18 years, I think (date I left school). But my "soft skills" and Run Fu have served me well several times since I began to take an interest in self-protection.
it strikes me that the best way to learn that would be from people who have been in real fights
That's always something that comes to mind for me as well. Unfortunately, the bulk of my training has not been with dangerous bruisers (the bit that has been was hella fun, though) so I take it in this light - "might work, as yet untested". |
|
|
