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Dirty Fighting or Self Preservation?An Interview With Our Regular Self-Defence Columnist Ralph Allison Before starting on the subject of Dirty Fighting we need to make something very clear – so people do not get the wrong idea of our Martial Art Choi Kwang Do (called CKD for short -the art of Grandmaster Kwang Choi). The FIRST priority we aim for in a confrontation is avoidance – not a fight since hurting and endangering others unnecessarily is a stupid thing to do. That is why strong laws were created to send troublemakers behind bars. Fighting for “ Ego” on the street will get you a prison sentence – not a medal or a trophy to take home to put on your mantle piece. BUT if our lives are in danger and we have no other choice then we need to use whatever is necessary to protect our lives and that of our family on the streets. … In order to do that, we need to learn the most effective method available. That brings us to the subject of dirty fighting to achieve basic self-preservation in real life. And the definition of it is: Defending without set rules in order to bring a dangerous confrontation to a swift end. There are several definitions for such set regulations - “strategic points” as defined in the UFC rules of combat; but these aren’t exhaustive by far. The human body has weak spots, which – if targeted – can bring a dangerous (life threatening) confrontation to an end. But how can we learn responsible TRUE-TO-LIFE self-defence in a fashion so it doesn’t injure ourselves (or training partners) in a martial arts club? Here is how we solved the puzzle in Choi Kwang Do: I have been asked on a couple of occasions how a Martial Art like CKD can be a realistic form of self defence considering punches and kicks are stopped before making contact in attack drills? Martial Artists who do the contact sparring would immediately say that making no contact in defence drills is not realistic enough. So let `s us ask if THEIR sparring is fully realistic before we continue answering the first question! The answer is NO – since ALL full and semi-contact sparring / defence drills have “rules and regulations”. In a street attack there is no such rules and regulations… it’s “dirty fighting”. And this is exactly where the “reality-aspect” of Choi Kwang Do shows the way of defending ourselves against the most serious confrontations, which can occur on the streets. In CKD there aren’t any “no go areas” since it’s SAFE with our non-contact policy defence drills – we make sure there is no body-contact with the techniques in class with contact blocking being allowed of course in order to achieve a realism effect. Full or semi contact sparring / Defence Drills must have rules and “no-go areas” otherwise such sparring would be classified as illegal – and yes, there are “illegal full contact” events; but – as the words suggest – they are illegal. In UFC there are 31 rules classified as “fouls” as approved by the Nevada State Athletic Commission July 23, 2001. Now if you think these guys are fail-safe (for street purposes) then just read Geoff Thompson’s account how his UFC fighter mate lost a real fight on the street. .
But what about the argument of other Martial Arts saying “ If you don’t hit someone full or semi-contact they won’t get used to the pain aspect in a confrontation”. Here is your answer: Every hit you receive will make you lose hundreds of brain cells EVERY TIME and every hit - full or semi contact - is potentially dangerous since your “target” (the other person) is not static / i.e. moves about which can lead to a (non intentional) illegal hit with possible long-term effect your body won’t recover from. So it’s Russian roulette. I was told a story of someone who wanted to join a contact-fighting martial arts club and the first thing that happened is that he was confronted with a 3rd Dan who used him as a punch bag. This leads us to the question of martial arts courtesy, which is sadly lacking in too many clubs these days. Our Choi Kwang Do Grandmaster brought in strong Principles (aptly called the “Principles of Choi Kwang Do“) we have to recite before each class in order to REMIND us that RESPECT for your training partner is paramount. These Principles are:
Just how sudden a response to a street attack has to be performed in order to be effectively realistic is explained by our Grandmaster Choi who says that the speed of our response must become so fast that eventually the attacker won’t be able to block the countering at all. That kind of speed takes lots of practise – and self control. I believe too many martial arts Instructors to be irresponsible when it comes to their teaching .Not enough Instructors point out how fights can be AVOIDED on the street. Although a dangerous street attack needs to be dealt with swiftly, I’d say the majority of fights happen because of either “ Ego” or because an inexperienced person didn’t understand the value of “ psychological warfare “. Psychological warfare – or – perhaps we should call it Psychological UNDERSTANDING of a street attack is very effective and yet not taught by enough martial arts Instructors. The rules are:
Leading a sensible life starts by attending martial arts classes with a responsibly minded Instructor. An Instructor needs to be a good role model both for his adults and especially for his children in his classes. So, since Choi Kwang Do is an extremely effective way for street defence Grandmaster Choi expects his Instructors to be highly responsible individuals. You may win tournaments through “ point sparring” but my personal experience is that this is NOTHING like a street confrontation where Self Preservation is paramount.. Having done other martial arts before I can fully vouch for Choi Kwang Do being the most “sensible” way of learning how to deal with a street attack where there are no rules, no length of rounds when the sound of the bells says “stop” , no ring judge and no one to throw in the towel. And you cannot expect the police to be everywhere to protect you wherever you are. Most people naively think a street attack will never happen to them – it’s just something we read in the papers. People insure their houses, their cars but what about your personal safety? Attending Self Defence classes is YOUR personal Insurance Policy! If other martial arts clubs unwelcoming behaviour put you off learning self-defence then come to Choi Kwang Do. You might like it!
(Photographs courtesy of Steve Stanek and J. Wiscomb)
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So what really the advantage is of non-contact defence drills we can only understand if we bring up a real example: Imagine a serious attack in progress on a female – an impending rape or murder for instance. The lady in question will have to use ANY defence techniques to save her life. If she has been “pre-programmed” by her Martial Art to avoid certain contact points due to the rules and regulations of her full or semi contact Martial Art she is in danger of suffering a disadvantage. Even if her logical mind will say “ Ok, in this life-threatening scenario I can use all I’ve got“ – will she be properly trained for it? Again: The answer is NO – because her type of Martial Art did not prepare her for it in full. 
I had a number of Students from other martial arts (including Black Belts) join my club; when they witness my Choi Kwang Do classes for the first time they are surprised why everyone is so friendly. But when they see my students move with their techniques they realize they “know their stuff” and that our defence drills are very realistic for street purposes. 
