Have You Ever Used It?

When people find out that I am involved in the martial arts, the first question out of their mouth is "Are you a black belt?". Immediately after I respond "Yes" the next question is "What rank?". These first two questions are easy to answer and the usual response is "Oh". However, it is the next question in this script that I often do not know how to answer.

Have you ever used it? The first thought that goes through my head is "Of course, I use it everyday. My training and involvement with karate shapes how I move and my approach to life." But, that is not the answer they are looking for. They want to know if I was ever in a fight or did I ever use karate to defend myself.

I was never in a fight. One night in the dojo, the students were predominately female. The subject of fighting came up and after a lengthy discussion I found out that 8 out of the 10 females in the room had been in a fight with other females. The stories were mainly about fights in high school. Girls would send notes to other girls telling them to meet them after school. I had never seen or heard of a fight when I was in high school.

In regards to self-defense, I do believe that I avoided a serious confrontation. I worked as a manager of a wholesale clothing warehouse. My job was located in the middle of the city in an undesirable location. It was an interesting job to say the least. Many of the temporary employees wore ankle bracelets and were on work release. There was one temporary employee that would talk to her "imaginary friend" during work. This woman fell asleep at her examining table and I had to let her go. I was six months pregnant at the time and she left the building threatening to kill me.

One night I was scheduled to come in to work late to help prepare for a warehouse sale. I was to meet a co-worker at midnight so we could finalize the preparations for the opening. My husband went along with me so I did not have to go alone. My co-worker parked his car a half of a block ahead of us. My husband and I parked the car. As we opened the door, a truck went speeding past us. The truck stopped at the corner and the driver opened the door, stood on the edge of the car and started screaming at us. The driver did not see my co-worker who was a half a block ahead. My husband and I stood there. We did not yell or rush back to our car. We stood there and waited. All of a sudden, he hopped back into his truck and drove off. My co-worker was speechless. He was certain there would be a confrontation and amazed at our reaction. My husband and I looked unified, calm and ready.

I do believe that I use my karate training on a daily basis. So, let me rephrase the question: "How have you used your karate training in a non-combative way?" We talked about this briefly in the dojo and here are a few examples:

My sister-in-law works as a child care assistant. She was on a ledge twelve inches off the ground. The children were playing on the floor close by. She lost her balance and was delighted to tell me that she did a karate roll fall to avoid injury.

Removal of target. When walking in a crowd have you ever cut angles or minimized the target?

A student came back from climbing Mt. Rainier. He mentioned how the karate stances of Seisan and Sanchin helped his climb.

When lifting a heavy piece of equipment my husband was losing his balance. He dropped into a Kosa stance and avoided falling.

The no-touch flush. This is the technique of using a slow front thrust kick to flush a public toilet.

I used my experience in karate to help with my ACL recovery. I would spend time analyzing how I walked in an effort to eliminate my limp.

I made a calm, clear decision during my car crisis.

Has martial arts training helped your everyday living? Do you move better? Are your reaction times quicker? Are you more aware of your surroundings?