how many people outside of your gym/dojo, do you know who train

devante · 11-07-2009, 11:56 PM

i guess i am the rare person on sherdog as a large majority of people i know outside of grappling class/etc train or have trained; i bounce around alot of different places and w/alot of diff people, so often i don't get to know them very well.

But i seem to run into alot of people who have or currently train in martial arts and did so for an extended period of time; another reason i mention this is because in a FEW of the self def situations or fights (however you put it), i have faced legitimately trained guys (i.e. purple belt in bjj, a kyokushin blkblt w/judo exp,almost got into it w/the striking instructor at a mma school i later attended etc). Also a few instances where i have broken up potential altercations or stopped fights w/guys w/solid training b/g (if you know tech you will recognize it when u see wether u know the person or not)

so do alot of people you come across be it at work, family members or neighbors, friends, acquaintances who train; in my case i know ALOT of people, which is yet another reason i have a diff point of view when discussing self def.

i mean in the past yr i have run into three legit bjj brown belts, a karate blkblt w/wrestling and boxing exp, a vovinam blkbelt, one bjj blkblt, and at least 5 golden glove boxers (some in the military, noone less than 19fights), hell even my younger brother has trained mt for a bit (tech/sparring/etc)

**Sinister** · 11-08-2009, 12:15 AM

Er, most of the guys I train around/with are active Pros or Amateurs. I prefer it that way. I'm not a big fan of white collar Gyms.

thirteen · 11-08-2009, 12:57 AM

In my admittedly small circle of friends & acquaintances perhaps less than 5 people know I train.
Don't know why but I keep it to myself.
Just too anxious in social surroundings to mention it I guess?

devante · 11-08-2009, 01:06 AM

just curious as i said alot of people say how many untrained people there are, and how they don't come across many who train; i have the total opp experience

thirteen · 11-08-2009, 02:00 AM

Only person I can think of is a relative who trains Karate.

mjw1 · 11-08-2009, 04:41 AM

Not all but a good amount of people I know from work or what not train or have....about 70%. The rest might be ninjitsu masters......

TheLeo · 11-08-2009, 05:34 AM

I have friends that don't train, but there is a distance between us that I don't feel with friends who do. I've heard it said: "Boxing is a lonely sport".

No one appreciates stories about how the other day in the gym I hit a guy in the jaw and watched his eyes roll back into his head. No one except for the people I train with understand the significance of my wrestling coach catching me in a standing head and arm choke and almost putting me to sleep before he slams me to the mats. The last place I worked at had two guys who are black belts in Akido and I grilled them for info on how their arts really worked.

I have friends outside of training and I value them, but combat arts take over my mind more and more each day. I don't know how I feel about this yet.

I guess I don't want to lose the friends I have, but sometimes hanging out with them is like, a distraction from what I really love to do.

TheBOO · 11-08-2009, 11:23 AM

i'm the only one in my group of very small friends that trains.

surfer dude · 11-08-2009, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by devante

just curious as i said alot of people say how many untrained people there are, and how they don't come across many who train; i have the total opp experience

I know many people who have trained seriously, or still do. However, the number of people I know, that carry some form of stun gun, knife, or gun, is a much higher number.

Many citizens are taking steps to avoid being the victim of violent crime. And here in the U.S. physical fitness is a big problem (the Pentagon recently stated that the current number of 17-24yr olds unfit for military service should be considered a national security threat One-third of U.S. youth unfit for military - UPI.com) So, just like everything else here in the states, people are looking for a quick fix. That takes the form of the aforementioned weapons, which require much less training and exertion to use, than any M.A./MMA.

My point is: that the entire topic of people being trained or untrained, is becoming less significant than armed or unarmed, every day.

nakmuay84 · 11-08-2009, 01:48 PM

i'm the only one who trains... there's just a friend of mine who used to train Savate many years ago.
i don't tell my friends "i'm a fighter!", some of them know it just because when they come to my house, they may see the rope or the gloves in my room...

i don't want to sound as a cocky "badmotherfucker" or something like that... i train for myself.