So, are the martial arts self-defense? Yes...and, no. Are you learning self-defense if you join the army, air force, navy or marines?

Yes, the martial arts are self defense. If you take simply the physical techniques and their applications, you have self-defense. Today, sadly, there is a great need for those types of classes. The reality based versions that include pads strike drills and "live go" exercises are the best way. Take those classes, if you think you need them, but continue training (take the class over & over) even if you complete it. Not keeping current in your training/practice means it won't work for you when you need it.

Now, that's only one side. Too often people forget the martial arts are based on the military arts of days gone by. That means that preparations for battle included learning strategy, weaponry, leadership and several other topics. Is this self-defense?

True self-defense involves more than the physical techniques & applications. It takes understand how situations arise, when to fight & when to retreat and having the awareness of where you are, who else is around and how many others will be affected. Then again, this could be the description on combat.

Knowing how to fight doesn't necessarily make you a warrior. One of the attractions of the Bourne movies is the combat. He demonstrates what a warrior is through his technique application, use of (improvised) weapons, not harming innocents and tactical retreats. The "fights" would be considered self-defense in the fact that he is only trying to survive but they don't look like the things we'd see in our daily life.

Yes, the martial arts are self-defense but only if the transitions are illustrated and training is provided. People join martial arts classes for a variety of reasons and self-defense is only one of them. Its up to the teacher to instill in the student how the self-defense aspects of the art fit into their training. Lack of this transition can be seen in the number of sport martial arts that get hurt on the street. Playing the "game" doesn't translate to self-defense.

What are you training for? Are you getting it?

I know what I am training for. I totally get it. Only because I study on my own, have contact with much older martial artists that carry clout, and discovered that martial arts is a way of life. I see how these other martial artist live and train, and I hear their storys. They are many chapters ahead of me. Chapters I will never live through. One wastes time doing "sport" martial arts because its cool. WHen you get old or injured then what do you have? Been there, did that! If you study the martial arts history you get a deeper understanding on who you would be fighting snd what you would be fighting, and if you could hold up to the enemy. This is if you are in super shape and can stand the fight. My friend Rick Faye once said that with all his training day in and day out he hopes he could come out of a fight okay. This is a man that knows many different styles. Here we study one and we think we have it. WRONG! However, once you study the sword your chances of coming out of anything is bleak. So this is the bottom line. martial arts is a way of being in your personal life. Doing good business, play fair, keeping a healthy mind, attitude, and body, and being kind to others. This way you don't have to worry about being in the wrong place at the wrong time only to find out that in your martial arts class 101 you never really taught you you what you really needed to know.