“What would you do?”
Firstly, it is almost impossible for people to conceptialize (sp) “real life” physical confrontation, if they don’t experience such trauma in their everyday life. However, here goes nothing.
A true test of one’s kung fu must run the following way I suppose (sigh):
Go to the meanest, nastiest back alley in your city, armed with a tire iron. When you are mugged by a few hardened street fighters with baseball bats and knives, crush their throats, break their kneecaps, and gouge their eyeballs out of their sockets. You as a martial artist, must have therefore achieved the very highest level of kung fu skill, as you emerged with only a ruptured eardrum, broken arm, and a mild concussion, but in any case, are still standing!
Where do you draw the line for these combative scenarios? Or are we just talking about tournament fighting / class sparring? In my line of work, I am faced with hostile, physically aggressive people almost daily. I can usually resolve the conflict nonviolently, but if forced to defend myself or contain the violence, I can usually do so without hurting the acting out person. So can most peace officers, prison guards, hospital workers, etc - all of whom work in the “real” world.
If you back a dog into a corner, it will fight you - try to kill you, regardless of a normally pleasent & peaceful personality. In such a scenario, “skill” becomes largely irrelevant and your attitude / survival instinct becomes the only reality which will govern the outcome. Yes, and by the way, everyone (and their dog) has a survival instinct.
Better to focus on “reality” - e.g. developing better relationships with your fellow human beings - most people would benefit from a little training in this area! I would rather learn kung fu from a respectable and compassionate human being than a simple psychopath who “knew” (whatever that means)how to fight!
