Fitness
My Kung Fu Is Better
So after a week of training, here's what I got from the experts: If somebody confronts you, run away.
Lame, you say? Yes, especially after having gone through a week of journalistic zeal in the quest for the ultimate self-defense. Which is to turn the other cheek. "It isn't enough to know how to fight. If I am absolutely sure that I can beat the guy, I'll go for it," admits Lasprilla. "But if there's like, five of them and two of those know how to fight, no way." And how do you know someone knows how to fight? "Well, I can tell you how I can spot those who don't know how to fight; you could see their punches coming from a mile away," he adds with a laugh. "They usually cock their punches waaay back. Before they are able to land one, I'd have a couple on him already. If it's a big guy, I try to use my speed and get near him or I position myself at his back and punch him from there. But more often than not, it's best to just walk away."
Pagulayan concurs, saying, "You should know which battles you can win. If somebody sticks a knife at you, give them what they want, man."
So I ask Aguilar, who two years ago was shot with an M-16 rifle while in a Makati club. (A friend, who was with him, died.) Aguilar still has a bullet lodged in his back. He also has several scars from different fights, including a knife wound. "I don't really have to retaliate. They're running from the law right now. The knife attack didn't really bother me, but the shooting did," he says. "Some people can't beat me in a competition so they resort to different tactics." And you thought that ‘the my-school-is-better-than-your school scenario in Karate Kid movies are exaggerated. "But yes, the best way to defend yourself is to not be there. If somebody starts crap with you, get out," he offers.
What say you, Buddy? "The best self-defense training you can get is out there on the track and field."
Okay. These are the toughest guys out there and they are telling us to walk away from a fight. But what happens when we are cornered and the only option is to slug it out?
"If you really, really have to fight, you should first look at your opponent's hands." Obviously, Aguilar knows his stuff so I listen attentively. "Are they empty? He's probably hiding a weapon somewhere that you can't see. Is he holding a knife? A bottle? Then maintain your distance," he advises. "If you get the chance, hit him in his vital areas. I'm not just talking about the groin; there's also the eyes, the throat, the base of the nose, the ears…."
Pagulayan takes a philosophical approach. "There's this thing you call the ‘void' when you're fighting," he explains. "It's when you forget everything you've learned and everything becomes automatic." Of course, you need a deep knowledge of martial arts to draw from in exercising this technique. But then there's another take on the ‘void,' one where you can use for practically any situation. "I remember Alvin (Aguilar) used to do this; what he does is he sneaks an attack on his wife. And he does this all the time. He reasoned this was to prepare her for the unexpected," quips Pagulayan. "I imagine it made for a happy marriage." Yet it's very effective. Imagine riding a bus. Then picture yourself being attacked by someone. You then run scenarios on how to defend yourself. Paranoid, you say? "Yeah, a lot of people tell me to get a life. But this is life. This is how it is," he adds.
So, with a week's worth of crash courses in three combat sports and I find out that in a fight, all I have to do is walk away. Sweet. I have been doing that all my life. What's different? "There are those who train all their life and they become really good at it. Yet at the end of it all, that is just all they are–warriors," says Pagulayan. "But if you take the philosophical side of martial arts and apply those in life, you'll find that it is very useful. Businessmen are now using books written by warriors and apply them as strategies. That is only one aspect of how combat sports can change one's perspectives."
Well, I walk confidently now, knowing I know more about defending myself than most. I guess that's the important thing that martial arts can teach you: confidence. Plus, knowing that the tough guys out there are taught to walk away from a fight makes me breathe a little easier. Although I highly doubt that with all the knowledge that they have, they'd restrain themselves in a battle. But I remember these guys' faces and burn them in my memory. If they start crap with me, I will definitely turn the other cheek.
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Men's Health Philippines - September 2005 Issue
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