It took me years to figure this out. I'm now 46. I took judo as a boy, all the way from 3rd grade to 12th grade, and judo is really more of a sport, like wrestling, than a self-defense. And yeah, I like scenes in movies in which the quiet martial artist bides his time, stays low-key, then when he is finally forced to fight, wipes everyone out! And beside the Aspie appeal of a big dramatic action in which a person finally gets attention and credit, this is also kind of part of American mythology (see almost any western!).
Okay, for serious fights away from school, like if someone's threatening you with a knife, use martial arts, preferably ju jitsu.
For fights in school, box to a draw. Use a tight, defensive style. If you get really, really good, intentional miss a couple of the punches. The goal is not to show the person up or humiliate them. The goal is simply not to be intimidated. And you can do this very nicely fighting to a draw, thank you very much. And the same time, don't be clunkly. Graciously win the fight if it comes to that. The feel and texture of the situation. Something may become less serious, or more serious. Be observant (I am of course preaching to myself. In fact, I like Zen as an additional set of skills to supplement my Aspie skills).
And yeah, medical researchers have been finding that 'post-concussion syndrome' is more and more serious, so you want to find a boxing gym where you're not going to take a bunch of blows to the head. Instead, primarily bag work, and different kinds of bags.
And either order, you can take the boxing first, then get into martial arts. Or vice versa. You can eventually be taking both at the same time. Or not. We don't need to be perfectionist about this! My learning style for a sport is at least three times a week. You might have a different style that work equally well or better. Get in there, make some mistakes, and learn some stuff.
03 Jun 2009, 2:03 pm
