r/AskReddit 1d ago

What’s a skill almost everyone thinks they’re good at until they meet someone who’s actually great at it?

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u/HoodDuck 1d ago

lol getting into martial arts just teached me I’d really prefer to not ever get into fights. Also a slightly irrational fear of wiry dudes because there always stronger than you think hahaha

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u/wilebi 1d ago

For real. I wanted to get into BJJ as an older gentleman and I got ragdolled by even the most unassuming sparring partner.

I couldn't keep going because my back wouldn't let me but it was a fun few days, and eye-opening.

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u/Naramie 1d ago

BJJ is extremely tough and there's alot of complexities. It's almost like a chess match where, there moves, then numerous counter moves, and counter moves for those. First few weeks you're going to be learning basic stuff like the different types of guards and basic defense. Then as you advance they start training in leg attacks and defense.

Unless you're alot bigger, extremely athletic or have past experience in like wrestling or other grappling sports, you're more likely going to get your butt kicked for the first few weeks as you figure things out. But if you keep going you'll learn more and get better being able defend and eventually sweep and submit other people. BJJ is extremely technical, missing those simple things can be the difference maker.

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u/fobygrassman 1d ago

“First few weeks” more like at least first year. Thankfully the place I go to has white belt only classes, white belt and blue belt classes, all belt classes, and advanced belt only. I can’t imagine getting my ass kicked for over a year straight before i can get a single submission on someone let alone just having submissions chained on me.

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u/I-cant_even 1d ago

As a kid I played Halo with a guy that was really good. I'd be lucky to have 1 kill to his 5. I didn't realize until I played with other people how good I had become.

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u/CrayonEyes 21h ago

The first few years playing COD I knew I wasn’t that good, but I still had tons of fun and watched countless kill cams to learn the knowledge. It wasn’t until a few years down the road when I realized one day that I was now the username people saw that made them leave the lobby. I only got good by getting absolutely destroyed over and over and over. By many accounts I should’ve given up long before I developed serious skills. I wonder if the new EBMM/SBMM models will help or hinder developing players as time goes on.

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u/WorkFurball 17h ago

wonder if the new EBMM/SBMM models will help or hinder developing players as time goes on.

I'd say it's pretty clear it hinders you, before you got a nice mix of enemies of different skill levels and playstyles. Now it doesn't matter how good you get you'll never be performing that much better.

Connection stuff's better though now I think, host advantage was like a hack in the old days.

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u/Truth_ 14h ago

I hate it personally, especially when they use dumb bots to make you feel better.

And while I appreciate ELO-based matchmaking (particularly for games with a stronger culture of competitiveness like MOBAs) (and no one likes to get called out for playing "pub" matches), on the other hand randomly-generated lobbies pit you against both great and terrible players, which I think has value.

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u/tweakingforjesus 18h ago

My kid did this with Pokemon. One of her male friends asked her to play the video game against him. She told him "Ok, but I'm warning you that I'm pretty good." He didn't know that she had been playing at VGC regionals. She proceeded to mop the floor with him for an hour. And this was while she was telling him what she was doing and how he should defend against it. He rage quit and never played her again.

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u/sando138 19h ago

That may be so- my own experience with halo and smash bros. taught me similar lessons, my neighbor and I ended up becoming pretty much even matched over time and when we played against others we were clearly very adept- but there is a point where the skill disparity is so severe failure will teach you nothing. Take, for instance, the time I was playing Destiny 2 Crucible and ended up matching against a group of very skilled players. If you are losing badly enough the announcer will mercy-rule the game and by the time he called the match they were up by easily quadruple our kill tally.

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u/Individual-Night2190 1d ago

Having done BJJ for over a year now, can you please let me know when you will be distributing the good. I didn't get mine.

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u/PessimiStick 17h ago

When a new person shows up to the gym around your size, you'll find that you're actually a lot better than you think you are. It's just really hard to tell with people that were there before you, because they're still getting better while you are getting better. They also see your game all the time, so even if you're good at something, they'll just funnel you away from that if they want to.

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u/uteng2k7 7h ago

Having done BJJ for over a year now, can you please let me know when you will be distributing the good. I didn't get mine.

Same here. Been going for cumulatively about 2 1/2 years, and although I would probably kill day 1 me if we ever fought, I'm still not confident about my odds with a stranger even my same size, let alone bigger or stronger.

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u/Thebutcher222 22h ago

Most guys who are good will let you work and aren’t going to clobber you. When I roll with newer guys I let them set the pace and practice going from position to position and maybe tap them once in a roll. The only people I will sub over and over are hot heads who are there to think they’re tough and those guys get weeded out pretty fast.

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u/Hautamaki 20h ago

That's by far the best practice, but even when you are going easy on the other guy, it's not like they can't tell you're going easy on them and they are as helpless as they were when they were like a 4 year old play wrestling with their dad lol.

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u/Boo_and_Minsc_ 16h ago

Purple belts and above usually defeat white belts very gently. You just feel like there is nothing you can do, they dont need to hurry, explode in motion or use much strength at all. It´s the blues and advanced whites who will crush you.

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u/weetabixcoldmilk 12h ago

I understand the Blow job part but what is the last J for

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u/I-cant_even 1d ago

I assume your back was having problems with being thrown? In my experience instructors are happy to accommodate injuries like that. Like you could just do mat-work and no takedown sparring.

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u/wilebi 1d ago

Yeah, I've got issues with C6 and C7. I've thought about going back and seeing if I can work something out. Because it really was a good time.

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u/tsimen 1d ago

Big guys too! Slimmer guys tend to think they'd have an easy time against big guys because they outperform them in sports - wrong! There's a reason all professional fighting leagues are split in weight classes.

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u/FallenNgel 1d ago

I had a sparring partner that easily had 80lbs on me. He once leaned into a punch and it felt like I got hit by a refrigerator.

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u/Bladelink 18h ago

I mean... How much does a refrigerator weigh?

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u/Gotta-ask 14h ago

I’d say about one big guy.

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u/I-cant_even 1d ago

Sparred with a guy that just leaned me closed and waited until I had no gas left. It was educational.

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u/moratnz 17h ago

One of my nastiest sparring experiences was rolling with a big guy; he got me into kesa gatame, and the. Every time I breathed out, he tightened it a little. Pretty soon, my lungs were empty and I couldn't breathe in at all. It was instant lizard brain panic, and I was tapping with every limb while making desperate fish sounds.

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u/knefr 1d ago edited 1d ago

I’ve been destroyed by people 80 lbs lighter than me, or more, in grappling.

But for most people…if I get on top, it’s over. At 260lbs. And I actually suck.

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u/MegaGrimer 17h ago

And there’s a reason weight classes at that level are usually in the 10-20 pound range.

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u/Bay1Bri 11h ago

I saw a video of khabib in a gym with a much bigger mma dude (sadly can't remember the name). They were talking and the big guy told khabib to try to take him down. Dude couldn't move him. At a certain point, bulk wins.

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u/AggravatingCupcake0 1d ago

What? Other than the actual instructors, I've never met a slimmer guy who thought he was taking down a 6'1 250 pound guy.

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u/imperabo 22h ago

He meant fat guys

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u/--Chug-- 10h ago

Even then... we understand how mass works. If I throw a punch on guy that has 80 lbs on me its going to be less effective. If he lands a punch on me it's going to clobber me. No one thinks otherwise.

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u/blorbschploble 19h ago

mv=mv can be really unkind.

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u/jimmux 16h ago

I've had a couple of teachers who were packing a big belly. They were both lightning fast too. That's a killer combo. They can land hits before you know it's coming, and back it up with pure momentum.

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u/Belgand 16h ago

Sumo is one of the rare exceptions that doesn't have weight classes. Hence putting on weight is a significant part of the meta. Especially since a loss is accomplished by being pushed out of the ring or touching the ground. A wrestler needs to balance their strength, weight, flexibility, and so on towards their particular style.

At the top levels of pro sumo you'll see a wider array of weights than you might expect from the stereotype.

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u/Fraubump 14h ago

I used to be slim and fast and my plan for trouble was always to run. Now I'm old, heavy and slow, so it's either talk my way out or hope my weight can help if I have to stand and fight.

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u/GucciTheSnowman 11h ago

Big guys are easy to beat. Once you get them down, they aren't getting back up.

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u/--Chug-- 10h ago

What!? This is not a widespread concept. Lol. Smaller guys almost universally know we have a mass disadvantage. Wtf are you talking about?

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u/YouDontWashSoYouLose 1d ago

They're split into weight classes so the trained professionals don't have as many advantages over each other.

If you're talking trained vs untrained then weight disparity doesn't matter nearly as much. I'll put my money on an experienced 60kg over an untrained 90+kg every time.

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u/EnderMB 1d ago

A decade of BJJ and some boxing, and I'd be happy to never get into a fight.

FWIW, I've known pro boxers get beat up after starting fights on nights out, and I've met very unassuming people that would probably absolutely wreck your shit in a fight. I've also met solid Judoka that can't throw a punch to save their lives, great strikers that almost rage-quitted BJJ because they can't do shit to stop even good white belts, and BJJ black belts that are so violence adverse that they would rather walk away from any disrespect or attempt to get physical.

You just don't know the person, their skills, whether they'd be able to apply them outside of a ruleset, and whether they'd start anything or take it too far. It's just not worth it, ever.

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u/Daddgonecrazy 19h ago

The judoka doesn’t need to know how to throw a punch when they can throw you into the earth.

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u/DaoFerret 18h ago

“Environmental Weapons” like The Earth, a Fire Hydrant, Oncoming Traffic are often underrated parts of maintaining environmental awareness.

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u/DavidAg02 18h ago

Same... 11 years if muay Thai and BJJ and I'd be perfectly happy with never needing to use it.

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u/Rawrz62 2h ago

That’s why I always looked at ears first if things got spicey in my bouncer days.

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u/Rare_Needleworker340 1d ago

Ive been doing Bang Muay Thai for maybe 2 months and it didn’t take me long to realize

1) it doesn’t take much to seriously hurt someone
2) never underestimate someone just because they don’t look like what you THINK a seasoned fighter should look like. There are guys at my gym that range from kind of overweight to really skinny, and both of them could lay you out with little to no effort. And the women are just as dangerous if not more so—there’s a 70+ year old tiny Asian woman and if you don’t protect your head she will absolutely teach you a lesson to remember.

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u/CurvedNerd 19h ago

When I was a kid I did karate and capoeira in grad school. Having a natural reflex to block or move out of the way has been way more beneficial than knowing how to fuck shit up.

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u/DaoFerret 18h ago

As a long time Martial Artist and lover of Martial Arts movies I can confidently assume that the Granny in the dojo can whoop anybody’s butt.

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u/Rare_Needleworker340 6h ago

Exactly lol. She spots your weaknesses before you even realize you have them and obliterates you. Shes the reason most people at the gym are so good at protecting their heads😂

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u/DaoFerret 3h ago

The only person in the dojo more dangerous (or at least her equal) will be the unassuming old man sweeping the floor with a broom.

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u/Sprinklypoo 4h ago

I had a tiny Asian woman throw me across the room with a hip thrust when I was a blue belt. She was testing my temper, and I think if I'd come up angry I might have ended up in the hospital...

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u/LoosKaboos 7h ago

🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️yes a 70+ year old tiny woman will lay out people and is more dangerous than trained men.

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u/Fluky_Ayame 19h ago

their earrings out before they fight there's a reason girls stop to take.

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u/lymphomaticscrew 19h ago

you writing a Joyceian recirculation there?

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u/Laeryl 1d ago

I have several years of MMA behind me. I did several contests and I wasn't even bad.

It taught me two things.

The first : you win every fight you're not involved in.

The second : you really don't want to be involved in a fight if you're able to win it. It's not worth outside an octogon.

Oh, and a third thing because it's my secret move : I'll always be "the chicken". Insult me or my gf and I'll just back of trying to de-escalde the whole thing.

I'm just a quite wiry dude ^^

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u/worstpartyever 1d ago

De-Escalade? What did Cadillac do to you?

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u/LysergicPlato59 1d ago

His non-aggression policy served him well, so he was a huge financial success. Bought a Cadillac Escalade and uses it to escape from sketchy situations.

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u/heywhatsup9087 1d ago

Actually it’s *de-escalde

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u/Kar_Man 20h ago

He prefers a Yukon Denali

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u/PeachPassionBrute 17h ago

They made the Escalade. That’s what they did.

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u/ImmodestPolitician 12h ago

He's a Dodge Ran

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u/Seldarin 19h ago

The second : you really don't want to be involved in a fight if you're able to win it. It's not worth outside an octogon.

This one can't be stressed enough. I had a buddy in high school that was a beast in a fight. He got into an argument with another dude in the parking lot at school and words turned to shoving turned to punches.

When the fight went to the ground he was on top and his knee came down on a rock that went under his kneecap. He still limps from it, and we're closing in on 50.

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u/Hautamaki 21h ago

Yes, same. One thing that always stuck with me was one of my coaches talking about an old training partner he had in Russia who got in a bar fight, won it handily, but got hepatitis, probably from cutting his knuckles on the other guy's teeth. Also on another occasion both he and his training partner were approached by several guys with AKs at their gym, rolled up into carpets, and then left there while the gun wielding thieves took everything not nailed down. Was it related to the bar fight? He'll never know, but either way, he got the fuck out of Russia after that.

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u/jimmycarr1 11h ago

And the fourth one that you're respectfully trying to avoid. If you do need to fight, you fight as hard as possible and don't stop until you're safe.

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u/Ormild 23h ago

I did boxing for about a year and nothing gassed me out faster than trying to punch a bag as fast as you can for a minute.

Now imagine trying to do that to someone who is moving and trying to hit you back…

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u/mynamestartswithCa 5h ago

Your gf is okay with that? not defending her when someone catcalls or bothers her?

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u/awkwardpun 1d ago

Sure as shit didn't teach you how to spell

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u/Laeryl 1d ago

I'm not an english speaker, it's quite late here but yeah, I should have been more carefull.

But hey, I won't correct my post so yours will stay relevant ^^

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u/metrondo 1d ago

Even deescalating here on reddit!

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u/muklan 1d ago

I understood the point he was making. I dont understand yours beyond being a jerk.

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u/awkwardpun 1d ago

Good for you?

My point is that his spelling was bad and it made the comment hard to read. What's your point?

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u/muklan 1d ago

Dont attack people for not speaking your language perfectly? I bet he speaks alot more of yours than you do of his.

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u/awkwardpun 1d ago

Lmao you need to reassess what an attack is. I made a joke about his spelling, and tbh I don't really care if it offended you.

It must be exhausting, being that sensitive

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u/Lothirieth 1d ago

You do realise that people outside of the US, who speak English as a second language, also use Reddit, right? And if you have problems inferring meaning from words with minor spelling mistakes, that's a you problem.

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u/awkwardpun 1d ago

I would want to know if I sounded unintelligent in any language I was attempting to communicate in, especially due to easily correctable mistakes.

Sorry I didn't coddle the self professed MMA expert, I didn't realize how BADLY I must have hurt him...

Actually you can check his reply to my comment, he didn't give a shit. Maybe take a cue?

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u/average-eridian 20h ago

I would want to know if I sounded unintelligent in any language I was attempting to communicate in, especially due to easily correctable mistakes.

In that case, you actually did sound unintelligent when you called out a simple spelling error saying that it made it hard to read. The large majority of us can use context clues to read around minor spelling errora. Since you said you'd want to know, hope this helps.

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u/awkwardpun 16h ago

Hard as in painful, not difficult. It was multiple spelling errors. You are definitely unintelligent lmfao

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Laeryl 1d ago

Yup 😁

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u/b0nGj00k 1d ago

It’s ok BonerReplies, you can type pussy on the internet.

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u/joethedreamer 1d ago

The irony of calling someone a pussy yet being too pussy to type pussy 😂

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u/munkymu 1d ago

Yeah, my biggest takeaway from martial arts was to avoid being where the punch is going to land. That starts with like... not going to places where punches are likely to be thrown, but if that's unavoidable then running and de-escalating are good second and third options (in some order).

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u/CountingMyDick 21h ago

Funny thing is, if you say you train any kind of martial arts, most casual listeners will assume or joke that you're some kind of tough guy badass or something. In reality, the very first thing you learn when you start any kind of training is, everyone else in the gym could wreck you.

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u/Majikarpslayer 1d ago

I had a skinny homeless guy tackle me once for no reason and my God he was strong as f***!

I was thinking gouging his eyes out might be my only escape plan until he decided to stop

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u/Below-Average-528 22h ago

"Also a slightly irrational fear of wiry dudes because there always stronger than you think hahaha"

the tall, skinny ones are the most dangerous

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u/Perry32Jones 22h ago

This is so hilarious to me. Former addict, and also a construction worker. People just ask me to beat people up. I see all these buffed gym rats that look crazy strong. They ain't shit. Im 6'6", but its still funny.

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u/Mooseboots1999 22h ago

Yes. I landed one kick wrong, wearing pads, and my big toe was black and blue for a couple of weeks. The movie trope where 2 dudes wail on each other for 15 minutes is just bs.

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u/JadedOccultist 21h ago

Hey I’m just telling you this cuz I’d want someone to tell me; the past tense of “teach” is actually “taught”. It’s one of those pesky irregular verbs. 😌

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u/Laeryl 15h ago

Thanks mate... I had a doubt but I was already semi asleep so I made the mistake ^

And yes, some verbs in English can be a pain in the ass 😁

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u/JadedOccultist 14h ago

It’s so annoying cuz sometimes I want to say raught instead of reached. :( lol

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u/jeremyjava 21h ago

Beware the cauliflower ears on those little bastards, they’re the ones that’ll getcha’!

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u/JerryfromCan 20h ago

Marital arts in HS told me no matter who you are or how good you are, there is always someone better than you.

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u/External-Resource581 20h ago

My first kickboxing teacher was a traditional martial artist at heart, and taught like one. One of the first things he taught me was that, when confronted with a fight, your first, second, and third options should be "dont fight". Do whatever you can to diffuse it and walk away, including admitting youre a pussy ass bitch who's afraid to get his ass kicked. Street fights are a lot more dangerous than people think they are, and that gets compounded if theres a big skill gap.

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u/QuirkyGarage1364 19h ago

at least you're at an actual gym. there are guys in the actual MMA subreddit that truly believe they could take on jon jones with some TKD and a few minutes 😂😭

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u/aka_mrcam 19h ago

When I first started Judo at 6ft 2in, 350lbs I was the biggest guy in class. My first live sparring session with the 150ish lbs 4th degree black belt instructor I was being the big white belt trying to muscle him around. The first time I stepped to the side and I put my feet together he swept them with perfect timing. I didn't know what happened as I was staring at the ceiling thinking I wanna be able to do that.

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u/sevndust 14h ago

teached?

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u/joalheagney 12h ago

Wiry dudes who talk and/or move fast, short, old guys who smile a lot, and tiny little girls who have a sparkle in their eyes.

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u/Bay1Bri 11h ago

And faster than makes sense

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u/Rambles_Off_Topics 8h ago

I remember in high school when boxing became popular and I had been doing boxing and TKD for 4 years at that point. I didn't realize how bad other people were at fighting/boxing until I boxed them. People also very much under-estimated me (and make fun of me for being in TKD) and I would always give them a bloody nose. Good times, boxing didn't last long at our school lol

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u/volumniafoxx 8h ago

I've done several martial arts and honestly, the one thing we always got told was that it doesn't really matter how good you are at randori or some shit if the other person isn't following the same rules. A judoka will most likely lose in a knife fight, so the best thing to do is to not get into fights in the first place. 

It's nice to know you're like... 10% more likely to walk out of a situation unharmed if someone else attacks you, but I roll my eyes super hard at the tough guys who talk about how they wanna fight and of all the martial arts they know. Just makes them look dumb.

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u/Shazam1269 8h ago

I wrestled from 1st grade through 12th grade, and got pretty good. One thing you learn pretty quick, is you can't judge a book by it's cover. Sometimes, the nerdy, wiry kid is an absolute tornado on the mat.

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u/BookkeeperPercival 8h ago

When you're getting decent at martial arts, you wonder how you'd hold up in a real fight. When you're GOOD at martial arts, you never want to be in a fight ever.

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u/ChronicallyPO 2h ago

There’s a line in Fight Club that is very true: “Skinny guy’s fight ‘till they’re burger.”

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u/Beneficial_Winner_59 23h ago

For real. I’m a 6’5 250 pound fairly mean looking man, but I will go out of my way to avoid fighting even the smallest man. In my brief time doing boxing/bjj I’ve had my ass whooped thoroughly by people half my size, that’s the only lesson I needed. Not that before that I was looking for fights anyways, but you get the point

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u/seroTonin_addict176 1d ago

Its so humbling to realize an average looking dude could beat your ass

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u/HoodDuck 1d ago

We had a team come in that was training for the Olympic boxing trials or something of that nature. Only a few real competitors in our gym (not me)…they were basically there to show us the ropes and get some sparring in vs our good guys.

I got the opportunity to warmup light/technique spar with a guy who I thought was 18-19, ya he was almost 30 with over 100 fights. I weighed probably 205 at that point, this guy was 140 with a baby face, and was literally untouchable