Street Fighter Moves - Interview With David D'Antonio - You Don't Need to Train For Years, Just Days

Charles: Now, there's a myth going around, we'llfighting, and on a weekend, walk away from that
find out if you think it's a myth or if it's real, but aweekend with fifteen to twenty techniques that
lot of people believe that when they enroll in awill be ingrained into their DNA as automatic
dojo or wherever it is that they're learning martialresponses, involuntary responses to common
arts that they are actually on a program thatattacks and to some uncommon attacks. So in
usually takes them several months if not years tothree or four days, you can walk away as a
get to the point where they feel that they'repretty decent fighter and to be able to defend
masters and are able to protect themselves.yourself.
What is your take on that? Do you think aCharles: Wow. So, then in other words, you don't
person needs years and years to learn how toneed years to learn to fight. You just need to
fight to be able to protect themselves.learn to fight effectively in a very short amount
David: Absolutely not. And here's the thing,of time which can be as little as, maybe, a
Charles, and I'll be very brief on this. Basically,weekend.
there are a few ways to look at that. Well, if youDavid: Exactly. I like to call it "smart fighting".
want to learn a traditional martial art for all of itsCharles: Ahhh. "Smart fighting". That's in difference
beauty and what-have-you, then you're going toto just learning an art.
spend years in a dojo learning all of the intricaciesDavid: Right. If you're going to spend a lifetime
and secrets of that art.learning an art, that's great, and no one's going to
Charles: Hmmm.fault you for that, but don't fall all over yourself
David: But to really learn how to fight, you don'twith a false sense of security thinking that
need to spend 3, 5, 10, 20 years in an art learningtraditional katas and fancy silk pajamas equal self
how to fight because true fighting is all aboutdefense because they really don't.
learning the minimal amount of techniques asCharles: Wow. Well, David, now we know, and we
opposed to the maximum techniques.feel much better that we don't have to spend the
Charles: Wow.next three or four years of our lifetime to learn
David: The less techniques you learn, the less youto defend ourselves during which time we may
need to recall in a time of a defense situation.have to use what little we may have learned, and
Charles: And, so how long would you think awhat we have learned may be very ineffective.
person would basically need in order to be able toSo, now we know that less is best in terms of
fight to protect themselves? How much timestreet fighting, and we thank you again for this
would they need?interview.
David: Well, truthfully, I know that someone canDavid: Thank you.
train with a good instructor in reality based