What a great thread. I've learned much from this thread, had a great time watching all the video clips (as well as other clips that were on those sites). I hope all of my fellow old guys truly appreciate what we now have at our fingertips. We didn't have youtube/internet/forums thirty years ago. We didn't have the luxury of discussions with other experienced Martial Artists from the comfort of our homes - especially when they were hundreds of miles away. What a great world we all live in now!
I'm retired LEO. As such, you get used to certain aspects of violence and get used to surprises. I've also worked in the bouncer industry in night clubs, some of which were before I started Martial Arts, I've worked in juvey lockups, worked in Boston Schools during forced busing (got in more fights on a weekly basis than our fighting dojo ever saw) I worked as a stunt man in the entertainment industry, and I've been married forever to a crazed tom boy Martial Artist who's half Sicilian, half Irish/Scottish. She doesn't even need a second person in the room to start an argument. I competed in fighting for 27 years and have been beat up more than anyone I know. I also grew up in the projects as a wee lad.
I'm sure all of that has helped me prepare for reality in some way. But it's not even close to what the important things were/are. Every one of the important things came from the dojo. Even BEFORE I actually trained. As I've said here before, my first exposure to the arts were watching classes at Mattson Academy. I remember, quite clearly, thinking "Oh, my God, these people are nuts. But, man oh man, that's what I want to do!"
I also remember thinking "They're big, strong men." Then I saw a class of young people, some of whom were smaller than me. That really blew my mind.
I know things are different for everybody. But, for me, it was the discipline of Karate training that trained me for reality. NOT the fighting techniques, it was the process. It was where I learned exactly what the human body and mind could accomplish. It was where I learned the difference between what I was and what I was becoming. It was walking to the dojo in a blizzard when my car was broken. Then walking home all sweaty and sore and thinking of every single moment of class time as I waded through slush and drifts, my feet all numb. I would have bought new boots that week, but I had to buy that new fangled safe-T kick stuff that had just come out. The boots would have to wait. It was training in a horse stance when your legs were bruised and your feet blistered, and not letting your mind wander to "when the hell is class going to end?" It was wrapping that bad wrist with duct tape so you could at least TRY to do the pushups. It was going to class when you just didn't want to. And again. And again.
I've been in situations I didn't want to be in. It wasn't my firearm or my knife that made it easier. They probably had guns and knives, too. It wasn't that I was used to fighting, which I was - heck, I'm sure they were used to fighting as well. And while my awareness, tactics and experience were probably better than theirs - those things didn't tip the scales in my favor. The process of Martial Training did.
Yes, we all need tactical instruction and practice, we all need to take our lumps while getting them. But, in my opinion, what we all go through in the dojo, day in and day out, shouldn't be discounted when it comes to the subject of preparing for reality.