Do our techniques really work?

In 2005 I joined the Special Constables in the town where I live. For those who don't know the Special Constables are volunteers and do not get paid. Yet we are given the same powers of authority as a regular police officer. As such getting in is not easy.

Anyway, one of the things I wanted to test was whether our self defence techniques really work in the real world. In the dojang we tend to let our partner do the techniques on us without any resistance. When arresting a member of the public they tend to fight back for real because you are taking away their freedom by putting them in a cell.

Obviously there are rules to follow when apprehending members of the public regardless of how violent they are. I cannot just go chucking people around! However, there was one situation that came up where I used a technique and I can tell you - they work!

Here's what happened:

It was late one night and a group of men in their late teens were causing a scene and had been drinking alcohol for some hours. Upon arriving they had broken into a fight which was quickly stopped by my fellow regular police officer. Nobody had been arrested at that time as we needed to find out what had happened. During taking statements the men started shoving each other again. My fellow officer stopped the fight and stood between the two men fighting. The man behind him went to punch my fellow officer in the back of the head. Without hesitating I hooked my hand around his arm and took him to the floor using Ki Bohn Soo 2. It was all over and he was booked and all men taken into the station.

I was exhilarated with myself, and my fellow officer was glad not to receive a blow to the back of the head! For me, it proved that I don't freeze in a situation and remembered to do something. It just so happened that the basics are the best. I had over 400 techniques at my disposal and it was adaption of Ki Bohn Soo 2 that came to my aid. And isn't that just the point of practising martial arts. We cannot cater for every possible scenario in the dojang but we can adapt the techniques to suit our situation!

Thank you Kuk Sa Nim!