25 years between jujustu and judo
some Krav Maga
Hapkido
Jeet Kune do
Kali/ escrima
taken pressure point control tactics several times
Taught Judo and Jujutsu and self defense courses

The arts all have something to teach, they all have plans and skills that are of no real use. The most important factor is the practitioner and state of mind, NOT the art. All individuals regardless of training can be dropped by the right (lucky) technique from a rank amateur. One of the key factors to training is to learn to control the adrenaline surge, that said no practice ever simulates the adrenaline surge of real life vs death encounter. But practice and thought help you prepare. Learning martial arts gives you more choices to develop your personal toolbox. But too little training makes you inflexible and begin to think a given technique will work. There is no technique in any art that is always effective, if there was there would be only the one technique. Every fight is a risk, every situation is unique.

Learning -you cannot learn this from a book or video effectively. You cannot learn effectively with compliant partners. It takes time to become a flexible thoughtful fighter, meaning you can change your attack and defense on-th-fly without getting "stuck" in a mode of thought. For me this was always most relevant looking at young people learning ground fighting and being determined to "hunt" for a strangulation or armlock. All fighters get this idea that they will have a plan and execute it. NO battle plan survives contact with the enemy - this is true on a battlefield or any individual conflict (unless you are inordinately lucky, but don't let one go to your head!)

My 2 cents (but we dont make pennies anymore!)

I've been interested in the martial arts since I've been 16 years of age. For the following 20 years, I was a bit of a fanatic and studied a number of systems and styles. My studies included:

1 year Shotokan
1 year Judo
2 years Goju-rue
2 years Jujutsu
16 years Wushu

After this, I basically stopped learning, although I continued to teach which included a year at the Ontario Police College in Alymer as a Physical Training/Self-Defence Instructor.

I believe that every system has something of value to teach a student. It requires a high level of physical fitness and dedication to progress.

What I've experienced is that since the 70's the requirements have gone down hill. Many students have the goal of achieving a black belt and with the commercialization of Dojos, they have tended to punch-them-out on an assembly line. One Dojo in Toronto guaranteed a Black Belt in 3 years at a time when it would normally take seven to complete. Because of this, this level of accomplishment can't be a measure of actual ability, This is not to say that the ability and skill isn't there, but it's no longer the guarantee that it once was...

Wayne,

What level of belt/ranking would 16 years of Wushu training get you?

Wayne,

What level of belt/ranking would 16 years of Wushu training get you?

The Chinese Martial Arts Duanwei System (level of black sash) may vary somewhat from country to country. It cannot be directly compared to the Dan (Japanese) system of black belt grading.

Evaluation is based upon on each individual’s years of martial arts training, age, mastery of techniques and theories, ethics, contribution to the development of martial arts and a comprehensive evaluation system of skill level. I am 5th Duan (an intermediate degree.) The Advanced degrees require that you attain the previous rank for a minimum of 5 years. The highest degree is 9th Duan and can only be issued at age 60 (8th at 50). The Chinese apply a 'life-long learning' concept and respect those older... 🙂

I received my Black Sash in Kung Fu in 1984. From there I dabbled in boxing, Shotokan, Jiu Jitsu, Arnis and Krav Maga. As for actual fight experience, somewhere north of 400 street fights and bar fights. I enjoyed all of them but over the years I adopted 5 rules for fighting, which didn't sit all that well with the instructors when I took Krav Maga. Apparently, I'm too aggressive, but those rules have done me good.