As an addendum regarding the philosophy part of the martial arts, even though it may not directly fit in here, I'd also like to paraphrase Sun Tzu: "He will win, who knows when to fight, and when not to."

A martial artist who has spent years mastering his craft is no match for the power that flows through the barrel of a gun in a split second.

I cannot help but to agree on this one. On the other side though, it does hold someone back and for many, fleeing instead of fighting, is perceived as cowardice, instead.....

First timers pressing the trigger will have a small delay though. Enough to let you take control. Other than that, sad but very true, apparently.

"never harm others"

Hey, don't speak for everyone, I knew a boxing school* that took their students to the street, pointed at a random person and told them to beat them up as a rite of passage. I guess they were the Cobra Kais of boxing schools.

*For boxing, is it a school? Academy perhaps?

Combat training only works when it's applied to situations where the other person acts according to how you know they will. A boxer knows how to fight a boxer. A fencer like myself knows how to fight a fencer. A karate fighter knows how to fight a karate fighter. Outside of those? We can apply our skills reasonably to a situation that it's in our favor, but you're in a situation where you're limited to both the knowledge of your attacker and the tools that will be effective. My fencing sword only means so much when it's a blunted tip, best case scenario I take out an eye and flee unless I get a conceal carry license and keep a real sword on me for self-defense which is overkill. The best I can do is apply it as a way to protect myself from attacks by blunt objects, preferably with a similar blunted object, and to hit with it in ways most people don't know how to defend against. A boxer will have to deal with fighting without gloves, a karate-man has to use methods that rely on either openings or outright first-aggression. That's what you're looking at.

Ultimately, all of these are sports and intended to be used just for that. Going any further, to rely on it or to look for situations away from to apply it gives you a disappointment at best and an arrest or death at worst.

Honoured by the wulin, the precious Saber slays the Dragon. It commands the world. Who dares to disobey? If the Heaven Reliant does not appear, who can challenge it?

Not if you are Chuck Norris...

I had a discussion of guns vs. fists in kindergarden. I think we ended up dying a lot from imaginary gunfights but kept reincarnating. on some days fists won, probably when we got tired of gunfights.

anyhow, if this is seriously pondered of... I always found Martial Arts giving a tremendous amount of (sometimes unnecessary or too much of) self-confidence.
It could be practiced by women for example, not only to give up some of their fears but to really be able to kick some ass when some crazy stranger come touching them. Of course to have real skills and to be able to create this reaction in a stressful and fearful situation probably takes years. But If I was a woman, in this world... It couldn't hurt. Especially in a lot of big cities and if you have to use routes that are less than safe on daily basis... Sure, gun is something too, but I'd prefer not to shoot somebody dead even if they are bastards.
And have heard that often one punch is enough to drive the bugger away, it can be that shocking. So I'd prefer gaining self-confidence through self-defence rather than body count. But that's just me :p
I'll leave you with, "be water, my friend, be water," - Bruce Lee.

Pick a fight with a professional black belt or boxer and see how long you last. I'd predict you'd be on your ass before you even threw two punches. Question answered.

Mae Geri kick to knockout Randy
Randy Couture Vs Lyoto Machida (MMA - UFC);

Lyoto's background Karate, Muay Thai, BJJ, wrestling , sumo

try Judo and Kickboxing not karate alone

In my experience, a professional would run. Getting into a fight can cost them their license or even criminal charges, therefore it's pretty hard to actually pick a fight with them.

In response to the OP: it depends what you want them for. If you want them to go around picking fights and kicking everybody's asses without repercusion, then they are indeed not very useful. If you want them as a way to train your body (and mind?) then they can be useful. If you want them a fallback for a situation when things get dirty and you can't get out of, some of them will be useful while others are too "sporty" to be of practical use.

A friend of mine is quite into martial arts, and refuses to acknowledge kickboxing as one because the trend there is to go picking fights everywhere and don't enforce discipline. He insists martial arts are more about disciplining yourself than the actual physical exercise. I can see how that could be useless for some.

The concept of self defense assumes you are using as much force as the attacker, not more. If someone punches you, you cannot shoot them and claim self defense. You are allowed to punch them back though, and the courts do see this as self defense.

On to martial arts and professional athletes now.

In both cases, a champion in those forms is always considered armed. So if someone punches Zambidis and he punches them back, Zambidis is the one at fault for using excessive force. If the attacker has a gun though, Zambidis' punches may be considered an appropriate force to respond with.

On the carrying weapons on you part. Martial artists are allowed to carry their weapons with them, though under conditions. If I walk around with a sharpened katana on my back, the police have every right to detain me. If a martial arts teacher with katana specialty walks with the same katana on his back, and he does have the proper paperwork with him, he is allowed to continue on his way, even though he may have to go for verification before been allowed to.

Using said weapons in a fight though will most likely result in an excessive force charge, since not only is the wielder already considered armed (martial artist), but he is also using a weapon. Not sure what you'd have to attack him with for the katana to be considered appropriate force.


And finally, you do not learn a martial art to beat the crap out of others. You learn one to prevent someone from beating you up. If you can't see the difference between the two, then I doubt any teacher will be proud in whatever you learn.

Was that the one in Sao Jose dos Campos?

I read about it in the news, they picked the wrong guy and the student caught four warning shots, with his face. I guess he didn´t pass his test.

Being smart and avoiding the situation will have better results in most cases.