Are The Martial Arts Useful

 By Robet Borsody, The Black Belt NYC Lawyer

People sometimes ask me, upon learning that I am an advanced degree in martial arts, "have you ever used it."  I don't have an exciting story to tell them about how I bested a bunch of thugs in a dark alley somewhere, somehow, someday.  That never happened, and don't think ever will happen, not now and not ever, I think.

When one is a  early student of the martial arts one often feels "tough" and may even swagger about a bit.  Sometimes one even hopes for an encounter where skills can be shown.

fortunately that rarely happens, for everyone, including the student.  As studies progress, skills increase and confidence level builds, there is less of a need or desire to demonstrate and more of a feeling that " if I had to I could."

After a time, and I am now a third degree black belt, and if one  is fortunate in having had the right teachers and maybe having done other studies as well, there is no need to prove oneself  and one radiates an aura or a presence that is perceptible to others who are  tuned in.

But back to that question about "have you ever used your martial arts training."  Well, yes, there was a time but it wasn't exactly a fight but it did, I think, save someone's life.  Here's what happened.

It was a few years ago on a Friday night just after work, in New York City, in the subway , steaming hot, on the platform at 42nd St going uptown.          I was waiting for my train when one came in, packed solid.  The doors open and nobody in the platform will because it was hopeless to get it….. except one man.  Who knows what his story was, why he was so desperate to get on, or foolish, as it turns out , but he hurled himself at that solid mass of humanity in an effort to get into the train.  It happened that the particular person that he hit  was a tall, broad young man, late 20s I would say who didn't take kindly to being hurled at. He shouted "get out! There is no room."

By the way the hurler of himself was a good foot shorter and a good 20 or 30 years  older.  But that didn't stop him from making another attempt to get in, unfortunately in the same place and against the same tall, strong looking young man.  This time his efforts were greeted with a stream of profanities and a really angry look.  Now, at this point anybody with half a brain would take the next train.  What happened next nearly cost this hapless fellow his whole brain.