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90% Of All Fights End Up On The Ground?
This article is a commentary discussing claims made by
certain stylists. It aims to separate hype from fact
and realistically interpret the often-quoted statistic.
I do not know who the original author is.
"The statistics released yesterday are detailed:
they show that three out of four people make up 75% of the population".
Most
incidents involving police officers end up on the
ground because they (the police) are trying to restrain
someone, not punch them out. (The
90% figure was taken from LA. Police arrest statistics,
a little known fact - LDJ)
All
other statistics are based on reported instances,
obviously not the majority of fights/assaults that go
unreported*.
Assaults are reported most often when the victim wasn't
able to successfully defend themselves. Most victims of
assault are not trained martial artists. Most trained
martial artists are not assaulted on a regular basis.
The statistics tell us that most successful
assaults on people who have little or no martial arts
training end up on the ground.
There are no statistics on:
- whether
trained martial artists can stay on their feet
during a criminal assault more often than untrained
individuals
- whether
trained martial artists are more likely to be able
to break free and regain their feet once on the
ground
- whether trained martial artists are less likely to get hurt during an assault
- whether trained martial artists are less likely to be assaulted in the first place
These
issues may be argued pro or con, but there are no
statistics either way. To go on to argue, as some have,
that a particular martial art is more, or less,
effective against a criminal assault seems to me to be
unfounded.
* For statistics to be gathered into official police records the incident must be reported, and the police have to record it. Victimisation surveys report 60% to 70% more crime than official statistics show -- Crime in South Africa, ISS Paper 49, April 2001
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