In a recent episode of their hit Showtime series, stage magicians Penn Jilette and Raymond Teller warn viewers away from the universally fraudulent field of martial arts. Now a real expert martial artist rescues us from their half-baked debunkings.
For their own convenience, Penn and Teller divide the world of martial arts into three categories: traditional, mystical, and murderous. During the show, they interview and mock one representative from each category:

• Mike Reeves, of Powerhouse Karate, in Apopka, Florida
• Dena Saxer, of Mantak Chia’s Universal Healing Tao in Los Angeles, CA
• Damian Ross, of The Self Defense Company, in Saddle River, NJ

To support their otherwise meritless position, Penn and Teller rely on Marc MacYoung of No-Nonsense Self Defense. Although MacYoung is presented as a skeptical outsider here, he is actually the best known of these four, and is highly regarded within the martial arts community.


Read more here:
http://www.martialdevelopment.com/bl...rts/#more-2479


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I think that is ludicrous. i was dismayed at how i found this article being able to place penn and teller as being taken seriously!


OBVIOUSLY the two blokes are BSers! who would listen to their advice but a self righteous lunatic?


Where do i come up with this kind of stuff? seriously?

Quit bawwing. Thread is shit.

All the things said in this episode is perfectably legible. $5 says that this thread is just because P&T told you that your 'blackbelt' is bullshit.

No way man, I worked for 3 years and had to pay 5000$ dollars for the final tes-.... oh, :c.

Anyways, martial arts are pretty over-rated.
Doing flip kicks and spins don't really help you in self defense. It's best to learn Judo-tosses and basic boxing.

I think it's pretty eloquently explained in the opening minutes of the P&T show though. If someone is pointing a gun at you then you probably should not try to fight them. You give them all of your money and your socks.
Tradeoff of risks etc.

Hah pathetic people don't know gong fu.

Meh, in many respects they are right, and in many others they are wrong. The show tackles the issue of self defense specifically, and they foolishly use self defense and martial arts on the show almost interchangeably.

They are right in that, in many situations, what you learn in martial arts is not going to save you at gun point, and that many martial arts studios advertise "self defense" as their motto which is far from what you actually learn in dojos.

The goal of martial arts (generally), however, is to promote things like discipline instead of "how to beat bad guys". The problem with advertising self-defense is that when faced with a gun, many maneuvers will result in you getting killed, but handing over your wallet (I think they used this in the show), generally will not.

Belts are probably best considered these days at a motivational commodity. If someone stayed white belt their entire career, they would quit eventually.

tl;dr Martial arts is not and should not be about self defense.

Fuckin lol'd at how they got an elderly woman who is interested in the mental aspects of Taichi to represent it as a personal defense.

They also totally ignored the hobby asspect of Martial Arts, including arenas like Mixed Martial Arts which is plenty good and, if you enjoy it, you might as well spend money on it.

Penn and Teller are playing to a conglomerate of idiots who engage in martial arts for idiot reasons, and they've preached to them expertly. They have, however, totally missed the point of true martial arts. The responses so far in this thread only cement this further.

no,wait...martial arts were born for self defence.This is sure.Then is also sure that actually they don't have more much reason for be only for self defence(as u said range weapons>every martial arts),but is also true that isn't so normal to have a face to face with a gun..almost here where i live(and i don't live in a small city in the country).So they conserve a small sense also in self defence.Sure actually in occident most of people do martial arts like hobby(so for fun),and imo the goal of martial arts(almost in occident)isn't to teach discipline,but to teach how to control your body

And you think that the classical definition of Martial Arts (originally named by anglos for Mars, the god of war) still applies today?

That's cute.

I've got an army of men with rifles. You can choose all of the martial artists you like and I will still win.

I doubt you've ever set foot into a martial arts academy, which generally promote a sense of order and discipline. You don't set foot into an academy and it's all "HI IM GOING TO TEACH YOU HOW TO FIGHT A GUY WITH A GUN". Fuck off, man.

Maybe in America.

is this referred to me?i prefer to wait the answer before reply in the right way...

Btw is clear u have misunderstanding my post...even if my english suck,math is global and if i say "ranged weapons>every martial arts",in my mind CLEARLY mean that ranged weapons beat martial arts...what obviousness.
I can't find a part of my post where i say that "the classical definition of Martial Art" is still current today....
Plus u pretend to ignore my constant references to occident..why i said that?because is clear that occident changed the way to teach and the final sense of martial arts,adapting both of them to our way of life.So no,i never went to a martial art accademy,and i neither want to go there.
Next time read better,and i'll try to write better

awww
awwwwww
awww awwww awwww
i'm so butthurt penn and teller did a show about some bullshit I subscribe too

bawwwwww