Also, that feeling when I can't go outside, say, at night. Because I'm afraid some nigger will come with a knife and take everything I have.
If I ever go out with my mother for example, I look at every single person, waiting for that one motherfucker who is gonna try and rob me.

It's awful.

>>5468
>Because I'm afraid some nigger

lets not say that

Intelligence >= Strength.

Case in point, every war in history.

>>5469
Yeah, I meant "A person with a black heart". Not like I'm racist.

>>5469
I agree with this.

Back to the original topic, I took self-defense lessons (based on Hapkido) for about 8 months or so. It was fun learning some of the moves, but I stopped when I realized how completely impractical it was (this would apply regardless of which martial art I used).

And when I say impractical, I mean that the only circumstance I will ever use any martial arts move on another person "for real" is if I pick a fight with someone.

I think getting robbed is exceedingly unlikely. And if someone does try to rob me, chances are they'll have weapons or buddies to help them, meaning you lose no matter what you practiced.

Getting attacked for any other reason is even less likely.

That being said, martial arts are fun and you can learn how to go through the motions of a lot of punches and kicks using youtube tutorials, so have at it if you like!

Sounds like you need Aikido in your life, young one.

Yeah, becoming 'strong' (ill defined but whatever) is one of my primary goals. Its important to be strong because it allows you to protect and defend people who are important to you.

I have always recognised that physical strength only comprises one component of a whole, however, and it matters less and less because other kinds of things like intelligence and money take precedence. Someone who is strong should have a good balance between physical strength, quick decision making skills, ability to prepare and anticipate threats etc.

Becoming a huge musclehead isn't that great, but then again its an imperfect world and image matters a lot. The kinds of people who'll attack you aren't going to be very smart or have a great sense of ethics. If you look weak and unconfident, they'll pick on you. If you look strong, nobody picks on you even if you're wrong. Thats just how it is. You can look strong and confident but avoid being a dickhead though.

It's good to get stronger, but you don't have to worry about someone robbing you or whatever. I'm a scrawny white kid, and I've lived in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Los Angeles, and I've never had a problem.

>>5472
>And if someone does try to rob me, chances are they'll have weapons or buddies to help them, meaning you lose no matter what you practiced.

You overestimate the courage of your opponents. At least 90% of the muggers count on you being a weakling who gives in when threatened. If you show any toughness, they're likely to just run away

Conventional strength is far less practical than intellect and social skills, both of which yes, are "strengths" I'm actively trying to improve. You'll find martial arts are virtually useless in instances of random street violence where attackers almost always bring a weapon. Being able to verbally dissuade the assailant is ideal, taking into account your's and other's safety and resulting legality issues which may arise from a physical confrontation.

Also, very frequently you'll find tough looking guys the primary target of attacks, usually perpetrated by individuals insecure about their own physique. Ever hear of little man syndrome?

This aint highschool anymore. You generally don't get singled out and attacked in a public environment for looking "weak". This is coming from my own regional experience though, I guess if gangs or violence are prevalent where some of you live this may be different.

tl;dr: Intelligence and social influence will serve you far more practically than physical strength/martial arts. Almost no realistic situation which will arise in your mundane life can be only solved through reciprocated violence.

>>5490
>At least 90% of the muggers count on you being a weakling who gives in when threatened. If you show any toughness, they're likely to just run away
If you ever get mugged you're going to be killed.

>If you ever get mugged you're going to be killed.

This. If you're in a situation where they think they won't get seen mugging you, they just as likely think they won't get seen killing you.

>>5494
I said that largely due to the fact that these people are almost always mentally unstable. If you're resorting to street robbery you likely aren't too smart, so any consequences resulting from someone's death will not be considered.

The people who are mugging you may or may not be blasted on rationality destroying drugs. You wont even be able to tell in a tense situation. Provoking these people by acting "courageous" is literally the worst thing you can do.

The best way to win a fight is to avoid it. Just don't be a retard and walk around the ghetto or shady areas or flaunt your wallet or other stupid stuff and know your surroundings and you'll be fine.

Most criminals are dumb as shit and rely on ambushes to do whatever. However, like I said they're usually low IQ imbeciles so sometimes they can even prove incompetent when doing that. Martial arts/whatever is usually a scam but even if it isn't it's only one part of self defense alongside avoiding conflicts, awareness/alertness and other things. And even then it's a last resort. Strength and fighting skills don't matter much when the great equalizer comes into play, hence the name. Still, they can be good for teaching discipline, fitness, etc... and can give an edge.

You could always move to Singapore which has little violence because they execute and torture most violent criminals.

>>5493
>>5494
>>5496
>If you ever get mugged you're going to be killed.

Look, I live in a country full of corruption, crime, social decay, etc. and never have I seen a petty robber willing to spill blood for small change. Trust me, when it comes to dealing with scum I'm rarely wrong about these things.

I actually grew up in some real rough housing projects, some of the poorest in North America. I'm skinny as hell and hardly intimidating, yet all the years I lived there no one ever robbed or assaulted me. And there were people with guns walking around who wouldn't think twice about taking a life.

The trick is to just mind your business, and don't get into a situation where you can be robbed. That means, don't walk to the store at 2AM. There is no helping if some crackhead without anything to lose spots you, kicks your head in, and runs off with everything from your wallet to shoes. Avoid areas that are obviously a little run down and probably run by gangs.

There is no telling when or where or if you will get robbed; it can happen anywhere from a ghetto or an elevator in an office building, or a home invasion. Use common sense but keep in mind the chances of you getting robbed are probably very slim. Chances are if it happened no boxing or martial arts training or just muscle is going to help you. Robbers do their work for a living, and they could knock you out cold before you even saw them.

I'd rather be thin and feminine than big and strong

>>5513
Didn't anime teach you anything?
You can be thin and feminine, and be strong as fuck.

>>5520
I'm thin and strong, but I have a typical weight lifter build and manly face. It's just not fair.

I have a .357 to make up for my lack of being able to fight.

But I don't actually carry it around with me so it's only helpful if someone breaks into the house.

>>5520
This is true to a point. Strength as people see it "lifting heavy shit" is only a matter of leverage and using your body as a counterweight. You could maintain a slim physique of tightly packed muscle fibers and be quite heavy.

I'm no expert, but I've always seen it as for someone like a fat person, they have their weight spread out over a larger surface area for impact if they throw a punch, compared to a slim person of the same weight in a higher density, lower surface area, and the same weight, it would travel much faster and provide a stronger impact.

Being healthy starts off in your diet. I can't really comment on the difficulty of that, as it's been pretty simple for me to eat healthy all of my life. (mom is a health nut and brother has type 1 diabetes, so all of the food in the house is organic gluten free low fat high protein etc.)

As for being in a fight, I cant give you anything from experience as I've only been in one fight during 1st grade, but from what I hear from people who are professionals or well versed in self defense, the best course of action always seems to be to run, so a martial art wont help you. Carrying some pepper spray mace is pretty useful as it has the advantage of range and covering a large area so you can run.

Not really related, but I've read plenty that the worst thing to bring to a fight is a knife. There's a chance that you could have it taken away from you, and you'd be the one dead or bleeding out/disabled, knives have a short range as well, so if you think you can use it you're probably better off fighting hand to hand.

I have a theory that having large muscles can act as a substitute for social skills. For example, some girls will like you simply for having big muscles and you won't even have to speak to her to impress her. the muscles would do the talking on your behalf.

However, getting muscles requires going to a gym. Going to a gym = social interaction/leaving the house. People will be there looking and judging you and possibly wanting to talk to you and thinking that you're too skinny and nerdy to go to a gym and that you don't belong there.

I almost feel as if i don't have permission to have large muscles. That I'm supposed to be a scrawny NEET and that only sporty people are allowed to have muscles.

>>7788

You don't need to go to a gym to gain muscle, simply do push-ups and lift heavy things. All you need is to not be a lethargic, lazy sod like me.

>>7789

But without professional person telling you what exercises to do, you might end up with a muscle imablance causing you to be deformed or develop some other sort of horrific injury.

Plus you could never really get big girl magnet muscles without professional gym equipment and nutritional guidance.

>>7792

Eh, well I couldn't really care less about getting "chick magnet" muscles anyway. The less attractive I am to the opposite sex, the better.

>>7792
You dont need any gym equipment to be strong and healthy. Pushups, pullups, squats, running - you can do it all by yourself, and dont really need any supervision as, I imagine, its almost impossible to do damage to yourself just from doing those bodyweight exercises.
You will never become ripped like those bodybuilders, but you will have nice, slim, athletic body.
Now, saying that, you actually need motivation to start and continue doing that sort of stuff. I have trouble getting motivated to go to toilet or to brush my teeth, let alone go and run in a park. Sometimes I really start to think that there is a huge chemical imbalance in my body, and that is the reason why I am always sad and miserable. But again, I cant get motivated enough to do something about it.

Like others in this thread has said, the best way to 'win' a fight is just to be smart, not to pick fights, run away, don't do stupid things like walk around with your ipod in dodgy neighborhoods.

I have written a series of blog posts giving a no bullshit guide to self-defence, heres the link to the first: http://whimsicalstar.wordpress.com/2011/10/01/fighting-1/

>>5487
You are extremely tall

>>7798
Who are you and why do you know that

And yes, I'm tall, but I'm built like a twig.

>>7800
You posted your height in the past

I rather just buy a gun.

But then its only good for self defense when you are in reach of it

  >>7802
Guns are practically useless in close range.

>>7809
Yeah, I pretty much learned it alright in Resident Evil 2.

>>7809
Get a knife and a gun

Put a bayonet on your pistol.

I would like to accumulate spiritual and/or mental strength. Since I'm already highly detached from the world I feel that this won't be too hard for me, but I believe the mind and body are closely connected, so I think I should get to the gym on a regular basis too. I'm not worried about being robbed, and I couldn't care less about whether another guy can beat me up in a fight, but even so I'd like to be in better shape than I am now.

>>7872
>>7873
This wouldn't help you.
You'd need to have your gun/knife out in the open for it to be useful.
And this is illegal in most countries, even in America you aren't allowed to just walk around with a gun or knife in your hand.

>>7890
>>7872

"Snake, try to remember the basics of CQC."

>>7890
I was joking about the bayonet thing

I've thought about it a great deal and had those exact same thoughts about what-if situations.

I've actually always been kinda attracted to the martial arts (yeah, I know) but the idea of the kind of one-on-one interaction that comes along with that is really terrifying. I'm not a hikikomori but I engage in minimal ancillary social contact. I have, like, one friend that I feel comfortable enough to invite over. That's it.

So, the idea of facing off with someone in such an aggressively competitive fashion is a bit too much for me.

>>7925

Same here.

Even playing fighting games online is too much for me.

>>7926
lol playing fighting games online is suffering.

I would do it with people I already know, I suppose. I added some people from the /tc/ and /jp/ Steam groups a while back. I'm not ready to reach out but it does kinda make me feel warm and fuzzy to see when people sign in.

I try to make all my accounts everywhere with the same name (Y10NRDY) so if bros want to find me it's easy.