question about doing martial arts in kilt?

**Sciuropterus** · 24th December 06, 09:05 AM

I have been doing martial arts sice 1981, the last 8 years I have been involved in Kosen Ju-Jitsu and I am very familiar with MMA, several of our students have competed at the local level.
I would never wear a kilt on the mat to train MMA/Ju-Jitsu any more than I would wear a Japanese Hakama- it would definitely interfere with my technique while rolling on the mat, and likely get damaged. I can see myself trying to get up while my opponent is kneeling on my kilt, pinning me to the ground; bad for me, bad for the kilt.

If I am wearing a kilt on the street, then of course I have to do what I have to do.

For other martial arts, it might be fine, but definitely not for a style where you are rolling around. Indonesian Silat practitioners train wearing a kilt-length tube sarong and even have techniques that use the sarong to choke or restrain the opponent.

See this link for a cool sarong fighting video:
http://www.coldsteel.com/vdfs.html

**kiltman with a sword** · 24th December 06, 10:47 PM

my martial arts experience consists of some TKD when i was about 8, but we had to move and i couldnt do that anymore. since then i have devoured anyhting i could with regards to hand2hand. ive sparred with a navy seal,(which really proved that i had a lot to learn!), read all i could, spent hours cruising the internet, and although you guys that have the luxury of a dojo may think that im just trying to skip all the hard work, i would rather train n a dojo, or dojang if i could. my brother in law is wantig to join the mma, and i have a cousin who is #1 ranked contender in it in our area.i want to do that after i graduate, and was thinking of fighting in a kilt. they dont say you cant wear one. i also wrestled for 2 years in middle school, and have worked on converting my wrestling experience to street fighting. i can now fairly confidently say that i could break your arm, neck or leg in at least 4 ways apeice. and although you cant purposely break a limb in mma, you can put them in a submission hold using their extremities. so what are your thoughts on wearing a kilt in heavy contact fighting? keep in mind that garments are sometimes taped on so they stay on.
KWaS

**Norbydog** · 25th December 06, 12:46 PM

I would say no to the idea of MMA in a kilt. I trained MMA for years, and I can tell you that it will come off. Additionally, the added material would soak up your sweat, and I know of no fight who was nover saved at least once from a submission lock by slipping out through a layer of sweat.

Yet, I give you permission to do what my fight team did.....wear a kilt rather than shorts for your approach to the ring. If you look at the Sportkilt website, you can find the "Irish Revenge" tartan, which was endorsed by Jens Pulver. There is even a pic of him on the site wearing it.

**Sciuropterus** · 25th December 06, 02:35 PM

Originally Posted by kiltman with a sword

i can now fairly confidently say that i could break your arm, neck or leg in at least 4 ways apeice.

Yeah. Whatever.

I'd consider saving that sort of talk for your high school buddies who don't know any better.

Guys who talk like that never last long at our club.

You have been given good advice by some people who know what they are talking about. Ignore it at your own risk...

**kiltman with a sword** · 25th December 06, 10:58 PM

hey im not trying to brag, im just saying that i can do these things. against someone with years of martial arts experience, i would probably not win, but i can take care of myself fairly well. dont insult me by saying i dont know anything. ive worked hard to know what i do, and yes, i would have loved to learn from a teacher, but it wasnt feasible at the time. ive had to work twice as hard as my teacher in TKD pushed me, adn i can say to your face that i am a decent fighter. if you have a problem with a guy learning to fight outside of a school, then thats your opinion, but remarks like that have no place here, and are very insulting to people such as me. im going to treat this like a gentleman, and will ask you to do the same. i take every peice of advice very seriously, and weigh it against what i have learned as well.

**Caradoc** · 26th December 06, 10:42 AM

Originally Posted by Sciuropterus

You have been given good advice by some people who know what they are talking about. Ignore it at your own risk...

Easy on him, Jerry. He's 17.

I remember some of the truly dumb things I did at that age...

**kiltman with a sword** · 26th December 06, 01:07 PM

thank you caradoc, althought i dont know whether or not to be insulted, just a little!

i may not have been able to continue in my martial path, but ive gotten along fairly. another question if i may, what are your opinions on swordplay in a kilt? i dont mean fencing, which does not really appeal to me(no offense to those who practice it), but more medeival sword play? i used to boffer extensively,( boffering is foam weaponry combat) but never in a kilt. when i wore that badly made kilt a had, i tried it once, but as the thing isnt really a kilt, ive never really fought in one. thoughts please!
KWaS

**Caradoc** · 26th December 06, 01:18 PM

Originally Posted by kiltman with a sword

another question if i may, what are your opinions on swordplay in a kilt?

Well...

I've fought with a round shield and broadsword as well as a two-handed sword in a "great kilt," or belted plaid but historically such things generally weren't done (see the history of Blar-na-Leine).

In general, they would have dropped their belted plaids - if they won, they could retrieve them. If they lost, well, they didn't need them any more...

Today's soldiers will generally not fight extended engagements while carrying their bedrolls either.

**MacConnachie** · 26th December 06, 03:19 PM

Originally Posted by Caradoc

Easy on him, Jerry. He's 17.

I remember some of the truly dumb things I did at that age...

Caradoc, I remember a couple youngsters home on leave from the Marines, 30 years ago, saying how umpteen many ways they could break my neck. I finally told one of them that I only knew two, but he'd be just as dead. No one "wins" in those kinds of situations, and I dislike the testosterone-fueled posturing, too. I have been in interesting situations over the years, the last one being several years ago when a guy who claimed he'd been through SEAL training grabbed a ballpoint pen out of my shirt pocket and held it to my carotid, informing me how quickly I could be dead. It was intended to make a "point" to his hangers-on, I guess, but I just calmly stood there and stared him down, the pen at my throat, not saying a word. After a few seconds, he somewhat abashedly handed the pen back to me, and I never saw him around that tavern again. I could just as easily have been dead, but those with more "thunder in their mouth than lightning in their hands" don't worry me as much as the silently brooding types.

As to the question at hand, leave the kilt outside the ring. It's derived from utilitarian clothing which served as outer garb, a blanket, a shelter, a stretcher, and a number of other things, none of which belong in an MMA bout.

**Caradoc** · 26th December 06, 03:30 PM

Originally Posted by MacConnachie

As to the question at hand, leave the kilt outside the ring. It's derived from utilitarian clothing which served as outer garb, a blanket, a shelter, a stretcher, and a number of other things, none of which belong in an MMA bout.

I'll wholeheartedly agree with that.

The only reason I've worked out in my belted plaid was to make sure I could still do things the way I wanted to if I had to - you see, I spend at least one entire week every year wearing one while I stand the fire watch at a sizable reenactment/recreation event...