Martial arts training methods and self defence

There is no terribly novel material here; chiefly I write this little essay in order to have a fixed location to refer back to when, in the course of some argument on other over on Bullshido.net, I have to reiterate what I have said before (considering the length of this, I think excerpts will be called for). (It should also be mentioned that much of my thinking on the subject has been very directly inspired by posters on that website.) That said, on to the meat.

( A lengthy article… )