Best Martial Arts For Self Defense

[nofool4u]

Of course not, Krav Maga is not meant for the ring. It's not a competitive sport. It's meant for an attack in the streets, where your life is in danger.

 

which is why it would be highly recommended to suit what the OP was looking for and that is training in an art for "self-defense".

[taiko]

You left of probably one of the most practical martial arts: jujitsu. or if not jujitsu specific, then any art that focuses alot on ground grappling.

 

Judo is another one that is highly practical

As an old guy who took judo and kenpo once upon a time let me say that the karate, Kung Fu, boxer types will come back and say the last place you want to be is on the ground because the bad guy is never going to be alone and you will not have a partner to cover your back. While you are grappling on the ground the bad guys friends don't have to be a Bruce Lee to stick their boot through your head.

[nofool4u]

As an old guy who took judo and kenpo once upon a time let me say that the karate, Kung Fu, boxer types will come back and say the last place you want to be is on the ground because the bad guy is never going to be alone and you will not have a partner to cover your back. While you are grappling on the ground the bad guys friends don't have to be a Bruce Lee to stick their boot through your head.

 

well obviously grappling isn't what you need when there is more than one attacker. the best martial art for multiple attackers is Running-ryu:o

 

you have to adjust our defense based on the situation. thats why I always tell people with limited time, choose one traditionally stand up style, like karate, kung fu, etc, and couple it with a typically ground style like brazilian jujitsu, judo, sambo, wrestling.

 

If you have and instructor's business nearby that trains in MMA, that would be ideal. You will do stand up and ground fighting.

[tman666]

well obviously grappling isn't what you need when there is more than one attacker. the best martial art for multiple attackers is Running-ryu:o

 

you have to adjust our defense based on the situation. thats why I always tell people with limited time, choose one traditionally stand up style, like karate, kung fu, etc, and couple it with a typically ground style like brazilian jujitsu, judo, sambo, wrestling.

 

If you have and instructor's business nearby that trains in MMA, that would be ideal. You will do stand up and ground fighting.

 

While I agree with you that having a diverse skill set (both stand up and ground fighting abilities) is extremely important, I disagree that training in MMA right off the bat is the answer to this.

 

The guys I've seen who start at the "MMA gym" (with no previous MA experience) seem to turn mostly into overconfident, sloppy looking brawlers. I'm sure this isn't the case everywhere, but I would suggest that a person forms a solid base in EITHER BJJ, Boxing, Karate, Judo, etc. before trying to combine things. "It's hard to ride two horses with one ass".

 

Just my opinion (and it's very interesting to me how diverse opinions regarding MA are), though.

[nofool4u]

While I agree with you that having a diverse skill set (both stand up and ground fighting abilities) is extremely important, I disagree that training in MMA right off the bat is the answer to this.

 

The guys I've seen who start at the "MMA gym" (with no previous MA experience) seem to turn mostly into overconfident, sloppy looking brawlers. I'm sure this isn't the case everywhere, but I would suggest that a person forms a solid base in EITHER BJJ, Boxing, Karate, Judo, etc. before trying to combine things. "It's hard to ride two horses with one ass".

 

Just my opinion (and it's very interesting to me how diverse opinions regarding MA are), though.

 

No, I actually agree. should have some training before jumping into MMA

[omkara]

The guys I've seen who start at the "MMA gym" (with no previous MA experience) seem to turn mostly into overconfident, sloppy looking brawlers.

 

I see this a lot as well. I've saw a fight were a kid was so cocky, he put his guard down and let his opponent hit him a bunch of times in the face. The ref had to stop the fight cause he refused to defend himself.

 

He was probably on coke actually.

[Forever Learning]

What about Aikido with a focus on controlling and recovering from falls and using your opponents' momentum against them?

 

Never heard of it, I shall google and youtube it to learn more. Thanks for the suggestion, I love checking out new stuff. This is so cool.

 

Therefore a school that teaches MMA is, in my opinion, the absolute best for self defense.

 

OK, I think MMA stands for Mixed Martial Arts. I will have to google to figure out what that means. I kind of thought that might be what Jeet Kune Do was to some extent, because Bruce Lee wanted it to be a variety of useful stuff, streamlining out the not-useful stuff. But maybe MMA is something entirely different, so I will have to google to figure that out. Thanks for mentioning this!

 

Krav Maga

Aikido

Tai Chi

Capoeira

Muay Thai

Kung Fu

Jeet Kune Do

 

Thanks for mentioning all these, I will look into them all, except I am not sure about the Capeoira and Tai Chi...... they sound too soft to be helpful for what I want for self defense purposes, but I could be wrong. Thanks!

 

Judo is another one that is highly practical

 

Thanks for mentioning Judo, I forgot all about that. Not that I knew much to begin with, but I forgot about it entirely as a contender, so I am glad you mentioned it. I will give it a look-see on google & youtube.

 

The guys I've seen who start at the "MMA gym" (with no previous MA experience) seem to turn mostly into overconfident, sloppy looking brawlers. I'm sure this isn't the case everywhere, but I would suggest that a person forms a solid base in EITHER BJJ, Boxing, Karate, Judo, etc. before trying to combine things. "It's hard to ride two horses with one ass".

 

HYSTERICAL! And very true! Seems like I'm always trying to do that in life. I won't forget that one anytime soon. Good one.

 

I see this a lot as well. I've saw a fight were a kid was so cocky, he put his guard down and let his opponent hit him a bunch of times in the face. The ref had to stop the fight cause he refused to defend himself. He was probably on coke actually.

 

I've known personality types like this too (and yes they were also eventually cokeheads, goes with the personality type, all dead now).

 

This is where a martial arts style emphasizing self discipline, humility and moderation/avoidance of excess would have been so helpful in balancing their excessive personality types. Martial arts could have taught them to learn essential character and lifestlye values and ways of living that their parents neglected to teach them or they otherwise failed to master in life.

 

Those guys I knew (6 male friends come to mind) with that "excessive/ ultra-cocky/mega alpha" personality type are all dead now. Died on motorcycles or from coke or both. None of them took any marital arts that I recall but they all would have benefitted greatly from it if they had, especially taken early in life when they were kids (just my opinion).

 

They all had one thing in common: zero self discipline and constant need for attention via proving how tough they were (like the guy you mentioned who let someone punch him in the face a bunch to prove he could take it). These guys fighting style was usually head-butts, if that is a fighting style. I'm sure they choose that head-butt move because it would get alot of attention when they knocked someone out like that. It always terrified me to see it done.

 

I'm glad the ref called the fight you mentioned, and hope his instructor or someone set him straight about how dumb that was. Your noggin can only take so many hits in life, just look at shaky Muhommad Ali or any of the quarterbacks with high concussion stats who were forced into retirement. Plus excessive head injuries can actually cause changes in personality, too. Risky stuff. Thanks again for the input.

Edited September 15, 2011 by Forever Learning

[omkara]

Your noggin can only take so many hits in life, just look at shaky Muhommad Ali

I'm not sure why people say this. Muhammad Ali was famous for NEVER getting hit in the head/face, or at all for that matter. Only on very rare occasions did that happen. But there were other boxers who got hit in the head waaaay more times than Ali and they turned out fine. Edited September 15, 2011 by omkara

[taiko]

I'm not sure why people say this. Muhammad Ali was famous for NEVER getting hit in the head/face, or at all for that matter. Only on very rare occasions did that happen. But there were other boxers who got hit in the head waaaay more times than Ali and they turned out fine.

 

That was before age caught up with him from the time Ken Norton broke his jaw to when Champion Larry Holmes pleaded with the ref to stop the fight while he jabbed through Ali's non defense he took increasing punishment.

[omkara]

Yeah, but c'mon, that's not what gave him Parkinson's.

[Calutaxi484]

OP, I think that many styles of Martial Arts are useful for various things. Self defense actually being amonst one things I don't find them useful for.

I've taken Shoto-Jitsu ( it's a mix of Shotokan Karate and traditional Japanese Jiu Jitsu) and also Kung Fu.

 

I think that they give many people a false sense of security when it comes to actual situations. That being said I HAVE used various aspects of my martial arts training in the course of real life. I'm a Paramedic and I've frequently encountered people that were combative due to medical reasons in my professional life, I've NEVER gotten into a situation like that in my personal life. I've used MA techniques to subdue patients without hurting them.

 

Lets look at some common "self defense" scenarios presented by martial arts schools.

1- You're walking down the street and this guy starts choking you from behind. Well in the ultra unlikely chance this would ever happen ( if someone randomly assaults you on the street it's going to be a robbery/mugging not a random choking) sure I suppose having some training to get of this would come in handy.

2- You're being mugged at gunpoint/with a knife. Trying to do some martial arts disarm is realistically only going to increase your chances of getting hurt or killed. Give the guy the 30 bucks you have in your wallet and be on your way. Personally I opt to carry a 1911 for this sort of situation.

3- You're in a barfight. Well fundamentally you shouldn't be involved in a bar fight in the first place. Any martial arts instructor that's not a total hack is going to tell you that what you're learning is to be used as a last resort only. If someone gives you trouble in the bar... leave, buy the guy a drink, whatever. There's a million other outcomes that don't result in getting into a fight.

 

Of course you also have to take into account legal ramifications of any action you might take. Suppose you get into a fight with a drunk, local authorities might wonder why a guy that could hardly walk now has 5 broken ribs, a broken arm and a broken jaw. You having martial arts training (depending on jurisdiction) can be charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

 

I sustained more injuries in martial arts then I have in the course of my normal life. From doing kumite portions of tournaments I've had a dislocated jaw, and have had my shins busted up to the point I couldn't even walk. Not to mention numerious bloody noses, busted lips, bumps, bruises and scrapes from dojo training and sparring.

 

That being said in my entire adult life I've never been in a fight. I'm almost 30 now, and I've been in plenty of situations that I COULD have gotten into fights. I lived in my fraternity house in college, I still enjoy going to the bars, and I spent a lot of time at the casino. I've bumped into people, flirted with girlfriends, spilled my drink on people. Never once has it ended up in a fight. Diplomacy goes a long way.

 

I do find martial arts to be useful in many other aspects though. It's a great healthy albeit expensive hobby. It's a good way to stay in shape and meet new people, and get involved in the community.

 

For personal and home defense I elect to go with something (again I'll probably never use) like my pistol or shotgun.

[Cypress25]

You're walking down the street and this guy starts choking you from behind. Well in the ultra unlikely chance this would ever happen ( if someone randomly assaults you on the street it's going to be a robbery/mugging not a random choking) sure I suppose having some training to get of this would come in handy.

 

This is much more likely to happen to women. If the attacker wants my wallet, he can have it, but I'm not giving anything to a rapist.

 

You're being mugged at gunpoint/with a knife. Trying to do some martial arts disarm is realistically only going to increase your chances of getting hurt or killed. Give the guy the 30 bucks you have in your wallet and be on your way.

 

Self-defense of any kind should only be used to protect yourself. Do not use it to protect your money or your watch or your iPod or any other expensive item you happen to be carrying. No matter how well-trained you are, it's stupid to get into a fight over your wallet. This is common sense.

 

However, if someone is actually trying to stab you, then it might help if you know how to take the knife from him.

[Calutaxi484]

This is much more likely to happen to women. If the attacker wants my wallet, he can have it, but I'm not giving anything to a rapist.

 

 

 

Self-defense of any kind should only be used to protect yourself. Do not use it to protect your money or your watch or your iPod or any other expensive item you happen to be carrying. No matter how well-trained you are, it's stupid to get into a fight over your wallet. This is common sense.

 

However, if someone is actually trying to stab you, then it might help if you know how to take the knife from him.

 

Oh I agree. I was primarily commenting from a man's perspective (I thought the OP was a man). Now women's self defense classes taught by police are more akin to real Krav Maga aren't they? I mean don't they teach them things like trying to stab a guy in the eye with her keys, using mace/pepper spray, that kind of stuff?

 

And I totally agree again on your second point too. I said I'd hand over the 40 bucks I usually keep in my wallet if someone was mugging me (with a gun). However I think that martial arts training tends to give some people a false sense of security. Not all people have good teachers that are going to drill that point home, luckily I did. Part of our dojo rules for the Shoto-Jitsu was that if were were involved in any fight outside we had to immediately call Sensei and could be kicked out of the school. My kung fu school had nothing of that sort.

 

If someone tried to stab me I'd be legally authorized to use deadly force and I'd still elect to go with my weapon.

[Cypress25]

Now women's self defense classes taught by police are more akin to real Krav Maga aren't they? I mean don't they teach them things like trying to stab a guy in the eye with her keys, using mace/pepper spray, that kind of stuff?

 

I don't know, I've never taken a women's self-defense class. I take Krav Maga, which is mostly men, although there are a few women. I think that's better than taking a class that's all women because that's not realistic. I could easily defend myself against a woman who's about my size, but I'm not likely to get attacked on the street by a 110-pound woman. I'd rather learn to defend myself against a much bigger, much stronger attacker.

 

If those classes teach things like trying to stab a guy in the eye with her keys or using mace/pepper spray, then they're doing women a huge disservice. It's not always possible to aim for the eyes, especially if the attacker is much taller or grabs the victim from behind.

 

Women need to learn that they are capable of fighting back with their bare hands if they have to. In general, society sends the message that women shouldn't even try to defend themselves because that would just anger their attacker. Instead, they should just be compliant and submit (even to a rapist), and pray that their attacker lets them live. Or just scream and hope someone comes to their rescue. I heard that advice a lot when I was growing up, and it pissed me off. I was being told that it would be dangerous to defend myself, and it would be safer to submit to an attack. Men, on the other hand, are taught to fight back. That's why I chose Krav and a co-ed class. I didn't want anyone teaching me ineffective crap just because I'm a woman.

 

/rant off

[Calutaxi484]

I don't know, I've never taken a women's self-defense class. I take Krav Maga, which is mostly men, although there are a few women. I think that's better than taking a class that's all women because that's not realistic. I could easily defend myself against a woman who's about my size, but I'm not likely to get attacked on the street by a 110-pound woman. I'd rather learn to defend myself against a much bigger, much stronger attacker.

 

If those classes teach things like trying to stab a guy in the eye with her keys or using mace/pepper spray, then they're doing women a huge disservice. It's not always possible to aim for the eyes, especially if the attacker is much taller or grabs the victim from behind.

 

Women need to learn that they are capable of fighting back with their bare hands if they have to. In general, society sends the message that women shouldn't even try to defend themselves because that would just anger their attacker. Instead, they should just be compliant and submit (even to a rapist), and pray that their attacker lets them live. Or just scream and hope someone comes to their rescue. I heard that advice a lot when I was growing up, and it pissed me off. I was being told that it would be dangerous to defend myself, and it would be safer to submit to an attack. Men, on the other hand, are taught to fight back. That's why I chose Krav and a co-ed class. I didn't want anyone teaching me ineffective crap just because I'm a woman.

 

/rant off

 

I mean I might be totally off here, but the impression I got of Krav Maga was more that it was about using whatever was at your disposal? It seemed like less of a martial art in the traditional Asian sense. Like most of what I know about it came from those old fight documentaries they used to run on like the history channel. Where the guys actually went to Israel.

 

This isn't a dig at all, but I mean if a 100lb woman is going up against a 250lb guy she's gonna need some help. I'm a 200lb muscular guy and I wouldn't want to straight up fight someone with 50lbs on me let alone twice my weight. I'd be inclined to go for a weapon, a strike to somewhere sensitive ( groin, ears, eyes), just because I'd not be able to take a ton of hits from someone with that much more mass. Pure and simply it's a numbers game. Force = mass*acceleration

[Disillusioned_Wife]

You want good self defense, you pick a style that's close quarters.

 

I've studied several styles over the years, most involving pressure points and close quarter sparring. Jui Jitsu, shaolin kempo, wing chung, tai chi as a defense technique. I've also studied old school Choi Ley Fut. I'd have to say though, wing chung was my favored style.

[Cypress25]

I mean I might be totally off here, but the impression I got of Krav Maga was more that it was about using whatever was at your disposal?

 

Yes it is, I meant it's not good to teach women to rely on their keys or pepper spray as weapons. They need to also learn real self-defense techniques, so they're not helpless if their weapon is taken from them.

 

This isn't a dig at all, but I mean if a 100lb woman is going up against a 250lb guy she's gonna need some help. I'm a 200lb muscular guy and I wouldn't want to straight up fight someone with 50lbs on me let alone twice my weight. I'd be inclined to go for a weapon, a strike to somewhere sensitive (groin, ears, eyes), just because I'd not be able to take a ton of hits from someone with that much more mass.

 

Of course, the idea is to end the attack as fast as possible, and to do that, you need to be trained in a variety of situations. If all you know how to do is shoot pepper spray, then you're in a very vulnerable position because that won't always work. Krav emphasizes simultaneous attacks (like breaking a choke while kicking the groin) because one strike may not be enough to end the attack. The goal is to eliminate the threat without getting hit at all, which is why you go for sensitive areas like the groin, throat, knees, etc.