Self-defense options

Evan27

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Apr 24, 2015
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Anybody here taking self-defense classes? I would like to know your thoughts. As listed is this article about self-defense:

https://www.girlschase.com/content/12-things-every-man-should-have-handled-age-35#empathize

Chase recommends Krav maga, and Brazialian Jiu Jitsui. These two have been high up on the method I would most want to learn, but I am not familiar enough with the differences between them (among all martial arts, really).

What method is most useful and practical in a street fight of all the different styles?
 

Richard

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The thing to not overlook with most martial arts is who is teaching it.

I practice Karate but my sensei created his own hybrid style with an emphasis on practical self-defense WHICH is different than most Karate which emphasizes tournament or point fighting. In my opinion, the martial arts that are most suited (by nature) to self-defense are:

Krav Maga, Hapkido, Japanese Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, Judo, KajuKenbo, Eskrima, Kyokushin Karate.

Do a quick Google search of "Martial Arts near me" and see what you come up with. Check out some of the school websites and look for their bio. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!

-Richard
 

Kilyan

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In addition to everything Richard has said above, make sure you’re sparring. If you’re not Sparring then there isn’t much point.

Last year I got myself into a bit of a scrap with four guys on me, came out of it relatively okay. I’d put it all down to knowing from experience how to take a punch- a lot of guys go down after one punch which is silly if you know how to balance your weight, drop your chip and tense the neck... but it all has to happen from instinct. Of course, there’s always a chance you get hit by some 240Ib juggernaut, but if you spar you’re in a better place than you would’ve been - and you’lol also be able to avoid his punches.

While it’s not a fully rounded fighting style, I’d recommend Boxing for this reason ( SPARRING). Another great option would be MMA. Most untrained guys are headhunters so Boxing usually will suffice. However, best to be prepared for a more trained attacker. For this reason the other styles listed above by Richard are all great styles to have IN ADDITION to some sparring training.

Just PLeASE don’t fall for kata masters or martial arts ‘routines’ ... and chi death touches don’t save you either xD

“Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the face” - Mike Tyson
 

Sub-Zero

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What's up man,

How long have you been boxing?

I have some boxing experience under my belt, but I want to learn more and at the same time learn a martial art like Krav or Bjj.

You have any idea on how to do both at the same time and still get good results?

Or do you think it'll be better to learn one then go to another one agree training for some time?

Thing is I want to keep boxing without stopping, so I might end up doing both at the same time anyway.




Kilyan said:
In addition to everything Richard has said above, make sure you’re sparring. If you’re not Sparring then there isn’t much point.

Last year I got myself into a bit of a scrap with four guys on me, came out of it relatively okay. I’d put it all down to knowing from experience how to take a punch- a lot of guys go down after one punch which is silly if you know how to balance your weight, drop your chip and tense the neck... but it all has to happen from instinct. Of course, there’s always a chance you get hit by some 240Ib juggernaut, but if you spar you’re in a better place than you would’ve been - and you’lol also be able to avoid his punches.

While it’s not a fully rounded fighting style, I’d recommend Boxing for this reason ( SPARRING). Another great option would be MMA. Most untrained guys are headhunters so Boxing usually will suffice. However, best to be prepared for a more trained attacker. For this reason the other styles listed above by Richard are all great styles to have IN ADDITION to some sparring training.

Just PLeASE don’t fall for kata masters or martial arts ‘routines’ ... and chi death touches don’t save you either xD

“Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the face” - Mike Tyson
 

Kilyan

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SZ


It will differ from person to person. Ask yourself this: “what do I want to achieve” and “what lengths am I willing to go”

Essentially, you will never be ‘done’. You might be a good fighter, but they could be better. Or there could be three guys all a little bit worse than you but as a group they overpower you. More training only reduces the chances of you getting hurt.

THAT SAID

Do Boxing first

Then do BJJ, and keep Sparring in a Boxing gym ( for maintenance ).

Then do Krav.

I would like to mention though that I have never done Krav. I have enormous respect for it and wilsh to study it one day, but I speculate that it is probably better when learned on top of a solid understanding of striking and grappling fundamentals ( learned in Boxing/ BJJ ). Moreover, I think ‘winning’ against multiples or an armed attacker is something that only comes with a high degree of training.
 

DarkKnight

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I saw this subject pretty late and having a long history with martial arts wanted to chime in.

With self defense, the best thing to do is avoid unneccesary conflict. But there is a nuance to it, you have to show that you are not conflict shy because you can't stand your ground, just that it is a resort that you would rather not take. People are not stupid, there have been a couple of times that meatheads tried to intimidate me, but then they noticed where I am coming from and they decided non conflict is a better solution to whatever qualms they had.

About martial arts that I reccommend:

Definitely BJJ. These guys are TOUGH and there is also a really fun sense of community. You get great physical results with a really ripped body if you train right.
PLUS kickboxing/ Muay thai: You do not have to know every kind of kick or punch under the sun. However if you train even basic drills repeatedly I can guarantee that you can drop an opponent with a well placed shin kick.

BJJ does have my preference though since you do not have to injure your opponent unnecessarily, you just have to put them in submission. It's more law friendly I guess.

Knowing self defense really helps with all kinds of frames in real life so I definitely recommend training yourself to a proper level.
 

RustinKohle

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Two things to look for, credentials of the instructors and if it's a combat school or a sports school. Combat will teach you how to kill people and be alot less with forms and the pointless shit. As for what kind of martial art, look up ones you're interested in, and see which ones you think are most suited to you
 

zappbrannigan

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Krav maga is good as an all-round quick and effective way of dealing with threats. It doesn't focus on how to fight, as such. Mostly it is about super-practical techniques on what to do when some asshole is threatening you with a knife, gun or stick. The goal is to get home safely as quickly as possible; therefore, fighting is not as important. The idea is you don't want to end up into a fight, but incapacitate, disarm or plain run away from the thug before shit hits the fan.

You mention having background in boxing. That's great, and a basic boxing skills are good, as are BJJ skills. You will see these skills in Krav training too (because the idea is, you may end up in a fight anyway, so you'll have to learn how to handle that, too). Ideally you'd do Krav plus other martial arts. It can be expensive to do multiple sports. Just Krav is great as an all-round martial art (you will learn some BJJ and boxing techniques in the process), but you'll progress more slowly in actual fighting skills. If you want to do that, I'd suggest MMA (but that's really hard core).
 

Will KZ

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Assuming firearms are not a realistic option for you, I think if you're serious about self-defence it's best to practice one combat sport - judo/bjj/boxing/muay thai/wrestling, and one defence oriented art - krav maga/defendo/kali/keysi

The sport will give you the conditioning and the experience fighting full force against an opponent (within the rules) and you'll get a good sense of what technique works well for you. The defence oriented training should help you consider a bigger picture, to consider psychological and legal factors, along with awareness of the environment. For example, you might get very good at bjj and instinctively take an opponent to ground in a krav maga class, only to find the instructor come along and kick you in the head while you're down there (not full force hopefully) - next time you'll be a lot more aware of threats beside the one right in front of you. As with most things, the teacher is often far more important than the art itself.
 
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