Sports What is the best form of self defence to learn?

[TheMightyEagles]

My main aim is to learn to defend myself. I'm also interested in keeping fit, but that is secondary for me. I'm hoping this will turn out to be a long term commitment.

So far I have been thinking about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. But then I'm worried the lack of striking practice will render it less useful in a real life situation.

I've heard that any sport/martial art which involves sparring is the best way to improve (e.g. MMA or boxing). I would normally be keen...but then I also heard that any sparring which involves repeated head contact may lead to the risk of brain injury. I know most ppl will read this and say "don't be silly, it's not a big risk". I rely on my brain as my source of income though. So I'm not even talking about ending up punch drunk...more so becoming just that little bit slower. I headed down to my local boxing gym last week to check it out, and let's say the boxing coaches didn't really ease my fears on that front.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks all.

 

[Exe Gesis]

Aikido.

But avoid the schools/classes where they teach you all the praying and religious-like ceremony.
There are some Aikido schools around that teach more of a gritty version, as learned by some international militaries.

 

[Upgrayedd]

Empty force Martial Art.

 

[I bleed Blue]

BJJ is a great form of self defence... but as you said in some real life situations and not in the gym it can be a bit useless.

1 on 1 it would still be great in a real life situation, but if the guy has a mate as soon as you take him to the ground you are going to cop strikes from the 2nd guy.

Boxing or Kick boxing would be what I would be looking at.

Any MMA gyms around your area? Could learn some striking and BJJ aswell.

 

[Syphoncom]

.

 

[bkozican]

Muay thai. Incorporates leg kicks, stand up and the clinch. My cousin started muay thai and then all of the older boys at his school wanted to fight him. The little fella just got the hands behind the neck and and drove knees to his head.

It is funny to watch fight videos now days and kids perform transition moves on the ground......full mount etc

 

[bkozican]

Not getting in a fight.

Mainly because chances are if you're in a fight where it's dangerous, you're gonna get hit before you know it. Most guys aren't going to tell you they'd like to take it outside. Then do so. And also not know themselves how to fight, where you'd be best off high tailing it out of there even if you could.

Having said that; boxing.

Do agree with the above aswell. There is no "do you wanna go outside" anymore. You could just be at the bar and cop a hook without even knowing who threw it.......ie coward punch

 

[quickstraw]

Get yourself down to the local firing range. Pretty sure this trumps and martial artist bar Chuck Norris.

 

[Bosun]

It ain't pretty but Krav Maga is a very effective yet brutal form of self defence. Very useful for defence in street fights if that's what your after.

 

[Hodgepodge]

Tai chi is a devastating martial art and involves plenty of strikes as well as holds.

 

[WCErevival]

Keysi fighting method. It was good enough for Batman.

 

[Ed D]

Aikido.

But avoid the schools/classes where they teach you all the praying and religious-like ceremony.
There are some Aikido schools around that teach more of a gritty version, as learned by some international militaries.

Yeah I learnt a bit of Aikido growing up, it's very much focused on defending and using the attackers strength against them rather than attacking yourself. It just depends on what you're wanting to learn/take part in, because it will need to be something that interests you. If you enjoy striking/kicking and want something that will burn a lot of energy, I'd look at something else. If your main goal is self defence however, Aikido is a good choice.

 

[CLUBMEDhurst]

Aikido.

But avoid the schools/classes where they teach you all the praying and religious-like ceremony.
There are some Aikido schools around that teach more of a gritty version, as learned by some international militaries.

and

 

[Exe Gesis]

and ^

 

[Barry_Badrinath]

Avoid BJJ or any other style that focuses on ground fighting.

 

[Jimmybob]

Krav Maga is easily the best.

 

[Exe Gesis]

There's a LOT of misconceptions about....martial arts, self-defense, "best", etc.

If you're in your late twenties starting to learn something, you'll never be an expert. Learning a martial art you need like 30-50 hrs a week consistently over 20 years.

There's a lot of martial arts that race you thru the courses because the higher you go up the ranks the more it costs you. So you could be classified as a black belt but really you're not at all.

There's a lot of good martial arts that are taught more as a sport. Example...tae kwan do is a lethal art, but it's taught as a sport so much, so you don't get the real benefit from it.

All martial arts are all just collections of existing principles. So really anything is ok. They teach SYSTEMS of strikes, blocks, kicks, grapples.

There's the point of --- what are you learning/interested in --- SELF-DEFENSE or being an aggressor thug? True self-defense is the likes of judo, jujitsu, aikido. Where you're learning how to control a situation, take someone down and DEFUSE. It's not an aggressor art as such.

There's a lot of misconception about "ground fighting", like brazilian ju jitsu being something great. Most fights wont end on the ground, most fights are people hitting people, often sucker punching, or other forms of striking, stabbing etc. In the real world, ground fighting is waste of time.

Another thing to consider is, a striker instigating a fight with a ground fighter, advantage ground fighter. You're opening yourself to them. Likewise, a ground fighter instigating a fight with a striker, advantage striker. As you're opening yourself to them. This is the $64 question....are you out to defend yourself or are you out to attack someone? Think real world. People attack others blind, uncalled for, sucker punch, cheap shot, in groups. So either you want to be a thug attacking people....or you want to be a passive defuser.

Lastly, true martial arts is about shock-awe. You get the best strikes in quickly and effectively and you'll render everyone dead. There wont be a fight, all this shaping and grappling. You'll strike the throat, testicles, temple, nose, solar plexus, kidneys, and with one or two effective strikes that you render them dead or severely injured or out cold. One or two strikes. Get in fast and decisively.

Are you being attacked in the real world or are you instigating a fight like a thug? If you're being attacked, if the other person is in any way a taught fighter, then you have little chance to defend yourself, they'll destroy you. If they're an everyday drunken tough guy, you have a very good chance. They'll come at you all windmill haymaking. You can quickly step in, block, counter-strike, and render them dead/injured.

Bottom line tho, is if you get attacked, you should always step back and put your arms up and assess their skill level. If they're an expert, then you probably should just run, or surrender quickly, get on the ground cover your ribs etc and head, hope to get out with a busted bone. If you're just a normal person, an accountant, whatever, who has minimal training/idea.

Otherwise, if you're a normal person, who goes around acting normal and civil and cool, then you never need to worry about "attacking" people are you? You're only going to be concerned about defending yourself against situations like a knife attack or a drunken thug.

So what are the basics of fighting? Strikes, wrestling, grappling. And realistically how much time do you have? You're not training to be a mossad agent. You're not going to spend 5+ years at it 30+ hrs a week. And you're not going to be living a life where you put yourself in harms way every day. So you want a quick course, a year or two max, where you feel confident/capable in striking and grappling enough to handle the everyday drunken yahoos out there. So you dont need to learn much. If you're out there and run into some MMA expert, forget it, you're gonna get killed, you're not going to aggress, you're not going to have 5+ years.

CONCLUSION
So....learn boxing, wrestling and some grappling techniques. A good boxer is not to be sneezed at whatsoever. It's effective striking. Quick, decisive, destructive. Also learn some Karate. You can do a year of it and acquire enough competency to be an even better striker. Wrestling, just so you know your way around the ground. And some grappling so you learn close quarter standing situations where you can subdue them with joint locks etc.

 

[Exe Gesis]

Here's a good example of a real world situation, and which I talk about above...



Real world, strikes, ends up striking on feet caused the damage, via block of wood/bats, cheap shots/sucker punches, and if you're up against it, or fighting an expert (1 on 1) then youre best to get out, back down, run, surrender covered, and avoid major injury. I think the guys either both died or one died. Both MMA experts, but shows in a real world situation it's all strikes, fists and kicks, just haymakers being thrown, everyone trying to get in first.

 

[Exe Gesis]

Here's some good real world self-defense methods.
Watch on youtube page, and listed there will be many more from the same series.

 

[Exe Gesis]

Choose "Systema" anyway if you can find someone who teaches it.

 

[Colin D'Cops]

The best form of defence, in many instances, is attack. Therefore boxing takes the cake.

I'd like to thank FIFA and Sony's Playstation for their contribution to this wonderful mindset.

EDIT: Special thanks to Mick Gatto, cheers brother.

 

[Santoz]

A quick sawnoff shotgun spray to the face works well and acts as a deterrent to others in the immediate vicinity. I highly recommend it. I'll post pics below ...

This becomes this and onlookers do this , leaving me to make a successful exit

 

[Ed D]

The best form of defence, in many instances, is attack. Therefore boxing takes the cake.

I'd like to thank FIFA and Sony's Playstation for their contribution to this wonderful mindset.

EDIT: Special thanks to Mick Gatto, cheers brother.

I'd actually say the best form of defence is to avoid fighting altogether. Be able to get out of situations without a fight breaking out. If you have an attacking mindset you're going to get yourself into tricky situations, and you're going to have to rely on your skills & knowledge. If it goes wrong then usually it will go very wrong.

 

[Colin D'Cops]

Tongue-in-cheek post there.

Obviously avoiding confrontation altogether should be priority #1. Sometimes it isn't possible though, unfortunately.

You can block as many punches as you like, but at some stage one's going to land. All hypothetical but it can and does happen, especially if an easy target (tall/muscles/womaniser).

 

[Ed D]

Tongue-in-cheek post there.

Obviously avoiding confrontation altogether should be priority #1. Sometimes it isn't possible though, unfortunately.

You can block as many punches as you like, but at some stage one's going to land. All hypothetical but it can and does happen, especially if an easy target (tall/muscles/womaniser).

I was more meaning stopping the fight from even having someone swing at you. For example if you were at a bar and bumped into someone and they got upset, being able to talk your way out of it and walk away, rather than having them swing at you. Or if you bumped someone's beer on the floor, offering to buy them a new beer. Even realising that someone is a major dick and moving away from them before something happens. If a guy is taking swings and is going to keep swinging, that's when you would take action yourself (or escape).