Help me: Self Defense

You're thinking of Krav Maga. As to what style is best? I've got no clue. I figure it depends what you want.

I used to take Tae Kwon Do. It was fun. It focuses a lot on kicks, which are viewed as possibly the best weapon the human body possesses (sp?). It also teaches forms, or strings of moves, which are a less tedious way to practice punches, kicks, blocks, etc. Tae Kwon Do is a more defensive martial art then some, like karate. We were also taught Hapkido, since it was also a Korean martial art. I liked it better, and think it is more practical for self-defense in many ways. I have used it to protect myself against a taller, heavier person. Hope this helps. I took my lessons at a local National Guard armory, but I think self defense lessons are also offered at many recreation centers.

Alex asked a similar question a while back. Rather than post the same info, Check out the following, starting at Post #28:

http://chud.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79258

Mixed martial arts is a good way to get overall body fitness, and as a plus it will teach you to kick ass.

I personally feel Jiu-Jitsu is the best martial art for quick effectiveness (the first class I ever attended we sparred (or as we called it "rolled") after learning the basics it was quite a joy to be able to implement something you learned not one hour ago. Another benefit of grappling is being able to subdue someone without trying to karate chop them. Not to mention grappling can be a hell of a workout if you're looking to get into shape.

But feel free to skip posts 30 and 45. Unless you're in the flyweight class.

I kid, I kid. BTW, Death Surge, I look forward to your actual horned visage appearing in the Chewer Vision thread.

I'm not sure what you are asking here. You don't want to be 'fit' to take part in an actual fight, but you want to be able to beat up drunk people? Easy. Stay sober, hit them first, and from behind. Use weapons.

I'm not sure how serious (or dedicated) you are about this. Might as well go with boxing (should be easy to locate a class), it gives you a training regiment to aid in your new exercise program, helps build up your ability to throw a punch and to take one. Maybe supplement with some form of grappling, as most fights will end on the floor.

I'm sure the things other people are suggesting are good, but I'll suggest boxing out of personal experience. It gets you in shape quickly, and hopefully you can find a gym that will let you take boxing as far as you want to go with it, whether just staying in classes or competitive fighting.

Hey I was at least an MMA WelterWeight back in my semi-professional days.

I class on the low-end of the Light-Heavyweight division now. My love of Scotch Whiskey has taken it's toll..

What the hell? A year or so ago didn't you announce your weight as 160? That's a big jump. Of course, I'm one to talk, considering my weight has nearly doubled since my junior year of high school.

What were the purses at the semi-pro level?

I was 160 in High School/early martial arts days. I jumped up to 175 thanks to weight training when I was doing the amateur Kick Boxing thing a decade ago. I sit about 189 now, but I'm 5' 11" so I fortunately don't look like the fat swig I feel like.

And Amateur's didn't get paid a purse, cause we did it for the love of the sport and have been hit in the head too many times to think to ask for money.

A friend of mine was doing Systema before he left for a prolonged trip and he loved it.

http://www.russianmartialart.com/

If you can find a place that teaches it, Shaolin martial arts are amazing. Kck ass and look good while doing it. Some styles would be Tiger-crane, Hung-gar, Choy-lay-fut, Quan fa (animal styles, monkey..hee hee), Wing Chun, Wing Tsun Kuen, Mantis, Northern and Southern style boxing, tai-chi to balance chi. I know it sounds like these were all ripped off from a shaw brothers movie but I have had experience with all of them, and I have noticed that while in stance, your opponent will have a hard time attacking you. If not, jeet kune do or muay thai should do.

As stated above krav-maga/cqc, jiu-jitsu, and tae kwon do (kicks are great), or mma are great. Now I just remembered that you are into self-defense, shit.

The art of fighting without fighting. It only works on boats, though.

Krav-Maga, Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu, systema, these are quick ways to train hard, well, and learn the basics of self-defense fast. I practice Chinese internal martial arts. It's great, but it takes a while to be able to pick it up and I need to cross-train with others. Most Karate and Kung Fu schools aren't focusing enough on real fighting alongside the art itself ( that while get you in shape)

My advice: go to a MMA gym. Usually, you can do Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the same time.

And stay the fuck away from Tae Kwon Do. It's useless in a real self-defense situation.

Tae Kwon Do is great if you reside within traditional kickboxing rules. As that never happens in actual real life situations, aside from a head kick sucker punch, Martin is essentially correct.

But some of those aerial kicks really do look cool in "Best of the Best".

About Krav--there are no belts, forms, etc. with it. You can "test" and move up "levels", but you don't go from white to yellow to green belt, etc. And expect to get beat up a good bit, depending on who your trainer is. When they take the classes to become trainers, they are literally put through hell. Our instructor was a former Special Forces guy, kickboxer, boxer, and ninjitsu guy, and he said the Krav training to become a certified trainer was one of the hardest things he's ever done.

In the brief time I took classes, I got hit in the balls twice, bruised both my wrist bones, and went home one night with bruises on my neck from breaking choke holds. It's fun, though. Those bruises and scrapes are sort of a badge of honor. I wasn't in it long enough to get to the weapons stuff. Apparently in some of the higher end classes, you have to defend a knife attack, and the knife is a rubber blade, but there's like a electrical ring around the bottom of the handle, so if you block in the wrong place, you get shocked.

I did Jiu-Jitsu for one or two classes, and I enjoyed it as well. The times of the classes just didn't fit in my schedule.

Buy a gun.

J-Lo is proof Enough that Krav Maga works. Screw the gun, get J-Lo.

I once heard Gandolfini was involved in Krav Maga. But I don't think it's been working on him.

We should ask Diva.

"My advice: go to a MMA gym. Usually, you can do Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the same time."


For basic self defense, I've judged all the systems I've trained in by how the women in the class do against the man, and in my experience - women who train in submission grappling and brazilian jiu jitsu totally own the new to class men in sparring sessions frequently.

I have rarely seen a woman own a man in any kind of striking(punching kicking) art. This isn't to say that doesn't happen, but it's just less frequent and depends on the female. Anyhow, my point is, if I see a 125lb 5'6" girl sparring with a 6'2" 200lb man who is new to class, and she gets him in a choke where he's tapping pretty quickly, then it's fair to say that the grappling arts are truly 'technique driven'.

Grappling/wrestling gets you in fantastic shape.

Boxing/Kickboxing do too, but I don't know if you're cool with getting your ribs cracked, jaw swollen, lips and eyes busted regularly.

However, boxing does allow you to have a crusty but lovable trainer who will yell inspirational things at you from a corner. You just don't get that with Muai Thai.

Sure you do--they just yell at you in Thai. And they can teach you to dance too.

I am also interested in learning self defense, interested in Krav Maga, but not sure...

I'm 6'-5" tall, are there any fighting styles that are better suited for taller people?

Krav Maga uses a lot of inside fighting techniques that aren't generally well suited to bigger guys. With that huge a reach advantage, something like Muay Thai might be a good option, but base it on your assessment of your reflexes. A lot of tall, lanky guys don't have the hand/foot speed it takes to make it an effective fighting form. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu may also be a good fit, as lengthy limbs tend to be killer in grappling techniques.

At that size though, a head shave and few tattoos for the intimidation factor would be basically all the self-defense skills you need.

MMA is fine except most schools teach you techniques that are only good in a ring with rules. I would suggest Krav Maga if you can find a school that teaches that.

However, any martial art training or MMA training is going to give you a leg up in most situations.

So, I wouldn't really looks for what is the most effective, etc. I would focus more on a Martial Art or mix of arts that best suit you and your personality.

Me, I'm not an aggressive guy that wants to destroy someone if they fuck with me. So, I've chosen Aikido as my Martial Art of preference because it it primarily a defensive art and teaches you that deadly force is often not needed.

Short of groin shots, eye gouging, and fish hooking, there aren't any rules in MMA that cause them to be deficient in a street fight.

Don't forget biting.

I'm not up and up on all the MMA rules, but aren't most joint attacks illegal, save for a few?

For example, I don't think you can kick someone right in the knee cap. Or say snap someone's elbow?

There are restrictions on small joint manipulations (Finger bending for example) but most of the majors are allowed. And Kidney punches are still frowned upon along with back of the head/spine shots.

But Generally the fighting techniques are all still valid. Adjusting your targets based on the situation is up to the practitioner.

EDIT - The UFC has the most limiting rules, and here they are:

Fouls:
1. Butting with the head.
2. Eye gouging of any kind.
3. Biting.
4. Hair pulling.
5. Fish hooking.
6. Groin attacks of any kind.
7. Putting a finger into any orifice or into any cut or laceration on an opponent.
8. Small joint manipulation.
9. Striking to the spine or the back of the head.
10. Striking downward using the point of the elbow.
11. Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the trachea.
12. Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh.
13. Grabbing the clavicle.
14. Kicking the head of a grounded opponent.
15. Kneeing the head of a grounded opponent.
16. Stomping a grounded opponent.
17. Kicking to the kidney with the heel.
18. Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his head or neck.
19. Throwing an opponent out of the ring or fenced area.
20. Holding the shorts or gloves of an opponent.
21. Spitting at an opponent.
22. Engaging in an unsportsmanlike conduct that causes an injury to an opponent.
23. Holding the ropes or the fence.
24. Using abusive language in the ring or fenced area.
25. Attacking an opponent on or during the break.
26. Attacking an opponent who is under the care of the referee.
27. Attacking an opponent after the bell has sounded the end of the period of unarmed combat.
28. Flagrantly disregarding the instructions of the referee.
29. Timidity, including, without limitation, avoiding contact with an opponent, intentionally or consistently dropping the mouthpiece or faking an injury.
30. Interference by the corner.
31. Throwing in the towel during competition.

Thanks Death Surge.

I do like MMA and may get into it eventually. I personally think it's a bad idea to mount someone in a street fight because of rules 14 15 and 16. Of course a seasoned MMA student will hopefully realize that and just proceeed to kick the shit out of the assailant and end the fight.

Do they ever teach multiple combatant strategies in MMA? I know from personal experience that most street fights are overloaded. Many on one.

Henry, listen to the Surge.

He's right for the infighting system, but everyone has different aptitudes. For all we know, you may be great at Krav Maga. Whatever you want to try, find a certified school.

Not sure how the current schools do it, as I'm an old timer who took his initial Shotokan training and then blended that with a mish-mash of other styles thanks to several years training under a former Green Beret. We used to do multi-opponent maneuvers for that exact reason, which consisted primarily of dodging/maneuvering techniques to cross space between attackers to limit their range of motions and cause conflict between themselves. It varies so much by terrain and location (bar vs full parking lot vs empty field) that our end consensus was being faster than everybody else and getting the hell out of the situation was the real key to success.

Green Berets are often eaten for breakfast. The programming business has you pushing too many pencils, Death Surge.

*End Arnold flashbacks.

When I did Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, we sometimes sparred 2 and more guys at once.

Show me a martial artist who claims he can beat multiple opponents, and then have him fight George St. Pierre, Fedor Emelianenko, and Kid Yamamoto at the same time and win, then I'll agree that such a thing exists.

Until then, the only effective defense for multiple attackers, is a really quick 440 time.