Interested in learning a martial art.?

Question

I am 6 ' 240lbs. I want to be a police officer and am interested in learning some effective techniques. I would like to know what would be better to learn for this, aikido or jujitsu (japanese or brazilian) or some other form of martial art.. I know I need to get in shape, but my main purpose of this question is not physical fitness, but self defense.

Answer 1

Speaking from 30 plus years plus experience I suggest this.

Policemen can benefit a great deal from "situation self defense"
In this line of work there are special concerns.
Not allowing your sidearm to be snatched ranks at the top.
This is "never" covered in "any" standard Martial Arts classes.
That said let's look at what will help you with your day to day duties.
You do NOT want to be rolling around on the ground with a
suspect! This is "very" bad!
The best way to defend yourself against multiple opponents is
to use your sidearm & call for back up.
In one on one conflicts your size will be your best asset,most suspects will not even think of causing problems.
Take care with 6 footers,they may "take a chance"
Take care with intoxicated suspects,they may use bad judgement,no matter their size.
In my opinion grab arts & restrain techniques will be most useful.
Today we have all but forgotten about Judo,this may be very useful to someone in your line of work.
Someone your size delivering a punch to the face of a suspect may break his jaw up like a jig-saw puzzle.
This "will" result in a "big lawsuit" !
Consider Judo.
Also please consider asking the self defense instructor of a large police dept. for his advise.Be prepared to hear "do not learn anything outside the training that will be provided for you by the dept." The reason for this is if a lawsuit is filed against the dept. involving you it looks bad if you have other than standard police training in your backround.
Our dept.(Burbank,CA) has a 4th degree Black Belt Hapkido
Master among it's ranks,But we are a small city with our own dept.
I suggest you look into a self defense course that is "approved" by the dept. you will be seeking employment with.
That way "No Problems" down the line.
Feel free to print out and show this answer to anyone you contact in regard to this matter.

Thank You in advance for your service in law enforcement.

Answer 2

1) No that is actually the best age to start. Most people I know, including myself, started right around that age or older to become serious martial artists. Any younger and the kid lacks motivation and drive. 2) Finding a good dojo/dojang lies solely on you. Not everyone around knows what is in Orlando, and it's difficult to tell from a website what's a good school and what isn't. You have to go exploring to find what you really like. Look more for adult classes though, as children's classes are usually belt factories/ McDojos. 3) Just some crunches, push ups, and running. Don't overdo it though. 4) I don't have enough information to answer that. Good Ol' Sweeney is feeding you some ridiculous crap there. Jujitsu, as in real jujitsu, teaches standing grappling primarily. Also, training in a sport environment never translates well into the street.

Answer 3

I'd recommend Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It's very common for police officers to want to take a suspect to the ground and maintain control over them while putting on restraints. Jiu Jitsu will also teach locks, holds, and throws that are effective from standing. Akido has many locks and self defense techniques, but no attacks. As a police officer you will be required at times to engage a person and will need to be familiar with how to do that. Akido typically does not spar with full resistance, as well, which is something you will want to become accustomed to if you want to be prepared for an actual conflict. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will give you plenty of sparring.

It is for this reason that BJJ is actually very commonly taught to police and military law enforcement officers.

Answer 4

Jim R hit the nail on the head.

There are two considerations in "going outside" the police department training. The first, as he mentioned, is the legal aspect, the possibility of a lawsuit. The second is that the powers that be would wonder whether people would suspect that their officers were not fully trained, if they had to go outside the standard police training. So there would be subtle but definite pressure on you to stay with the standard training.

Then there are the legal restraints on police. The rules seem to include protecting yourself, and subduing the bad guy, but somehow not necessarily doing harm. On the other hand, a private citizen may seem to be allowed to do more harm to an attacker when defending himself.

I would recommend jiujustu more than judo, because if you go to the right school you will learn good ways to lock people in place and in control.

Answer 5

jiu jitsu (especially brazilian) judo, krav maga, "mixed martial arts", or jeet kun do. Also Thai boxing or kick boxing, but grappling is prob more appropriate for an officer.

Almost all the rest are arts and take a long time to master (including aikido), these are for fighting specifically.

Answer 6

Look for a school that would teach you joint locks, "come-alongs", non-fatal weapons (escrima, stick fighting). I go to a Shaolin Dragon kung fu school and the walls are plastered with personal letters from police recommending the instruction and the school. Kung fu has a joint lock art called chin na. Do a search on the story of Pan Qing Fu, a Iron Palm KF grandmaster who busted up almost 2 dozen gangs in cooperation with police (actually, he often went in singlehandedly with police waiting outside). He is an expert in chin na. He often had to drag out a gang leader in a painful "come-along" joint lock and handed him over to police.

Also, learning escrima or other similar stick fighting comes in handy when it comes to effective use of your baton (or whatever you call your police stick). Police training will show basics but a deeper understanding of the weapon will show you other ways of using it effectively.

I don't recommend doing jiujitsu because you're exposing yourself to having your sidearm grabbed by a perp because of the close proximity of the fighting style. These people here just see this stuff on TV and think its the way to go.

Answer 7

Japanese Jujitsu is one of the most versatile martial arts on the planet. the ground work is well developed as judo's and the upper striking and grappling is comparable to kung fu. Brazilian jujitsu is mostly ground work and throwing almost like judo. Akido is all self defese. Using your opponents body weight and balance against them. I would chose Jujitsu in its pure form as it the most versatile and beign a police officer you will need to be ready for any situation and its striking and grappling will make you well more advanced than your opponents.

Answer 8

I used to take a martial atrs trhat really helped me with the school dimwit bullies it is called ueki ryu (pronounced way jee roo) and it teaches about the basic blocks and counters. The name means The empty hans as in there are no weapons involved but it is still really good for self defense. It focuses on the openings your opponent leaves when he/she attacks and exploiting them in a split second before they have time to react. I liked that form of MA because it really works.

Answer 9

There was one Police officer and an FBI Agent learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu were I go now there are like 5 or6 Police Officers Learning, its very fun and can be very effective.

Answer 10

I do strongly believe Jujistu will be effective in doing self defense upon the street 90% of the fight will end up on the ground, and other forms of martials will be beneficial to your police training if you make it good luck