Which Martial Art is best for self-defense?

Question

I am not interested in getting a degree in Asian Culture and History. I just want to learn how to most efficiently inflict damage to a human body. In a street-fight situation, which training would best help me to survive?

Unfortunately, I live in a rough part of town and though I don't intend to pick a fight with anyone, I may have to defend myself from attack. Also, which fighting style is best when attacked by more than one person simultaneously?

By the way, I am quite fit but have never trained in anything. I don't even know how to throw a punch properly - so I want to learn quickly without all the "spiritual" crap thrown in.

Answer 1

I agree with 2 other people that have said Kempo. That is what I study. Go to www.ussd.com and see if they have a school in your area. they have 170 schools in 14 states. Most offer 2 free weeks so you can see if it is something you really want.
USSD stand for Untied Schools of self Defense. We learn how to defend ourselves and in Kempo it is 3 to 5 strikes that will take your attacker out. We also learn how to defend ourselves from multiple attackers. Good Luck.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Lotta views on this one. First my own opinion: Move. Living in the right neighborhood is the best thing for all concerned. I moved from the Urban life to the rural life and I've never had any regrets. Especially coz it's a better place to raise kids.

Another point, different perspective: I have some Korean friends told me about an international martial arts contest they used to watch every year growing up, people from all contries competing with all martial art types. I asked him a similar type question "So which was the one that ended up winning?". He told me "without fail it was the guy using TaekwonDo, UNLESS......." he added "If the Judo guy can make contact with his opponent then the Judo guy wins hands down."
That's the thing you have to consider in your situation. What kind of fighting style will be most suited. Are you most likely to be in close contact Brawl type situations? In which case Judo would be the best. But if it's a Keeping your distance type throwing punches and kicks then Taekwondo. Or perhaps the best solution is a combination of learning both.

Then there's the third point. You never hear on the news "Today a young man was held up at gunpoint in a convenience store, but fortunately he knew Karate.....". No, most often the headline would go something like this: "A convenience store was held up today and fortunately no customers were hurt but the store clerk was shot dead when he attempted to use kung Fu on the perpetrator....". Get the point??? Nothing is really gonna help you against the REAL dangers of living in a tough neighborhood. Someone in the group will always have a gun. There is no martial art that can stop a bullet to the brain.

Answer 4

First a slight correction...Hapkido does work very well. In fact, so well that the police in Korea use it, the police in the US, the military and many others. Both Aikido and Hapkido are from Aikijujitsu.
Now that's out of the way - based on what you are saying I would look for Kempo, a good Kung Fu that also offers Chin Na (joint locks).
The reason for this is that Hapkido and some of the other arts require time to really become effective while Kempo and Kung FU also take time, but not really as much to become effective.
Normally I would say stay away from Americanized arts, but you sound like that's what you are asking for so also considered a mixed martial arts school. MMA..

Answer 5

The best martial art is the one you are willing to spend the time to learn. If all you want to do is learn self defense, find a local self defense course; you can contact your local police, they may have some classes or know where you can get the information.

Martial arts take time to develop, and no matter what you do, even simple self defense techniques, you have to spend the time to learn them so well that you don't have to think about using them, you can react quickly to protect yourself.

Answer 6

@Garret, thanks for mentioning our art, but we are not Krav Maga with traditional martial arts roots. We are a traditional martial art, with titles, uniforms, salutations, belts, forms, and respect and discipline is taught. We are just the "Hawaiian street fighting art" and we just have crazy training methods. And because of those crazy training methods, not too many people stay in Kajukenbo and that's why nobody's ever heard of Kajukenbo. And when Kajukenbo people compete, they follow the rules of the competition. Benny Urquidez follows the rules of kickboxing, and Chuck Lidell follows the rules of the UFC. Or else they would be disqualified. What was shown on Fight Quest was just a few Kajukenbo schools getting together and having a bit of fun. The basic rule is don't deliberately do anything to hurt your sparring partner because you want him to come back to train next week. But sometimes things get a bit out of hand. But it's never intentional. Kajukenbo is good for self-defense. But the training is vigorous, brutal, violent and painful. And most people cannot handle it. It takes immense dedication to go back week after week. If there's a hardcore Kajukenbo school in your area, check it out. If not, check out the Karate, Kung Fu and Tae Kwon Do schools. Best of luck in finding the martial art that suits you.

Answer 7

Best practical street self-defense -Krav Maga - hands down.

Best one on one fight technique - MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) Combination of Muy Tai and Brazilian JuJitsu (one on one, Brazilian JuJitsu is the best "real fight" technique.

In the flurry of a fight, flashy moves DO NOT Work - if you try to spin kick me, I will take you down and break you.

Bruce Lee's Jeet Kun Do - pretty effective, not the best

If I were you, I would train under someone that has done many martial arts for many years, I did, and he based his teachings off the most effective moves from all the arts, some from aikido, some from shotokan, some from muy tai, most from Brazilian jujistu - he didn't teach any of the junk that doesn't work in real life.

Answer 8

I believe Jeet Kune Do is the best practical stand up defense style out there. It was created by Bruce Lee and draws from a number of different styles including tae kwon do, karate, american boxing, etc.
There are no "katas" to memorize like in karate and we didn't even have belts. It's just practical defense.
Our instructor used to give tutorials to Navy Seals and police departments on the side.
It isn't flashy, it isn't always pretty (there are tactics like eye jabbing) but it is effective. The principles are designed to neutralize any size or strength advantages your opponent might have (Bruce Lee was a pretty small guy - plus who needs to train to fight someone smaller and weaker??)

We coupled it with Brazilian Jui Jitsu grappling so that we would be prepared in case a fight ever went to the ground.

Answer 9

Absolutely not TaeKwonDo, unless you want to get your leg grabbed while doing some showmanship and drilled head-first into the ground with a pile driver.

In addition to staying away from TaeKwonDo, I would recommend staying away from the vast majority of places that wear uniforms, practice "kata"/ballet, speak in foreign tongues and have old ladies in the class.

I would suggest learning boxing and wrestling, and a martial art should train you to defend yourself against someone skilled in these techniques, as opposed to blocking a kick to the face while you're standing which isn't going to happen. I don't think that a lot of Karate punching and defending techniques are as good as those of boxing, and if you look at a lot of Karate guys, they don't have a clue about keeping their guard up or not dropping their hands after they throw a punch.

They should really have special gear with someone simulating an actual street attack, as opposed to training you to score points in some sissy no contact tournament.

It boils down to the fact that you're going to have to ask around in your local area the same as you're asking here. Some of the biggr cities do have some worthwhile places.

Answer 10

I'g go in the following order
something where you learn to control the opponents body to your advantage is a good way to go first off
so judo, jujitsu or aikido...and yes even ninjitsu, if you can get a good teacher(as it deals with the opponents presure points)

then if you would rather become a proficient striker go for
boxing(if for nothing else the learning to take a hit and actually punch, its amazing how many people dont do it properly)

muai thai(**** kicking/punching style)
kickboxing....no their not the same thing
tae kwon do...has powerful kicks and if its a good school will teach how to throw them properly
karate....has good kicks but not much fluidity
kungfu/capoeria.....cool to watch but not alot of practical usage for your average person