What should I take for a self defense class?

Question

Jujitsu, Karate, or kick boxing?

Answer 1

Jiu Jitsu is far and away the best thing a girl can take. Many of the techniques taught in jiu jitsu take place from "the guard" which is the position women find themselves in in an attempted rape. I think jiu jitsu should be mandatory for all women. Kickboxing is better than karate because, as displayed in UFC 1- 10, karate is worthless (just like tae kwon do, kung fu, and other silly martial arts that teach crescent kicks and to block rather than cover up when being punched at). There are some good kickboxing schools, but as stated earlier, some kickboxing places don't have bags, sparring, and the like which is really what's great about kickboxing. That said, unless you're a fairly large woman you probably won't be able to fend off a man no matter how much kickboxing you take, not because you're a woman, but because they will be larger, physically stronger, and just built differently.

Answer 2

I feel Karate and Jujitsu are more complete defense system than kick boxing. Kick boxing is a sport while the other two are proven systems of self-defense.
Kickboxing is most likely more aerobic, so you may get in better shape. But if you stick with the art you choose for your whole life karate and jujitsu are better for long term training.
Just my opinion. There are no best arts, only best artists. The quality and frequency of your training will be far more important than the style you train in.
Since it is just a class you will not get anything ou of it anyway. Training only works when it is done all the time. Martial arts are like boiling water. Once the water is hot enough to boil you must keep heat under it or it begins to cool off.

Enjoy.

Answer 3

I assume that by "take" you mean "study".

It really doesn't matter what you study. I suggest you study what appeals to you. If you like kickboxing study it; If karate, study karate; If jujitsu, then study jujitsu. All styles of the Martial Arts are beneficial.

I personally studied Shorin Ryu, Tang Soo Do and Muay Thai.

In the end, if you want to know for sure that what you have learned actually works, you have to test it in a full contact situation otherwise you really don't really know that you can use what you have learned to defend yourself. Any style that tells you, "We don't fight because OUR art is soooo deadly.", is not the one I would recommend. Also anyone who says, "My art is the very best and none of the others even compare.", is not being intellectually honest with you.

Find a school close to your house, that way it will be easy for you to go there often.

If you have a friend or friends that study at a particular school, study there because it's always motivating to be around people you know.

Study hard because in the end if you need to defend yourself it doesn't matter what you know, it only matters whether you know how to use it.

Answer 4

You know it's really funny. Where were all these JuJitsu advocates 10 years ago? Martial arts have been used for self defense for thousands of years and 10 years ago you would have heard several answers to this question. All of a sudden, people believe that JuJitsu is the 'ultimate fighting' art. Ahh, the power of the media.

The real answer is that just about any martial art can be effective for self defense. The hard part is finding the right instructor who will give you practical training. With the popularity of JuJitsu, it won't be long before there are just as many JuJitsu Mc Dojos as there are Tae Kwon Do Mc Dojos. Everone and their brother wants to claim they are a JuJitsu black belt.

Good luck.

Answer 5

Jujitsu is a more complete system compared to the other two, though a good a kick boxer is certailnly a tough cookie to deal with, but you get a lot of punishment in training.

But think also of Jeet Kune Do and Wing Chung that are very practical and suited to a smaller built person. Chen Style Tai chi is also a good choice.

Ciao
Piero

Piero

Answer 6

Hi Green Day Girl,

As stated in other posts, have you checked out Wing Chun Kung Fu.

It is very effective against basiclly any type of attack.

There is a quick learning curve. You can become proficient in a short amount of time.

It uses your opponents force against them, so you dont have to be very strong to apply the techniques.

It was created by a woman.

You want to study up on these arts before you decide. Find out what they are about, the culture they came from and see if it interests you.

Then check out a dojo near you and see how the class is run and what not. See if this is somewhere you would like to practice.


This way you will be able to focus on your training. And you are more likely to develop quicker if you are enjoying what you are doing.

lr

http://www.wingchunassoc.com
http://www.pacificwingchunassociation.com

Answer 7

Don't take kick boxing. Thats not self defense, most likely its like tae bow, just a cardio work out with no martial aspects to it. Karate or Jujitsu would be a better choice.

Answer 8

I would try and find a style that is affiliated with the Dragon Society or George Dillman so that you can learn about the application of pressure points in your strikes. The use of pressure points can enable you to knock out your opponent/attacker even with weight and height disadvantages. I am studying a style called Bushin Ryu which combines jujitsu, ryuku kempo and Karate. Excellent to be able to take the best of different styles and use what works for the individual.

Answer 9

1- your focus should be on finding good instruction not a particular "art" unless of course your goal is to be associated with a competition related solely to that art IE: I want to be a professional boxer or professional Muai Thai fighter.

2- secondly are you looking to learn to fight or learn how to defend yourself in the most effective way against an attack.
If your answer is the latter, then unarmed martial arts should be a supplement and not your main focus. You should be looking for a knife fighting or ma that teaches a weapon you can easily conceal and would have with you. Most real life situations where you MUST fight are going to involve multiple attackers or an attacker with a weapon. Also as a female, unless you are muscular and large- on average you will not be stronger than the average man. Thus you are already at a disadvantage.
[I wholeheartedly support penn jillette's solution to rape in this country, assign every woman a gun, if even only half of them actually carry it, then there is a 50/50 chance that a woman will be carrying one. Will a robber/rapist take those odds?]

3- if you are looking to learn to fight (take an unarmed martial art) then I suggest you find a good teacher and a good school of any art that trains realistically.
There should be progressive resistance, working up to full resistance. And fully resisting opponents who don't do "co-op" during drills.
Your teacher should not say things like "we never spar because it is too deadly". However obviously most mas will have moves that you can't spar for safety reasons- quick breaks and such (or else there wouldn't be anyone left to spar with). However if this makes up most of your art, then you aren't going to be able to apply them in a realistic situaion. You need to train realistically.

Answer 10

For a woman, i've found the best self-defense styles are a combination of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai and Filipino Escrima/Arnis...(which some erroneously call "Kali").
Find a good Mixed Martial Arts gym that also teaches self-defense classes.

Check out our gym...
http://www.myspace.com/strongholdmma