What is considered the best all-around method of self-defense? I'm looking into becoming a Police Officer!

Question

If there isn't a considered "best" all around self-defense technique what do some of the techinques consist of...For instance Jui Jitsui is the art of grappling and submissions, what are the others specialties?

Answer 1

Every person here is going to have a bias, and not a lot of them are thinking Law Enforcement wise.

First off you will learn a lot of stuff in the Academy that does help some.

But honestly Judo, Sambo, and Jiujitsu would be best. Aikido has some great pain compliance stuff but it takes a while to learn and be effecient at, and you are going to learn them in the academy anyway.

You want to stick towards stand up grappling. BJJ isn't really great on the take down aspect, and many of it's moves are placing you in a position for litigation. You have a tazer, a baton, back up, pepper spray and a gun. Use of Force contiums will dictate what you need to do, and quite often breaking someone's arm, or choking them out when you have a tazer is generally going to get you in trouble.

In general the most practical application of skill you will have to use will be stand up grappling and takedowns. For this Judo, or wrestling would be best. Unfortunatly Japanese Jujitsu while it has the throws and the locks, most places do not train realistically, against resisting opponents and you never get a chance to fully grasp it. Not to mention it was done with armor in mind, many of the throws are too exagerated for practical use.

While it has some extra pain compliance techniques to help get someone in cuffs, you will learn all those in the academy and through experience anyway.

Judo will give you a great headstart, practical experience in taking people down and controlling them. Alive resistant training, and a plethora of solid, widely effective techniques.

Unfortunately no other art specializes on this the same way Judo does and it is one of the more effective arts for Law Enforcement. I have known WAY more Law Enforcement officers in Judo than any other art.

I admit my bias, but show me another art that has the same amount of stand up grappling, solid take downs, and ground control without the use of striking, joint locking, and allows you to focus on this aspect at full speed and intensity against people who are trying everything they can to prevent you from doing your technique.

Striking is widely unacceptable, joint locks carry a heavy chance of actually injuring a suspect then being effective, especially one with a high pain tolerance such as someone drunk or on drugs. Pressure points in short do not work on someone with high pain tolerance. You are left with needing to control this person, with minimal risk of injury to yourself or the suspect.

Mystic Chi knockout bullshido aside. You need realistic, proven, effective stand up grappling and controlling. Judo has more throws, takedowns, understanding of leverage, and pinning techniques than pretty much any other art around. You have the ability and knowledge of the same amount of chokes and joint locks as BJJ, but also the ability to control a person at a greater ability then BJJ as they are limited in their pins.

In short you want to put a guy down, get the cuffs on him, or put him down, control him, and wait for back up and then put the cuffs on him.

Or just tazer him.

Either way, the fluff you would learn in Aikido, or JJ you basically will get in the Academy. What is really needed is practical experience in applying realistic techniques against people who are fighting with all they got. Judo gives you that, most Aikido, or Jujitsu places don't.


Apparently BJJ, and MMA help as well at least according to this article:
http://www.tallahassee.com/legacy/special/blogs/2007/10/ultimate-fighting-champion-teaching.html

Answer 2

I'd hate to break it to you...but the police are very limited in what they can and can't do. They have their own self-defense amalgamation that they teach; if you learn an art (such as bjj) you'll probably find that you won't be permitted to use half of what you learn on a suspect.

On the up side, however, if you do learn something more practical...it may very well save your life considering you are about to put yourself in harm's way.

Some grappling is good for detaining suspects, but you may want to look into something that's a little more well rounded such as Wing Chun or a non-sport oriented Karate.

You need to be prepared for anything when you're on patrol...

Answer 3

In reality, anyone can teach anything, blah, blah, blah. Doesn't make them good.

For Police work applications, Aikido and Jujitsu are certainly two of the most effective and logical arts to learn. They allow you to intelligently and calmly, disarm, disable, and control a person with minimum effort and maximum effectiveness.

Your purpose is NOT to have a knock down, drag out fight! LOL! You also don't want to be charged with Police Brutality!

If someone posed a threat with a gun or other weapon, you have an OBLIGATION to stop him or her; you use your gun, baton or taser. You have no right to engage in a fight and risk your life, and the people around you, including your fellow officers! Get it?

The bottom line is your "brain" is your most effective weapon.

If you are really serious, over 18, get an application, go to training, study and train hard. You will learn all you need to know and more. Good luck!

Answer 4

I agree, grappling and take down will probably serve you the best. From my experience it seems to be the brazliian ju-jitsu style is one of the most proficient in that area.

Sure is something i would like to give a go one day : )

Im not sure if that style does a lot of weapon training though, at kung fu ive done a few different range and classes of weapons, which always has a component of defending against them when weaponless.

that could be useful to know in that line of work as well

theres also a lot of philosophy in kung fu (well at least thier should be :D ) which is helpful for remaining very calm and being ultra aware.

Good Luck : )

Answer 5

I am a martial arts instructor. I Teach a lot of police officers. They tell me that HapKiDo and MMA really helps them a lot. The MMA is well rounded and the HapKiDo teaches them to get someone under control with out having to roll around on the ground. The following is a list of arts that I think would be helpful.

Kenpo/Kempo - Chinese style that focuses on fast hand strikes, low kicks, and trapping.

Japaneses Jujitsu - Employs hand strikes, kicks, throws, and grappling. I believe that Brazilian Jujitsu focuses on grappling more and Japanese is more well rounded.

HapKiDo - Korean style much like Jujitsu.

MMA/NHB - Hybrid Martial Art that uses Boxing, Muay Thai, Wrestling, and Jujitsu.

Answer 6

in any situation where someone is up against another person with the same level of self defense training, the stronger, faster one will usually win, whether their opponent is a woman or a man. Also, if a woman is in a war environment, she won't be by herself, just as a man wouldn't be left to fend for himself because without a gun, he is just as helpless. Although the U.S. has come a long way, I wouldn't say women get the same respect as men.

Answer 7

If your looking for an art to use for a police officer then you should wait until you go to the academy so they can train you in their self defense course. You will be using a lot of ju-jitsu and judo so try taking one of those arts. Another good one is tae kwon do. I took martial arts before becoming a jail officer and all i can tell you is that you will not use anything EXCEPT what they teach you if you want to keep your job.

Answer 8

well as a police officer you cant(or at least not suppose to)beat the living daylight out of someone so a striking art might not be the best bet, you are more likely to want to restrain a person to place handcuffs on them. this is where a grappling art would come in handy such as judo, brazilian jiujitsu, sambo etc...

however in line of duty you might need to put the hurting on a person if theres not other way around it, plus you might have to deal with people who might have a gun or knife this is where krav maga comes in handy

i took krav maga and i had a police officer in my class training with me and there also was a person who worked for homeland security. krav maga takes bits from severl martial arts to make a "complete" self defense fighting system. probably the best thing for you is the weapon disarming and being aware of your surroundings etc...much like what you could encounter

im not going to bore you with a long explantation of what krav maga is you can read about it here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krav_maga
also check out a video here
http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=55005&display_order=5&sub_display_order=9&mini_id=54986

Answer 9

Submissions sounds good for your situation but I would also master striking too(karate,tae kwon do,mauy thai) because some people are just assholes.
Policing sounds like a good gig $ wise though.
I think you just have to work for 20 years then you get paid for the rest of your life or something like that

Answer 10

Focusing on going to work and always being guided to the right people at the right time, SAFELY.
Learn those fighting techniques if you'd like - but don't underestimate the power of your INTENTIONS.

"My job is to help and serve the people in this community.... and in doing so, I am also protected at all times. My career is filled with great people and I live a long, safe and happy life as a police officer. My instincts ALWAYS protect me. I am guided...and I listen."

You draw to you what you think about.
Focus ONLY on WHAT YOU WANT.
Remember this.

Answer 11

I would consider Brazilian jiu-jitsu. However, if you become a police officer you have to follow your department's policies about use of force. See http://www.peaceofficerjobs.com