what is the best martial art for defending against the street?

Question

i wuold like to know the best martial for street defense, like if someone is wants to take your money or whatever,

isnt it tae kwon do?

Answer 1

Boxing is the best. Everything else in a street fight comes with the use of weapons, and tenacity. Boxing builds endurance, courage, balance and technique. I had a high red belt in Taekwondo, it uses boxing style techniques in modern form. Only Taekwondo high kicks are just for show. But if you like to do forms then a martial art might be for you.

As for wrestling, that is a whole different area of fighting that should also be learned. I recommend Judo over Jujitsu.

Answer 2

The best martial art for street defense isn't a martial art: It's training, philosophy, and the ability to know that one should only use their weapons only when the need be.

Martial arts are simply tools. You can very well do many things with one tool (Such as a screwdriver), but in order to be well rounded: You need a set of tools, and more experience.

If you want straight to the point self-defense: Take self-defense classes, or combat disciplines such as krav maga, haganna, Vee Arnis Jitsu, combatives, MCMAP, Jeet Kune Do (A school here will teach "Martial Arts") Combat Sambo, Combat Hapkido, Aikido (Real or not), and more. These things will give you what you need if that's what you want.

If you're looking for martial arts for self defense:
1. Figure out which of the four fighting ranges works for you: Kicking distance, hand strike distance, grappling distance, and ground grappling distance.
2. From there: Pick an art (That covers one range or more), and find a good school(s).
3. Train well in that art: Frequently, and intense. Make sure the training is realistic and full contact if at all possible.
4. If you picked an art that doesn't cover all the ranges: Take other arts that do cover those missing ranges, or find a friend that takes them. Learn from each other how to defend from what you each know.
5. Continue moving on.

That's what you really need to worry about. If you only know how to defend against strikes: What happens when you're grabbed? If you only know how to defend against grappling, what happens when a former muay thai fighters starts breathing down your neck?
That's really what is essential: A strong base, and ability in all fighting ranges. The ability to strike, grapple, and/or to defend against striking or grappling.

A GOOD Tae Kwon Do school is going to give you great striking skills, but it may or may not cover the other ranges. If you cover them with something such as Jujutsu or Hapkido with ground work, however: You will be well-rounded.

-Not all Tae Kwon Do schools are 70/30.
-Regardless of the fact that something has a hyung, it doesn't render it useless. Bruce Lee exercised the principle of throwing way what is useless, and that's done at will. Kyokushin has katas in it: What about them?

Good luck.

Answer 3

The best defense against being attacked in the street is the hundred meter dash. It's simple, no need to pay an obscene amount of money to learn it and it's been proven to be effective time and again by people of all sizes and shapes. In the streets, there are no rules that say you should stick around, exchange blows with your attacker and risk getting stabbed or shot when you can just make a hasty exit and show up in the nearest police station to ask for assistance.

Answer 4

This whole question is based on a deep misunderstanding of what the arts are all about. It's what you put into it, not the art itself. It also depends who you are, what you are more comfortable doing, etc...
But staying safe in the streets has about 5% to do with fighting ability. Sure it's nice to know if someone ever comes out of nowhere and attacks you, that you can do something, but look back at your experience: How many times has that acutally happened?
If you're main concern is being safe on the street, street smarts are the first thing you should be looking at. Learning to be aware of your environment, to recognize danger signals coming from people, to know how to react and not just freeze if something happens, to keep a clear mind under stress and quickly assessing all options availabe to you, etc... will take you a much longer way to being safe in the streets than any set of techniques.
Martial arts will give you a sense of being in control and reacting to any event. They will also give you the kind of confidence that would-be attackers will read in your body language, etc... So in that sense, they will go a long way to ensuring you're not a victim.
But style is a secondary issue and to me, has much more to do with personality and taste. I would recommend you train realistically if self-defence is your main concern, but besides that, there is no secret beats-all style.

Answer 5

TKD? Aboslutely not! 30% punches & 70% kicks with hyungs? NO!!! Realistic Martial Arts

Original Jeet Kune Do
http://www.jerrypoteet.com/JerryPoteet.html

Jeet Kune Do Concepts
http://www.inosanto.com/

Executive Progressive Fight System
http://www.fighting.net/

Combat Hapkido
http://www.ichf.com/

Lotar
http://www.lotarselfdefense.com/pub/overview.htm

Krav Maga
http://www.kravmaga.com/krav01.html

Answer 6

Tae Kwon do is a good martial arts style. It has to do with parrying and throwing your opponent. Now, if you want a good one that deals with parrying then attacking, then go for Jyuuken. Its a japanese fighting style similar to the buddist palm that allows you to defend against an opponents attacks and strike thier inner organs with an open palm.

If you're into attacking before defense, try kick-boxing, as everyone has said.

And if you're into defense, then attacking, go with either Shotokan, Aikido, or Tung Su Do

Answer 7

I highly recommend Wing Chun as it is one of the most effective martial arts system and does not require a lot of muscle strength.

However, I tend to agree with Opinionatedkitten. If street safety is your concern. Street smart is more important. Be alert of your surrounding, know the friends and people you are hanging out with, have good self-control are all more important factors than any martial arts that can keep you safe on the street.

Answer 8

There are modern combat systems that I think are quite effective on "the street" in self defense situations. Different styles will approach this differently. A Judo guy will throw the attacker into a wall, the Isshinryu Karate guy will kick him in the knee and punch him in the throat.

Answer 9

some very good styles have already been mentioned however the majority (with the exception of TKD and jiu-jitsu) are not true martial arts-they are fighting styles. how effective a style is largely depends on you-in the street if for example a knife is used then i would not advise use of the hands (unless you are exceptionally fast) this is where TKD comes in handy-perfect your kicking techniques and you have the perfect defence as your foot is protected by your shoes/trainers etc. in a close quarter situation then jiu-jitsu is an excellent form of self defence for its locks and throws-if the guy is really in your face then muai-thai for it's utilisation of the elbows and knees-any of the styles above can be used in the street but as i said earlier-the effectiveness of any art is purely down to one person-the practitioner.

Answer 10

Street Smart Self Defense
The style of no style. Like MMA for the streets.
It is in all the arts, it is called self respect, honor, courage, and most of all
Compassion......
If we all learnt it well then all the styles would be superior.