grappling vs striking in street fight?

Question

Hi, i want to start martial art mainly for the belts and hobby but was also hoping to use it as self defence, in my town there is hardly any styles. i have the chose of judo,bjj, shotokan karate or wtf tkd (boxing with 2 grappling arts) which would you prefere in a street fight?

Answer 1

Avoid Karate, Kung Fu, Judo and that sort of thing, they're too faffy and showy and not practical enough.

The best for fitness and self defense would be something simple but effective, with a solid striking base, and some good grappling too.

Bear in mind that grappling is great in competition, but mostly useless in a streetfight (rolling around in broken glass and dogshit while the other guy's friends kick you in the head won't get you far).

Either some sort of kickboxing or one of the modern technical fighting styles would probably be best for you. Alternatively, Ju Jutsu is about the most effective traditional art, and is quite varied and interesting too.

Answer 2

80% of fights go to the ground? 98% of statistics are made up. No offense.

I know both striking and grappling (Tang So Do and High School Wrestling) and in a real fight I would stick with striking and only grapple unless needed, hopefully the fight wont even last that long.

Grappling, even if your on top, negates the ability to escape. Thats the most important ability to have in my eyes in a fight. Especially with BJJ where they teach you to go into a guard in defense for takedowns, I'd much rather do a sprawl and stay on my feet and continue striking. Its hard to run away when your on your back and have your legs wrapped around someone.

Doesn't matter if I have the power of Mike Tyson and the speed of Bruce Lee, if the other guy has a weapon, I'm outta there.

Answer 3

Both, depending on the situation.

You might think that striking would be better, but what if the fighter has a significant size advantage, or just happens to be a known striker, i.e. a boxer, kickboxer, or Thaiboxer? Good grappling, either Judo, sub wrestling, or BJJ can let you walk away. Even with multiples, standing submissions or isolated grappling is efficient.

Note: People tend to disregard grappling in the 'street' because of multiples or people jumping in. This can happen standing up, in the clinch, or on the ground. And remember, the striking range negates the distance needed for weapons defense. Just a hint.

Answer 4

Shotokan karate and jujitsu.If it was my choice i would choose those 2 arts.Why choose one over the other when you can learn both and be totaly bad *** at striking and grappling? Then nobody will mess with you unless there ***** and have a gun.Do both be totally bad *** man.

Also the vast majority of people that would attack you out on the street dont know any kind of self defence and even if they did they wouldnt attack you.The first thing you learn in any martial art is to only use it as self defence dont use it against sombody unless they attack you first.A true martial artist will walk away to avoid confrontation.However somtimes you just cant avoid confrontation.I trained in kickboxing for 2 years and i learned enough to give me great confidence if i ever was attacked.Most people punch or head butt in a street fight the last thing they expect is a thunderous roundhouse kick to the ribs,legs or jaw.As sombody that tried to attack me 1 night when i was just walking down the street minding my own business found out.As soon as you learn the proper technique of punching and esspecialy kicking your already hard enough to beat down most people that try to attack you on the street.So yeah learn both and be totally bad ***.Also it impresses the ladies if your a martial artist,trust me.=)

Answer 5

Striking, definitely. The ground is a very dangerous place to be in a street fight. Remember that an opponent generally has buddies that will kick you to pieces on the ground. Avoid it unless you have no other choice. If it happens, kick at their legs and get under a table or against a wall to defend.

I personally think Muay Thai is the best form as a base for street fighting. Punches, elbows, kicks and knees are utilized. This will allow you to fight at both long and short distances. You also have "The clinch" which is a powerful weapon to decimate your opponent. Just watch Anderson Silva fight and you will know what I mean.

Answer 6

In a street fight the WORST thing you can do is go to the ground.

Why? Because the person may not be alone. You go and do the BJJ on him and his friends are gonna stomp you.

Doesn't matter how big or bad you are.

So you always want to strike first, strike fast & often and get the F* out of there.

Now with that being said, you should try to have some skills to avoid a take down and if you do end up on the ground know how to get up off and out.

Krav Maga works best but if you cant find that in your city, start with a striking MA and go from there.

Answer 7

Judo, it comes with handly moves, show or quick and effective throws, you get chokes, lock joints, and can escape from grip, it also uses groundwork, basically you can win a fight easily on the ground agains bigger opponents.

If you fight multiples you can just throw one and then throw another.

I would be more afraid of fighting somebody that uses grappling since I wouldn't know what to do, with somebody that uses a striking art, I would use the same game against him, and maybe the stronger, not the best fighter would win.

Answer 8

GRAPPLING is good but if you end up on the ground and there is more then ONE opponent your are SCREWED.

#1 Rule other than avoiding a fight all together is to not allow it to go to the ground. In the ring it is ok it is you on one other, in the street you may have five on you and if you grapple the other four will kick your face in!

so your best options is to stay on your feet and Ive done both ring fighting, kickboxing and have had a few real life and to be honest it was Shotokan and Ju Jitsu arm locks that saved me both times I ever had to use it.

Once was someone at a restaurant grabbed my right shoulder and i grabbed his hand twisted and put it so his elbow was over the chair and just a little more pressure and Id have snapped it. He knew and gave up. Fight over, no one hurt and I got to finish my Denny's meal in peace lol.

Other time I used Shotokan/Kenpo when someone tried to take me to the ground I found it simple to leg sweep them into giving up. I never punched or kicked them once. I didnt really wish to fight anyways so because his buddies were near by rather than beat the hell out of him and get them maybe involved I tried to use wit and just keep him off balance and away so every time he stepped at me or lunged I either pulled his feet from underneath him using shotokan or id simply dodge and evade and let him fall flat on the ground. He gave up after about ten minutes of it!!!

So grappling IS NECESSARY TO KNOW, but you should always learn to try and keep the fights from going to the groung first and if it does then know how to fight from there and get to your feet fast for IRL staying on the ground usually means the end for you!

Answer 9

in reality a "street fight" is a combination of the two that will likely last less time than it takes for me to type out this answer.

more often than not, presuming there is no "ambush" or surprise attack, then one person will start striking and throwing blows, the person bieng hit repeatedly in an attempt to stop the fists from coming will close and try to tackle/grapple the guy then it will turn to grappling with striking where you can put in.

so clearly, you should train in both.

I would suggest to you to start out with boxing and judo or bjj if those are the only options you listed above.

because these arts have the most realistic training from the ones you listed on average.

yes, some TMA gyms train realistically, however if you don't know what to look for your safest bet is to find a sportative art that trains for competitions that resemble a real fight.

TKD fails because you have plain old point sparring crap that promotes bad fighting habits with unrealistic rules (point sparring).

shotokhan and karate does as well because you might not be able to tell a good school that trains with realism and resistance vs. a bad one at this stage.

if you take a "safe" art like boxing judo or bjj first, then expand, you will know what it is like to really go at it and have someone out to beat the crap out of you- then anywhere you go, you'll know if what you are learning now would work if your opponent was coming at you like that.

Answer 10

Asking this question in such a broad arena as this and you are bound to get an answer from judo, bjj, shotokan, and tkd to tell you that they are the best in a street fight. Certainly they can't all be the best.... or can they.

Some would say the best defense is a gun. If you are decently trained with a gun, this is true. If you fumble with it out of inexperience, then you may as well give up.

I have been in karate for 18 years now so naturally I would so karate is great in a street fight. Had I trained in bjj for as long I would probably say that bjj was the best.

My best answer for you (and the truest unbiased answer) is that if you train properly and have a competent instructor you can use any of these in a street fight. Having dabbled in each of these a little over the years it is easy to see practical street applications from any of these styles.

If I had to place them in order of usefulness from my point of view it would be.

1. Karate - most karate classes a very broad spectrum and less specialized, and incorporate a good variety of hand and foot techniques.

2. BJJ - a lot of fights gone awry make it to the ground. BJJ likes to cut out the middle man and the fight to the mat, so to speak. If you learn to control the ground situation, then this will be a successful art for you.

3. TKD - while it is largely considered a competitive Sport and taught as such, tkd is based on Korean combat techniques. I have never been a fan of trying to kick someone in the head with as vulnerable and off-balance it may leave you.

4. Judo - while there are some good throws that can be incorporated into martial arts training. Most judo teaches very little by way of defense from attack.

When choosing a school think of these things:

Does the instructor appeal to me - sit in on a class and watch. See what you think about the instructor's personality and teaching style. If they will not allow you to watch a class, I wouldn't bother doing business with them.

Ask how belt promotions work in the school.
Are belts awarded for merit and skill, or does it seem like they are bought. It may take a few weeks training at a school to spot this, so beware.

Does the style truly appeal to you?
If you are not interested initially, it does not usually get more appealing. In my experiences students usually leave later into their training because they are not learning enough "new" things. Most of the middle ranks are dedicated to honing already learned skills and improving upon them.

Don't choose the school with the highest ranked instructor.
An instructor that is competent and seems of good character as a person, and is willing and able to cater to your interests and learning abilities is what it will take to keep you in the martial arts.

Best of luck in your decision.