What Martial Art Is Right For You? Which Ones Are Effective? What Style TO Learn?

Originally posted by Elienne
Interesting thread. I am a 60 yr. old woman who has been taking Shotokan karate for 7yrs. Realistically I totally understand that my age, height ( lack of....) and other handicaps will not let me be a survivor of a street fight. I will say that my training has at least given me muscle memory so hopefully I can block , attack, and run . At the least I can observe a punch headed my way and not flinch and thereby get taken. I do not really go into tournaments and fight, but one could only hope that I might be at least a smidge more prepared than other people my age! MMA is the best way to go to survive. In a SHTF situation, being prepared to do what you must is the best advantage. People are not basically good, and in a bad situation, it goes to crap immediately. If one understands this and can be ruthless from the get go, it helps....

You are AWESOME Elienne. I like your attitude.

It's true that your age and height will be 'handicaps'. I think it's good you're honest about your limitations. I often hear 'gurus' tell people they can defend themselves like any other person and aren't honest about these factors.

The older we get our reflexes, speed, stamina, strength drop. If a guy like me wanted to hurt the average 60 year old woman, I could kill her with my bare hands 99 ourt of 100 times. (Not a thought I enjoy, just giving the reality lol) You CAN be conditioned at 60, but it's harder. The reality of age and biology. That's why I wish laws for gun ownership were more forgiving to people who have no flight ability and lower fight edge.

But I have seen that you can still retain and compete with hand eye reflex and simple motor speed at most ages. Good for training with a knife or gun. If the SHTF , consider those. We might all be considering them.

Originally posted by jroberts227
reply to post by PaxVeritas

 

Food for thought. I have experience with boxing, Judo, and a few others. All styles aside, in the end it is the one who is meanest that will win. Doing whatever it takes to win is the key...

Yes...that is the reality I've seen too.

reply to post by fedeykin

The worst experiences I've had were in Kempo, Krav Maga and Wing Tsun schools, where the snail factor was at its highest.

Never been to a WT school....

Like the above poster has said, bad instuctors make bad , not the art.........

I have to say , I have NEVER been to a Krav school where it was "snail training" , infact most started out with heavy calisthenics before we even moved into our hand to hand activities.......

Kenpo, sucks man, but I know my school wasnt, I cant tell you the times i left with a black eye or busted nose.......same with my Krav classes......

Like i said, it seems to me you have an issue with striking arts, and think BJJ is the only way to go........

Thats not my issue to overcome

Like ive said before, there are only a few MA i would consider trash..........the rest is up to the practitioner and his ability to grasp its concepts and apply them ina force meets force situation.......

Originally posted by PaxVeritas

Originally posted by jroberts227
reply to post by PaxVeritas

 

Food for thought. I have experience with boxing, Judo, and a few others. All styles aside, in the end it is the one who is meanest that will win. Doing whatever it takes to win is the key...

Yes...that is the reality I've seen too.

I agree. But, here is one thing that can make pure will to win useless. If you can't move fast enough or don't have enough strength, the will alone will not help, and neither is plain being mean either.

reply to post by fedeykin


I didn't say let them hit you. I just said let them make the first move. If someone is going to stand there and let someone punch them in the face, then yeah... they're gonna get hurt, and basically, they're going to deserve it.

I have no idea how anyone fights when first step into a conflict, whether it be for sport or real. I'm not going to throw a punch at a kicker and meet a heel to the sternum. I'm not going to kick a grappler and have my own leg turned against me as a pain leverage. Patience is the best tool for me. Again, everyone fights differently, but the moment my opponent makes a move, my brain begins running a catalog of counter strikes and techniques to turn the tables in my favor.
Focusing on one school is nonsense. I see fighting like a game of chess. If someone comes at you from the front (pawn), you move in from the side (knight). Pawn to pawn takes too long and there's a chance you might get your ass kicked. Switching styles or countering with a superior style, I've found, works best for me, and considering I've never lost a fight professional, street, or real means I'll be sticking to my current school of philospohy.

Originally posted by cuchullainuk777
Akido but a fusion of Akido with Shotokan with the emphasis on Akido One martial art that fuses Akido and jiu jitsu is.Krav Maga it is very effective but its not a pretty artform Krav Maga does the job its intended for but lacks finesse Id love to see Akido taken to another level to somhow incorporate the strikes and kicks of shotokan but retain its philosophy of ebb and flow .

That would defeat the purpose of the style, art, the ideal is not to throw first strike, as it goes against the Universe.
They do use fake attack to bait the opponent into a attack.
The basic concept of Akido is if you attack a Akido Master , they will take you for a walk thru the garden and show you the beauty of the garden.
In other words they will rip your arm off your shoulder and beat you with it.
The harder you attack a Akido Master the more you hurt yourself.

If a person is in your face and showing intent of attacking you, you have every legal right to defend yourself.

You can tell when someone is just huffing and puffing, posturing, and not serious.

And you can tell when someone INTENDS to hurt you. Body language says a lot.

If someone is intended on hurting you, you MUST learn to be the aggressor and be what's called "the firstest with the mostest". This is a key to many fight situations. To pull the trigger and ask questions later, when you're safe.

A guy with tattoos who's eyeballs are as wide as hell, sweating, jittery, looking around and pacing....that guy is not going to give a crap about blinding you or stabbing you.

Question if you want to sh** in a bag for months, or be accused of 'assault' where you can argue it in court. Which one you wanna pick?

Learn 10, hell, learn 5 good defense and offense moves in each discipline I mentioned...and then learn the key which is getting past the adrenaline stage where your brain switches off. Most fights won't end that long if you end it first, but you might need it.

Originally posted by FugitiveSoul
reply to post by fedeykin

 

I didn't say let them hit you. I just said let them make the first move. If someone is going to stand there and let someone punch them in the face, then yeah... they're gonna get hurt, and basically, they're going to deserve it.

I have no idea how anyone fights when first step into a conflict, whether it be for sport or real. I'm not going to throw a punch at a kicker and meet a heel to the sternum. I'm not going to kick a grappler and have my own leg turned against me as a pain leverage. Patience is the best tool for me. Again, everyone fights differently, but the moment my opponent makes a move, my brain begins running a catalog of counter strikes and techniques to turn the tables in my favor.
Focusing on one school is nonsense. I see fighting like a game of chess. If someone comes at you from the front (pawn), you move in from the side (knight). Pawn to pawn takes too long and there's a chance you might get your ass kicked. Switching styles or countering with a superior style, I've found, works best for me, and considering I've never lost a fight professional, street, or real means I'll be sticking to my current school of philospohy.

I congragulate you on your undefeated record, I sadly have a loss or two on my record from my competition days.

In more serious fights (discounting everything that happened before I graduated high school) no one has ever landed a hit on me, although a few people have tried.

In my experience the chess game ends as soon as the fight is about something. In sparring it is a game for me, and I also think as if I was playing chess. In tournaments or on the streets my mind did sadly not work that way and I just reacted.

You know the chances in a real world situation of running into a martial artist of any degree are pretty nil, except if it was with a cop, street fighter/thugs are either going to cut you with a knife, bash you in the head with a brick or just shoot you, so really you're just going to be up against thugs you shoot, because there isn't going to be any rules of engagement other than succeed A hot can of pepperspray, wasp spray, carburetor cleaner works wonders Its really the martial art of choice

Originally posted by fedeykin

Originally posted by PaxVeritas

Originally posted by jroberts227
reply to post by PaxVeritas

 

Food for thought. I have experience with boxing, Judo, and a few others. All styles aside, in the end it is the one who is meanest that will win. Doing whatever it takes to win is the key...

Yes...that is the reality I've seen too.

I agree. But, here is one thing that can make pure will to win useless. If you can't move fast enough or don't have enough strength, the will alone will not help, and neither is plain being mean either.

edit on 1-2-2012 by fedeykin because: (no reason given)

Well yeah, of course. LOL

I meant for someone who is trained at least. Stephen Hawking might have the 'will'.....but.....umm...

I believe that trying to create structure to combat is effective in the first phase of its instruction. After that it is best to let yourself learn from all things in life, the war arts.

A warrior is validated when he overcomes his enemies. All ways are valid for this purpose. The best opponent to learn from is the mad man with nothing to lose. Bruce lee´s philosophy of style of no style for me.

The overwhelming force of anger when harnessed and focused takes many forms, but the best form depends on the anger you feel towards your enemy. The resolve you can have at your disposition to survive. If kung fu better expresses your will to defend yourself, then go that way for that fight. If karate is the way you express your drive to overcome then it is the best way for that situation.

It's not just MMA, its becoming the fight. It is better to become the nemesis of your opponent. If he is elegant and systemized, seem crazed and unpredictable. If he be aggressive and over powering, be reserved and purposeful with your attack.

Like anything in life use your head and your enemies weakness. If he is big, be small. If he is small, be faster. If you are good, expect to be challenged by better. If you are bad, expect to face someone better.

thats the way. for me.

learn to be angry at your enemy, not yourself.

Originally posted by fedeykin

Originally posted by PaxVeritas

Originally posted by jroberts227
reply to post by PaxVeritas

 

Food for thought. I have experience with boxing, Judo, and a few others. All styles aside, in the end it is the one who is meanest that will win. Doing whatever it takes to win is the key...

Yes...that is the reality I've seen too.

I agree. But, here is one thing that can make pure will to win useless. If you can't move fast enough or don't have enough strength, the will alone will not help, and neither is plain being mean either.

edit on 1-2-2012 by fedeykin because: (no reason given)

If someone is faster then you, then your speed doesnt matter..........


See how this is a circular argument..........

reply to post by casenately



I like that post. Reminds me to 'be like water'.

Originally posted by sweetnlow
You know the chances in a real world situation of running into a martial artist of any degree are pretty nil, except if it was with a cop, street fighter/thugs are either going to cut you with a knife, bash you in the head with a brick or just shoot you, so really you're just going to be up against thugs you shoot, because there isn't going to be any rules of engagement other than succeed

A hot can of pepperspray, wasp spray, carburetor cleaner works wonders Its really the martial art of choice

Where I live this is different. Most of the disreputable people in the city where I live have at least some training in either muay thai or MMA. A lot of them are also Asylum seekers and have nothing to do but train all day.

The MMA and muay thai schools here are also filled with these kinds of people and make them rather unlikeable to train at.

Originally posted by PaxVeritas

Originally posted by fedeykin

Originally posted by PaxVeritas

Originally posted by jroberts227
reply to post by PaxVeritas

 

Food for thought. I have experience with boxing, Judo, and a few others. All styles aside, in the end it is the one who is meanest that will win. Doing whatever it takes to win is the key...

Yes...that is the reality I've seen too.

I agree. But, here is one thing that can make pure will to win useless. If you can't move fast enough or don't have enough strength, the will alone will not help, and neither is plain being mean either.

edit on 1-2-2012 by fedeykin because: (no reason given)

Well yeah, of course. LOL

I meant for someone who is trained at least. Stephen Hawking might have the 'will'.....but.....umm...

See, finally someone who gets it.

The fact is that a person can train themselves to the point were the difference between him and you is like the difference between you and Stephen Hawking.

The point is to not be stephen hawking when the SHTF.

Originally posted by CosmicCitizen
reply to post by PaxVeritas

 

I once asked a retired Army Col.who was a 5th dan BB in Hapkido and a prolific author on that style as well as combat arts for the military what was the best martial art to learn if you could only study one style for self defense. Expecting him to tout hapkido, which is a balanced korean style (ie, offense and defense) similar to the japanese art of aikido, albeit with more offense, he surprised me and said wrestling or judo as most street fights end up on the ground in 10 seconds or less and therefore grappling and holding techniques are of the greatest importance.

edit on 31-1-2012 by CosmicCitizen because: (no reason given)

Never goto the ground in a real fight, never.

You are just expecting to be kicked or hit in the head with something.

Keep grappling for the ring.

Though MMA is great all around defense, some of the things practiced is simply impractical. What applies to a ring and what applies to the street are at times completely different. In a mma ring you dont have to worry about crotch shots, eye poking, biting, small joint manipulation, concrete, various objects lying around, a ref not being able to stop it, friends joining in, soccer kicks, head stomps, 12/6 elbows, knee to the head on the floor, weight classes, a guy banging your head on the floor while in guard, head butts, fish hooking, rounds......

That's off the top of my head and I didnt even mention concealed weapons. People that think MMA is real fighting are going to be in for a rude awakening when they come across a street fighter with no hesitation. Street fighting is all out get everything done as fast as possible, not the cardio heavy 3 round stretch where you have to pace yourself (MMA).

Originally posted by Chewingonmushrooms
Though MMA is great all around defense, some of the things practiced is simply impractical. What applies to a ring and what applies to the street are at times completely different. In a mma ring you dont have to worry about crotch shots, eye poking, biting, small joint manipulation, concrete, various objects lying around, a ref not being able to stop it, friends joining in, soccer kicks, head stomps, 12/6 elbows, knee to the head on the floor, weight classes, a guy banging your head on the floor while in guard, head butts, fish hooking......

That's off the top of my head and I didnt even mention concealed weapons. People that think MMA is real fighting are going to be in for a rude awakening when they come across a street fighter with no hesitation.

Heres the generic arguement for you: Why do you think the MMA fighter is not capable of doing all these same things, and because of his training gives him the advantage in doing these things to you?

reply to post by Chewingonmushrooms


Pretty sure someone wouldnt be doing MMA at all if they didnt know the difference between fighting in a ring/cage to fighting out in the street.

Agree with you 100% though buddy.

reply to post by Vaxar



Going to the ground is a last resort for me personally. I love the ground though. Being on my back is like swimming.

But you should try to avoid it. Hitting concrete and rolling or grappling on hard ground HURTS. And you can injure yourself with the slightest amount of force.

If there are multiple attackers, NEVER go to the ground. If it's just you and another guy, it's a maybe.