What Martial Arts/Self Defense Do You Know?

[BlueMage]

I have close to eight years experience in Shorinji Kempo. Due to other commitments, I haven't had the opportunity yet to reach shodan. Still, after eight years you internalise a lot of what you get taught. For those unfamiliar, it combines both striking and soft techniques, with an emphasis on body movement and speed rather than strength. And trust me, when a Hong Kong girl half my height and less than half my weight can throw me to the ground with comparative ease, you know that technique be working.

I'm also studying kickboxing, have been for about a year and a half now. To be honest, I don't know if it's Muay Thai or "good ol'" style but either way - the bag bears testament to my ability to break things. There's also an emphasis on close-in knees and elbows (something Shorinji - in my experience of it - shies away from. Throws and take downs yes, but little grappling or groundwork) so it's also encouraging me to make use of what will often be my greater size, weight and reach up close where it can do the most damage.

Eh, I also studied karate when I was younger, along with ninjitsu. School fights ended particularly quickly when I was involved, didn't matter how many decided to try their luck.

Yep.

I know "Runningawayitsu" and "Kickemintheballsarate"

Best two unarmed styles there are - the best fight is the one you're never involved in, the second best is the one you can run away from.

 

[VladG]

No real training. Come to think of it I haven't even been in a fight since 2nd grade (and those fights were considered violent if slaps were thrown around). Basically my form of self defence is looking somewhat like a 250-pound half deranged hobo.

But I do have some knowledge of popular fighting stiles and favor Krav Maga. Here's why:

Krav Maga isn't what you'd actually call "martial arts". Martial arts are fairly ritualized (especially japanese/chinese ones) and focus on form, technique and are somewhat adapted for competitions, making them safer for both involved. Krav Maga on the other hand is all about survival. Generally, there are no rules in Krav Maga, as it is a defense fighting technique which is not regulated, but utilized to keep the user safe and incapacitate the opponent by any means necessary. There is nothing holy (half the moves I've seen involve a hard part of your body and your opponent's balls, usually in comedic and eye-watering combinations). It's also considered the easiest and most efficient form of self defence since anyone, regardless of age, sex, prior training or physical condition can learn it very fast. It relies on short, efficient movement (none of that fancy jumping around, just a plain old elbow to the face and knee to the groin, thank you very much) and details many ways to remove and defend yourself against many common weapon threats(knives, guns, blunt weapons, etc)

Boxing is probably the most useful background to have if you want to pick up Krav Maga since it emphasizes punches as basic strikes which are useful in almost any situation

As a form of self defence I really consider Krav Maga to be the best choice out there. Other martial arts have, of course, other things in their favor: discipline, physical training, philosophy, but for pure self defence, you can't beat Krav Maga.

I hear this a lot, yet I've never seen anyone who is proficient in Krav Maga actually IN a real fight with anyone who'se halfway good at fighting. All the cute training vids I see seem to have the same feeling I got when I used to learn kung-fu: The moves look and feel fantastic so long as the training partener goes along with what you're doing. However, since I started Jiu-Jitsu, I've noticed that anything you do even slightly wrong gets picked up on and exploited, yet even doing something 100% right as hard as you can fails cuz the other guy is just better at the counter/bigger/stronger/lighter/faster etc. I've yet to come across any boxers who'd let you kick them in the nuts, or hardened jail-fighters for that matter, and those are the kinds of people you really want martial arts to defend yourself from: The ones who can actually really hurt you, and are practiced in not getting hurt.

Not that I'm against Krav Maga, but considering the only people the israeli army gets to practice it on prefer slings and AK47's to h2h combat, well, it makes me wonder is all...

Actually all the special forces units in the EU must have Krav Maga training. Most police and swat forces around the world have Krav Maga training too, not to mention the best bodyguards in the world too.

 

[Use_Imagination_here]

I tried karate for one year until i got bored of the bullshit stances that hurt my legs.

Still trying to figure out what to start next year. Any suggestions?

 

[warprincenataku]

I've studied Wing Chun off and on since 2000, and I recently obtained my 4th Dan in Gendai Ninjutsu under the tutilage of a recognized 10th Dan Grandmaster.

 

[Apprentice88]

A few years of Nan Quan, still going.

Gotta love Kung Fu.

 

[Keava]

Basics of Capoeira and Krav Maga and some street wits. Enough to be able to deal with majority of situations one tends to run into in a city. Apart from that archery and fencing..but how often do i carry a longsword or bow by my side really...

 

[GLo Jones]

I have about 10 years experience in 'grab-the-nearest-weaponisable-object-and-swing'.

 

[SckizoBoy]

Seven years Muay Thai, nine years kenjutsu... which means a lot of bruised shoulders...

And for warm down, Tai Chi, which is a martial art right down to it. I once sped up and hardened the movements and it works, if in a rather roundabout way...

EDIT: I also used to shoot one of these:

That's my sister's new toy, incidentally...

 

[GeneralDefiance]

Ive got about 5 years of karate and tae kwon do , and until recently was training in mma... having a good set of wits about you in situations on the street can make all the difference to how you handle yourself too so you know when to fight and when its just not gonna be your day.

 

[Vault Girl]

Ju-Jitsu, for about 5 years. Best Martial Art there is in my opinion.

 

[Nexus4]

Rhee Tae Kwon Do and Kendo, the former for about 7 years the latter only for 1. I ended up quitting Rhee due to Uni schedule and quit Kendo due to costs.

 

[Brandon237]

I am a junior black belt in two styles of karate, [footnote]Mostly defensive martial art, until the f***er exposes some soft neck or temple[/footnote]JKA and Tenshinkan karate, I currently only do Tenshinkan and have successfully passed both my black-belt gradings in a row there, shame, about two thirds of the people going for junior blacks and lower dans fail.

 

[Griffolion]

About 5 years of Krav Maga. Some of the best stuff I've ever seen.

I want to learn that, is it good?

No real training. Come to think of it I haven't even been in a fight since 2nd grade (and those fights were considered violent if slaps were thrown around). Basically my form of self defence is looking somewhat like a 250-pound half deranged hobo.

But I do have some knowledge of popular fighting stiles and favor Krav Maga. Here's why:

Krav Maga isn't what you'd actually call "martial arts". Martial arts are fairly ritualized (especially japanese/chinese ones) and focus on form, technique and are somewhat adapted for competitions, making them safer for both involved. Krav Maga on the other hand is all about survival. Generally, there are no rules in Krav Maga, as it is a defense fighting technique which is not regulated, but utilized to keep the user safe and incapacitate the opponent by any means necessary. There is nothing holy (half the moves I've seen involve a hard part of your body and your opponent's balls, usually in comedic and eye-watering combinations). It's also considered the easiest and most efficient form of self defence since anyone, regardless of age, sex, prior training or physical condition can learn it very fast. It relies on short, efficient movement (none of that fancy jumping around, just a plain old elbow to the face and knee to the groin, thank you very much) and details many ways to remove and defend yourself against many common weapon threats(knives, guns, blunt weapons, etc)

Boxing is probably the most useful background to have if you want to pick up Krav Maga since it emphasizes punches as basic strikes which are useful in almost any situation

As a form of self defence I really consider Krav Maga to be the best choice out there. Other martial arts have, of course, other things in their favor: discipline, physical training, philosophy, but for pure self defence, you can't beat Krav Maga.

I hear this a lot, yet I've never seen anyone who is proficient in Krav Maga actually IN a real fight with anyone who'se halfway good at fighting. All the cute training vids I see seem to have the same feeling I got when I used to learn kung-fu: The moves look and feel fantastic so long as the training partener goes along with what you're doing. However, since I started Jiu-Jitsu, I've noticed that anything you do even slightly wrong gets picked up on and exploited, yet even doing something 100% right as hard as you can fails cuz the other guy is just better at the counter/bigger/stronger/lighter/faster etc. I've yet to come across any boxers who'd let you kick them in the nuts, or hardened jail-fighters for that matter, and those are the kinds of people you really want martial arts to defend yourself from: The ones who can actually really hurt you, and are practiced in not getting hurt.

Not that I'm against Krav Maga, but considering the only people the israeli army gets to practice it on prefer slings and AK47's to h2h combat, well, it makes me wonder is all...

Well the SAS and Israeli special forces train in it, so I'm guessing Krav is at least a little bit okay against people who know how not to get hurt.

 

[coppah20HE]

Let's see...

Karate
Kung Fu
Krav Maga
and two other kinds of self defence, one I learnt through the Police Force.

Kung Fu and Krav Maga were good, but Karate was tedious and boring.

 

[starslasher]

I've done several martial arts, but never long enough to master one, not even to black belt level. I did some Shotokan Karate when i was smaller, and a tiny bit of Goju ryu recently, then i did some hapkido, and then a self defence class that consisted of hapkido as well as silat elements. And I've done some boxing in between, which i enjoy.

 

[Naeo]

I...uh...know the ancient art of "run away"?

I've never had anything close to martial arts training in any form, so nothing beyond basic "punch the guy" and "punch him again, this time harder".

Captcha: hincee Teacher's

 

[Estocavio]

My self defense basically amounts to "kick em in the balls and run".
Not the best line of defense to live life through.

I personally really wanna learn kick boxing though. :I
I will watch this thread, as I am quite interested.

That's actually the worst defense plan ever. A person balls will shrink at the first sign of exercise because the blood is needed elsewhere, and adrenaline can go a long way in making that hurt less. Trust me, a kick to the balls is barely noticeable if someone is expecting it. Your best bet would be to find a weapon or run.

What? For some reason I want to test that statement, but if you're lying, that'll suck.

Any links or vids?

Actually, ill verify this. Its due to the testicles retracting towards the body when the person is alert. And as such, when you perform the kick, it comes out as more of a slap than a blow. And since it doesnt crush the Scrotum against the body, it does very little.

 

[Fleischer]

~6 years of arnis jujitsu.

 

[StBishop]

hm... martial arts are often not self defense, and neither is boxing. ways of fighting that need you to be warmed up or wearing protective gear to keep you from injuring yourself or not the best way to fight.
i did several years of tkd during high school and some karate before that. after a longer break, i started keysi fighting method about a year ago. compared to the violence of kfm, tkd and karate are more synchronized dancing. all the nasty things you can do to people that martial arts train you not to, wrapped in a neat package. also you do the sparring against at least two opponents and during summer we mostly train outside in the park or on a parking lot. a couple of times a year, the school even rents a club or disco and we do the training under loud music and strobe lights. which really takes some getting used to. fun, though.

When I was big into Judo I would stretch and warm up every morning before leaving the house. It's pretty easy to keep yourself ready to exercise.

But I agree, starting a martial art to learn to fight is silly. I also think that saying "I can box, come at me bro." is about as logical as saying, "I can play nfl, tackle me with no pads, on concrete for kicks."

-snip-

I want to learn that, is it good?

-snip-

-snip-

Well the SAS and Israeli special forces train in it, so I'm guessing Krav is at least a little bit okay against people who know how not to get hurt.

Yes, it's good. Learn it.

Also learn either Aikido, Judo, or Juijitsu.

I know a guy who was in the SAS and from what I can gather trained both Aussie and international Special Forces in H2H. I tried to hit him a couple times and it's not doable.

This was after he'd been retired the better half of a decade.

Just learn the basics of striking, blocking, grappling, dodging, and controlling your enemy. Then plaractice various ways of doing all of them.

You will become batman.

 

[Low Key]

I have about 10 years experience in 'grab-the-nearest-weaponisable-object-and-swing'.

Ah, so you're a master in the art as well. I find it can be very versatile and effective when facing an experienced opponent.