What self defense / technique art should i choose?

[Deleted]

Hello. I've traning sports alot in my life. Did play fotball for about 10 years, did get a own gym at home.. but it's too boring to workout with yourself. So I've been thinking lately to start some self defense / attack technique sport like kickboxning,judo etc etc.. but I have no idea what to choose.
I did try ju-jutsu but was not fun (well, only did go few times, maby it's more fun at the end?). So I'm here to ask if anyone do any of these sports or/and can recommend any sport.
Want a offensive/defensive with technique, kicks/punches, well, it's basicly all you can do. All of the arts got this but there is a little different in all of them that make me confused and puts me in a possision there i don't know what to choose.
thanks for any answers-

[Deleted]

Krav maga or jeet jun do, these are practical styles with no bullshit. you will not be required to learn japanese, or do useless but fancy high kicks. Krav maga especially teaches you to be a very dirty fighter.

[goozen]

Krav maga or jeet jun do, these are practical styles with no bullshit. you will not be required to learn japanese, or do useless but fancy high kicks. Krav maga especially teaches you to be a very dirty fighter.

Krav maga is more of a practical marshel art and not so much a sport.

[Deleted]

Krav maga is more of a practical marshel art and not so much a sport.

Depends whether you want to learn to fight or impress people with fancy moves. I suggest Ballet if you want the latter.

[lightofdawn]

i do kenpo jiu-jitsu karate (1st degree black belt), mix of all 3 systems, kenpo for kicks/footwork jiu-jitsu for ground fighting and karate for hand strikes and form

definitely works, but u need to be willing to get bruises...lots of them during the training

[Darkdruidelf]

Theres no right style. I personally do both mma and JKD, and love them. But, it might not be for you, and thats cool. I'd recommend looking in your area for martial arts, and going along to see what the classes are like. Its not the art as much as it is the teacher, the way its done, the people ect ect. They are all far more important than what it actually is.

A friendly instructor, good people and a great atmosphere will make you far more likely to continue than the art itself, so really go take a look around and have some fun with it!

Edit: Also, the guy below me has a lot of good points but I do disagree on the 'more hardcore martial arts', any good place wont have you getting injured quickly, or put you into full contact sparring before you are ready.

[freelapdance]

Thai boxing or Jeet kune do are both very good but then again Krav maga is. A lot of martial arts only focus on either ranged or close combat/ground work whereas if you did something say thai boxing + brazilian jujitsui it would be very solid. That or simply do jeet kune do or krav maga. If it were me I would go with krav maga because that is one I haven't trained in but has me very interested.

[XeroDivide]

Krav Maga + Jiu-Jutsu all the way for hand to hand combatives. Then again, for you to truly know those Art Forms, I STRONGLY ADVISE YOU to be ready to be in lots of PAIN (i really really mean that). Also as you learn whatever combative art you choose, please be in top physical shape or be in a pursuit to do so. It is one thing for an individual to have Technical Ability, and it is another to have Technical PLUS Athletic Ability (big difference when you have both)

http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/XeroDivide/

**listen to what HowlRunner said in his post; he's spot on

[[Apok]]

Train for sepak takraw, i bet those players could wreck some fools.

[saberon]

please be in top physical shape or be in a pursuit to do so.

This.

We had a guy come in once, saying about how he did boxing and other sport for years and was in fantastic shape... who proceeded to throw up about 30 minutes in from the warm-up alone.

But as others have mentioned, the keys to finding a good style/club are:

- Great atmosphere. Nothing will turn you off more than a bunch of assholes. If you don't like the club, find a new club, not a new style.
- Find a style(s) that suit you. If you're looking for a sport, BJJ, Judo or MMA might be the way to go.
- If your looking for a style dedicated purely to self-defense/survival, then Krav Maga or a combination style that takes the best from multiple styles.
- Keep looking. If you don't like what you're doing, find something else. Keep looking for new clubs and/or new styles until you find one you like.
- Leave your ego at the door. If you can't handle losing, don't bother showing up. You will lose. Constantly. If you fail to recognise why you lose, and fail to accept responsibility for the actions that resulted in your loss, you will never improve, and you won't enjoy it.

Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from bad decisions. Accept, Learn and Improve.

[Rawt]

i do BJJ and muay thai classes at american top team for the last 3ish years. i'd recommend those for self defense by far.

[Dachoson1]

BJJ is ground work. so if someone comes up behind you or in front and tackles you to the ground you know exactly what to do.
I see you mentioned it was boring, you have to learn basics before most of the cool stuff but that shouldn't take you long.

[s1fizik]

Jujitsu IMO, grappling is crazy if you can get good at it. Plus idea of using your enemy against themselves is great

[Darkdruidelf]

Sorry but to the guys above me, you cant just say a style. I mean, I love bjj, Ive started doing it recently and yeah, I love it. But I understand a lot of people dont like it because they simply arent comfortable with being that close to someone, its about personal space.

People also mention dont do 'hard styles' like mma, jkd or krav maga, cus you'll get beaten up. This is wrong in my opinion. No place will put you into super hard, full out sparring until you are ready.

I've always said its more about the place and the people than it is about the art itself. Any art can be effective and fun if taught right and done with the right people, so my only advice is look out. They'll all do trial sessions, so go along to all of them, and see if you like the art, the teacher and the people.

Edit: But yeah, leave your ego at the door. Number 1 thing you need to learn to do.

[Primernova]

Krav Maga hands down for self defense. It's no nonsense and just plain effective.

Yes it will hurt to learn but it's nothing serious...

[Hyde]

Train for sepak takraw, i bet those players could wreck some fools.

sepak takraw is a sport you play in teams of 3s using a rattan ball, not exactly a martial art.

[Deleted]

As mentioned befor there is no right style no cookie cutter combat sport style that is the best for each and everyone.
Atmosphere of the gym is also very important, if you don t like to be there you won t train there for long. Make some trail training at the local gyms arround you and find out what style and gym suites you most. I guess that s the best way to go.

And yes leave your ego at the door if you want to train martial arts.

[helheim]

wing tsun. not wing chun. leung ting wt is more or less ridiculous.



and if that isn't enough to convince you, here's a sample from donnie yen's portrayal of yip man:



i'm a 4th level student after about 2 years of training. highly recommend. chi sau is the shiznit.

[Deleted]

want something rude? go american football, something lika a martial art with sometime a ball

[kaelleria]

The most impressive form of martial arts I've seen is Daito Ryu Aikijuijitsu. Its basically the precursor to Aikido and has roots going back to the Samurai.

Around 1:45 is where things start to get interesting. You'll notice that later on, the uke is basically put into locks and is stuck there with very little outside influence.


I had the opportunity to go to a seminar with Goldberg Sensei, one of the few north american representatives of Daito Ryu Akijujitsu... and all I can say is that man is a witch. All of the moves in the video I just posted... except he'd just tense his arm or move his finger to put people into locks.