I'm going to sign up for a martial art for the purpose of self-defense and currently I'm looking at these since they are taught near to where I live: Eskrima, Aikido and Wing Tjun (kung fu) There is also Tai Chi, judo, jiu-jitsu and karate that I know of Basically what I'm looking for is a martial art that focuses on disarming and rendering the opponent incapable of attacking me as quick as possible. Any recommendations?
ti chi is good for down gritty fighting were i used to kick boxing as mad as it sounds teaches you how to get out of headlocks etc.. if that was any help
I used to take Hapkido. S0meguy: Aikido is really similar to Hapkido, just with less kicks(or so I've been told). Wing Chun is really cool imo, if I were to get into martial arts again(which I will some day when I have the money), that's what I would take. However, what's really important is the teacher; you should go check out the schools and see which one you're more impressed by.
taiji is a healing art based around balance and circles. taijiquan is a fighting art but unless you have studied it hard for say 10 years or so, your not gong to be able to dissarm many people in real self defence situations. i have done taijiquan for ages (way over 10 years), you learn to use your opponents strength against him. also it is a soft style made to counter hard styles, i dont suggest learning this for a self defence style at first. peace.
Krav Maga is a very good candidate for the prerequisites you have. If I wasn't so damn busy that's what I would be taking and learning. It is designed to cater to the person's size and ability, not the other way around. It also teaches against multiple opponents and opponents with firearms. http://www.martial-arts-info.com/119/krav-maga/
jujutsu works in the ring and against unnarmed opponents well. it focuses on very close quaters fighting with grappling moves galore. i would suggest learning this along with a striking art. judo is another grappling art that focuses on throws and close quaters fighting. again learn this alongside a striking art. karate, it is very hard to find a real karate dojo in the west that is worth going to. there are so many rookies teaching this art it is unreal, ofcourse real karate is amazing. take the late great mas oyama for example. but this art is not in its prime int he west nowdays. it dissapoints me, stay clear of mcdojos. wing tzun, i have studied this art also alongside jeet kun do, befoe i started shaolin gong fu. it is a very fluid fast striking style. escrima is famous for its armed combat with short sticks. it is a highly effective system with said weapons. but all in all i would like to give you some advice, there is no bad fighting systems, only bad system instructors. many people compare styles and say what one they think will kick ass more than the other one. dont listen to any of that, you get good teachers and bad teachers. dont spend all your time comparing systems with each other. but instead compare instructors to each other. i teach people self defence on a private basis, and alot of the time i do it for free. for the love of the arts, you will come across many people who are in it for the money. all of that flashy stuff with belts, rankings and chin stroking i do not care for. i practice many systems not just a couple. but i also teach a saying that goes "practice a single strike 1000 times over, not 1000 strikes 1 time over" but also having that in mind, do not just limit yourself to 1 school of thought. if you can find one it will pay off, attend a realistic self defence class. like a street combat class or system. they are springing up all over the place nowdays. traditional martial arts has its place in self defence, but if you want real combat and self defence training, you have to take part in realistic training sessions. like knife fighting, 2 on 1 fighting, art of escape, reading body language, avoiding harm, i make people wear white t shirts, and give the attacker a black marker pen. and see if you can dissarm the marker pen without being stabbed by it. its not easy you know. each black dot on your top obviously is a stab wound. one realistic word of advice, is to not try and get close to somebody who has a knife. real life is not a jet li movie, where you can kick 3 guys asses who have knives. the reality is more along the lines of you getting stabbed up by the 3 guys while managing to punch 1 of them to the floor. if you can escape, then run away!, distance trainign is important, know when you are in range of being hit by a weapon (including fists and feet). footwork is very important in and out of the ring. one thing that most guys dont understand is this though. you cant take your MMA UFC training and try to take on a guy with a stun gun and baseball bat. you will get your ass kicked if you slip up, and trust me people make mistakes even trained 7th dan black belts. if where you live allows it, i suggest carry a weapon. if you are facing an opponent who is armed, its better if you are also armed. CS gas, a knife, coshm baton, or even a gun. tell me your area and i will see if i can look up a good realistic self defence system for you. or some kind of military training system, dont get me wrong im all for traditional martial art forms, but today they dont incorperate reality training for todays streets. because they have not been updated for hundreds of years to compensate. i take traditional systems and uprade them for todays world. peace.
Krav maga is very good i agree, people nowdays associate that with UFC, but forget that it is a realistic combat form that works in todays world aswell. its not just for the ring. there is a wealth of good tactics and knowledge in all fighting systems, the only thing i compare with styles is if they are designed for real combat or for the ring. like for example, if you train with boxing gloves on all the time, that is not practical for real self defence, and if you train all the time with sporting rules in place, that is not good. there are no rules in battle or on the street, and 100% no gloves Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!. i would like to study krav maga. peace.
Here's a question, what if the guy that is attacking you also knows a martial arts style? If you were to try and do something he just may kick the shit out of you or worse he could shoot you. Just do what he asks and usually you won't get hurt, they only want to rob you by the way, not kill you.
ofcourse he is, just like a doctor with a MD is still a doctor with a MD regardless of who is around, but does having a black belt mean you are any good? in my opinion i think it doesent mean much. all that matters is experience and your skill. because nowdays you can gain a black belt in under 5 years. and after 5 years of training you have no way mastered the art of combat. back in the old days, people were black belts because the wite belt they trained in got so dirty over years of practice that it turned black. its just a gimmick nowdays to gain students. giving children ranks and awards is the mcdojo way. peace.
I took some Tai Chi, but not nearly enough to call myself experienced. However, what I did learn was invaluable. It seemed to me that, in one hand, people refer to Tai Chi as "the old mans martial arts", simply because it is in actuality a form of slow-moving meditation. But at the same time, Tai Chi, teaches the fundamental basics of combat. Once you learn the slow moves, it CAN be adapted for fighting. So you could find yourself in a fight one day and use Tai Chi to defend yourself, while the next day you can use the meditative moves to help you sleep at night. Like I said, it's diverse. But then, Kung Fu just sounds really cool Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I really don't think most people that want to rob you will ask you to do that. Just give up the cash and usually nothing will happen.
taiji is an internal art for bringing the body harmony and building core strength. taijiquan is the combat form of taiji, it is a combat system disguised with flowery movements, in china back in the old days learning martial arts was banned. so they worked combat into a set of movements to hide things. taijiquan is one of the 3 main internal systems. oppose to the hard fighting forms that western people know as "kung fu" wich is gong fu and means hard work and dedication. the combat art of taijiquan is not practised by many chinese nowdays. i have trained with taiji grandmasters it is very good to get into, but people expect taiji to be somethign it is not. for combat it is good but it is not something you can just pick up in a year or 2, it is like the bagua system wich has the fighting art of bahuazhang. or qigong, wich has the usual fighting art of shaolinquan. peace.
I've taken Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for quite a long time. I can easily take your average 180 pound man to the ground and break his arm within seconds. Took a little Tae kown Do when I was younger, so I can stand up kick pretty good.
After 7 years Tae Kwon-Do and 8 years Shaolin Kung-Fu, I will only vouch that Tae Kwon-Do is almost entirely useless and Kung-Fu is one of the most demanding and intricate undertakings I've ever begun. If I wanted to know how to defend myself, there is no question in my mind that kung-fu is what I would be using. Tae Kwon-Do is good, essentially, only to fight against other Tae Kwon-Do fighters. It is, in my experience and witnessing, entirely useless against anyone strong at other martial arts, boxing or street fighting. Of the options you listed, I would first figure out if the kung-fu teacher was good. If so, go with that. You will find it, I think, a much more well-rounded fighting style than nearly all the others available in most Western regions.
I mostly agree. Tae Kown Do is usually useless in an abrupt street fight, because to practice it effectively requires adequate stretching and space. The other week I threw a roundhouse kick when training and nearly pulled a muscle because I didn't stretch. Boxing is probably the most practical and common streetfighting method, though. If you're like me and use my style, and take fights to the ground, you'll likely be called a "dirty fighter". I seriously hate that term.
