Best Fighting Style for This Purpose?

[mjs1217]

a lot of it depends on your teacher. many martial arts instructors tend to teach only how to fight against other martial artists. this is largely due to the fact that they were mostly fighting against each other and even untrained combatants in these areas grew up thinking of this as being the way to fight. so there are no inhibitions against kicking whereas mostly around here people think of fighting with fists and wrestling people to the ground. keep that in mind that so much depends on how your teacher presents it when i talk about the stlyes. most styles will cover everything eventually and some teacher's will compensate and teach a more balanced version of their style.

i'd suggest that if you're looking to be able to defend yourself find an art that is balanced hands and feet. tae kwon do has a tendency to use feet to the exclusion of hands especially at lower levels. karate has a tendency to be based on strength. true they'll teach you to hit harder than someone of equal strength but it's still not much good against a guy who's a lot bigger and stronger. they're also lean more towards striking than throws or locks. most styles of kung fu are pretty good. wushu however is very flowery and you'll find a lot of things you can't use. wing chun has the opposite problem as tae kwon do. they're based mostly on hands. however it is an extremely good style for close in fighting. most animal styles of kung fu are pretty good. vicious though in terms or attempting to hurt the other person. and there's a good possiblity of screwing up and not only losing the fight but looking like a tool. aikido is good for grappling, throwing, and controlling your opponent based on energy. judo is the same but is more about throwing by using leverage and learning to put all your body into a throw. there are obviously many more but no way i'm going through all of them. if you have any questions about a style ask. i probably have some idea of what it looks like and their approach to fighting.

i personally train in seven star praying mantis kung fu. it has a good mix of hands and feet, strikes and grappling but is predominantly defensive in nature depending on your opponent's reactions to string together attacks so it's more useful against another trained fighter. i also do capoeira which is very cool and a lot of fun. it also teaches me to see possiblities that i wouldn't have considered before. i wouldn't use it as my primary method of fighting but i would mix it in to keep my opponent off guard.

Wow...I forgot just how many styles there are...

I would say that I'd probly do best fighting with my hands / arms. I doubt I can throw a high kick, so capoeira is definitly out . And I'd prefer something that can make me capable of defending myself very well within a few months of training, if even. Not to say that I don't want to keep training after that, but I'm not sure if my schedule will allow it even for those first few months .

And dirty tricks are the best way to fight. "Honorable" fighting is something for competitions, not for the street. If it takes a shot to the groin or a flick to the eye, then so be it.

At this age, if someone wins a fight through dirty ways, than the person who lost won't shutup about wanting a rematch. Eventually, they'll just get a huge group to jump you at once to get back. Even if I would be prepared for it, thats still something that I'd like to avoid

dsrkd - i have no doubt he's good. that sounds like a good mix of styles. he's got the fists from boxing, kicking knees and elbows from muay thai, and changing levels and asian style punching and kicking from kenpo. i honestly think it's best to train in at least two very different arts but not until you get a good base in one. if you try to assimilate too much at once you won't be good at any of it. each style has its own way of moving, its own way of thinking. if you really want to be good you have to completely immerse yourself so that you can do it without thinking. it's not about how many techniques you know. it's about mastering the techniques that you do know. some people might say otherwise but it's my opinion that you should devote yourself fully to one style until you are fluent in the basics. not to say that you shouldn't shop around but once you find one that you're happy with stick with it for a while before taking on another one.

Completely agree....that's what I plan on doing, but I want that first form to give me the skills required, should I get into a fight, to win.

*sigh*

There is no "BEST" art for what you describe.

If you want to be really good at handling whatever is unexpected I suggest you learn at least 2 different styles, if not more. I suggest one stand up and one grappling art. Try a couple of different styles and see which one fits you best.

I personally enjoy Brazilian Jui-Jitsu. It's a great work out, you practice full contact and it fits me personally. I've never gotten in a full out and out fistfight, but I'm fairly confident that I can take down just about any yabo I meet on the street. I honestly don't think that many guys who go out and fight are properly trained. But that's just my opinion.

Mantis Mag, myself, and a number of others had a thread a ways back about different martial arts. http://www.automags.org/forums/showt...t=martial+arts

Sorry, I should have phrased it better. I'm completely willing to spend a lot of time learning different martial arts, but before that, I want to get good at one as my base. So, to rephrase it, what is a good base form that would help me protect myself in a street fight? I want to know that I can takedown the majority of people who aren't trained, even using only my base fighting style. But I'm not very interested in participating in contests, so being able to use the style in an actual fight is a key factor and very important.

Talk to some police officers about the fights they get in to. AT LEAST 90% end up on the ground. And let me tell you, these are FIGHTS. An unskilled opponent is not going to let you get in your kicks and punches, they are going to get in close to even things up.

I realize that they will try and get in close, but that's what I mean by real-world practicality .

crane kick i used to box for awhile and that usually was enough.I'd learn a lil wrestling or grapling,find something that focus on using pressure points.
oh ya i forgot about the ancient style of brick throwing

LMAO at the ancient art of brick throwing....
Also, Krav Maga has a fairly big focus on pressure points I think.


Also, I just wanna add that for me, there is a little more emphasis on just getting someone down no matter how they come at you. If there is a form of martial arts that will let me knock someone to the ground quickly, no metter how they come at me, than what is it??


Thanks for all the help, but pelase keep it comin! I didn't expect to get so many replies in less than a day, heh.

[MantisMag]

well any suggestion would only be a guess. without knowing you and what you're physically capable of it's hard to pick a style. also like i said before a lot is dependant on the teacher and how he/she presents their art. so i suggest you take what you've learned here and go see what's available. go visit some schools. talk to the teachers. see if they'll let you participate in a class or two. most good schools will let you try out the class for free. don't let them pressure you into anything right away. talk to them a little bit. have them describe the style and their approach to combat. talk about how the class is run. observe the other students. ask how long some of the students have been training. observe them and see if they seem to be learning from this teacher.

in the end you're the only one who can really tell if a style is for you and you'll never know until you try it out. even then you can't really tell if it's the style or the teacher. i get along fine with my sifu but some of his peers i can't stand. the way they teach makes no sense to me whatsoever. the only thing you can do is to go into each school with an open mind. if you're lucky you'll find a style and teacher that just click with you. otherwise either keep looking or work through it in spite of the limitations. for example my sifu isn't as into the internal aspects of the art as i would like. he knows his techniques though so i stay with him and learn what i can from him. sometimes you can't find the perfect fit but you can still learn from them so you deal with whatever lackings you may perceive.

[Miscue]

<img src="http://store2.yimg.com/I/chinesemall-com_1788_49849220">

[Mag_SEAL-6]

Muay Thai. a Thai type of fighting. uses a lot of elbows and knees. mucho damage. awesome.

[brianlojeck]

this is just my opinion, take it for what it's worth. I've got several years experience in martial arts, having studied Muay Thai, Aikido, FMA (a blend of many filipino arts), many of these under Kru/Sifu/Guru Dan Inosanto or his direct students (southern california is a bit of a haven for bruce lee's progeny, good place to study)

90% of being a good fighter is being in shape. the normal person is exhausted 2 minutes into a fight, even if they jog a lot. the only reason nobody notices is because both people are tired at the same time. if you have more endurance, you'll look like a martial arts master. Even Kru Ajarn Chai (something of a famous trainer in american Muay Thai circles) admits that the knowledge to be a MT fighter only takes a few months. the rest is just condtioning.

weapon arts take a LONG time to learn well. I've studied for years, and I still would not tangle with a knife-weilding opponent unless I had no other choice, even if I were similarly armed.

Krav maga, if properly taught, is pretty good. If you aren't fighting to cause as much damage to your opponent as quickly as possible, then why are you fighting?

Aikido teaches you how to avoid getting into a bad fight, which is perhaps the most useful skill of all.

Muay Thai can teach you to be a good standup fighter, but it is not strong against weapons because a great percentage of the "defense" in this art is "take the hit and kick him as hard as you can while he's busy hitting you". to be good at MT means a lifetime of situps and dedication and bad shins and knee problems.

grappling is good, as long as the guy doesn't have a friend with a lead pipe behind you.

Cross-training is the way to go, but most of that training should be physical, not mental. time on the heavy bag is worth a lot more then time in Trapping classes.

don't overlook simple American style boxing either. pretty simple, great emphasis on conditioing, and teaches a great deal about hitting and not getting hit with a minimum of psycho-babble.

and in my opinion, Jeet Kune Do is not a martial art that can be studied. it is the name Bruce Lee (this is my opinion, completely unsupported by much of the martial arts industry) gave to teh state he reached after studying all kinds of arts for his entire life. The way Sifu Lee did JKD would be vastly different from the way I would do JKD, because I outweigh him by about 100 lbs, and am about a foot taller (maybe more). JKD is not something to "learn", it's something to figure out on your own. it's cross-training. There are places that teach it, but they are for the most part just teaching various kung fu.

[White_Noise]

i would suggest jeet kune do, becasue of the flexibility of the techniques involved, and the ability to adapt to any situation. my dad has Bruce Lee's book Tao of Jeet Kune Do, it is a great book, and really is helpful in understanding the techniques. jeet kune do is the closest you can get to actually fighting like bruce lee(lee abondoned his own technique in favor of having no technique. he used the movies he was in inorder to express the fact that doing things according to a certain style leads to repetition, and therefore predictability.

jeet kune do is by far the most offensive martial art. the major blocks in jeet kune do arent actually blocks, but are attacks used to counter an opponents. jeet kune do will allow you to fight anyway you like, the only problem is finding a teacher, so odds are youll have to teach yourself. my dad gets lessons from a friend of his who has been studying martial arts since he was a kid and knows lots of different forms. he then teaches me some of the techniques learned, but i also have taught myself alot of them.

[Lohman446]

If your in a serious fight (not some school yard shuffle) where you are attacked there is one base rule of unarmed combat: ARM YOURSELF

[Echo-Newb]

I'd have to say that one of the best fighting styles out in the whole thing right now has to be Hapkido. That or Jeet Kun Do, which was made by Bruce Lee.


Hapkido- It means the art of bone breaking. So if you just think about it, using this style is most likely going to equal out a ton of pain upon your opponent. Usually using this style will end a fight quickly.

Jeet Kun Do- Made by the legendary Bruce Lee in the prime of his life. He had combined Karate, Hapkido and another style (I forget) to make this. So in truth it's a splurge, which ended in a great mix. This fighting style is truly one of the newest and has truly defeated some of hte older styles. It's just amazing. If you ever watch Bruce Lee's biography you'll see that he was amazing in what he did. The guy was a beast if you ever fought him.

[oldsoldier]

hagana. We learned it in Cuba, VERY effective. Good luck finding an instructor though. Only 7 liscenced in the US...all military.


Dont get caught up in hype though. Take what you can from each form you study...and, make SURE you are in good cardio shape. I was once told that if you fight longer than a minute, you're gonna lose.

[WicKeD_WaYz]

ive been training martial arts pretty much my whole life and have been in countless amount of street fights. For the most part, street fighting is the only way to get better at street fighting.

Most martial arts will compliment your street fighting ability but its TOTALLY different when your on the street one on one. Then its TOTALLY different again when your getting jumped by more than one guy.

But since you asked...if your a big, long limbed guy, like myself, I would focus a lot of Muy Thai kickboxing. That style really teaches you how to throw a knockout punch. Kicking is less effective in a street fight untill you are VERY GOOD AT IT.

A second style that will be important in almost every fight ive seen or been in is ground fighting. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is most likely the route you wanna go here. But one of the toughest fights ive ever fought was when I fought a wrestler. It really comes down to if you can get the guy in a position to hit him in the face a lot. Your not gunna make someone tap out in a street fight, well most of the time your not.

I dont find kung foo very effective for me in street fighting, especially Mantis kung foo. It sorta teaches small guys to use the other guys weight against him.

So if your really only trying to get better at street fighting...theres places that will teach a combination of grappling and kickboxing. Dont forget that just learning martial arts can be fun too even if you never need it in a real life situation. Im fluent in Muy Thai, Gracie Jiu Jitsu, and knife fighting, but I also dab into every other type of martial arts I can find just to learn it and its tons of fun.

O yea and that brings up getting jumped by more than one guy. Most likely martial arts wont help you so much if theres 4, 5, o r 6 guys. This is where weapons fighting comes in handy. If your a trained knife fighter you can easily handle that many attackers assuming they arent trained to fight people with knives . And I know you said you didnt wanna train with weapons but its really a lot of fun you should take a class or 2 to see how you like it. Most people get wierded out by the thought of stabbing someone but theres lots more weapons you can train with than just knives. Also nobody ever said you have to stab anybody most martial arts are just for fun and you'll never use it in real life unless you are stupid like me and put yourself in those situations on a weekly basis.

But if I were you I would just pick a style that fits your needs and what looks interesting. You basically just made a thread and asked "whats the best paintball gun for tournament play?" Your going to get a hundred different responses and opinions. It all comes down to what you think would be fun for you and fit your body type/ preferred fighting style.

[WicKeD_WaYz]

Dont get caught up in hype though. Take what you can from each form you study...and, make SURE you are in good cardio shape. I was once told that if you fight longer than a minute, you're gonna lose.

haha well if that was true, then wouldnt both guys loose, because your both still fighting...

But really, you make a good point. The guy who is in better shape has a HUGE advantage. Fights are the most tiring thing on the planet.

[brianlojeck]

In Aikido we had a term that has suddenly escaped me (my Sensei would not be happy)... it'll come to me...

anyway, it was a term meaning the "proper distance" at which to be in order to do Aikido. Essentially it's just far enough away that you and your opponent can just touch fingertips. at this range you CAN'T hit each other, and the aggressor must step forwards. when he does, you can Aikido him.

Me, being a new student, asked Sensei "What happens if he won't step forward? How do you win then?"

Sensei tells me: "If he won't step forward, you've already won."

That's why everyone should study Aikido. ;-)

[WicKeD_WaYz]

In Aikido we had a term that has suddenly escaped me (my Sensei would not be happy)... it'll come to me...

anyway, it was a term meaning the "proper distance" at which to be in order to do Aikido. Essentially it's just far enough away that you and your opponent can just touch fingertips. at this range you CAN'T hit each other, and the aggressor must step forwards. when he does, you can Aikido him.

Me, being a new student, asked Sensei "What happens if he won't step forward? How do you win then?"

Sensei tells me: "If he won't step forward, you've already won."

That's why everyone should study Aikido. ;-)

what happens if your first aikido move fails and hes on top of you. haha thats a good concept and all but ide have a backup plan.



EDIT: I HAVE THE PERFECT SOLUTION FOR YOU AND IT WAS LAYING RIGHT NEXT TO MY KEYBOARD ALL ALONG. I GIVE YOU THE PERFECT WAY TO IMPROVE YOUR STREET FIGHTING.

[WicKeD_WaYz]

on second thought the way things are going around here lately I really hope I didnt just get banned for promoting violence or something.

ah well what can you do...

[Yudanja]

Brass knucles, Perfect way to go to jail too.

You need to always remember that defending yourself does not mean putting the guy in the hospital or morgue. If you use a knife and he wasn't armed, or he punched you and you shoot him, you can land yourself in hot water very quickly.

The organization I am in had a bad incident with a student going too far. He learned some knife defense/attacks and started carrying a knife. A bodybuilder started pestering his wife, guy steps in and the body builder pushes him around. He ended up slicing that guy within a hair of his life. I believe he went to jail for a few years and had legal fees of 25K or more.

Do not be naive and think that just because he has attacked you, you have the right to take his life or maime him. You have the right to defend yourself and that is all. If he steps up to the next level and you are afraid for your life, then do what you have to do. Remember that phase too, if he pulls a knife on you and you have to defensively shoot him, you were afraid for your life, you weren't thinking (read: telling police) that he deserved it.

Anyway, I think its everyone right to defend themselves, to death if it so has to be, but remember the legal system and that your actions have consequences.