Whats your fav self defense style or art?

[jjwalters]

To be very honest I think it all comes down to the person. Some people can, walk the walk where other people, well, ...talk. I study & teach Shaolin Kempo & also Uechi Ryu because I find both arts well rounded in particular, Kempo as it's so vast & so much to draw from. These arts on a self defense level are no nonsense arts & the reality of the street is with an encounter you do not have time to think that's why I study, train & teach these arts. Both these arts can give a student a solid foundation for self defense skills. I have studied & have ranking in many different arts but I have found these two systems to be the best for self defense, at least for me anyway.

You know, I'm surprised to hear Uechi Ryu used so often in these internet forums.

As a soldier on Okinawa (1964) I studied at a small academy in Futenma bearing that name. Seems that place has a very large reputation, as well as Kanei uechi the man who ran it..............anyways what he taught me then, I have kept with me and practiced all these years....and the few fights since then (in bars and such) the simplest application of block, punch, kick minus all the fancy stuff works quite well.

I did do a circular block and side step on a knife in the dark once and got stabbed in the thumb cause I was a bit ahead of myself (but it WAS heading for my chest)........:-0.......

It's all good for defense if you stay alert, in shape, and maintain good balance.

All the fancy stuff may be good for the sporting aspect, but in the real deal the shortest distance between two points has always worked for me. (the few times I have had to use it)

 

[geezer]

My personal favorites:

1. Ving Tsun (with Jeff Webb's NVTO). Also love EWTO and EBMAS WT.

2. DTE Eskrima (Maestro Martin Torres). Also Latosa Concepts.

3. Wrestling/grappling, adapted for combat (OK, I don't actually practice that, but ever since wrestling as a kid, it's in my blood).

And anything else that is simple, efficient, direct, ...and works!

 

[repz]

There are certain arts that have grabbed my attention, usually from Blackbelt magazin articles I read as a kid, or images from BB and other magazines, and just the style and concepts of the style

1-Kyokushin - always loved this style. The way they are powerful, but fast in their attacks that a fight ends in seconds. I always liked the blocks too, that sounds weird, but the image of a knockdown karateka blocking a high roundhouse always looked beautiful to me for some reason.

2-Wing Chun - Always loved this style. I doubt I will ever train in it since it doesnt fit my concept of what I want to build. I did train in it once, but the teacher and the specific style of wc i didnt like. I like the traps and quick hands of the style.

3-Judo- I want to learn some kind of grappling (not much of a fan, but i do like the stratgey involved) and I prefer judo over bjj, more for my own personal oppinion of self defense.

4- Kenpo- I always liked kenpo. I still do, i think its has some badass moves.

5- Japanese Jujitsu - Knife disarms, arm breaks, and finger breaks. They might have lost popularity, but really, there moves are in everything from krav maga and bjj. I rather go to the source, but i would like to have a jjj and judo mix in one.

So far I have kyokushin in the works, and might be looking at adding judo once I get a new job.

 

[BLACK LION]

If I am looking to protect and preserve myself or others I tend to stray from "styles" and "arts" as a whole. Dont get me wrong, I love many of them and I harbor no bias BUT as a tactician whos real enemy trains on actual human flesh in the most dire fashion...it behooves me to understand what I am up against and train accordingly.
I want the most brutal and efficient methods at my disposal and any tools that can help amplify trauma. It must be unconventional and assymetrical.
I need simple caveman principles and primal ferocity behind gross motor skills. I am looking to allign my body with thier weaknesses and crash through them so hard they will bever be the same.
Human demolition is the goal and if I am not learning to affectuate objective injuries, then IHMO, I am not training for my actuality just a gross misconception of reality.
When time= life I leave nothing to chance, I will use anything that will help me meet my end goal of terminating all threats or possibilities of a threat. It could be a brick, or a boot knife, it could be dopping a knee on an esophagus or ramming a forearm into the back of the neck(cervical vertebrae)....It is, whatever it takes, over and over and over again.
Take what you can from wherever yoyu can get it. Make sure its consistent, efficient and adaptable....it must be results oriented and something that you can learn and begin using the same day.
Hurting people is very easy once you learn and understand what gets you injury....punching and kicking people in an elastic fashoin no matter how dynamic will not work against someone with the size and strength to overwhelm you. You need body weapons and tactics that can and will take everything from any animal regardless of their prowees or stature...
As over the top as this is about to sound I am going to say it anyway...I am about 5"11" 195 and if you put a 6"8" 400 lb man on the slab in front of me I can take everything away just the same as if he was 5"6" 120lbs...
Its doesnt boil down to MMA or TMA or FMA or whatever other acronyms are out there...its about PAIN vs INJURY... 1 works on some and the other works on every animal regardless of stature or prowess.



All in all its not necessarily the WHAT as much as it is, the HOW.

Its choice that determines destiny, not chance...its all about what you intend to do and what you are able to do that will determine the outcome... not throwing something out there and hoping lady luck will help you strike it rich... You dont gamble with your life you gamble with your enemies life.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Black Lion! Haven't seen you for awhile. Good to see you back!!

Generally, I view 'styles' as training approaches. As a general rule, the work best for those who's natural approach is similar. Thus, no single style is superior. There are skills that, in this day and age, are available world wide. The big question is how do you wish to go about learning them? Some training approaches favor use of certain techniques and are generally preferable for the learning of those techniques. Others are more inclusive.

Big factor is to figure out what you want. If you want a cozy after school problem to help your child learn self defense against low self esteem and childhood obesity, kyokushin is not a good fit. If you want to compete for trophies, the local aikido school is probably not going to be of much use. If you want to train to be able to walk away from a violent encounter, better check out the schools very thoroughly before committing. Not all "martial arts" schools are about combat.

Far too often, people get hung up on styles. It isn't the style that saves you, but effective use of the right techniques in the right situation.

Daniel

 

[GHETTO NINJA]

street

 

[Steve Grody]

For all of the rational reasons why someone likes what he does, it's still as much of an emotional decision as anything else. I still like what Dan Inosanto said; "It's good to understand some basic offense and defense at kicking range, punching range and grappling range, some groundwork, and important to have some conditioning, some pain tolerance, and some luck." Also, an important saying in JKD is "It's not what you know, it's what you can do that counts." So whatever martial method we like, the bottom lines are "What is my focus/pupose in studying this stuff, and can I actually do any of this when needed?"
stevegrody.com