Best Martial Art for self-defense?

[JohnnyUK Banned Find all posts View Profile Close JohnnyUK]

Krav maga all day.

[DrumStick Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close DrumStick]

Although I might not agree upon how JohnnyUK said it (no offense man), I would have to say Krav Maga is the most useful for self defense/street fighting (although I don't encourage street fighting). I have taken it and it's very simple and very logical. It focuses on how to get out of a dangerous situation the fastest and easiest way and includes when you get attacked by multiple opponents(with and without them using weapons). Now if you want to talk about martial arts philosophy, then I could go on all day, but that was my 2 cents.

[RockofFox Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RockofFox]

I have done karate many years ago and wing chun more recently. Wing chun has great principles but I always felt vulnerable if I was to get taken down. If I was ever going to do ma again I would definately be doing krav, for many reasons. Mainly though because all the bullshit is taken out and all that is left is effective street practical techniques

[PartyPants Member Find all posts View Profile Close PartyPants]

TDK, Judo and Jui-jitsu takes many years before you are skilled enough to use it on the street...

My suggestion is to take a look at Thai boxing, kick boxing or mma maybe muai tahi, but that takes time to master.
If your are dedicated to learn you can learn the basic fast (1 year).

i have been practiced Thai boxing and now i do Boxing..

I took jiu jitsu for a while and the general consensus was that even someone who knows a little bit of jiu jitsu has a great advantage over someone who doesn't. in my experience not many fights are won at striking distance unless one of the guys really knows how to box or kickbox, and when it comes to the ground I'd say if one guy knows BBJ, even a little, and the other doesn't..it doesn't look good for the one who doesn't.

[PartyPants Member Find all posts View Profile Close PartyPants]

If we are talking "street fighting" in the sense of fighting more than one person at a time, then yeah BJJ won't get you too far and you'd be far better off studying a striking martial art.

[Squid Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Squid]

Look up Tony Blauer. You will not find a more dedicated and innovative teacher in combat systems.

[SuperSize Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close SuperSize]

I was about to find this place that offered boxing and muay thai.
Boxing for obvious fist combat and muay thai because I know that it is an art that requires use of majority of the body(feet, legs, elbows, fists) with speed.

BJJ is great for one on one combat too because most fights end up on the ground if a person hasn't already been knocked out.

There are alot of ways to learn self-defense it is just that I am trying to find the most practical way.
Does Krav Maga teach ground combat?

[wordup Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wordup]

Krav Maga is great. Also, look into Eskrima. A lot of it is done stick-against-stick or knife-against-knife, but it's easy to see how the moves transfer over to unarmed combat. If you get a private instructor, talk to him about focusing on unarmed combat, or unarmed-against-weapon. Great disarms and takedowns there.

[W.M.P. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close W.M.P.]

I'd say Walther PPK is the way to go.

[scythe Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close scythe]

I'm a Blue Belt in Tae-kwon-do...I'm thinking of resuming my training once I start college

[Time4aChange Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Time4aChange]

Combat Sambo

[Pegasus AdministratorPE Gym EditorPEGym Hero ☺ Admin of the Month Mar 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Pegasus]

Sambo is very interesting many grapplers crosstrain in it. In fact it has had a large effect on wrestling and judo, to the extent that judo has changed it's rules to bring it back to it's roots.

[Sexuallyblessed Member Find all posts View Profile Close Sexuallyblessed]

MMA is by far the best. You need to know striking, grappling, and submissions in order to be able to defend yourself properly. If attacked by more than 1 person or by a weapon, it is much wiser to run away than to fight even if you are a trained expert. This is reality here, not the movie or a video game, and one slice of a knife can change your life.

That being said, if it is a fair 1on1 fight than the best strategy is to avoid the fight if possible, but if not possible then throw the first punch. You need to know how to wrestle incase you get bum rushed so that you end up on the top position. The bottom position is less desirable even if you know jui jitsu. Finally, once on the ground you need to know how to either pound someone out, or submit them with a grappling technique. So learn the following for self defense.

1. Striking (Kickboxing/ Muay Thai/ Boxing)
2. Wrestling (Greco Roman/ MMA)
3. Submissions (Brazillian Jui Jitsu/ Judo/ Sambo)

Therefore the best martial art to learn is mixed martial arts, a combination of multiple styles.

[ErictheGed Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ErictheGed]

Recently taken up muay thai. Theres a very good gym in our town. Sat in on a few jeet kun do and mma classes, quite fancy getting into that. Yeah the way to go for what you're looking for is mma. For a genuine martial art though, i'm fascinated by ninjutsu, and all its facets.

[hidemyshame Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close hidemyshame]

I started Jiu Jitsu a year ago. Great workout and the benefits of learning self defense. I also do some American Kickboxing and an MMA class once or twice a month. I have submitted a guy that was 230lbs (I am 170) and ended the fight before it started basically, but thankfully have not really needed to test my skills in a real world scrap.

Overall, I agree that more than one art is the key. Kickboxing is a great cario workout and amazing for stand up. When the fight hits the ground you can't beat Jiu Jitsu.