How to Choose a Self-Defense Class?
439439
If you're looking for a self-defense class....these are the things I would look for...and also, warning signs to watch out for.\n\n1- How simplistic are the techniques that are being taught? \n   Rule of thumb: generally when techniques are overly complex, they're overly prone to failure against a non-compliant attacker...heh..{cough} Tae Kwon Do for example...avoid it at all costs.\n\n2- Does the system teach techniques that are universally applicable? i.e. - do they work against strikes, chokes, grabs, weapons and so forth....if they do not, they're too unilaterally minded to be useful.\n\n3- Does the class have a bunch of students wearing white uniforms screaming for no good reason? Do they perform very static, mechanical movements ala 'rock 'em sock 'em robots?'\nIf so....walk away, just walk away.\n\n4- Do they charge outlandish prices for classes, promotions, and 5 million different colored belts?\nIf so....walk away, just walk away.\n\n5- Do they spar w/ big targeted pads on their chest, poofy helmet things, and shin pads?\nIf so....just leave politely.\n\n6- Do they have a few classes you can try out for no cost and/or obligation? \nIf so, use them.\n\n7- Lastly, to they teach evasion and counter/release techniques over standing there and trying to block?\nIf so, that's a good thing...definitely a good thing. Blocking fails more often than not...it's better to just not be there.\n\nArts I would reccomend if you can find them :\n\nJapanese arts : \nBujinkan Budo Taijutsu (under a qualified Hachidan instructor or higher.) \nAlso, certain kinds of Aikido...depends on the mindset of the class, some are great...some do the whole Zen-hippie thing too much.\nKoryu Jujutsu is great as well, Hontai Yoshin Ryu and Yagyu Shinkage Ryu are great schools if the instructor can get past "kata mindset" and work on real combat.\nOut of all of them, I'd reccomend the Bujinkan first.\n\nChinese arts : \nChen Tai Chi - looks slow, but teaches principles of balance rarely seen elsewhere...and it's great for iso-kinetic exercise.\nChoy Li Fut (choy lay fut) - great southern striking art...lots of curriculum, but geared toward street fighting.\nHung Ga - southern art that combines strikes, throws, and locks/joint breaking w/ ease. GREAT workout too.\nXingyi-quan : tedious to study, devestating when mastered.\n\nKorean arts : I reccomend none.\n\nMuay Thai : for scrapping, 'nuff said.\n\nAnd also any kind of basic police training for unarmed or handheld weapons training - they teach great release and counter techniques very similar to Bujinkan material (same kind of mindset.)\n\nAlso, the Israeli art of Krav Maga....brutal and nasty.\n\nYou can always e-mail me directly if you want a more detailed answer.\n\npeace, and happy hunting!
1157001
Best answer i can think of is go to a gun shop and look at several different pistols and see which fits your hand the best.   you will also want to get a pistol that you can handle.  while a 44 special bull dog may fit your hand well you probable wont want to shoot it enough to get good with it,   must remember that when you pull the trigger that bullet is going to go somewhere and you will want to practice enough to make sure it goes where you want it too.   some ideas for self defense calibers would be 32 acp, 32 mag, 38 special, 9 mm, 40 s&w, 357 sig, and 45 acp.   Your choice will depend on your body size and what you feel comfortable with.
851285
All martial arts were created for fighting. So yes it would obviously have benefits in self defence. But martial arts are learned so we don't have to fight. If that's what you want then go to a boxing club.
770884
In my dojo, we've heard this rumor also.  While we have not verified the information, we decided as a class that whoever started the rumor had a good point.  As such, now when practicing weapons takeaway techniques, we either throw the weapon from the area in the case of a knife, or lock and load the weapon at the opponent  in the case of a gun.  This gets us into the habit, at least, of keeping the weapon away from the attacker once we've got control of it.
5075
May be the best way to get this info is not on the web, but using as Bit Torrent program. There´s some books available about self defense that are very interesting!
158710
Uh see killing people that bother you is not always the solution. Besides, as said before, breaking a neck is very difficult to do. However, it seems like you just want to learn how to protect yourself.\n\nSign up for a martial arts class with a respected teacher. Remember, deadly force is a responsibility. You use it only when your life or the lives of others are in immediate danger. Otherwise, that's what the police are for.\n\nI reccommend jiujitsu, it's very diverse. It's sort of a mixture of karate and judo and aikido, so you get throwing, pressure points, and simple kicks, punches, and holds. It is hard to find a good teacher though...lots of people are fakes.\n\nTaekwondo is very simple but very strong. \n\nAikido is all throwing.\n\nKarate is mostly hands.
415718
The best one would be a style such as but not limited to “Jeet Kun Do” where someone has combined the knowledge he has acquired throughout the years and incorporated the good stuff into it and thrown out the ineffective. Then systematized it to create his own expression. It should include, grappling, some kicks/punches/blocks, locks and body conditioning and include some practical everyday self defense scenarios into the training.
878495
I like all these jack asses like ninedemonsgod who point to UFC as a good rule of thumb as to what to expect in a real fight. My short retort to his dumb answer would be to ask would you want to go to the ground if facing multiple attackers? Maybe he likes to roll around on the floor with a bunch of guys, but I wouldn't.\n\nI would just suggest you use what you learn, what you remember, and what comes as second nature. Beyond that, adapt to your environment and use whatever you can, be it beer bottle, lead pipe, knife, or even gun if your life depends on it. You'll probably be more prepared based on the way you train, not just dependent on the style in which you train.\n\nOther than that, some people spar and train just for sport, and hopefully they don't get confused as to what is real and what doesn't work. Billy Blanks has great success with Tae Bo, but I wouldn't put money on 38-year old Susie Homemaker who does Tae Bo every morning after dropping her kids off at school when facing a drunk biker.
427281
Wow, you just opened a can of worms with that question. There's always a big debate about "which is the best style?" and "is there such a thing as a best style?"\n\nI am of the opinion that there is no best style, but some styles are better for certain goals than others. Tae Kwon Do is good for those who want to take up martial arts purely for sport and competition. But I wouldn't pick up TKD if self-defence is your main goal. \nAnd just a note, usually, how you get along with the instructor is much more important than the style. If you plan on taking up any martial art, see what you think of the instructor, and then move on to the following steps (choosing a style, etc.)\n\nEvery style has its benefits, so why not tell us what your goal is, and we could help you out.
163128
Trust me on this one - when and if the time comes to pull the trigger in self-defense, you'll never hear the shots go off. Buy the right handgun for your size and stature, and don't worry about the noise.
285284
I am told by those who know that most martial arts are not really designed as self defence systems. Most contain certain archaic moves such as top knot grabs and sword arm blocks.\nYou must also take into account the situation you might find yourself in. I was attacked in the street once and it was very scary I would have to have been very well drilled to be able to utilize any techniques I had learned (which I wasn't)therefore you would need to be a black belt in at least one Martial art and close to black in at least one other to be confident of winning the day unscathed as it were.\nYou must also remember that most attackers / muggers will usually not attack you head on (in case you are a martial arts expert) most "Jump" their victim from behind in order to get them on the floor as quickly as possible.\nTherefore, in order to finally answer your question I would learn one "grappling" martial art Ju Jitsu or Aikido and one "Striking" one Probably Wu Shu or Kung Fu, though the fighting form of Tai Chi is said to be very good.
1147133
please also include stuff we can use in a real life threatening situation and how to use surroundings to an advantage, i think you could include these into your flyers good luck with the classes I know its the best thing i did for myself even though I hope i never have to use it. you could also include discipline, pride and self satisfaction, strength, flexibility, self belief, i could go on and on
1065123
Martial Arts if used as a self defensive weapon is very different if used in an attacking mode.\nClose hand to hand stuff, on a playground, on the street (unarmed), in the local pub, has to be Ju Jitsu.\n\nAll of these situations end up in a roll on the ground. An arm bar, leg lock, rear naked choke is going to be easier to get control or simply put one to sleep, with limited damage to both sides.\n\nIf you think two fighters are going to stand up and bang like on the TV show "So you wanna fight" for example, that'll last about 45 seconds tops. Someone gets lucky and connects or too tired to swing anymore.\n\nJu Jitsu takes you straight to ground and into submission or a position to break something, a lot quicker if you keep your head. A "kamora" (sp) can be held in place with little or no exertion for hours. An arm bar is easy to get if your opponent has no idea what you are trying to do, in most cases the worst he can do is bite your leg. You on the other hand can pop, dislocate or break his arm with ease and at will.\n\nUnless you are Ray Sefo, forget about standing up for a head to head toe to toe.\n\nRodrigo Antonio Noguiera (sp), at this point in time is unbeatable no matter what style or form you bring to the ring, even under a no rules, anything goes format. He’s just that good! \n\nPride fighting is so far ahead of the others like UFC or the other MMA codes. Perhaps the only one to come close would be 'Vale Tudo', in its amount freedom, but the action is few and far between. That’s just MHO.
639459
I think the most useful one is krav-maga but beside it i would choose muai thai because you get VERY strong and u can take a lot of punishment and itll be the easiest to employ if someone is fighting u in a street fight
170111
What do you want to learn? Why do you want to learn? \n\nAre you looking for an effective and proven method of self-defense? Then I would recommend Wing Chun Kung-fu, Aikido or Kempo Karate. (There are others... MANY others, but these are my top recommendations.) \n\nAre you looking for fitness and philosophical approach to life? Then Taijiquan (Tai Chi Ch'uan), Baguazhang (Pa Kua Chang) or Xingyiquan (Hsing-i Ch'uan) comes to mind. (Again, there are others, but these are my top recommendations.)\n\nAre you looking at martial arts from a purely fitness perspective? Then Tea Kwon Do, Tan Soo Do, Hung Gar Ch'uan or any form of Gung-fu or karate would be good. \n\nAre you looking for a spot? Tae Kwon Do is an Olympic sport as well as one of the most popular Martial Sports in the world. Judo is also fun. Many karate and Gung-fu schools compete in tournaments, so you should be abke to find what you are looking for easily if this is what you are searching for.  \n\nAs I said, there are a lot of styles to choose from and it all depends on what you want.  I would recommend watching a few classes before you join a school. Some styles have very low stances and require good joint s and flexibility. Others require a great deal of upper body strength. Some schools focus mostly on physical conditioning while others focus more on skill and techniques. \n\nIf you are not sure what you are looking for, then find out what schools are in your area and meet with each and EVERY instructor before you make a final decision.  If you find a good school, within a short time, you will stop thinking of the school as a school and start thinking of it as an extended family. \n\nI wish you the best and I hope you find this information helpful.
1038821
While any system, if taught well, can help with your listed goals, a medium to close range system maybe a good fit for you. Tae Kwon Do has good systems but they have more emphasis on long range attacks. At long range, you are more likely to have a shorter reach than your opponent so you'll have to work extra hard in this style to be as good as someone who's taller and stronger. Karate may be a good choice. It's not overly complicated for the most part. Techniques are fairly straight forward and many are applicable and progress can be tracked easily when you spar. Kickboxing and Muay Thai are effective, but the training is rough and unless you are doing this to compete, the rules in the ring will limit your thinking on the street a little. Kungfu is great but good luck finding a real master. Besides, it's got an all-show-no-substance reputation around from so many bad practioners getting beat down that you'll more likely get into fights when idiots pick on you once they learnt that you study it. So unless you are looking to get into fights or plans to devote a lot of time and effort and willing to trek around for a real master, Kungfu isn't a good choice. Other Japanese and Korean internal arts can be groups similarly to Kungfu. They are effective but requires a great deal of dedication.\nHere's how I would find a fitting style.\nPart-time (6 hours a week) for self defense: Shotokan Karate, TKD\nCompetition: Muay Thai and Kickboxing\nFull devotion (21 hours a week or more): Internal styles and other Kungfu
668115
You have to answer that for yourself.  Without knowing you or your skills and attributes no-one can make a reccomendation that will suit you.  Ask yourself why you want to box?  Are you looking for competition, exercise, self defense?  If you have the opportunity, try all of them and see what you enjoy the most.  Good Luck.