Last week, whilst walking home from work, two guys approached me and demanded my wallet, waving at me with a knife. Now, i don't usually carry wallets (i just take my pin or credit card with me wherever i go), so basically, aside from a couple of bucks, i had nothing to give them. This apparently pissed them off, and before i knew it, they were punching me. I managed to kick away the knife and i think i broke a nose, and when i kicked the other one in the stomach, they ran for it. I didn't get out clean, though; i got stabbed in the leg a bit and i have a black eye. Nothing too bad, though, ive managed to hurt myself a lot more falling of bikes and such.
But the experience wasn't pleasant, to say the least, and i would like to know what fighting sport or martial art is best suited for people who just want to be able to defend themselves against any number of assailants, or just a very strong opponent. I am in pretty good shape, but looking strong would be nice too, fear-factorwise. Yes, i know that fighting people with knives and other weapons, or even fighting any people at all is a very dangerous thing to do, but you don't always get to choose whether or not there is going to be a fight, and if there is going to be a fight, i want to be ready for it. Congrats on surviving the attack!
Questions like this are often on here. Keep in mind that no one on here knows you. Therefore no one here can tell you what is the best style suited for you. There is no best style. Martial arts is not about style it is about developing character and about surviving if you are your loved ones are attacked. It should give you the knowledge to successfully defend yourself. I could easily suggest to you to learn the style hat I teach. But it might not be offered near you. You may try it and find that you don't like the training or it may not be what you are expecting.
You need to do some research. Try to find a good school with good instructors. The class environment should be pleasant. How do the students interact with other students and the instructor? Observe some classes first. Later you should take some trial classes. After gathering all of this information you should be able to choose what is best for you.
Good luck and I wish you much success.
I don't mean any harm Leo, but becareful. I know you acted in self defense, but if you take it too far you could end up with an assault chrage. Remember is martial arts you are supposed to have self control Krav maga!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krav_maga
dont' know if you watch discovery, but they've done some documentaries on this form of martial arts, and this shizzle is off the freaking hook. real warfare style fighting, teaches you how to take on many attackers, attackers with weapons including guns, how to use your surroundings, etc. DO IT! you'll love it! um.................. i would have to say karate. its like after a while you become super ultimate fighter ninja and you can fly through the air. im like wshaaaaaaaaaaaa cha. karate chop!!!!!!!!! wax on wax off!!!!!!!!! and then i break through bricks and stuff with my head. its pretty cool. im a like a super ultimate black belt ninja to the 20th degree. Thats the highest level you can ever get to and now im makeing an ultimate black belt ninja to the 21st degree! ya its going pretty good. you might have seen me on karate tournaments on t.v. ya its pretty cool. i kick some karate but!!!!!!! so good luck!!!!!!!! Mixed martial arts is what you're looking for. Most big cities offer classes in this. If you don't have access to this, I would recommend a combination of kickboxing and jiu-jitsu.
For close-combat, life and death situations, such as the one you described, the Israeli army's martial art of Krav Maga is another one to consider. Uh, it really isn't a good idea to try to fight someone with a knife. You are very lucky you only got cut on the leg, it could have been much worse.
All martial arts instructors will tell you to back out of a fight, run away unless you have absolutely no other choice. I'd do a striking art. Probably something like WingChun (if you can find a good school) or Krav Maga.
If that ever happens to you after you start training there's a fun story my sensei told me a few times.
One of the first really good Yoshinkan aikido practitioners to come to the states who opened a dojo in downtown Chicago, took all comers, with ANY weapons whooped everybody, and I mean everybody. Whenever people would try to rob him for his wallet (because he was a little Japanese guy), he would pull it out, toss it on the ground, and when they looked at the wallet, the fight was over in an instant and they were lying on the ground broken or unconscious.
It's a good tactic but I wouldn't use it unless you have some training under your belt and fast hands. I would do some research on MAs with strong anti weapons techniques...
From Russia "The Systema" or Sambo from Israel Krav Maga or Kapap.
Do some research, then kick some as$....... ;) Any Martial Art will teach you to defend your self but some will teach you faster then others and others will teach you more complex defence then others. Ones that I will recommend would be.
Krav Maga - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krav_Maga
This style will teach you to defend yourself faster then most but the drawback is that you would not learn the more complex moves from other martial arts but it will teach you fast and dirty moves to defend yourself.
Aikido - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aikido
This style will allow you to use your attackers own momentum against them. It is not as brutal or as fast as Krav Maga but it will enable you to defend yourself without hurting your attackers. The mind set is not as hard as Krav Maga either.
Jujutsu - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jujutsu
Jujutsu is very much like Aikido or Aikido is very much like Jujutsu. Either way it will allow you to defend yourself very much in the same way as Aikido would.
Those are the ones that I would suggest but there are so many out there, here is a link to have a look at the ones that I have not mentioned. Good luck.
Martial Arts - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_Art... tae kwon do is really great. it teaches great self defense. also if theres one thats around you, i really really recommend
ernie reyes' west coast tae kwon do.
and its not only in the west coast. theres a bunch all around. if youve ever watched the final fu on mtv with ernie reyes jr, his dad is the founder of west coast tkd. its really really great. and i loved it. you learn so much and you get so much out of it, and they make it really fun. they get you in great shape too, especially the closer you get to black belt. the only reason i quit was because i couldnt make time for that and volleyball. but its really great. if theres one anywhere near you, i really recommend it. =] This does often depend on the teacher and how hard you train at home. I've trained in Judo, Tai Chi, Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Free Style and Choy Lay Fut Buk Sing kung fu.
Out if all of them i would recommend Choy Lay Fut Buk Sing Kung Fu and strongly advise you to not train in the others.
I have been in to street incidence one guy tried to just punch me using basic techniques i broke his nose and kicked him into a wall another time a guy tried to stab me with a broken bottle and still using basic technique i injured the nerve in his arm, cracked his ribs, broke his nose, smashed all the tendons in one leg and broke the other. kick boxing and BJJ First off I hope you filed a police report. I know it might seem futile but if they've mugged or even killed other people before, it will help them to catch these guys and prevent them from attacking someone else, including you again.
I'm suprised they didn't prison jump you - one goes high the other goes low. Its pretty much the pincher move of street fighting and if executed correctly, one man versus two others stands little chance. And you are luck you didn't suffer more injuries. Regardless, don't listen to anyone who says "fighting is bad", if you are attacked and you better fight for you life and your case I'm glad you did.
Krav Maga is deffinately a good solution. Both for its effectiveness and physical conditioning. Its pretty much street fighting put to a litteral science - in a very effective and brutal way. It combines the principles of martial arts like kung fu and ju jutsu and incorperates techniques for causing as much pain as possible by taking advantage of vulnerable spots on the body. Unfortunately, Krav Maga is not entirely the most readily availible sport on the market, an like anything other sport, how good you get at it also depends on the quality (and credibility) of the trainer.
I would also second the notion of learning mixed martial arts. You can find accademies that do specialize in teaching their own system that incorperates from several others. But I would learn several different styles and incorperate moves from each that you find most effective.
I learned Tai' Chi, Xing Yi, Ba Gua as well as a little good ole fashioned karate, kung fu and taekwondo. You don't need to be a black belt to defend yourself. But several years of intense training can go a long way (I took about 12 years overall, doing various styles since I was a little kid).
What I think has given me a good edge overall is just sparing with my friends. Every weekend or so some of my friends will get together and spar, amung other things. But this allows a person to learn how to fight as well as apply techniques in simulated real life situations.
Most any martial art is good as a physical workout. It just depends on how you want to pump yourself up. Many martial arts use strength training and physical conditioning to make the body tough as well as resistant to pain. In kung fu, for example, traditional trainers will litterally hit eachother in the groin to teach themselves to overcome that kind of pain and keep fighting. I don't suggest you start hitting yourself, its just an example. ;-)
I have been in several similar situations. In one I was a party with some college friends and this dude pulled a knife. This guy wasn't out for my wallet, he wanted my blood. But even though I was thoroughly loaded at the time, my training kicked in and I ended up sending the guy to the hospital.
One of the "draw backs" of learning martial arts is that you can become a leathal weapon and sometimes you might use a little too much force to subdue someone.
Finally don't forget sometimes the most potent defense is just simple preparedness. Consider buying a stun gun or can of mace to carry around with you. Both can be affective at self deffense and are better than nothing when confronted in such situations.
PS - just for future refferance, the four most vulnerable spots on the body are the eyes, nose, throat, and genitals. Don't be afraid to take advantage of such spots by litterally poking, gabbing, crushing etc etc. you are a krav maga person or an escrima/kali.... those have what your lookin for in the biggest focus.....i would almost always go martial art over combat sport for the "street fighting/ combat self defence" type of people I've practiced martial arts for over 20 years. Know what I would do if two guys with knives asked for my money? I'd give it to them.
Now, if they try to hurt my wife or child, we will fight. If they call out names....I write them off as words of an idiot-don't die for ego. |
