the question

[unearth]

Ok, im kinda new to these forums and Im pretty sure this has been discussed before' what martial arts to start in. I live in a town with not too much varitey of styles. I did study goshin jitsu for about 6 motnhs before i got a full time job. the options I have are BJJ, Kickboxing, goshin jitsu, karate, savate. I do a little bit of training on my own. This would be used primarily for self defens, and conditioning. So if you can give me some useful insights, that would be great.

Thanks

[JkD187]

seeing as how you are restriced to training where you live i would have to go with the bjj school,however you should cross train in kickboxing/boxing and wrestling since its for self defense.When training for self defense you gotta be prepared for eveything striking/clinching/ground work.

[BrAz!LiAn TiG3R]

BJJ of course.

[Uke]

I would tell him to go with either the goshin-jitsu or the karate. I wouldn't start with BJJ as a foundation for many reasons.

First, BJJ does NOT prepare you for the street. No man of the martial arts would willingly go to the ground in a survival situation. There are just too many things that can go wrong there. You have no control of the situation, just the man in your guard. You have no effective weapon defense in that position, and you are totally helpless if the attacker's friends decided to stomp you to death. Even more simple than that scenario, if you go to the guard in a nightclub, you'd get trampled to death as everyone in the club fled. And women wear stillettos in clubs. Ouch. And no matter what anyone tells you, BJJ has NO standup offense or defense. And if you find that it does, its an element from another style due to crosstraining.

Study a style that teaches you to stay on your feet and control your attacker and your situation. It should have weapons training and weapons defense. Let me be more specific ... MODERN WEAPONS TRAINING. There's no point in learning how to fight with spears and swords if you can't carry them on the street without going to prison. That's why arnis/kali/escrima are so popular these days. Those styles teach you how to master the motion, not the weapon, so that anything you put in your hand becomes a weapon, whether its a hair brush, a remote control, a stick or a knife. You fight the same way.

I'm not so familiar with the jujitsu you're studying, but if its modern, and it addresses anti-mugging and anti-rape, I'd say go with the jujitsu. If not, then find out if the karate teaches modern methods or TMA. Go with what addresses mordern scenarios. Savate teaches ALOT of high and jumping kicks, so I would shy away from that one in the same way I would tell you to shy away from Tae Kwon Do as a means of self defense.

After you've found out which one teaches modern methods, practice that for a while to get a solid foundation. Once you've gotten down the basics of whichever art you choose, then and only then should you compliment your study with BJJ, but not as a means of offense or even as a complete art.

Here's the best free advice I will give you: If you are interested in using BJJ techniques in survival situations, learn and practice only how to reverse holds and submissions, and learn the FASTEST ways to escape the guard and the mount so that you can get back on your feet. You have to be able to engage multiple attackers, weapons and be able to flee when need be to survive, and you can only do those things on your feet. And while learning armbars, leglocks and other submissions are cool, they're too tempting. By that I mean
you may be grappling on the pavement and see an opening for a leglock and go for it. You may get it too, but you forgot that the point was to get back on your feet before his friends can get you on the ground. And while you struggle to snap the guys leg, it gave his friends enough time to realize what was going on and get involved. Deadly mistake that could be your last.

Good luck and I hope I was helpful.

[HtTKar]

Goshin jutsus actually a pretty good style. Durant brought this to the US after also studying his fathers japanese jujitsu and shotokan. I know a couple people that studied under this style and they're all good fighters with knowledge of the law, anatomy, psychology, etc.

What kind of karate? There are many, many different karate styles.

[Uke]

I know a couple people that studied under this style and they're all good fighters with knowledge of the law, anatomy, psychology, etc.

I'm glad someone else brought up the overlooked aspect of the law.

Be careful about what you use in an altercation. If its a survival situation, do what you must. But know that if you choke someone out, it can be looked upon as attempted murder. Choking is a taboo in today's society due to past incidents, many involving police. Its a forbidden tactic for law enforcement, especially when using the baton, as I know many men who've lost their jobs because they restrained civilians with a choke hold, even if no ill effects occur. So just imagine if you get into a fight and choke someone out, and they aren't revived fast enough. If they die you're screwed, even if it was self defense. Choking is looked upon as inhumane, and even breaking a jaw, arm or leg would appear a lot less vicious to some.

Alot of jujitsu and BJJ guys would do well to know that. Choking is a large part of their techniques, so they should be solid in the alternatives.

*I must reiterate that in a survival situation, do what you must survive. I don't want this post or anyone's opinion for that matter to make anyone hesitate when your life is on the line. I simply wanted to suggest that when an alternative is available try and use it.

[unearth]

Thanks for the advice. I think im gonna restart the goshin jutsu just because it seemed more modern, and the training was based on real life situations. The BJJ will probably begin some time next year. And hopefully get into full time training. Again thanks for the advice.

[LoneHusky]

I'm not sure it's more modern if I'm not mistaking it's a kind of traditional karate while drawing in part from kung-fu and jiu-jutsu. can't get much more ol school than kung-fu.

[LoneHusky]

Well the best idea is to take a sample class at all of them and see which one you think is the best for you. Be sure to ask them how much time is spent sparring aswell. I do bjj and take sample classes from other martial arts just to see what's out there.

[danfaggella]

you have such nice options man, use them. Savate is really cool, except i doubt you will learn elbos and knees, but it is valid on the street. The only one i would probably not recomend off-hand is the "karate", mainly because most dojos i know of are BS and are basically day care/ workout places, not places to learn martial art.

[Sensei Saki]

What makes you think I have such nice options man use them?Are they exactly the same?
There might be others.

[Uke]

Brand names

To me, it doesn't matter what label is on your kung fu grasshopper, as long as it addresses ways to stay alive.

By "modern", I mean it should teach:

Choking and choke escapes

Locking techniques for arrest and controlling

Strategic footwork and why

Throws, rolls and falls(This one saved my brother in a motorcycle accident)

Pain tolerance

Blocking system that doesn't require strength, and leaves you in offensive positions.

Weapons and disarms

Smart Striking - Not macho striking that'll break your fist,toes or shin

Fluidity in striking, locking and throwing(also called flow)

Defense against western boxing - This one should be everyone's concern

Most importantly: CONCEPTS and FULL explanations of when to do a technique, why its chosen for a given situation and why others are not, and common mistakes when executing it. Its not enough anymore to just blindly imitate someone demonstrating a technique if no thought goes into it. An example of this is the blocking techniques of many systems. Against traditional, telegraphed attacks where someone moves in a choreographed manner, TMA blocks work very well. However, against a trained, non-compliant attacker they don't work well at all. Try using a traditional rising block against a boxer. Try using the blocking techniques of shotokan or BJJ against a escrima fighter, using a stick or a knife.

I could care less about names, brands or affiliations. If you're a thinking man, you should be obsessed with personal security in the same manner that many are obsessed with financial security. When investing, you don't sink a ton of money into something because it looks cool, or because everyone else is doing it. You look at the returns. So, look at what you are looking to get out of any art you train in.

You should ask yourself, "Will I be a better competitor after training here in the sense of kickboxing, wrestling or ground jujitsu, or will I actually be the best survivor I can be using the instruction I have available around me?" In order for the latter to be true, the above list of what you should learn should be satisfied. If BJJ can teach you everything you need, go for it. If its JKD, go for it. Just don't fall for a sales pitch. Not many schools will admit that they aren't equipped to teach you what you want to know. Make sure the school satisfies your needs. If it doesn't and its all that's available, let the instructor know from day one that you're interested only in street and urban survival tactics. See what he says.