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I am looking for a traditional martial art that is effective both in hand-to-hand fighting and in real-life street defense. Some of you seem to think that mostly only muay thai, BJJ, and MMA are effective, while others on this forum have said that traditional martial arts can be very effective depending on how they're taught. I've looked at hapkido, Japanese jiu-jitsu, and some types of kung fu, but haven't decided on anything. Can anyone give me advice on which arts to look for, and how to search for a school that will prepare me for both unarmed combat and street defense?
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Perhaps the best advice is to give would be to go to the schools you are interested in, ask to watch a class to see how they train. Stay away from the places that will not let you watch a class. One thing to look for is an emphasis on sparring, preferably full contact rather than the light point-style tip-tap stuff. On the subject of katas or forms, you'll get both answers. One is they're useless, the other is they help you learn the movements. Just as long as the school is legitimate (the instructor is actually certified/qualified to teach whatever style) and you feel comfortable there give it a try for a month. If they want you to buy into a long-term contract walk out and go somewhere else. If you do not think things are going in the direction you want to go, try some other place.
Generally, Muay Thai, BJJ and MMA are best for the street because of the strong emphasis on learning full-contact right from the get-go. Also the shorter time to learn things that you can apply right away. Traditional martial arts tend to go the long way to teaching things. -
Look for a system in which people sweat every class. Preferably a lot. Also look for a style in which people spar. I would also suggest you key in on what kind of hitting skills are practiced. Are they being done full power? Also, pay attention to the aerobic and anaerobic conditioning they do...as above, look for the sweat.
In addition to the styles you mentioned above, I would recommend you to look into wrestling styles, whether Greco, freestyle, sambo or whatever. Their body positioning and training methods are very good.Comment
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Is there anything wrong with traditional martial arts? Would you consider them inferior to styles like MMA, BJJ, or muay thai, besides the fact that they may take longer to learn? For example, I took TKD for three years and we weren't trained well for real fighting or self-defense. However, some people assured me that TKD is fine, it's just poorly taught nowadays. Is this the case with other TMAs, too?Comment
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Practically any martial art can be made to work, if the individual is forged in full contact.
Of course, this will change the art somewhat. A TKD practitioner would end up changing the ratio of his kicks, and kicking lower, unless he's very good to begin with.
A karateka would stop using hard blocks so much.
A judoka would have to learn how to make do without jackets.
A hung gar man would probably tighten his stance and maybe stand taller, depending.
An aikidoist would have to learn to apply moves against resistance and blitzes.
Even the fanciest arts have some element of combative truth in their practice. It is a matter of proper training.
It won't happen, I guess, but I would simply love to see a face off between an aikido master and a BJJ black belt. I don't really care who wins. To many variables to be absolute about the reasons behind it. It would just be exciting.Last edited by Brokenmace; 10-23-2002, 12:07 AM.Comment
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dont be like me
Dont make the same mistake i did. when I took Karate.
I did not shop around and ended up going to a karate class that was very family oriented. During the class students' parent's would be cheering they're kid or there would be little brothers and sisters running around. This was very distracting and took away from the entire experience. My dojo took a laid back attitude towards training. It seems looking back on it that the teacher had lost some of his passion for training and was now just "managing a school" In my class they made sure that everybody understood and could perform the move they were showing, if someone didnt everyone had to wait until he got it. so we would be standing around for 20 minutes doing nothing. secondly the sparring was pointless, it was the "fully covered lightly tap your opponent kind" ...never broke a sweat and never took a hit or kick that would cause me to blink twice.
thats what happens when you dont shop around, follow the other posters advice and shop around make sure that the class offers sparring and if it is the "padded kind" make sure that you can still punch and kick as hard as you can....i think once you see a few of these places common sense will tell you which ones are good and which ones are bad.
we both live in houston so if you have any questions about particular schools ask me and if i know anything about them i will tell you what i know.Comment
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"..........both unarmed combat and street defense?"
What is the difference? (unless you're going to walk around with weapons).Comment
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Holte,
The same thing happened to me when I was in Songahm TKD. I was 8 or 9 and didn't know any better, so I ended up training in a school that did a poor job of teaching self-defense. I have been out of the martial arts for about 5 years, and am thinking of going back. I'm looking for anything very combat-effective that is well-rounded but maybe emphasizes striking and kicking a little more than grappling, joint manipulation, and weapons, and I would prefer a TMA. I am near 1960 and 290, if you know of any good schools in that area please let me know. Thanks.
Bri Thai,
Sorry, I didn't really explain what I meant. When I said "unarmed combat," I meant something like an unarmed fight at school where people might get hurt, but not usually seriously injured or killed. If somebody jumps me at school, I want to hurt him enough to stop him, but not seriously injure him. When I said "street defense," I meant a life-threatening situation where weapons and multiple opponents are a factor, i.e., using serious or even deadly force to protect oneself. I want to train to handle both situations.Comment
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ill look at the notes i tooko9n school when i was looking..your fairly close to me....look in the pjone book thats what i did..i stayed a way from the ones that offered on sight daycare and promised to build your child self esteem and tutor them after class in their homeworkComment
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I have just viewed a wing chun class at a school ran by Kevin Chan and was pleasantly surprised at the way it was being trained and the attitude of Kevin Chan and the students.
The emphasis was on getting the students to learn the principles of Wing Chun rather than spending loads of time learning forms.
The class was two hours but Kevin who happened to be running this particular class made a point of coming over to talk to the people were watching and explaining about his style, the way the school was run and why he used this particular style of training. He seemed to be keen on getting the students to develop their own solutions to problems but by using simple but effective moves.
I found him to be very friendly, knowledgeable and respectful of other styles. This reason I have posted this here is he has a high regard for BJJ and incorporates some of it into his class.
This is a quote from his site
Why does Kevin Chan train in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu? "I believe that one must be familiar with all possible fighting arenas. You simply cannot guarantee that you will be able to remain on your feet in a fight. By training in the acknowledged and proven best style for ground fighting I am able defend myself in the event a confrontation goes to the floor. When fighting in Brazilian Ju-Jitsu I am able to utilises my Wing Chun skills of relaxed use of energy developed in Chi Sao and the raw close range power developed in many hours of basic drills." Kevin Chan
I have been to about 6 weeks of Jeet Kune do classes at the Bob Breen Academy and greatly enjoyed it. I found that I have become greatly interested in the principles of wing chun which we touched upon in JKD and I wanted to know more but I found a lot of the Wing Chun classes to be elitist and stiff. Watching Kevin Chan's class I saw none of this. ( The advanced students were performing chi sao and ending up grappling on the floor as part of the training ). I have decided to sign up and later down the line combining it with some BJJ training. eventually I will go back to Jeet Kune Do to link it all together.
Sorry for droning on but I have been reading this forum for about a month now and have found it to be an excellent resource. To Brokenmace, Bri Thai and everyone who posts here you guys are all great and I would love hear your opinions.
BTW Here is the link to Kevin Chans site. http://www.kamonwingchun.co.uk
Cheers
LyndonComment
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I have been to Kevin Chans school also. Good kung-fu.Comment
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Traditional Ju jitsu is what i would do if i wasn't into all that..
why? because it has some type of striking..
the moves are not like bjj where everything in on the ground..
the locks are based on standing up and on the ground
check this site out and really explore it. if you are not in california or in the los angeles area see if there is any schools with simular teachings..
this school was teaching gun disarming, knife defend, chokes, locks, throws, strangles, strikes..
pretty basic and good self defense..
check it out..Comment
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crazyjoe I am based in London England. I am very interested in grappling styles but I am going to wait and find a stand up style first and then try and combine it with a grappling style later on. I am still working on finding the style that suits me but I will be giving Kamon Wing Chun a try and will see how I get on.
yenhoi did you train with Kevin? How long for?
What's your MA background?
LyndonComment
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wrestled a little in high school
did muay thai for a while...
know some jiu jitsu..
i'm mostly a stand up fighter.. but i know enough to fight on the floor.. but if i lose i lose.. i dont care..
i'm good enough to break someone's jaw..
ask bri thai.. he's in your area he can help you alot..Comment
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I've bookmarked the site, it looks good. I also noted that he has just won his weight division in a National Grappling Tournament.
Doesn't mess around, does he?Comment
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