New To Martial Arts

[NaturalBornKilr]

So I'm 15 turning 16 in a month and I want to learn some self defense. I live in La not the bad part but there is quite a bit of gang violence. In the past 4 years at my High School 2 kids were fatally wounded by a gun and knife. It shakes me up a bit that someone i was actually on the football team with died because of some stupid gang bullshit. I just want to learn some self defense.

I was thinking krav maga because it looks practical unlike a lot of martial arts I've been researching. I've been in one fight where a kid punched me in the face. I got up and did nothing because i knew he could beat the shit out of me.. It was a long time ago but its a bad memory. Its not something id like to have happen again.(standing looking someone in the face who just knocked you almost on your ass and not being able to do anything about it is hard)

I would love to learn Ju jitsu but from what ive read it isnt very helpful with 2v1 fights.(a lot of people at my school have been getting jumped and mugged recently) I kind of want to learn judo but i don't know many practical uses. I live close to the huge Krav Maga place in La. But i was wondering your recomendations on this. Maybe MT would be a better choice for me.

Also I am kind of a fatty. Meaning I havn't excersized in about a year and ive gained a substantial amount of weight.(Not only would i be taking the class to learn to defend myself but to lose some weight. I'd like to be healthy again). Im 5'10 and 210 pounds i was 140 last year. I was wondering if i am gonna have to train before i actually take KM or any other MA class. Any opinions on any other forms of martial arts would be well appreciated.

Edit:Umm also Dont suggest knives or any crap like that. I mean sure when im older. But not when im going to school 5 days out of the week where i get expelled for bringing anything. Thats out of the question.

[leviethain]

i think the muay thai will probally get you into better overall shape then the KM also i beleive KM trains with realistic situations in mind, rather then the focus on sport/competition so ied expect to do more scenario based training in km, and more sparring and such in mt - but then again i haven't took-en km

[DickHardman]

the key to self defense is using your mind. being aware and making good decisions can keep you out of trouble pretty well. this means avoiding bad people, places were bad people hang out, being aware of your surroundings etc.......sometimes we are forced into a bad situation, but a lot of things are also avoidable. f

if the krav maga school near your house is legit, then i would say that would be a great place to train. if you can get the name of the school/instructor/website and post it here for us, there may be people who may be able to give you the real deal about the place.

muay thai is an awesome art, but its more geared towards sport. you can train it to learn devastating striking skills. however, if you dont know how to milk the art for its attributes to add to your overall self defense game plan and adapt it, then go with krav maga.

[jubaji]

Does your school have a wrestling team?

[gregimotis]

Does your school have a wrestling team?

Its free, It's effective, it'll get you in shape, it might even get you the kind of friends what would toss in with you for a throwdown.

[Tom Yum]

So I'm 15 turning 16 in a month and I want to learn some self defense. I live in La not the bad part but there is quite a bit of gang violence. In the past 4 years at my High School 2 kids were fatally wounded by a gun and knife. It shakes me up a bit that someone i was actually on the football team with died because of some stupid gang bullshit. I just want to learn some self defense.

I was thinking krav maga because it looks practical unlike a lot of martial arts I've been researching. I've been in one fight where a kid punched me in the face. I got up and did nothing because i knew he could beat the shit out of me.. It was a long time ago but its a bad memory. Its not something id like to have happen again.(standing looking someone in the face who just knocked you almost on your ass and not being able to do anything about it is hard)

I would love to learn Ju jitsu but from what ive read it isnt very helpful with 2v1 fights.(a lot of people at my school have been getting jumped and mugged recently) I kind of want to learn judo but i don't know many practical uses. I live close to the huge Krav Maga place in La. But i was wondering your recomendations on this. Maybe MT would be a better choice for me.

Also I am kind of a fatty. Meaning I havn't excersized in about a year and ive gained a substantial amount of weight.(Not only would i be taking the class to learn to defend myself but to lose some weight. I'd like to be healthy again). Im 5'10 and 210 pounds i was 140 last year. I was wondering if i am gonna have to train before i actually take KM or any other MA class. Any opinions on any other forms of martial arts would be well appreciated.

Edit:Umm also Dont suggest knives or any crap like that. I mean sure when im older. But not when im going to school 5 days out of the week where i get expelled for bringing anything. Thats out of the question.

Right now would be a great time to learn how to use a pistol under the guidance of a responsible adult instructor. Seeing that you mention California, I think the rules are alot more strict on carrying weapons, but learning how to load and shoot would be a good investment in your self-protection.

Even though you recommended against it, learning how to use a blade or blunt weapon is an excellent art too. Fortunately there's a guy in my area who teaches Arnis - but other than that I'd have to drive miles and miles to get instruction. Look up an art like silat, escrima, kali, or arnis.

Lastly, any emptyhanded art can be effective. It depends on how hard you train and if you test that training. Silat is an art that seems like it does well in the emptyhanded and weapon skills, but other arts like muaythai, kenpo, judo, savate and boxing are effective in their ranges.

Aikido, gong-fu and other arts like these might take you a while to build up your fight skills, but they can be just as effective if you constantly test your skills.

[DickHardman]

guys, it seems like he wants to learn how to defend himself in a urban environment most of all. a legit krav maga school should be all about that, more so than a lot of the arts mentioned.

i typed i krav maga LA in google and came up with this school

http://www.kravmaga.com/latraining.asp

i dont know if its legit or not, the fact that they advertise certifications is always somewhat suspect to me. though thats not always the case.

anyone attend this place or know the real deal??

the problem with training in krav maga is finding a legit instructor. id want to learn it from someone who was like a former israeli commando for example, someone who trained the real art in israel and brought it here, not someone who got a wack ass certification at a seminar.

[DickHardman]

check out this documentary about a guy who spent 1 week in israel training at a krav maga combat academy.

i guess if you go to the school and it dont look something like this, its probobly not legit. btw, if you live in LA you have access to some of the best martial arts schools around. if i lived in LA id go straight to the inosanto academy.

http://inosanto.com/

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i7N6Y7OYwI[/YOUTUBE]

[darrianation]

True combat power is arms multiplied by fighting spirit. If these two things are infinitely strong, you will succeed.

[Albert]

hez only 16, he cant carry a pistol, and if hez caught carrying a knife in school, especially in cali., hez screwed. And that krav maga looked really cool, id love to train like that.

[Eagleye]

the key to self defense is using your mind. being aware and making good decisions can keep you out of trouble pretty well. this means avoiding bad people, places were bad people hang out, being aware of your surroundings etc.......sometimes we are forced into a bad situation, but a lot of things are also avoidable. f

if the krav maga school near your house is legit, then i would say that would be a great place to train. if you can get the name of the school/instructor/website and post it here for us, there may be people who may be able to give you the real deal about the place.

muay thai is an awesome art, but its more geared towards sport. you can train it to learn devastating striking skills. however, if you dont know how to milk the art for its attributes to add to your overall self defense game plan and adapt it, then go with krav maga.

I agree with this post

[shaolin-warrior]

Krav maga is an awesome fighting art, if you cant find a good school, look at kempo schools. kempo is in close and very personal. and you don't need much time to become proficient at defending yourself. Good luck to you.

[jubaji]

So anyway...

[shaolin-warrior]

So anyway...

7,398 posts, two words at a time.

You don't like kempo?