Top 10 Self Defense Martial Arts

[Kamidake]

Probably your best bet would be something that has been tested in actual hand-to-hand combat, and the further back it goes, the more testing it's had, so maybe the best pick would be budo taijutsu or koryu budo (not sure of the name of that last one; I'm thinking of the ones that started way back in the day with samurai trying to kill each other). Also you might want to look for something that teaches a variety of weapons. The more options you have for self-defense, the better.

[wrestlingkaratechamp]

1.Krav maga

 

2.Shotokan karate

 

3.kung fu

 

4.wrestling

 

5.BJJ

 

6.judo

 

7.combat Ki

 

8.TKD

 

9.wing chun

 

10.aikido

[TURBO7]

Judo.. mexican judo....

 

Judo'nt know I have a gun...

 

Judo'nt know I have a knife...

 

Judo'nt know.....

[Treebranch]

Hey that's my joke. LOL!

[KoreanTiger30]

I am not putting these in any particular order. But i will say one thing and that is no one style is the best I think and understanding of all different styles is the best defense and the ability to adapt to those styles. you do not necessarily have to practice all of them jsut an understanding. My list is compiled from the arts I have studied and watched in competitions and seminars.

 

1) Teuk Gong Moo Sool (korean Military Martial Arts and voted #1 military combat training by United Nations)

 

2) Kyuk Too Ki ( because this art is designed as kickboxing and Street Fighting and prolly one of the most most brutal Korean arts. it encompasses kicking power from TKD, the elements of Hapkido, Jui Jitsu, Judo, Soo Bahk Do.)

 

3) Krav Maga

 

4)Tai Chi & Ki GOng

 

5)Jiu Jitsu

 

6)Jeet Kune Do

 

7)Hapkido & Aikido

 

8)Hwarangdo

 

9)Order of Isshyniru (Hope I spelled that right)

 

10)Wing Chun

[KoreanTiger30]

I am sorry but I forgot to mention this in my previous thread which includes my theory of TKD form expereince.

 

I have studied TKD for about 10 years now. But I studied under a traditional school of thought called Ji Do Kwan which was very enthusiastic about sparring but they held deep concerns the Olympic Stlye would destory the art of TKD and now that I have been refereeing for sometime now I see that alot of the schools that teach Olympic Stlye are very sloppy in their techniques and throws the leg out there to get the point and not for accuracy. Now there are exceptions to these rules and i have seen some TKD fighter that have trained especially in olympic stlye since birht but those fighters were Korean. Even though I am an AMerican I will be the first to say that there is a strong difference between Korean TKD and American TKD (even though taught by Korean Masters). I have had a chance to visit Korea on several accounts and watched open tournamnets betwen Japan and Korea and even Muay Thai and alot of those Korean fighters do end up devestating their opponent. I find that TKD is an excellent martial art to teach kids but is not a sure way of ending a street confrontation. I have been in several street fights not proud of them but they were unavoidable no matter how hard I tried. I found that the only elements of TKD that helped was the strong kicking power and the speed and time reaction. But once i got on the ground it was a totally different story and about 95% of tme those fights ended up on the ground. At that time I had to rely on my Hapkido training and Teuk Kong Moo sool training to overcome the attacker. The other 5% of the time I was able to end the fight with one kick or hand technique and the reason I could do that was my training in Kyuk too Ki wich is Korean Street Fighting/kickboxing that encompasses the kicking power of TKD with hand techniques form Soo Bahk Do and Hapkido. I do support TKD and I think it is an excellent martiala rt especially for children but it will not save you all the time. For those who like to watch competitions try finding some videos of Kyuk too Ki and Muay Thai fighting each other now that is some competiton and the match could go either way. Sorry for the lenght of this post ut I needed to bring out some of my expreiences to the poll.

[cherub2]

i keep hearing about shotokan in this thread, but i havent seen tang soo do once.

 

do yall not think it is a good self defense style when combined with hapkido?

[wrestlingkaratechamp]

Yeah its really good

[Fa-Jing]

Of coure I do the best style..lol

 

NO STYLE IS BEST its differnt for each person..

 

I know what styles are best for me only, not best for u and the whole world.

 

I don't do the best style just the best 4 styles just joking...lol

 

Some arts are effective faster than otheres for self defence...

 

To say one style is best is to limite yourself, with that additude you will get carless and be proven wrong.

 

There ARE masters better than Bruce Lee You just never herd about.

 

He didn't live long enought to become a Grand Master.

 

Who Knows what JKD would be like if he were still alive to help It growe

 

and matrure. What othere arts might he have expolred if he had the lived

 

longer?

 

Don't get me wrong JKD is effective and i respect it and Bruce Lee.

[paolung]

couple points/questions:

 

1) systems/styles aren't "slow", PEOPLE are slow.

 

2) what about Kenpo? I had always heard it was great for SD apps.

 

3) personally I believe some systems ARE inherantly better than others for the purposes of SD. isn't this what the topic was about? so generally speaking i'd say yeah, the shootfighter is better prepared for a SD scenario than the wushu proponent. keep in mind, i said "generally speaking"... there will be exceptions to any rule.

 

4) referring to #3, i'm not saying that the system makes the fighter, because it doesn't. many factors contribute to effectiveness in fighting, including what kind of fighting (NHB/Ring? street mano/y/mano? street gang?), the physical condition of the fighter(s), general proficiency with techniques used, mental conditioning (a factor often overlooked), size (yes it DOES matter), strength (not just muscular force but all kinds),speed (there are many kinds of speed), endurance, the list can go on and on.... but yes i do feel system is a factor as well. just as some cars are designed better than others FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES, systems are designed the same way. for example, Krav Maga is famous for it's ability to teach normal folks to defend themselves in a variety of commonly experienced attacks in a relatively short amount of time. however, Krav Maga may not be your choice if you're looking for a system that has traditional substance, protocol, or perhaps a long history. BJJ is well known as one of the grappling systems at the "top" of it's game, so to speak. But if you're on a street with broken glass facing multiple opponents, would you rather use BJJ techniques or perhaps some quick striking to escape the situation?

 

just a few thoughts... by no means am i saying BJJ is ONLY limited to one person and CAN'T be used on the street, just that it may not be the primary choice for certain scenarios. NO ART OR SYSTEM IS 100% EFFECTIVE FOR EVERYONE IN EVERY SITUATION, INCLUDING SHOTOKAN.