What Martial Arts/Self Defense Do You Know?

[deshorty]

I can do some boxing and kung fu, but am not very proficient. However, I am a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. That being said, I still can't do much in a fight because I'm weak as hell.

 

[C117]

Karate, shotokan school, sixth kyu. The principle is basically to stay at a distance, close in on your opponent, smack them a few times on spots where it really HURTS, then take your distance again.

I remember that I first thought you where not supposed to actually hit your opponent in karate. Boy, was I proved wrong. My sensei (basically, the trainer) could practically knock me of my feet, even through a good guard.

 

[TheMightyWarHamster]

hm... martial arts are often not self defense, and neither is boxing. ways of fighting that need you to be warmed up or wearing protective gear to keep you from injuring yourself or not the best way to fight.
i did several years of tkd during high school and some karate before that. after a longer break, i started keysi fighting method about a year ago. compared to the violence of kfm, tkd and karate are more synchronized dancing. all the nasty things you can do to people that martial arts train you not to, wrapped in a neat package. also you do the sparring against at least two opponents and during summer we mostly train outside in the park or on a parking lot. a couple of times a year, the school even rents a club or disco and we do the training under loud music and strobe lights. which really takes some getting used to. fun, though.

 

[mexicola]

Well I can run away real fast.

Ok, I lied I can't run for shit. But I'm good at staying at home so I don't get into life threatening situations. That's practicaly a martial art, right?

 

[norwegian-guy]

Just remember that Krav Maga can be quite cruel. (I've heared of many students that have been beaten up just so they will get to understand pain better).
Myself is more of a Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu (Or we can just call it kenjutsu) with the hand-to-hand of Aiki Jutsu kind of martial arts enthusiast.

 

[JochemDude]

Yeah, boosting time.
2st Dan in Aikido, 1st Dan in Jiujitsu, 9 Years in Muay Thai, 7 Years in Kickboxing.
I'm a competitor in the Dutch National K1 Championship, My strong asset is 12 years of Pain Resistance training, which is very simple you'll endure pain by either repetitive punching/kicking walls or receive punches and become better at blocking it out through meditation. I'm a competitor in the Dutch National K1 Championship, that was my little boost.

 

[Vault101]

Kick him in the balls and run....

 

[The_Emperor]

I'm thinking about starting Boxing soon and possibly doing Krav Maga next year and I was wondering what experience my fellow Escapists had to offer or any advice regarding these two or any other forms of martial art also general discussion thread regarding it.

Boxing is a competition sport that can be applied to real world situations but I find it limited

Krav Maga is designed for self defense, and is better rounded.

Combine striking, grappling and self defense somehow, or whatever you feel like focusing on, it's all good for you.

Krav Maga is probs best for self defense IMO. Wing Chun is pretty good training for your reflexes.

I've never really stuck with any martial arts long enough to be good at any of them but I found Krav Maga to be the most valuable and I've done most of the major ones.

 

[StBishop]

I've done aikido for about 4-5 years. Its not the most efficient style of self defence, to be learnt quickly and simply, but for a trained person it gives nearly unlimited understanding of movement, balance, constant control, distribution of mass, "flow", "the moment of intention of attack" etc etc etc - feelings, that would make any other martial art experience a lot deeper.
It's rather about opening own feelings and following them - meditation in movement, rather than simple techniques of "killemall".

Sometimes one feels like a jedi, making another person completely unbalanced (falling, "flying" etc.) by a very slight and narly non-visible from the side complex movements of the centre of mass, and just slightly modifying persons own movement "blending with him" - even funnier to do that without using any kind of force, just own weight.

I'd recommend videos on youtube like "Aikido Motion Capture - Gravity Clouds"

.

Not meaning to sound like a dick, but you sound really, really, really pretentious.

I understand loving a martial art, I did judo for about the same amount of time you've done Aikido. I also understand the fact that many people assume that you want to fight them or whatever and I know that can make you feel like you're different to the people who start doing MMA to "bash cunts", I understand that you've probably changed your entire life, and have dedicated a fuck tonne of time and effort to this but it still comes off a little pretentious to say:

"For a martial art, though, something more simple, physical force oriented and practical would do, though.
Styding aikido is really an art, giving so much more than just "fighting techniques"... and it takes considerable time, so its obviously not for everybody."

Just putting it out there.

 

[OldRat]

When I was a kid, I did a somewhat obscure (or at least a lot less famous) Korean martial art called Hoi Jeon Moo Sool for a pretty long time. It was quite fun, really, and I got fit doing it.
Last year I did some boxing. Exhausting, but it really helped me to keep up with my new excercise regimen.

Also some medieval swordsmanship (no, not boffers or fooling around while larping), but I guess the real life applications of that in the modern world would be dubious at best. Unless I've got a sword with me, which isn't exactly smart.

 

[Irriduccibilli]

The only one I know is Drunken Boxing which i'm fairly good at. It's pretty easy. You whack the guy you insulted you so hard that he drops to the ground, you walk away, insult a woman and go home to sleep. Standard friday night.
I'm willing to teach you all... for a fee

 

[BlueMage]

I have close to eight years experience in Shorinji Kempo. Due to other commitments, I haven't had the opportunity yet to reach shodan. Still, after eight years you internalise a lot of what you get taught. For those unfamiliar, it combines both striking and soft techniques, with an emphasis on body movement and speed rather than strength. And trust me, when a Hong Kong girl half my height and less than half my weight can throw me to the ground with comparative ease, you know that technique be working.

I'm also studying kickboxing, have been for about a year and a half now. To be honest, I don't know if it's Muay Thai or "good ol'" style but either way - the bag bears testament to my ability to break things. There's also an emphasis on close-in knees and elbows (something Shorinji - in my experience of it - shies away from. Throws and take downs yes, but little grappling or groundwork) so it's also encouraging me to make use of what will often be my greater size, weight and reach up close where it can do the most damage.

Eh, I also studied karate when I was younger, along with ninjitsu. School fights ended particularly quickly when I was involved, didn't matter how many decided to try their luck.

Yep.

I know "Runningawayitsu" and "Kickemintheballsarate"

Best two unarmed styles there are - the best fight is the one you're never involved in, the second best is the one you can run away from.

 

[VladG]

No real training. Come to think of it I haven't even been in a fight since 2nd grade (and those fights were considered violent if slaps were thrown around). Basically my form of self defence is looking somewhat like a 250-pound half deranged hobo.

But I do have some knowledge of popular fighting stiles and favor Krav Maga. Here's why:

Krav Maga isn't what you'd actually call "martial arts". Martial arts are fairly ritualized (especially japanese/chinese ones) and focus on form, technique and are somewhat adapted for competitions, making them safer for both involved. Krav Maga on the other hand is all about survival. Generally, there are no rules in Krav Maga, as it is a defense fighting technique which is not regulated, but utilized to keep the user safe and incapacitate the opponent by any means necessary. There is nothing holy (half the moves I've seen involve a hard part of your body and your opponent's balls, usually in comedic and eye-watering combinations). It's also considered the easiest and most efficient form of self defence since anyone, regardless of age, sex, prior training or physical condition can learn it very fast. It relies on short, efficient movement (none of that fancy jumping around, just a plain old elbow to the face and knee to the groin, thank you very much) and details many ways to remove and defend yourself against many common weapon threats(knives, guns, blunt weapons, etc)

Boxing is probably the most useful background to have if you want to pick up Krav Maga since it emphasizes punches as basic strikes which are useful in almost any situation

As a form of self defence I really consider Krav Maga to be the best choice out there. Other martial arts have, of course, other things in their favor: discipline, physical training, philosophy, but for pure self defence, you can't beat Krav Maga.

I hear this a lot, yet I've never seen anyone who is proficient in Krav Maga actually IN a real fight with anyone who'se halfway good at fighting. All the cute training vids I see seem to have the same feeling I got when I used to learn kung-fu: The moves look and feel fantastic so long as the training partener goes along with what you're doing. However, since I started Jiu-Jitsu, I've noticed that anything you do even slightly wrong gets picked up on and exploited, yet even doing something 100% right as hard as you can fails cuz the other guy is just better at the counter/bigger/stronger/lighter/faster etc. I've yet to come across any boxers who'd let you kick them in the nuts, or hardened jail-fighters for that matter, and those are the kinds of people you really want martial arts to defend yourself from: The ones who can actually really hurt you, and are practiced in not getting hurt.

Not that I'm against Krav Maga, but considering the only people the israeli army gets to practice it on prefer slings and AK47's to h2h combat, well, it makes me wonder is all...

Actually all the special forces units in the EU must have Krav Maga training. Most police and swat forces around the world have Krav Maga training too, not to mention the best bodyguards in the world too.

 

[Use_Imagination_here]

I tried karate for one year until i got bored of the bullshit stances that hurt my legs.

Still trying to figure out what to start next year. Any suggestions?

 

[warprincenataku]

I've studied Wing Chun off and on since 2000, and I recently obtained my 4th Dan in Gendai Ninjutsu under the tutilage of a recognized 10th Dan Grandmaster.

 

[Apprentice88]

A few years of Nan Quan, still going.

Gotta love Kung Fu.

 

[Keava]

Basics of Capoeira and Krav Maga and some street wits. Enough to be able to deal with majority of situations one tends to run into in a city. Apart from that archery and fencing..but how often do i carry a longsword or bow by my side really...

 

[GLo Jones]

I have about 10 years experience in 'grab-the-nearest-weaponisable-object-and-swing'.

 

[SckizoBoy]

Seven years Muay Thai, nine years kenjutsu... which means a lot of bruised shoulders...

And for warm down, Tai Chi, which is a martial art right down to it. I once sped up and hardened the movements and it works, if in a rather roundabout way...

EDIT: I also used to shoot one of these:

That's my sister's new toy, incidentally...

 

[GeneralDefiance]

Ive got about 5 years of karate and tae kwon do , and until recently was training in mma... having a good set of wits about you in situations on the street can make all the difference to how you handle yourself too so you know when to fight and when its just not gonna be your day.