Rank 8 - Deluxe Member
From here
In my experience/observation, if you're primarily interested in learning martial arts for practical self defence, I would recommend BJJ out of that lot.Originally Posted by ITZTRU
But that's just in my personal experience/observation -- if you happen to find those other styles work for you for self defence, then by all means keep training in them.
Rank 8 - Deluxe Member
Nah it's not actually about self defense for me. It's to maintain my fitness regime. The place I used to train at offered all of these styles (except TKD), plus Karate and Boxing as part of the membership so I just trained in all of them.
From here
In my experience/observation, if you're primarily interested in learning martial arts for practical self defence, I would recommend BJJ out of that lot.
Having said that, BJJ is probably by far the art that I was most keen on learning
Rank 8 - Deluxe Member
Fairy 'nuff.As are all forms of grappling and wrestling really, but it's funny watching people who've never done anything like it get freaked out by the extremely-close personal contact
Rank 8 - Deluxe Member
It's also a rather boring (IMO) style to watch in competition. But you blink sometimes and the next thing you know, one opponent taps out and you're left wondering "Wait...what? What just happened?"
It can happen so fast. But I've always been into submission maneuvers. Ever since watching WCW/WWF/WWE since I was a kid :P Which is why it interests me so much.
Can anyone suggest good places to train in Muay Thai between Melb CBD and South East suburbs?
Rank 8 - Deluxe Member
Which, from a self-defence POV, is a good thing. Most of the more effectual fighting styles are actually really boring and dull to watch - that's because they're not designed to entertain an audience, but just to finish a fight as soon as possible. Bushido has a famous saying of "One hit one kill" -- the ideal dream scenario where you can finish a fight in just a single move (highly unlikely, but one should still definitely aim to end the fight in as few moves as possible). This is why I see learning martial arts for self defence and learning it as a competitive sport as two entirely different things.
I dunno about sport fighting, but one good thing about learning submissions, holds, grapples etc. from a self-defence POV is that it's a more passive means of defending yourself (whereas striking/hitting is more aggressive and can potentially put the defender into legal strife if s/he uses excessive force in self defence). That's why police are well trained in submissions and holds - so they can subdue and control an opponent but without actually hitting them.
Can't help you with recommending any schools in Melbourne I'm afraid.
Rank 8 - Deluxe Member
Yeah I agree with you. I'd never compete in whatever art I choose to train in. It's just not me, or why I'm looking at training. Which is why I think I'm looking at training in two different arts. Muay Thai to help me keep fit and BJJ because I actually have an interest in learning the art.
Rank 8 - Deluxe Member
i want to learn mai thai(sp) or is there a better self defence? im looking at defending myself against groups of 5 say.
Rank 8 - Deluxe Member
Muay Thai is a competitive sport martial art (and Thailand's national sport). If you're interested in self defence, I would personally recommend learning a more traditional style (e.g. Muay Boran). But that's just my personal recommendation - it pays to "shop around" and see what works best for you. Most martial arts school offer at least one free trial lesson.
Fighting against more than one opponent is an EXTREMELY DIFFICULT thing to do (fighting just 1 vs 1 against a competent opponent is jolly hard enough) and is a more advanced form of fighting, and as such most schools won't teach it until you're more advanced. If you're looking for a style that teaches at least the core principles of multiple opponent fighting from relatively early on, then I'd probably recommend Traditional Long Fist, particularly the Islamic version which was used by Muslim warriors as far out as Turkey during the Crusades. They employ wide sweeping/arcing strikes which serve to improve your upper strength and also generate more force to penetrate an armoured opponent. Beware of the "Modern Wushu" styles of Long Fist which are designed more for performance entertainment - they have lots of very pretty acrobatic and gymnastic moves which would look great on film, but otherwise fairly useless in a real fight.
But whatever style you choose, the basic rule with fighting multiple opponents is to 'break them down' to fighting one at a time. Never let yourself get caught between two or more people (although if you do, I find Long Fist has techniques to deal with getting caught in between, see 0:28-0:38 of the 2nd video link above). But it's still by no means an ideal situation.
But no matter what, fighting 2 or more opponents is really REALLY hard and extremely dangerous. Always remember that the best form of self defence is to avoid getting into fights. If you're afraid that a group of people are going to attack you (or even concerned that one person wants to attack you), then Contact The Police. -- you don't need to wait for them to make a move. If you have genuine reasons to be concerned about people wanting to hurt you, you can contact the police and the police may even be able to place an AVO against them on your behalf - at least in NSW they can. For FREE WA legal advice contact Legal Aid;
1300 650 579
http://www.legalaid.wa.gov.au/
Last edited by GoktimusPrime; 11th January 2011 at 01:45 AM.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote