hux309

Lol oops i posted the wrong video.

YouTube - goshin jujitsu wales7

ScoobyWon't

I wasn't thinking of throwing wimmin around like hedoes

I wonder which would be most effective if attacked in a bar?

hux309

Hard to say, depends on the skill level of the person and what attack he's receiving.

Lets just say my money would be aikido or jiu-jit-su.

ScoobyWon't

My skill level = non-existant, I'll be a complete beginner.

hux309

Well one advantage with aikido, it doesn't depend on your physical ability, our instructor taught us to defend against one or two things like knives etc but it's easy do turn that into a defense against a bottle for instance.

The more you learn the more you in turn add to your technique, like nikyo the wrist lock you see segal do, i have several different ways of applying it depending on their build or how hard they grab either way im getting it done.

However i don't show it, a friend at work kept badgering me despite my saying no, i turned his wrist a nice shade of black, after that i rarely let people know about my aikido.

I stopped mainly as i did nothing but teach towards the end.

ScoobyWon't

If anything, I'm expecting drunk yobs to be trying to attack me by any means they can, so if they don't know what I'm capable of then that'd be great.

SPEN555

Go see Kung Foo Panda at the cinema it might give you a few pointers

ScoobyWon't

<Knock-off Nigel>
Seen it on the internet already
</Knock-off Nigel>

warrenm2

Not much mention so far of Wing Chun. Very effective at close range, concentrates on explosive power, and a barrage of attacks, but at the same time subtlety and using opponents strength against them. Very practical art, no "swishy" stuff in it, quite the opposite, direct straight line attacks are emphasised. Overall fitness is de-emphasised, in preference to good technique

Bruce Lee started off his martial art career in Wing Chun, and Krav Maga is heavily based on it

YouTube - Wing Tsun - military street brutal combat system

Dan W

I did Ju Jitsu for some time about 10-12 years ago. It is the one to go for.

mrtheedge2u2

Depends on what you want out of it..... I spent many years doing Tae Kwon Do (ITF) and really enjoy it...... quite a bit of impact on the knees (and sometimes face lol) ...... It has served me well on a number of occassions....
Alll MA's can be fun but if you want one that you think you will actually use to defend yourself I would go for a ground-based martial arts eg ju jitsu, judo etc..... 99% of fights end up on the floor very quickly.

If you want further advice then drop me a PM

NeilT

log onto KarateForums.com - Karate and Martial Arts Discussion Forums - a good source of all martial arts

Neil

ScoobyWon't

I'm going to go and see this one in action:

NeilT

jack of all trades ....master of none

mad555

iTrader: (1)

YouTube - BBC's Inside out Feature Prokick kickboxing Gym

My old trainer.four time world champ.

mykp

I would say you need to experience a few different martial arts before settling on one. Took me a while to settle on Aikido and I only started on this as I got bored with the repeated kata of Karate and Taikwondo.

Goto a few classes and have a look see, experience them to see if you like the art your studying (after all you are learning) and also to see if you can study at that school. When I started Karate in my early mid teens and taikwondo in my late teens but I attended a few schools until I found the right one, be sure to find one which teaches the art, not just how to break boards with your head or how to beat seven shades of **** out of someone. Also some schools will use the new boy or girl as the punch bag, you are there to learn not to be the practise dummy for all the higher belts.

I studied Karate until I was in my mid twenties and then fell out of love with it, mainly due to the extremely repetitive nature of the Kata and looked for another martial art and it was only when I was living in Japan that I saw an Aikido demonstration and thought, WOW. Not only is it a fantastic defensive martial art, its both beautiful and elegant and I can so see myself liking doing that. That might sound a bit odd but those who study it will know exactly what I mean. The demo was done by a small japanese man, maybe 5 foot 4 and he was throwing blokes my size around (im the wrong side of 15 stone) like they where nothing. but its not all throws - YouTube - Koichi Tohei - authentic Aikido - no audio

However whats right for me might not be right for you but my advice is to try a few, a decent instructor wont mind if you dont commit straight away. Go into what ever you choose with an open mind and enjoy it.

billythekid

Another vote for Wing Chun, probably with a bit something else mixed in - but this will prob be par for the course anyway depending on instructor.

I am not going to go into detail as its all on the web so just do a google.

248SPG

A vote for something a little different.

Its a Russian Martial art called Systema.

A couple of my friends run a small club for it over in Maidenhead which I know is a little far for you to go.

Its based on the style that the Russian Secret Service train (or trained) there agents in or something similar to that scenario.

I went to a few sessions with him and enjoyed it but had to give it up due to work commitments and the fact they closed the club for a little while.

For more info you can go look at Systema: Russian Martial Art

S

dazdavies

iTrader: (22)

I actually got graded by Kenosuki Enoeda as a 15 year old back in 1987. I also got to have a bit of a slap around with Frank Brennan afterwards. It was pretty awesome.

Long gone are my shotokan days and basai dai and basai sho kata.

I do a fair bit of "jit" these days which i think is infinetly better.

Shotokan was very formal. Jujitsu as a way of self defence is far better in a real world situation.

boxst

To me that relies quite a lot on you being 'strong' as it appears to be brute force (combined with technique).

I enjoyed Karate from a fitness perspective and would like to Aikido.

It is 20 years since I have done any Martial Arts and I am close to forty and very unfit. Any recommendations?

Steve

jaytc2003

iTrader: (1)

my unemployed scottish next door neighbour does "No Ken Do"
Think he does it at the pub

On a serious note, im thinking about kickboxing as I have been told that it is good for all round fitness as well as the ability to defend yourself

mykp

anything which involves throws as you'll spend lots of time picking yourself up off the floor which is very physically tiring.

The Chief

I did Tae-Kwondo for a few years and i loved it. the only problem from a defense point of view a lot of the moves i.e. certain kicks like Axe kicks, spinning kicks i wouldn't dream of using in a confrontation situation as you'd end up getting your head kicked in.

It takes years to reach a level where you can really really look after yourself imo.

Geoff Thompson used to do seminars and was great at teaching self defense - unfortunately i'm not sure if he still does it anymore.

The best thing about martial arts is teaching you to remain calm in a situation and spot potential trouble which you can avoid from the outset.

Would i do TKD again - probably not, i feel too much time was spent on the syllabus and patterns etc. But i have to say Aikido i have heard great things about

YouTube - Geoff Thompson Punching Instructional

The Chief

This is my Ex Instructor

LIVERPOOL TAE KWON DO | Train with Champions!

He must be 12 stone wet through yet still at 40+ does the doors and trust me he can cut it on the street.



Even when i was training 8 years ago i was a big bloke but Christ sparring and being hit by him was like being hit by a wrecking ball.

Top bloke who i still get on well with.

warrenm2

Agreed! And this belief in itself can actually help prevents fights in the first place, people uncounciously see your confidence and simply do not hassle you

Evil Twin of Tarquin

I think the best thing for you would be origami.

HTH

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

This is the core problem with many "martial arts" as opposed to what I would refer to as more "self defence" orientated systems. I have the upmost respect for anyone who becomes proficient in one of the arts, but the "average joe, or Joanne" simply wants something easy that they can use to deflect an attacker in a "street" situation.

For that, my money is on Krav Maga. It's specifically designed to be easy to pick up and is about as effective as you're going to get in street situations. Nothing fancy: just moves that will stop the attacker in their tracks and give you the time to get the hell out of there!

It's what the Israeli special forces lean, and they don't muck around!

Ns04

Tobisausage

This video is absolutely hilarious, 2.17 and 2.37 is just amazing.

I lolled when he wrenches the guys neck upwards, then punches him 50 times and finshes off by stomping on his head.

I can imagine people watching this and going 'woah'

Bonehead

It is??, during my gradings over the past three years they like to test you on the history of the system and to be honest that's news to me.

The founder Imi Litchenfeld was the Czech son of a Police self defence instructor and Imi was also a former wrestler. A lot of the early version of the system is based on the late forties British Army unarmed combat handbook.
During the following decades Krav Maga's taken on lots of influence off of Muay Thai, Brazillian Ju-Jitsu and other systems but I've never heard it's taken on a lot of Wing Chun.
My instructor's a walking MA encylopedia and being a newbie I have asked him the difference between in styles between the more welll known systems and he's said Krav is vastly different to Wing Chun.

I do know over the years some of the heads of the various different Krav Maga federations/organisations have had backgrounds in lots of different martial arts systems so who's to say if someone from a Wing Chun background has been involved in Krav.
But it's certain to say that the instructors I've had (and the one I've had for the longest who's regarded by the Israeli instructors as one of the best in the country - One of the Israeli's told me that at a grading last year) say Krav isn't bassed heavily on Wing Chun

warrenm2

yeah there is quite a focus on "chain punching" to overwhelm the opponent. Attack is the best form of defense and all that.

Obviously the guy is a practised instructor, but it does demonstrate most of the principles. Notice the blindfolded section - that is part of the fighting in the dark/ touch sensitive training.

I went to a Krav Maga training session once (having done Wing Chun) just to try it out. Everything we did that day was taking from Wing Chun. I think it depends on how far you want to take it. If you want to do 1 evening a week for 6 months to learn some basic but effective self defense then yes, KM will serve you well. If you want to put in a bit more time and be even more effective, the more subtle Wing Chun will reward you.

I also looked at Waddu Riu (sp?) Karate and the whole emphasis on physical strength, and virtually no emphasis on subtlety and using the opponents strength against them didnt appeal to me.

As for kick boxing, I am biased by my instructors comments, "feet are for standing on and moving around with, hands are for punching". Always made sense to me especially when you see a demo of a good sweeper and/or stand up grappler against a kick boxer. They are on the ground before you can say TKD! To me being on one leg makes you too vulnerable. Maybe thats just me!

Final thought, martial arts are quite a personal thing, find one that fits best for you