My background is in: Judo, Muay Thai and Krav Maga/Combatives, add in some Berserker and a little Escrima, and life is good...

 

This is REALLY good combination.

Especially if you have someone to practice with that is similarly well rounded so you can mix up your styles.

To the OP in my opinion self defense is THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT survival skill you can have.

 

I consider as part of my preps...I am currently training in TKD, Catch wrestling, Escrima, Tactical Knife Defense, Bow, tactical cane, and pistol defense....

 

Martial Arts were part of my life from 9 to 50 (i am 57 now) hold a sna dan (3rd degree black belt in judo) shodan (1st degree) i jujitsu and practiced shotokan for about five years but never tested for the black belt even though I had the knowledge and skills for it. While it can be helpful in some rare occasions in a SHTF situation it is not vital..food, water, shelter and a good firearm are way more important

 

Nice! Love the cross-training you three guys have done.

manisonenmi: I agree that all those things are more important, but I consider martial arts to be as important to my self defense as my Beretta. The gun becomes more important, and the martial arts less in a SHTF scenario, but I'd still consider it a 70/30 split or so personally. Your gun becomes completely useless if someone is on you before you can get it out, and you don't have the knowledge base to evade/escape and create distance.

Put another way, I think martial arts is to a pistol as a pistol is to a rifle. You know how they say your pistol is for shooting your way to your rifle. Well, martial arts is a way to fight your way to your pistol. You also have the ability to create less of a signature than using a gun, less legal issues (which may still be pertinent in SHTF), etc. Lots of important features in my opinion.

 

I'd love to hear from ya'll which of your martial arts you consider to be the most effective in a real self defense scenario or any other thoughts on what you've learned about the art.

 

I'm a Balintiwak escrima practitioner and I highly recommend it for real life applications. It's not a flashy art but its simple (12 angles of attack to memorize) brutal, highly efficient and the techniques apply to both armed & unarmed scenarios. All in close range combat. Meaning you can go to short sword (machete) or stick/baton to bare hands all with the same techniques.

You dont need to be young or athletic to do Balintiwak. There are no stupid "monkey" stances or abnormal movements to do. It is a defense system that is highly offensive & taught to women, children and older men. In fact YouTube Balintiwak & watch the old masters school these young lions one after another.

 

MA is fine but its use is very limited!
How many hours will you spend learning MA?

I found I could teach someone all they need to know about hand to hand etc in about 20 hours plus the same again learning Anatomy.
Once you know the human anatomy well all the fancy MA stuff is redundant!
Just target and destroy!

The above took 15 years of intense MA training to learn!

 

I've played around with various MA over the years, backyard muay thai, Jujitsu, Krav, BJJ/MMA and have been attacked a few times, once nearly got killed in a pub.

There are no short cuts.

Sure a hard direct strike to certain parts of the body can be incapacitating, but you have to be able to actually HIT those vunerable spots first. That requires timing and the ability to pass someone's guard effectively. That only comes with experience unless you are physically much bigger and stronger than your opponent or have the advantage of surprise, numbers, a weapon etc. In a self defense situation however you are unlikely to have the advantage because your attacker will be the one with the initiative as he has instigated the attack.... he'd be pretty stupid if he didn't make sure he had an advantage to start with. So you always start at a disadvantage.

My real world experience has taught me that thugs will either be bigger, more numerous, use surprise or have weapons. Sometimes all of the above, it will never be a fair fight and I suspect even moreso in a SHTF situation where violence will be used to gain something as opposed to someone just being drunk and in the mood to punch on.

With that in mind I'd say the best MA are the ones that train with hard contact and the sport arts do this the best (MMA, boxing, muay thai, judo, contact karate etc). I say this as often the first you know that you are being attacked is a second after you have already been hit. You need to be able to keep your composure through the shock and pain, put up an effective guard, get off the x and launch an immediate counter attack, all while still being pummelled. If you're not used to the physicality of being struck or grappled then you will be quickly overwhelmed.

Saying that though any MA is better than none. Having a plan, even a bad one, is better than having none at all.

 

I disagree. I have taught judo and self defense for yeas and you can not teach anyone to properly defend themselves in 20 hrs. It is all about physical condition and muscle memory and that takes years to sink in...You may be able to teach a few basic striking techniques in 20 hrs but if the student don't put countless hours practicing them they will useless.

 

But at the same time, there's lots of raw talent out there.

Physical conditioning and one's ability to defend themselves are mutually exclusive....but working on one's physical conditioning and technique isn't a bad thing, obviously.

The more basic a technique is, the easier or faster it will be picked up...but that is all relative to an individuals raw ability.

I think "how" one learns the technique is as critical as its level of complexity....Pain is a remarkable motivator.

The most important aspect of learning self defense IMHO is practicing against someone who is "actively" resisting, they maybe stronger, faster, ect....because every fight seems to be at some disadvantage.

The street is no place to find out how uncooperative, stupid strong, and fast some people can be.

My background is Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Taekwondo, Combative Self defense and basic BJJ, and Aikido....I've also spent about 5 years employed in various establishments applying my craft.

 

I like Glock Fu.

but seriously, I was just looking into a local aikido/judo/JJ club. ive don't the us army combatives up to level 3 and feel pretty confident in my abilities to hold my own from experience but always feel I could learn more...

 

I know enough martial arts to get in trouble. I'm relatively proficient with a knife & Louisville slugger. I do practice knife/gun techniques. I'm getting older & don't have the stamina to go h2h for long. Eyes throat & pressure points are my targets. That's why I carry.
I applaud those of you who have studied them long term. It is a difficult commitment.

 

I have great respect for you guys , Years ago I attempted to get into it but work and home responsibilities took over.
My primary interest is in physical fitness which a these are excellent disciplines.
Though I am not skilled I do promote it among young people .
When I am feeling better, I include some of what I do know in warming up ,but this old body is getting tired.
Keep up the good work.

 

I was a attack dummy for my wife's Aikido class and I can fall, moan and cry with the best of them.
Meibukan karate, Wing chung Gung Fu, Kendo

 

It's good to know some sort of combat/self defense techniques. But it's like anything else, whether its gun skills, wilderness survival skills....it may or may not be something you ever have to utilize.

 

A black belt don't mean anything to me. Most people with a black belt can't fight very good either. Either your a great fighter or your not.

 

Arnis /eskrima (4yrs) , krav maga (4yrs) , American style boxing (5yrs) and a little balls out crazy (life long)! :

 

Big proponent of western boxing and high school/collegiate style wrestling. There's no way I want to go to the ground

 

I'm a real mutt as far as my MA experience goes...TKD, Muay Thai, American Boxing, Wing Chun, and some exposure to Kenpo. Throw in some Krav Maga and Jeet kune Do principles along with some pain compliance techniques from various jobs I have worked to add to the strange brew :-D

I do believe that MA's can be a definite plus to one's preps. For me, I try to stay in good shape and keep it simple. Really, it is a matter of finding what works for you and sticking with it and practicing.

 

There is no quick fix for learning how to fight....it takes years of PROPER training to become proficient. These self defense courses people come up with are a joke and a waste of money.

 

Glock

Glocks are great

-Recon

 

If i had 20 hours to teach someone self defense. I'd teach the 'SPEAR' from Tony Blauer, how to knee properly, a straight right elbow to the face and an osotogari throw. I'd focus on getting the aggressive 'go forward' mindset happening.

This might make an interesting thread.

 

Boxing with clinching,knees and sprawling

 

Out of curiosity, how many of ya'll consider learning martial arts to be part of your preparations?

No, not at all. Complete waste of time, energy, and money. Shouldn't be even thought about.

 

BJJ is so incredibly effective. Unless you are fighting 2 guys.

 

I have training in Tae Kwon Do, Aikido and Krav Maga I started very young and I am still training in Krav Maga.

 

I did Judo for two years
Been doing BJJ now for three years

I want to take up some boxing or karate

 

Muay Thai, best of both worlds. :thumb:

 

Another of these posts about h2h and the "better" ma.... ugh.
Yes, training in some form of h2h is a very good thing and is a piece of the shtf scenario puzzle. Being physically capable is the better aspect in any shtf scenario. But even the physically fit become old and the abilities diminish over time; that needs to figure into one's considerations. Or, if you are someone, such as myself, with nearly 40 years ma experience and then have surgery to remove a brain tumor; you find that you've lost a huge percentage of physical adroitness... you just try to maintain what's left and work to keep it a level to use if ever it becomes needed to do so.