Aikido, Judo or Jiu Jitsu, or?

[marka]

I plan on signing up for a martial arts class........which is best for real street self defense? Considering I only plan on training 2-3 times per week. I am 5-7", 165 Lbs.

[CarvedFromStone]

I would go with judo of jiu jitsu, personally i believe to best way to end a fight is to take some one down for choke them out, thus i would go with judo or bjj, judo is great for take downs and throws, while bjj focuses mainly on joint manipulation, some take downs and throws but not as much as judo

[marka]

What are your thoughts on aikido?

[BOUNCER]

What are your thoughts on aikido?

Forget it.

But I wouldn't limit myself to one style. BJJ, JJ or Judo with either Kickboxing or Muay Thai. From my experience of talking to Americans BJJ clubs can be VERY expensive in the USA, Judo clubs are traditionally very cheap but there are alot of old traditional clubs which you might want to avoid.

For real street fighting look for a club teaching Vale Tudo in your area.

[marka]

Thank you.

[JdFlex]

What about Krav Magraw (sp?)? I believe its the style taught to Israeli military. Heard its really good for street fighting.

[BOUNCER]

What about Krav Magraw (sp?)? I believe its the style taught to Israeli military. Heard its really good for street fighting.

I have a problem with KM or anyother system which is not put to the test in competition. Competition is a great leveller.

[BOUNCER]

A breakdown of some of the more popular styles;

BRAZILIAN JU JUTSU - Possibly the premier ground-fighting martial art. Made famous by Royce Gracie in the early UFCs in the mid-1990's, it specializes in submission grappling when both fighters are on the ground. Techniques include positional control (especially the "guard" position), and submissions such as chokes and arm locks.



MUAY THAI - Involves rigorous physical training, similar to that practiced by Western boxers. It includes running, shadow-boxing, heavy bag work and full contact sparring ( intermediate to advanced classes only). Much emphasis is also placed on various drills with "Thai pads". These pads weigh five to ten pounds, and cover the wearers forearms. In use, the trainer wears the pads, and holds them to receive kick, punch, knee and elbow strikes. They may also be used to strike a training partner to simulate an attack. This training is vaguely similar to the way boxing trainers use focus mitts. Muay Thai is universely accepted to be one of the most effective and powerful martial arts in the world. It is the stand up fight element, of choice, for many special forces units and mixed martial artist. Another training drill is for two fighters to clinch, and practice f stand-up grappling, the goal of which is to dominate your partner and land a knee strike. Full-power kicks, knees, and elbows are typically only practiced on the pads. Technical sparring is employed for most sessions; with open sparring being used for the advanced and fighters classes



JUDO - Judo is practiced on mats and consists primarily of throws (nage-waza), along with katame-waza (grappling), which includes osaekomi-waza (pins), shime-waza (chokes), and kansetsu-waza (armbars). Judo is generally compared to wrestling but it retains its unique combat forms. As a relative of Jujutsu many techniques taught in Judo are similar in nature to those of it's relative.

Because the founder was involved in education (President of Tokyo University) Judo training emphasizes mental, moral and character development as much as physical training. Most instructors stress the principles of Judo such as the principle of yielding to overcome greater strength or size, as well as the scientific principles of leverage, balance, efficiency, momentum and control.

Judo is a popular choice for children because it is safe and fun.



KARATE - There are many forms of Karate but most styles emphasise a fairly equal measure of basic technique training (repitition of a particular technique), sparring, and forms. Forms, or kata, are stylised patterns of attacks and defences done in sequence for training purposes.



VALE TUDO - Most Vale Tudo/MMA fighters fall into one of three general categories- the groundfighter, the wrestler, or the striker.

The groundfighter is the closest to a "pure" grappler one finds in MMA nowadays. The groundfighter's strength is the ability to force a fight to the ground, where they then seek a fight-ending submission (joint locks or choke). While the ability to perform takedowns is integral to groundfighting strategy, a clean, powerful takedown is not as important to the groundfighter as it is to the wrestler.

The wrestler is a stand-up and striking on the ground oriented grappler, whose strength is usually the takedown. A common strategy of the wrestler is known as "ground and pound." This refers to the method of taking an opponent down, achieving a dominant ground position, and finishing the fight with strikes.

The striker is also commonly known as the standup fighter, due to their preference to stay on their feet and win with a knockout. The strategy of the striker is called "sprawl and brawl". This refers to their focus on nullifying takedowns (the sprawl is the highest percentage defense to one of the more common entries to a takedown in wrestling, the shoot) in order to stay upright and exchange blows.

These categories should not be taken as exclusionary of other categories - groundfighters learn at least the basics of wrestling to be able to take down people and the basics of striking to keep from getting KOed. Strikers learn enough wrestling to neutralise takedown and throw attempts and enough groundfighting to get back to their feet if they are taken down. Wrestlers learn enough groundfighting or striking to protect themselves in one of those areas and to be able to easily finish opponents with another.

On rare occasions, you will see fighters highly skilled (by MMA standards) in all three areas. These types of fighters are becoming increasingly common as the sport becomes more professional.

[billy_ba]

go with no-gi submission wrestling or brazillian ju-jitsu

[jon_83]

personallly i like mauy tai kickboxing, i did it when i was younger. i know alot of guys that took it for years and you wouldn't wanna get into a back alley fight with them

[yannick32]

Cool thing that MMA came along, a lot of schools today offer some pertty good package. There are schools around my place that have boxing and Jiu Jitsu, i have attended some of thoses classes and you really learn a lot, and you get put in real life situation.

I would go for a total package, i mean traditionnal karate will only get you so far on a groud fight.

I was almost black belt in tae kwon do when i met some guys that trained MMA and i got my little ass kicked LOL.

[P Rock]

i would go with Smith & Wesson or Glock, for street self defense, all that Bruce Lee stuff doesnt work.

[marka]

I am kind of bumbed....because I invested 6 months in Aikido..almost ready for green belt test..........but realized it would take yrs to really kick butt in a reall life situation........I stopped 3 months ago because I went on this cycle...but now that I am ready again, I think I will go with BJJ, and start all over again... ..thanks for the resplies.

[chicamahomico]

I won't disagree with you on carrying a firearm (in the USA) but that's only a part of your personal security gameplan. You still need a rounded hand to hand game that is reasonably well trained.

i would go with Smith & Wesson or Glock, for street self defense, all that Bruce Lee stuff doesnt work.