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[West Texas CEO]

Long story short -- I work in some dangerous areas. 3x in the past 5 years I've been assaulted.
The first two times I came out on top. Last go around, it was a 2 on 1 situation. Jumped from behind with a chokehold. I broke the hold, and kept my belongings, , but ended up with an injury that inevitably required surgery. At age 25, I don't believe I've lost much of a step, but I clearly project as a weaker target due to my skinny-fat body build. I have no formal defense training, and have gotten by with what I picked up over the years in various other fights.

So, I dunno, I'm thinking starting with some basic boxing classes would be a good start.

Should I enroll in some other sort of martial arts defense training? I think some real training or technique could be of use, at least in a situation where no weapon is present. I'm unable to arm myself when I'm away, the only weapon I have is a tactical flashlight.

Curious if anyone has input.

 

[diffusionx]

BJJ for sure

 

[Raven117]

Probably MMA. You need to be able to fight both on your feet and on the ground.

bjj by itself is too incomplete.

 

[Punished Miku]

Extremely. You're going to be training real punches and real contact. 99% of fights are going to be someone throwing some form of right hand to your face, and simply being able to see and react to that effectively and throw an effective punch in return will win most fights. It's obviously incomplete, but it would be one of the most solid foundations you could ever have if you wanted to build out from there.

 

[GymWolf]

Useless when you are on your ass, and one of the first moves of the average dude that can't fight for shit is trying a tackle to take you down, especially if they are big and heavy or strong, have you ever seen that type of guy taking a boxing stance during a street fight? No they are just gonna bulldoze their way through, good luck stopping an heavy moving mass with a 1-2.

But sure if you are good you can fuck up every dude who doesn't kick you and try his luck just with punches, but that his valid forcevery classic martial arts, not just boxing.

Wrestling with a bit of bjj is probably the strongest base, there are professional fighters that train for 20 years that can't block a double leg to save their lives, imagine the average joe trying to defend that, and a takedown on solid cement is almost always a wrap.

I think learning a proper leg kick is much more useful than boxe, one of those and 99% of the joes are gonna cry in pain or they are gonna be unable to stand, and kicks have better range than any punch.

 

[rbanke]

Ive trained Taekwondo for many years, but I don't really think any single martial art matters for self defense as much as cheerleaders want to pretend. What matters way more is situational awareness and de-escalation/removing yourself from bad situations. Most confrontations are going to go to the ground which is by BJJ is so popular and considered effective for that but I don't think there are many bad choices. Doing any martial art where you're sparring and testing yourself is going to put you in a better position against the general population who really do not know how to fight.

Find something you like so that you'll stick with it, and branch out to other things to learn what your chosen art is weak on, that's my 2c

 

[Daneel Elijah]

Never had to think about it yet. But depending on your country laws the best would be to know how to use weapons? Even just a stun gun or a spray? I voted other because a good tool should be easy to have and faster to learn than any martial art. Not that learning that is a bad idea.

 

[RagnarokIV]

Don't waste your time with any RBSD, they're all shit. Also stay away from bullshido.

Go with Judo, wrestling if in the US or MMA only if the coach has a competition record (avoid gyms that run dudebro MMA classes).

Only train if the coach also takes part in randori/sparring and all classes have full contact/pressure sparring.

If any club don't do sparring because the techniques are 'too dangerous' or sparring is only after you 'learn the basics' then run a mile - it's bullshido. It should be from day one.

Also Judo is cheap, has high quality control and is all around the world. BJJ is a big business so you pay over the odds and a lot of clubs have no stand up game.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

There's no such thing as learning "mma", those classes will just focus on stamina and a bunch of things a focused discipline will teach better; MMA fighters come from multiple disciplines, which is why some are better strikers, or kickers or grapplers.
BJJ is generally useless in a street fight, because street fights tend to involve fighting more than one person and the ground is the place you absolutely never want to be.
Learn boxing and judo, boxing will teach you all you need for striking, while judo will teach you how to break holds and throw someone on their ass so you can run away if needed.

 

[GymWolf]

Ive trained Taekwondo for many years, but I don't really think any single martial art matters for self defense as much as cheerleaders want to pretend. What matters way more is situational awareness and de-escalation/removing yourself from bad situations. Most confrontations are going to go to the ground which is by BJJ is so popular and considered effective for that but I don't think there are many bad choices. Doing any martial art where you're sparring and testing yourself is going to put you in a better position against the general population who really do not know how to fight.

Find something you like so that you'll stick with it, and branch out to other things to learn what your chosen art is weak on, that's my 2c

I mean yeah, it goes without saying that avoiding a fight and awareness are the most important things, only morons search for fights.

 

[Punished Miku]

If any club don't do sparring because the techniques are 'too dangerous' or sparring is only after you 'learn the basics' then run a mile - it's bullshido. It should be from day one.

Well I mean, it's not like it's legal to train "death touch" in sparring dude.

 

[The Cockatrice]

As others have said Boxing if you plan on kicking the shit out of ppl who pick on you and the others only as a hobby.

 

[RagnarokIV]

Well I mean, it's not like it's legal to train "death touch" in sparring dude.

That's why we train kamehameha and no touch knockouts

 

[FunkMiller]

Probably jiu-jitsu. It has the most practical application in a real world setting. It's why a lot of police forces base their unarmed combat on JJ techniques (for instance, the police 'transport hold' is a jiu-jitsu technique). In an unavoidable situation you want to be able to do one thing: incapacitate your opponent as quickly as possible, with the minimum damage possible. That's JJ.

And I'd advise Jiu-Jitsu over BJJ personally. BJJ is great, but concentrates too much on ground work and submissions. Jiu-jitsu would give you a more rounded skill set.

 

[DeafTourette]

Boxing is DEFINITELY a great foundation for self defense! Get used to the footwork, try to master both southpaw and Orthodox, and (as others have said) get used to being hit by sparring in the ring. I'd also suggest learning both Krav Maga and Wing Chun. Krav Maga for the obvious realism and Wing Chun Kung Fu for the efficiency movements and stand up grappling. Bruce Lee was a VICIOUS fighter in real life and won many street fights in Hong Kong because Wing Chun was his base. But he also learned traditional boxing and it helped A LOT!

wrestling (and/or BJJ) to round out your physical awareness with ground fighting.


Just make sure you don't ALWAYS go to ground. Especially if there's other people there. A combination of stand up fighting and ground fighting and grappling/throwing is best. These are only suggestions but when it comes to your life, it's best to get in while the getting is good (and you're still young). Get that boxing foundation ASAP!

Quick note: people who say don't use Eastern martial arts don't really know what they're saying. Just don't go to a school that's all about belt ranking or competitions. Those are McDojos. Traditional martial schools teach realism and are easier to adapt to modern fighting. Most people trying to fight you aren't skilled fighters.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

Best thing for beginners. Good footwork and a good punch will let you deal with most retards that start with you.

 

[jason10mm]

A lot of fights go to the ground because none of the dolts fighting know how to throw a proper punch. Watch vids where 1 guy can use his hands, he is often laying folks out left and right because a good punch combo is hard to beat if you aren't ready for it.

Obviously if a gang of guys is gonna ambush you in an alley with the intent to kick your ass then no skill is gonna help you but if you train in boxing and get half decent at it then most random bar fights aren't going to be as big of an issue.

 

[Mistake]

Why can't you arm yourself? You can use just about anything. I wore steel toe boots and had an umbrella with a sharpened point when I went out traveling. Sent one guy to the hospital with a kick to the stomach after he pulled out a butchers knife

 

[Days like these...]

The only one I know about is boxing. So I can't say which is best but I can tell you that a boxer against your avg untrained tough guy. The tough is getting his ass handed to him.

 

[rm082e]

 

[NuncaBob]

Wear a mask backwards so they think you are always looking at them. Works on tigers.

 

[Thaedolus]

I feel like unless you knock em out, most street fights go to the ground pretty quickly. I’d be looking to emphasize grappling…

 

[Raven117]

There seems to be a lot of people here who don’t seem to been in many real world fights.

Absolutely knowing how to move with a well thrown 1-2 is going to be way more effective than many people here assume.

Is some of that other stuff cool and effective, yes, but it takes a lot of time to master and is riskier.

Take for instance a kick. Awesome if it lands. But this is assuming so much in the area you are fighting. The space. The surface. The intensity of the situation. It’s difficult to pull off on the street at a novice or even early intermidate.

Bjj, man they have done some marketing. On the street, pulling guard will probably mean his buddies start kicking you in the head. Don’t go to the ground unless you find yourself there.

It really does come down to the quality of instruction.

Muay Thai (that borrowers heavily from western boxing up top…but teaches some elbows, is solid). Judo/jiu jitsu for throws and locks. Bjj for the ground.

In the end, you need to be proficient at a few things. Striking, grappling, and ground.

Your goal is to end eveey fight as fast as possible and run. You have no idea what’s about to happen. Guns, knives. Buddies. Gtfo out of there.

 

[DeafTourette]

Oh yeah .. by grappling, I mean joint locking. That includes chokes. Japanese jiujitsu is great for this! Like FunkMiller said. He's absolutely correct about BJJ. Too ground focused and not realistic for a street fight. You want to be out as fast as possible. Boxing as a solid foundational base, krav Maga/wing Chun/Muay Thai for the realism, wrestling/judo/jiujitsu for ground work QUICKLY.

I added options because I don't know where you live or what type of schools they have where you are... So you're bound to have at least one of the options somewhere.

 

[NeverYouMind]

Long story short -- I work in some dangerous areas. 3x in the past 5 years I've been assaulted.
The first two times I came out on top. Last go around, it was a 2 on 1 situation. Jumped from behind with a chokehold. I broke the hold, and kept my belongings, , but ended up with an injury that inevitably required surgery. At age 25, I don't believe I've lost much of a step, but I clearly project as a weaker target due to my skinny-fat body build. I have no formal defense training, and have gotten by with what I picked up over the years in various other fights.

So, I dunno, I'm thinking starting with some basic boxing classes would be a good start.

Should I enroll in some other sort of martial arts defense training? I think some real training or technique could be of use, at least in a situation where no weapon is present. I'm unable to arm myself when I'm away, the only weapon I have is a tactical flashlight.

Curious if anyone has input.

100% of the time if you are Mike Tyson. Otherwise stick to pepper spray, taser, and chemical pellet gun along with situational awareness at all times.

P.S. If you bulk up it might not even matter.

 

[DeafTourette]

There seems to be a lot of people here who don’t seem to been in many real world fights.

Absolutely knowing how to move with a well thrown 1-2 is going to be way more effective than many people here assume.

Is some of that other stuff cool and effective, yes, but it takes a lot of time to master and is riskier.

Take for instance a kick. Awesome if it lands. But this is assuming so much in the area you are fighting. The space. The surface. The intensity of the situation. It’s difficult to pull off on the street at a novice or even early intermidate.

Bjj, man they have done some marketing. On the street, pulling guard will probably mean his buddies start kicking you in the head. Don’t go to the ground unless you find yourself there.

It really does come down to the quality of instruction.

Muay Thai (that borrowers heavily from western boxing up top…but teaches some elbows, is solid). Judo/jiu jitsu for throws and locks. Bjj for the ground.

In the end, you need to be proficient at a few things. Striking, grappling, and ground.

Your goal is to end eveey fight as fast as possible and run. You have no idea what’s about to happen. Guns, knives. Buddies. Gtfo out of there.

You definitely hit the nail on the head! Especially the weapons thing.

Train for realism ... Not train for movie fights! Fights are erratic and chaotic. Once you're pretty good at grappling, joint locking, kicks, punches and footwork... Start training for real world scenarios... Especially if someone has a non-projectile weapon like a stick/club or knife. If you don't have a ready escape, train to try to incapacitate or disarm. Also, learn how to turn anything into a weapon!

You CAN train to disarm a gun if it's point-blank in your face at your head/body... But as many have said, deescalate as soon as you can... That's the goal. For everyone to walk away safe. But if you can't, escape. And if you can't, fight like hell and put them all down! Break limbs, break joints, knock them out!

 

[daffyduck]

If he’s in Texas, he can actually defend himself with weapons.

In some other places, you may be lucky if even throwing a punch in self defence doesn’t make *you* the bad guy.

 

[12Goblins]

Ctrl + F wrestling

interesting

 

[West Texas CEO]

If he’s in Texas, he can actually defend himself with weapons.

In some other places, you may be lucky if even throwing a punch in self defence doesn’t make *you* the bad guy.

We have open carry laws here, yes. I would rather not resort to that, to be honest.

Most weapons I own are used exclusively for home defense, though. Let's just say I have something a little more potent than hollow-points.

 

[Rawbutt Jellybean]

I imagine boxing would be best and most practical. You don't want to be on the ground in a street fight even if you're at an advantage. Having a guy in an armbar won't do you any good when one of his friends stomps your head in.

 

[12Goblins]

Boxing is a sure way to put yourself in a comprising position, so if you're throwing down you best also be equipped for what comes next

 

[BadBurger]

I boxxed in high school. I guess it was OK

 

[near]

I learnt BJJ for about a year and Mary Thai for a few month. I'd recommend either of those, but definitely BJJ for self defence. Boxing doesn't lend itself well to many practical situations where you're being attacked, maybe if someone wants to go toe to toe with you, but hardly helpful if you're being mugged and manhandled.

 

[West Texas CEO]

Boxing is a sure way to put yourself in a comprising position, so if you're throwing down you best also be equipped for what comes next

From what I've read in this thread, the nuance is that if you can throw a few good punches to put an opponent to sleep quickly, learning boxing would be well worth it.

But I guess one's effectiveness with boxing would depend on the weight differential and skill of the opponent.

Of course if you're outnumbered, RUN

 

[GymWolf]

I imagine boxing would be best and most practical. You don't want to be on the ground in a street fight even if you're at an advantage. Having a guy in an armbar won't do you any good when one of his friends stomps your head in.

If you are against multiple opponents that attack all at once (so not like movies) boxe is as useless as any martial art, full stop, you are fucked both on the ground and in the standing unless you are a once in a million super fighter like that famous dude who fucked up a couple of (drunk) dudes that were insulting his woman inside a bar.


People in here think that multiple opponents in a small alley are gonna give you the time to take a stance and have freedom of dancing around them while firing 1-2...sure.

 

[FunkMiller]

If you are against multiple opponents that attack all at once (so not like movies) boxe is as useless as any martial art, full stop, you are fucked both on the ground and in the standing unless you are a once in a million super fighter like that famous dude who fucked up a couple of (drunk) dudes that were insulting his woman inside a bar.


People in here think that multiple opponents in a small alley are gonna give you the time to take a stance and have freedom of dancing around them while firing 1-2...sure.

If you are pitched against multiple opponents, there is only one strategy that succeeds:

 

[GymWolf]

If you are pitched against multiple opponents, there is only one strategy that succeeds:

I think all the advices here are for 1vs1 combat, max 2vs1 if you are lucky, more than that and you would probably get stomped.

 

[Days like these...]

If you are against multiple opponents that attack all at once (so not like movies) boxe is as useless as any martial art, full stop, you are fucked both on the ground and in the standing unless you are a once in a million super fighter like that famous dude who fucked up a couple of (drunk) dudes that were insulting his woman inside a bar.


People in here think that multiple opponents in a small alley are gonna give you the time to take a stance and have freedom of dancing around them while firing 1-2...sure.

These are all real life scenarios boxing is very effective in a real fight against untrained tough guys

 

[FunkMiller]

I think all the advices here are for 1vs1 combat, max 2vs1 if you are lucky, more than that and you would probably get stomped.

Honestly, running from even one opponent is still easily the best strategy, if your ideal outcome is you not being injured or killed.

 

[GymWolf]

These are all real life scenarios boxing is very effective in a real fight against untrained tough guys

Sure and you can probably find videos of funny female comedians, doesn't mean that it's a common thing or that what i said is wrong, multiple people attacking at once is almost always a wrap.

Btw i can't see a single video

 

[nkarafo]

I think it's the best option. It's the simplest so you won't have to remember too many things. You won't have to wrestle so you won't have to worry about that if you are too light. And it will take less time to be able to at least get used to a few basic things that will help you prevail against most non trained people.

 

[Days like these...]

Sure and you can probably find videos of funny female comedians, doesn't mean that it's a common thing or that what i said is wrong, multiple people attacking at once is almost always a wrap.

Btw i can't see a single video

The videos are age restricted I guess because of the violence. Five real fights of multiple guys against a guy who knows how to throw a punch. Not imaginary scenarios. All I'm saying is boxing is effective against untrained tough guys.

 

[BobLeeSwagger]

Make sure to hit the gym too, get some muscles on your skinny build

 

[GymWolf]

It's age restricted. Five real fights of multiple guys against a guy who knows how to throw a punch. Not imaginary scenarios. All I'm saying is boxing is effective against untrained tough guys.

I think that knowing a martial arts against tought but untrained guys is always gonna be an advantage.
Sometimes you can be lucky to punch the first one and the others get scared, but let's be honest, of all the street fights against multiple opponents that happen around the world, 90% of them probably end with the group winning over the single dude.

 

[Flash Junkins]

Boxing is very effective. You would knock out almost all of the guys on here suggesting something else. Probably all of them.

Brazilian JJ and Judo are also effective. But they aren't something you'd use very often. Perhaps after a couple of years of boxing.

 

[Rawbutt Jellybean]

If you are against multiple opponents that attack all at once (so not like movies) boxe is as useless as any martial art, full stop, you are fucked both on the ground and in the standing unless you are a once in a million super fighter like that famous dude who fucked up a couple of (drunk) dudes that were insulting his woman inside a bar.


People in here think that multiple opponents in a small alley are gonna give you the time to take a stance and have freedom of dancing around them while firing 1-2...sure.

Boxing still gives you a better chance at surviving that than anything else (unarmed) in that situation though. I've seen people successfully fight back in that situation through striking alone but soon as they touch the ground it's over.

 

[Flash Junkins]

Boxing still gives you a better chance at surviving that than anything else (unarmed) in that situation though. I've seen people successfully fight back in that situation through striking alone but soon as they touch the ground it's over.

If it's 2 or more vs you then try to run.

 

[GymWolf]

Boxing still gives you a better chance at surviving that than anything else (unarmed) in that situation though. I've seen people successfully fight back in that situation through striking alone but soon as they touch the ground it's over.

1vs1 i think it's as useful as kickboxe, muai thay or almost any full contact martial art, not sure what is the advantage of being limited to only using punches versus using your 4 limbs or your elbows or knees.

And i would still pick wresting over boxe, stopping a double leg is way harder than putting your arms in front of your face to block punches, a double leg has the element of surprise because you can faint a punch and go for the legs.

Every professional boxer would get absolutely destroyed by almost every other martial arts because they are not used to block kicks or tackles, this is why you see mma fighters accepting boxe fights but no boxer accepting mma fights, it's because they know the result, boxe is an extremely incomplete "martial art".

 

[Flash Junkins]

1vs1 i think it's as useful as kickboxe, muai thay or almost any full contact martial art, not sure what is the advantage of being limited to only using punches versus using your 4 limbs.

And i would still pick wresting over boxe, stopping a double leg is way harder than putting your arms in front of your face to block punches, a double leg has the element of surprise because you can faint a punch and go for the legs.

Please. If you only wrestle you'd have your ass handed to you unless you name is Khabib. And even he can stand and throw.

 

[GymWolf]

Please. If you only wrestle you'd have your ass handed to you unless you name is Khabib.

You are free to have your wrong opinion bud.

You need to be khabib level when you fight other professional fighters, against the average joe a takedown on cement is probably enough to ko most people.