Running. Fighting as an adult is super fucking dangerous and if someone is willing to start a fight with you, chances are they're gonna win, it'll happen really fast and you'll be half conscious at best. If you want to be prepared for a street fight, bareknuckle fight your friends for fun with a third person stopping it when needed, this will result in concussions and its dumb as hell but its the only way you'll tske a good punch without being laid out immediately. Do not ever get into a fight. If you are in a situation where you NEED to fight, like attempted kidnapping or something like that and not a mugging or dispute you got for the eyes wirh everything you have, dont let anything stop you from blinding the person and hopefully you can run away after but if you cant, at least they cant see, if for some reason that doesnt work tape a really really deep breath and keep breathing deep and try to fucking kill the person via strangulation, they will hit you, just power through because your life depends on it in this case. Know where to squeeze and make sure you have as much air in your lungs as possible if they try the same to you. Eyes are top priority tho, maximizes your chances of escape. But really, just dont get into a fight, if you get robbed just take the L and stay calm about it, if someone is acting tuff at you, just leave. There's no shame in that, what's shameful is wanting to fistfight people as a grown up
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lol this is actually right, great advise here. if you're young fuckkng around and fighting your associates and friends, sure, that is helpful but otherwise yeah de-escalation when possible and learning how to get the fuck out is so crucial to being both a like interesting person and also not being dead
9I dont fight but am or were pals with a lot of oogles who do for fun and it is good to get for face recreational bashed in if you are going to be putting yourself in danger, I can take a lickin and keep on tickin and feel pretty confident in a fist fight against a cop, that is kinds nice to have under your belt. But because of the same associations a biker connected creep who has been going out with my roommates friend , who is cool as hell and became my friend fast was immediately assumed to be fucking both of us cause she moved.into our place and was a woman and was stalked and had my place firebombed and had a genuine threat of death on my hands, avoid this sort of scenario. We hooked a car battery to our metal doorknob so if anyone who didnt text ahead of time to get entrance would have a bad fuckimg time. Thst kind of beige mentality fucks you up and I was absolutely willing to tske this fucker's life and do prison for it cause it felt like him or me. Don't be there but if you are there and truly feel backed into a corner, there is no means whatsoever to fall short of, skipping toen is the best option but we were gonna hot shot this guy until a treaty was made. I have had to face a borderline kill or be killed situation where I had made plans to kill cause it was necessary. It sucks.
Edit: I should probably check up with a pro about this, just realized a life or death struggle is usually a therapist talk thing. When we had a meet to squash the beef I laid into the fiu who was going after us for hiring a guy to brick our window which led to my cat going missing, I wss so mad about Darby i kinda forgot we were trying to avoid axrusl murder. The other side has clearly forgotten tje grudge because murder grudges that go no where are a normal part of their life, I haven't but in this case the best revenge is living well
Running works great when A) you're faster or B) they're not interested in chasing you.
Traditional boxing gives you a good framework for striking, makes your frame strong and teaches you how to take a punch
But in a straight-up fight, you want to practice something that teaches you how to break a hold because if you don't know how, some chud who does BJJ will strangle you
I have some luck because my dad was in a street gang and taught me some real good tricks
Then my brother somehow made friends with a guy who did professional Tae Kwon Do and Jeet Kune Do and he taught me some stuff too
Best bet though is lots of cardio, get good at running, both sprinting and long-distance
If you can avoid a fight, that's gonna be a lot better for you in the long run
If you can avoid a fight, that's gonna be a lot better for you in the long run
This, it's kind of cliche that the old master tells the pupil to not fight with some analogy, but it's true, if you can get the fuck out of there without getting fucked up or followed that's win.
Add 'fights if your quick'
cardio. you need to be able to run the fuck away from shit as much as you need to be prepared to take a punch
The best martial art is the 100m sprint, the next is the 500m race, and so on. No martial art really teaches you how to handle street fighting because those are vicious and dirty, and you can't reasonably spar how to gouge out someone's eyes.
The awkward thing about martial arts is that (assuming you've already tried to de-escalate and failed, of course) you have two options. Either you accept that your opponent is going to get to do what they want to you, or you commit to using all available force to stop them. This means the most useful ways to stop a person are dubiously legal, and teaching them as part of a public martial arts school is definitely illegal. There's also the perverse incentive of schools to promote flashier styles or moves, even if they're less effective, because that means attracting new students.
All that is to say, the second most effective method of self defense is leaving that situation, and the most effective is never entering it in the first place. As usual, individual focus on training and martial arts can only do so much against fash violence, and proper resistance requires defense organized on the level of communities, not individuals.
Gun kata.
Where can I get anti-emotion drugs?
Gotta remove your emotions first though
Those drugs ain't cheap
More like $$RIs amirite?
I’ve been faced with imminent violent intent multiple times in my life, and each time I was saved by my ability to GTFO as fast as possible.
lol I actually teach violence deescalation w physical skills to inpatient psych workers and I start every class with "I don't even know any marshal arts I'm a pro at exactly 2 things: 1) running away screaming, and 2) ganging up on people, and that's what I'll be teaching you today."
Marching, baton twirling, tall hat owning
cardio and good shoes
having several friends with you
gun
striking and takedown defense
Don't forget sock full of rocks
Boxing is a common recommendation but using heavy gloves warps considerations a lot and so does the no-kicking thing. Still good for fitness and coordination, though.
BJJ is helpful because grappling is very important and so is how to fight on the ground, which many martial arts mostly neglect. Really, it's the boring answer but MMA is probably the best because it has striking, including kicking, and grappling, including on the ground. That and dedicated practical self-defense classes.
Bjj. Great practice for learning good decision making.
Way more important than that is. Learning local laws. Let's say you are in new jersey. This is a state w a legal "duty to retreat" statute.
You must prove you did everything you could to safely escape a fight and retreat or your.going to jail like it was premeditated.
See someone getting mugged? Held hostage? Run n call cops or you'll be in jail for a long ass time. Intervening is illegal. Fighting is illegal.
So in those states you only fight in your house...and theirin you use a gun while in a dependable position....not a fighting style.
As lots of people here have already suggested, work on your cardio and learn how to get the fuck out of there.
One thing that nobody has suggested so far but I've seen being said over and over again by self-defense "specialists" (for what it's worth) is to get a strong flashlight. It's legal to carry everywhere, blinds the other person without risking spraying yourself with pepper spray, can be deescalated, contrary to a gun or knife, and is, generally speaking, a very useful thing to have with you at all times anyway. I'm not an EDC guy, but I carry my Wurkkos FC11C with me at all times.
Lot of people always suggest cross training some sort of grappling art like jiu jitsu with striking, boxing, kick-boxing, etc. Bruce Lee was sort of going with this towards his arc of developing martial arts, jeet kune do. I also hear good things about muay thai. Avoid woo woo stuff which is sadly a lot of traditional chinese martial arts, wushu is neat and beautiful to see in action but it's not going to help you win a fight.
All martial arts that are practical (that is to say, built around frequent sparring rather than just theory) are pretty equal in that they teach you what it's like to fight with a resisting opponent and feel what it's like to be struck and keep doing what you're trying to do despite that. None of them are useful in the sense of showing you what you'll actually do in a life or death fight. Because like everyone else has been saying, in that situation you hit da bricks and then gouge out eyes and arteries if you're cornered.
Don't worry too much about the differences between different martial arts, just get to practicing anything and don't forget your cardio.
And if you're in the US, prioritize learning to use a rifle or shotgun for defending home turf over any hand to hand combat. That could be useful in a variety of situations in the coming years.
I'm going to break with everyone saying running, and instead say parkour (with a heavy focus on running).
I have trained a bit of Muay Thai when I was young and practiced a bit of BJJ with a friend, but I'd say without a shadow of doubt: Judo and Boxing. And I think Judo is the best for self defense.
Pretty much exactly what I was going to say. I've also trained primarily Muay Thai but also have some experience with boxing and BJJ. Much less with judo because I was already over 30 by the time I dabbled in it and you need to be young to start because an aging body can not handle the constant throws. I've also been in a lot of street fights in my impetuous youth and realized that your number 1 priority (if you can't flee the scene) is to remain upright while hopefully dropping your opponent. This is where boxing and judo shines. Stay standing and mobile with boxing footwork and if they get close grab their shirt/jacket and throw them to the floor. None of this "pulling guard" bullshit which will get you pummeled by their friends (if you survive the fall onto the concrete). And while Muay Thai is certainly a good self defense art, kicking is high risk in a street fight when you can be thrown off balance. Do not attempt unless you're really skilled. One problem with boxing is that you will break your hands if you win. The human skull is much harder than the delicate bones in our hands.
My experience of getting into a fight is:
hit from behind / momentary flashes of confusion, the ground, yellow light, kicking someone / waking up bleeding in a cab
And
"Hey do you have the time?" hit in the face while turning / confusion of faces and being kicked / flagging a cab and going home
I would say running and situational awareness. I've been mugged 3 times, none were very dangerous I just stayed calm and asked if I could keep my cards (they said yes, they're muggers not monsters). When people attack each other it is fast and extremely brutual, you can very easily be permanently maimed or die by hits to the head or falling.
Don't engage in fantasies of squaring off and wrestling, you will almost always be jumped by a group if people want to hurt you.
I honestly think sambo could potentially be that martial art, as it was designed to be practical self defense. And it’s from the USSR so it’s cool. Problem is unless you live in Eastern Europe you’re not going to be able to find a decent place to learn (and even then), and you really can’t learn it just from YouTube videos.
The answer is probably BJJ, as it’s still a very practical martial art and you can find places everywhere - even in relative smallish US cities.
A lot of these run comments are correct (always avoid a fight whenever humanly possibly) but completely impractical in a lot of ways that you live life. You're on a beach, you're surrounded or you get jumped/mugged/SA'ed, you're wearing high heels, you're barefoot in a sketchy area, etc.. Sometimes, you have to be able to defend yourself. Judo/Aikido are the best bets for plain defensive fighting, which is really what you need. If you want anything that's basically offense, start with some boxing. A real tip that I give anyone that asks is to get an anatomy book and find a skeleton with functioning joints to look at/move around. The human body is incredibly easy to manipulate if you know where to bend and press. People laugh when I tell them this like I'm making a joke, but I can show you how to dislocate an elbow joint or shoulder with very little force. Which way do you kick the knee to get it to pop? Which way to get it to buckle? All very handy knowledge when in a fight. If you're a hardcore sicko, a map of the venous system is handy in case you need to defend yourself with a sharp object and want to stop things quickly.
I have heared a good argument about boxing. That in a real life situation going in hard, eating a punch and then rocking the person is as good a plan as you can have in non-controlled setting. Bonus it is cheaper than mma usually, and you will get good at running so it checks the previous boxes.
I think the received wisdom is that with about a year's BJJ training an untrained fighter probably doesn't have a chance. Now, a person that really wants to try fighting you is not necessary Bob from accounting so it is unclear how much that actually helps in any situation. However some kind of wrestling practice is useful your entire life. I mostly use my wrestling skills to pick up and move little old ladies safely for example.
Going to take issue with everyone saying run away because it's 50/50 whether you're faster than they are, running away can be very dangerous unless they don't want to chase.
This would be my list:
- Avoid the situation before it happens. Leave before it escalates if you can.
- De-escalation.
- CCW that you actually regularly train with. Don't bother with this without the latter.
- I've heard BJJ is pretty good but from what I understand almost any martial art with a heavy emphasis on light sparring work well. Stay away from anywhere where the sparring feels like a full contact real world fight thought because you'll get CTE.
Fairbairn's system seems interesting, the idea of dirty, overwhelming offensive combos seems practical. "Defendu" aka "gutter fighting." Stepping on feet, attacking the groin, neck, eyes.
Do people do Bartitsu anymore? Because dressing like an Edwardian Dandy and throwing your hat and using a cane would at least have the element of surprise.
People DO do Bartitsu still, yes, in the HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) community. It's a small minority, though. Most of them are focused on reconstructing historical sword martial arts from surviving manuals and manuscripts.
Amusingly, the Bartitsu is probably one of the things you could learn in a HEMA club that's most practical - in addition to the cane stuff, which is useful with any stick, they combined a bunch of Japanese and European wrestling and boxing styles that were popular at the time, so it's kind of OG MMA.
After that it's the medieval wrestling, which works fine if your club actually trains it well (no ground game but that's not hugely relevant in street fights a lot of the time anyway). After that the general knowledge of how to use a weapon is useful with any improvised weapon you can get your hands on.
Still one of the least 'practical' martial arts, but as far as I'm concerned the most practical martial art is the one you'll actually do for an extended period instead of trying it awhile and then dropping it. The historical element appeals to a lot of people (like me) who have no interest in normal martial arts for their own sake. Plus culturally they tend to be a LOT better about queers and women than pretty much any other martial arts subculture, which is very relevant for a lot of us. I'm not eager to go train BJJ with chuds as a visible trans girl, but my local HEMA club has multiple trans woman instructors, and they train the wrestling material - so this is the most realistic option I'm actually going to enjoy and practice a LOT, which is what matters most at the level of normal person combat with people who might maybe be medicore boxers or BJJ guys at best.
marshal mathers is a rapper, so probably that or something related
Mad dog fist
Sprinting
parkour
Gun fu
baseball
Whatever teaches you that your training goes out the window as soon as you get kicked in the face lol. So echoing the de-escalation comments. But I’m also partial to grappling. Down = Done.
Aikido
Eskrima/Kali. Fuck grappling or punching when you can turn anything into a weapon. You know what's better than trying to pin someone down? Hitting them with a stick or slicing up their tendons with a knife.
But yes, like everyone else has been saying: having a large group of friends -> deescalation -> running away -> guns. Laws vary by region and should also inform your decisions on what to do.
I think BJJ is a great sport to get into if you're interested in self defense because unlike other martial arts e.g. karate sparring is a huge part of the instruction and it's available to you at all levels, even on your very first day. It gives you a practical understanding of grappling, which is a huge part of fighting, because it requires you to actually grapple. Of course there are many techniques in the sport that no longer work once your opponent is able to punch and kick you, but those principles of grappling still apply.
I think though that if you want to defend yourself more generally, you should learn to use and carry pepper spray or a firearm.