TOPIC: Best Martial Art To Learn??

Hey, this board is full of smart guys. It's what I love about posting here. No bullshit. I'm looking for some information on what I should learn. Basically, I'm looking to train in some type of fighting. Mostly looking for defense. How to win a fight, defend myself and others. And get in shape.

Assume I'm a total noob whose only exposure to martial arts is the Karate Kid and MMA. I do listen to the Joe Rogan podcast who also cuts through a lot of the bullshit out there. He trains jiu jitsu and muay thai. That seems popular with MMA guys. Is that good for a real fight though? Rollling on the ground on concrete?

Learn Western Boxing, it is king in a street fight.

I used to fight multiple times a week for 11 years, and a right cross has finished a very high % of them.

But you have to train for contact, heavy sparring, getting hit etc, otherwise when a real situation happens, and the adrenalin gets dumped into your system, you will not instinctively do what needs to be done.

If you have to think about it, then chances are you will lose if the other guy is any good, (which we must always assume).

Thai is great, but UFC etc is a match fight, not a real fight, in a club or bar, you don’t often have kicking distance, even for leg kicks, plus if you are going to get physical you want to end the fight as quickly as possible, with as little energy and police evidence as possible.

So a right cross to the point of the chin ticks all of these boxes.

I love grappling and grappled at a high level for a long time, but it is not something to be doing on the street, you will get your head kicked in by the guys friends, or even random strangers.

In 11yrs I only went to the ground 3 times, and none of those were my choice, (ironically all 3 were before I started grappling, but I still won).

So grapple if you want to be well rounded, or fight MMA, but if street defence is what you want, then get in the ring and punch.

Also be aware of the huge psychological aspect of real fighting and how the chemicals the body releases affect how you feel and how you react.

When it comes on top you may freeze and want to piss yourself, this is a natural reaction, but one that has to be over come.  The anxiety you feel when going in the ring for hard sparring is the closest you can get in training.

It is very similar to the approach anxiety drills that Chris talks about, but if you fuck up then the consequences are worse than feeling like a dick.

muay thai boxing. a good elbow or knee by someone who knows how to throw them can be devastating. just please stay away from garbage like wing chung or teakwando

I totally agree with Nytol.

Get some good boxing skills and do some jitz!

I had been traning MMA for 3 months, when a douce came and knocked me down in the streets .. When I was lying on the ground, he was standing above me and raining punches down on me. I did a heelhook on him and almost broke his leg - when he went to the ground, I had the ground control - Grappling saved my ass.

Train in boxing/Muay Thai and BJJ, and learn some self defense moves and dirty tricks (eye gouging, nut shots, etc) from Krav Maga. Those are gonna be your best options.

Here's an article I wrote a couple days ago.
http://goodlookingloser.com/forums/index.php?topic=5569.0

I totally agree with Nytol.

Get some good boxing skills and do some jitz!

I had been traning MMA for 3 months, when a douce came and knocked me down in the streets .. When I was lying on the ground, he was standing above me and raining punches down on me. I did a heelhook on him and almost broke his leg - when he went to the ground, I had the ground control - Grappling saved my ass.

That is good to hear that you kept it together and came out on top.

One of the other things to be aware of, esp in a nightclub situation, is that many, (or most) guys are intoxicated with alcohol, and often coke or amphetamines.

This makes any technique which relies on pain, of little use, I have broken things on people before, and it has had no effect.  No doubt it hurt like fuck the next day, but that does not help us at the time.

Also the added CNS stimulation from coke etc, and the anaesthetic effect of alcohol can sometimes make it harder to put someone away.

You have to be accurate and get the KO, bouncing punches off of their cheeks and nose will do little, (if they are a genuinely tough guy), except leave lots of evidence for the Police to charge you with assault, I never left any of that evidence, yet still got arrested several times.

I’m hesitant to say this, as it is a legal grey area, but sometimes you can put a guy down and because of the stuff he has ingested he keeps trying to get back up, and to hurt you.

If that is the case then you have to commit to finishing him off on the floor, stamp on his head, accept that the legal system is better than the hospital system.

I’ve done many bad things to people who all deserved it and I became massively desensitised to all kinds of violence.  It fucked me up, and to a degree I’m still fucked up.

But I loved it, all of it, the physical and psychological aspects of it.

When everything came together perfectly, it was better than sex

CJU

Thai elbow is a great tool, but I only used it once, and that was when I had a broken hand, it was a devastating technique and separated the Polish Heavyweight Boxing champ from his consciousness for over 10 minutes until the ambulance and Police arrived.

The downside to it is that the range to throw it is closer than the right cross, meaning you have to wait a bit longer and sacrifice a bit more space, which if the technique does not come off perfectly could be costly on the follow, or even lead to him grabbing you and you both rolling around on the floor in broken glass.

Train in boxing/Muay Thai and BJJ, and learn some self defense moves and dirty tricks (eye gouging, nut shots, etc) from Krav Maga. Those are gonna be your best options.

Here's an article I wrote a couple days ago.
http://goodlookingloser.com/forums/index.php?topic=5569.0

That is a hell of an article!!! 

I’ll read it later in the week when I have more time.

One of the videos posted in it is called, “Real Street fights”, but these are not street fights, these are bare knuckle, no rules, match fights.

There is a big difference.

IME nut shots don’t work so well, they are hard to get when the fight is in progress as they are a very small target, which is also well protected by the thighs, trousers, underwear.

If you try and miss with a pre emptive shot then you leave yourself open and off balance.

I’m a bit tired today so forgot the most important aspect of winning a street fight, and that is to be first, be pre-emptive, if you wait to get hit, chances are you will lose and get hurt.

Be aware of the escalating situation, and put your shot in first.

This is the only bit of CCTV I have of me doing anything, (thankfully as I got taken to court over this one, but they dropped the case half way through the trial as after he was cross examined it was clear he was a fucking liar).

It looks bad, hence the arrest and court, but that is only a small bit of a much longer incident.

However, the prick, was about to hit the guy to my left, who despite being a nice bloke, was a shit Doorman, and I knew he would not do anything, so to stop him getting hit, as the prick dropped his right shoulder to throw a shot, (which if you can hear the audio he states “I’m gonna smack you in the mouth”), I came over with my own right cross.

It was not perfect and a little bit high, breaking his cheek and breaking my hand, (1st time), but it did the job.

Back in the day

Muay Thai for striking and Brazilian jiu jitsu for countering that's a killer combination right there

Thanks for the replies. There's a good boxing coach in my area who my friends have gone and trained with. For a time I thought it wasn't the best to learn how to really fight though. They also train BJJ there but I'm not sure how high of a level it is. I wouldn't mind knowing some wrestling skills.

I grew up fighting desultorily so I understand all about the adrenaline rush. When I was in my 20s I had the biggest smart ass mouth and was full of rage and hate for everyone. Unfortunately, I have no skills. I've some busted up shoulders from football in high school. I dislocated them over a hundred times so I'm worried about some of the training.

boxing and JEET KUNE DO.

boxing and wing chun.

Wing chun?! Yeah right...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czDuH0R73kg

wing chun is the worst shit

boxing and wing chun.

Wing Chun is a no go. Out of all the styles of Chinese Kung Fu, it is probably the best, but it's still not a very good martial art if you actually want to learn how to fight.