Self-Defense
I wrote this in response to a comment, but it's a pretty massive reply, and an important topic, so it gets its own post. I hope nobody thinks I'm some kind of expert on this kind of stuff.
Anyway, here it is, nearly quoted from the reply.
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The art for you for self-defense is any art that fits you. The reason for this is that even the perfect art, if you don't like it, won't help you because you will quit studying if it's no fun. Most dojo will let you try for a month, and often for free. I would recommend trying any art for about two months before you try to make a decision on it.
Now, that said, there are some fairly simple things to keep in mind when choosing a martial art for self-defense.
Basic way: The question here is "Hard or soft?"
Hard styles use a lot of striking attacks - punches, kicks, elbow strikes, and soforth. Examples: karatedo, tae kwon do.
Soft styles emphasize blending with the enemy and utilizing their weight and power against them. Examples are judo, aikido, jujutsu,
In my opinion, soft styles take much more training to become equally proficient in when compared to hard styles.
Your body: Judo is theoretically all about using your opponent's weight against him and blah, blah, blah.
If it were really that simple, there wouldn't be ten weight divisions in competitions and I wouldn't be able to keep up with my dojo's captain when we're doing ground techniques. So if you've got a small frame, judo is probably not the best option. That said, I feel everyone should have some practice with groundfighting, as something like 80% of fights go to the ground eventually.
Hell, you never know when groundfighting practice could come in handy. "Passing the guard" could be convenient of your partner isn't particularly flexible or your bed is a little small... Am I still talking about martial arts?
As a beginner, your weight and physical stature have a great effect on what you can do. As you progress, they begin to matter less and less, and I'd point at Keri Erikson as a perfect example of this, deadly little fighting machine with massive glasses that she is.
Focus: Some dojo train their students for competitions, some train just for self-defense, and some do a little of both. You can usually identify real-life self-defense stuff by how strange it is. That is to say that anything that's likely going to be useful in a real self defense situation will likely be a little silly or embarassing the first time you do it.
Convenience: As silly as this sounds, it's a pretty big factor. The most important thing about a martial art is simply that you enjoy practicing it, and that you will keep practicing for at least a few years.
As an example, if you have to travel an hour to get to your dojo, you're more likely to make excuses to yourself to skip classes.
To some up: convenience of study, your body type, dojo goals, and preferred way of doing things are all important things to keep in mind when choosing a dojo and a style.
To get to the point, already: Ignoring everything above, my personal recommendations for fighting arts to learn for the purpose of self-defense are, again, hapkido (semi-AKA "combat aikido"), many of the popular arts (tae kwon do, karatedo, kung fu, etc), and - actually, this would be my preference, though I've never practiced any - pretty much any Philipino martial art (ex: escrima and silat).
Now, you might be able to avoid this altogether and simply take a self-defense class. Any decent-sized city will have women's self defense classes being taught in them, probably once a month. The most important part is that you do whatever it is a lot, as the effectiveness of any technique comes from its execution.
Important: Even if you don't study a martial art or anything, please bear in mind that the statistics show that in the event of attempted rape (and probably kidnapping, too), people who resist violently are the least likely to become victims.
The important part is to make yourself be more work than it's worth; kick, scratch, claw, slap, scream - it doesn't matter, as long you're physically and verbally resisting, you're much more likely to come out both alive and unraped.
Anyway, here it is, nearly quoted from the reply.
------------------------------------------
The art for you for self-defense is any art that fits you. The reason for this is that even the perfect art, if you don't like it, won't help you because you will quit studying if it's no fun. Most dojo will let you try for a month, and often for free. I would recommend trying any art for about two months before you try to make a decision on it.
Now, that said, there are some fairly simple things to keep in mind when choosing a martial art for self-defense.
Basic way: The question here is "Hard or soft?"
Hard styles use a lot of striking attacks - punches, kicks, elbow strikes, and soforth. Examples: karatedo, tae kwon do.
Soft styles emphasize blending with the enemy and utilizing their weight and power against them. Examples are judo, aikido, jujutsu,
In my opinion, soft styles take much more training to become equally proficient in when compared to hard styles.
Your body: Judo is theoretically all about using your opponent's weight against him and blah, blah, blah.
If it were really that simple, there wouldn't be ten weight divisions in competitions and I wouldn't be able to keep up with my dojo's captain when we're doing ground techniques. So if you've got a small frame, judo is probably not the best option. That said, I feel everyone should have some practice with groundfighting, as something like 80% of fights go to the ground eventually.
Hell, you never know when groundfighting practice could come in handy. "Passing the guard" could be convenient of your partner isn't particularly flexible or your bed is a little small... Am I still talking about martial arts?
As a beginner, your weight and physical stature have a great effect on what you can do. As you progress, they begin to matter less and less, and I'd point at Keri Erikson as a perfect example of this, deadly little fighting machine with massive glasses that she is.
Focus: Some dojo train their students for competitions, some train just for self-defense, and some do a little of both. You can usually identify real-life self-defense stuff by how strange it is. That is to say that anything that's likely going to be useful in a real self defense situation will likely be a little silly or embarassing the first time you do it.
Convenience: As silly as this sounds, it's a pretty big factor. The most important thing about a martial art is simply that you enjoy practicing it, and that you will keep practicing for at least a few years.
As an example, if you have to travel an hour to get to your dojo, you're more likely to make excuses to yourself to skip classes.
To some up: convenience of study, your body type, dojo goals, and preferred way of doing things are all important things to keep in mind when choosing a dojo and a style.
To get to the point, already: Ignoring everything above, my personal recommendations for fighting arts to learn for the purpose of self-defense are, again, hapkido (semi-AKA "combat aikido"), many of the popular arts (tae kwon do, karatedo, kung fu, etc), and - actually, this would be my preference, though I've never practiced any - pretty much any Philipino martial art (ex: escrima and silat).
Now, you might be able to avoid this altogether and simply take a self-defense class. Any decent-sized city will have women's self defense classes being taught in them, probably once a month. The most important part is that you do whatever it is a lot, as the effectiveness of any technique comes from its execution.
Important: Even if you don't study a martial art or anything, please bear in mind that the statistics show that in the event of attempted rape (and probably kidnapping, too), people who resist violently are the least likely to become victims.
The important part is to make yourself be more work than it's worth; kick, scratch, claw, slap, scream - it doesn't matter, as long you're physically and verbally resisting, you're much more likely to come out both alive and unraped.
Labels: martial arts
posted by William at
7/10/2008 07:31:00 AM
10 Comments:
Great information! Thank you!
It's my pillowy-soft tummy, isn't it?
Tazers work well for combative victums
As the name suggests, the martial art is the art of war (from the Latin martiále – Roman God of War) but what makes a good warrior isn't just his ability to kick and to punch! You can get so much more from a martial art other than just self defense, such as: great improvement of your concentration, discipline and your body and spirit connection, not to mention a healthy way of doing some exercise…
Besides if you want to use it for self defense you should also consider that a close body martial art, for example Karate(空手) that literally means empty handed can do for you very little if you're up against an opponent with a weapon, let along say a gun, when you cannot even get in range of a punch or kick.
In my opinion resisting might or might not be an advantage to you, for example if you are in public place and you can bring attention to yourself you should resist but in an isolated place screaming, biting, or whatever way of resisting might not really help because the aggressor has all the time in the world, and some of them might actually enjoy it when they come across resisting women (dominating feeling).
In my believe the best you can do if you find yourself in such situation is resist if you are in a place that someone can actually come and help you out, and/or deceive your opponent by giving him a false sense of trust and when you find your opportunity, strike him with everything you've got and run for it!!!
Other than that, it really helps if know how to give o good punch or kick without hurting yourself in the process!! Practicing a close body martial art can greatly help you achieve that, which one? Is entirely up to you, try several, enquiry about their fighting philosophies and body movements. Choose the one you feel comfortable in. Personally I have tried 4 types: Brazilian Capoeira and Kyuudo out of curiosity, Karate out of convenience and aikido out of going with friend. From the ones I tried my favorite is still Karate.
I'm merely pointing out that the statistics show that women who resist are less likely to end up getting raped. That's facts, not my opinion.
In response to the Anonymous comment about Tazers:
Tazers and other electricity-based stunning weapons are all well and good, but they suffer from a major problem. Most people who carry a Tazer will carry it somewhere it can't be gotten to easily.
Purses are a great example of this, as are pockets. A Tazer only helps you if it's in your hands when you are attacked. There are some situations where you might manage to make use of it afterwards, but keep in mind that you're likely to have less than ten seconds to get it out of where you have it, turn it on, and prepare yourself to use it.
This is no fault of Tazers themselves, as people who carry guns off-body have the same problems. You simply need to recognize that if you're going to count on a weapon to defend yourself, that weapon needs to be attached to you.
Not in your purse across the room.
Not in your pocket where you can't get to it because you're sitting down.
Not in the hands of the criminal because you were screwing around with it or threatening him with it.
Which brings up another good point. Statistics show that weapons used in self-defense are best used without a lot of brandishing. 'I have a gun!' may be required in some places, but most nonlethal weapons don't have this requirement.
Tazers* have very short range, and simply picking up something to knock it out of your hands with nullifies your ability to defend yourself, and they get a free toy to play with.
*Tazer is actually a company that makes a variety of weapons, some of which are ranged weapons that work out to about ten meters. The generic terms for the ones most of you are probably thinking of are eletric stunner or, more popularly, stun gun.
Saying "I have a Tazer" is roughly as specific as saying "I have a Boeing" - both a brands that make lots of stuff, some of which is pretty lethal, some of which not so much.
Boeing would win, though.
Couple of things...I don't plan on carrying a stun gun, but for the sake of the conversation, does one need a carry permit to have one concealed?
Also, one more unorthodox way that I have heard of people getting out of these situations from a couple of different self-defense mini-classes is to make yourself unappealing to the victim in another way. Often, resisting is a good way to become unappealing to the perpetrator. Another way suggested if that doesn't seem appropriate for the circumstances (such as resisting isn't working or ...?) is that you start doing something extremely bizarre like clucking loudly like a chicken. I don't know that I recommend this as my first choice, but apparently, according to the policeman presenting these sessions this has worked in some cases as that is definitely NOT the response the perp is looking for in any way whatsoever. I guess best to be armed with all kinds of ideas, even if they are your secondary choices, but for the most part resisting violently right from the beginning is generally a good policy and makes you not worth the time.
I was hoping someone would answer about the stun gun and the carry permit. I didn't mean I was just asking to promote conversation, but that I really wanted to know, just not planning to get one and carry it any time soon.
Personally, I would say not to bother with a Taser or similar electric stunning device. Their range is very short, at best under twenty feet, and there is more or less no way to practice with them. Get a good sidearm, and spend a lot of time on the range if you want to have a fighting chance of sending them running off to mommy. Or the morgue, depending on how your aim is.
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