[quote]batman730 wrote:
[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
If your primary goal is self defense/street survival though, you might want to look for something that is geared specifically towards that goal. Krav Maga, Haganah, Dynamic Combat Method, Chu Fen Do, Lysak’s Sento Method, and iCAT (to name a few) are all systems designed specifically for real world self defense/worst case scenario training. You will still learn some boxing/striking, and grappling (judo, wrestling, BJJ) skills, but the focus will be on dealing with things like surprise/ambush attacks, weapons defense and deployment, and probably most importantly IMO legal and moral concerns, verbal and postural self defense tactics, and cerebral self defense strategies.
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I generally agree with this Sento. Almost all of my training these days is in the “RMA” area and I value this type of training immensely. However, it has been my experience that the people who have the easiest time becoming most effective in these types of systems have at least some kind of a decent foundation in dedicated study to a more established combat sport/art.
Sometimes I think that, given only a couple of days a week to train, trying to incorporate all the things we do in “RMA” (don’t really like that term but oh well…) while achieving a reasonable level of mechanical proficiency in actual techniques is a bit difficult at best. On the other hand, if you already know how to do something (i.e. box) at a passable level it gets easier and you are able to progress much faster. [/quote]
I’m not gonna argue that someone who has already developed a single arsenal to a high degree isn’t gonna be able to pick up other similar skill sets more easily, or even be able to devote more time to developing other arsenals. But to be honest, there is also a lot of time wasted while doing so learning skills that do not translate to real world self defense well and instead could have spent that time developing more appropriate skills like weapons deployment and defense.
I think it again comes down to who is instructing you and why you are learning what you’re learning. We regularly bring in top notch instructors in wrestling, kickboxing, boxing, BJJ, Arnis, and numerous other martial arts/combat sports because training in those systems can develop specific attributes that are useful in self defense scenarios. But the truth is that other than personal development, spending a considerable amount of time and energy on any one of these individual combat arts wouldn’t be the best use of time for someone concerned primarily with self protection training. A lot of the skills they teach also need to be altered/appropriated, or even completely discarded for real world application.
My personal opinion is that with minimal training time the best use of time would be spent on training things like dealing with ambush/surprise attacks, verbal and postural self defense skills, some very basic striking skills utilizing durable weapons (like palms, hammer fists, forearms, knees, and stomping kicks), basic takedown defense, and some basic weapons skills (use and defensive strategies) than on just boxing or grappling.