Alright, dont make fun. Ive never been in a fight, and I dont plan on it. But, I feel that even for my size (205 5 11) im not gonna be able to shoulder press the guy into submission. Furthermore, I like wrestling more then punching, yet I have no idea what to do once my shoulder is in in the guys chest. In any case, Whats a good website to start learning from? And advice saying get your ass into a dojo isnt what im asking for, so dont give that advice. thanks for the replies
Probably the best thing is to find a contact sport you like and fits your fighting style. I’m like you, I prefer grabbling. Check out this site if there are any gyms near you.
http://www.fightfind.com/mtree/Academies_&_Gyms/United_States/
While you probably could learn a good deal watching tapes, I think you should learn the basics at a gym. You’ll do much better when you work with others, plus they can tell you of any mistakes you are making early on.
Video’s and books are excellent tools once you have training partners and instruction.
You don’t want to hear it, but you need proper instruction, sparring/training sessions with adequate partners, and time to develop required skills.
Get your ass to a BJJ and/or boxing gym.
You can’t learn to fight by reading about it.
I know that’s not what you want to hear but who would you bet on, some guy who actually gets out and fights or some guy who read how to on the internet?
Its not that im against going to a gym, its that its 12 in the morning and Im pretty sure Im not going to a gym right now. And, I would like to learn in addition to going to the combat room they have at my university(its a padded room where you wrestle or box or whatever)
Where do you live in illinois? There’s a shit load of schools there. If you want judo, go to harper college. If you want mma, roselle has a pretty cool place. If you want boxing, go to pugs gym. Don’t go to the “combat room”. At my school, that’s where the girls have their step classes.
[quote]Hawkson101 wrote:
Whats a good website to start learning from? And advice saying get your ass into a dojo isnt what im asking for, so dont give that advice. thanks for the replies[/quote]
Sorry to completely ignore your wishes, but did you learn how to drive by watching people drive on tv? Did you learn how to ride a bike sitting on the front step watching the other kids zoom by? No you didn’t.
I have been training in martial arts since I was 10 years old. Fought full contact for about 5 years, and have been in more competitions as a competitor and a judge than I can count. Main thing I can tell you is go out, find a school that you like, and go learn.
[quote]Hawkson101 wrote:
Its not that im against going to a gym, its that its 12 in the morning and Im pretty sure Im not going to a gym right now. And, I would like to learn in addition to going to the combat room they have at my university(its a padded room where you wrestle or box or whatever)[/quote]
So what if it’s 12 in the morning? are you looking to learn to fight in the next 5 minutes?
Did someone piss you off so now you want to learn some moves off the internet to whoop their ass while you are still mad?
Doesn’t work like that my friend. You want to learn to grapple then go do wrestling or bjj or judo or some other type of grappling art.
grapple. I prefer BJJ.
Learn to strike, too. Pug’s is good from what I hear, and if you’re in the city there’s a good numbner of boxing gyms, too.
Combat-Do in Cicero is awesome, as well.
Tim Larkin is the man!
I like BJJ as well.
There are a lot of good beginner/int stuff out there on tapes. Matt Thornton of SBGI has some good things.
Renzo’s first dvd set is good for basics. Also, Sperry’s Vale Tudo 1 has some good stuff. But you really do need to train with a qualified instructor. BJJ/Judo/Sambo/Greco Roman/Freestyle/Muay Thai/Boxing
all good.
Styles with fake attackers and quick kills…usually not so good.
500…
500 street fights are what it takes to consider yourself tough.
Hawkson, you have so many options it ain’t funny.
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you will only learn by going to a school and practising with real people, the more real the better, you therefore have to pick a school that has some good instructor and good systems
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you will probably need to expose yourself to 2 fighting systems to be well rounded
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you should make rapid progress in a pretty short time, going from zero experience to some experience is a quantum leap, the rest is pretty much icing on the cake
Personally I think you should take a look at a few instructional dvds to get an idea of what a style is like, and also check out the schools in person and see what they are like too.
I personally think Bas Ruttens’ dvds are good, his style is practical, useful in the street, useful if you are a big kind of guy too.
Whatever you do, you must know how to strike hard against a bag, how to avoid being hit, how to grapple / wrestle, how to handle going on the ground and getting up again fast, how to actually face off against a person (sparring), how to break holds / deal with unexpected shite that happens e.g getting tackled / rushed out of the blue.
I doubt I covered everything.
The ideal real fighting situation goes like this:
idiot(s) attacks you often for no apparent reason, and you are drunk, tired, otherwise distracted
you INSTINCTIVELY react in a way that disarms their initial, unexpected rush at you, because you have trained repeatedly to react that way. Man, you don’t even know what the f#$k is happening at this stage
you reposition yourself in a better way, ready to handle whatever is happening next (or run if you can / want)
if you decide to attack, you do so with uttermost initiative with the intention of rapidly disabling the attacker(s). In my opinion the best thing is anything that puts them on the ground and keeps you on your feet, unless there are multiple people in which case using them as a shield is a good idea
you then escape if you can, it is good to be able to run fast. Note you can’t always because what if you are with your ladyfriend. In which case shout for police or security, which if it doesn’t get help, or frighten them off, at least looks good in a court of law
of course every situation is different. sometimes the guy might just be a drunk bugger having a go, in which case you can disarm him with a comment “man that was a good punch!” or some other charm, it really depends on the situation. people do some dumbass things when drunk.
how old are you? if your too old don’t start. if your not a fighter by now, then your probably never gonna be. just get a big gun and you’ll be fine. 
Break the wrist… then walk away.
Good recomendations so far - I’d like to encourage you to train in a martial art that is going to have benefits to your life in addition to fitness and self-defese. There are some things that you’ll use a LOT more often than fighting skills, LIKE:
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learning how to fall without hurting yourself. (Aikido has saved my life numerous times in this regard - eating asphalt at 45mph off a skateboard with no helmet and walking away with barely a scratch is a testament to the art)
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Self-discipline. (though I bet you already have this due to weight training)
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Confidence. (a prerequisite for success in this world)
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Humility. (a beneficial trait in anyone)
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Meditation. (necessary for centering yourself, and highly reccomended, and not just by Yoga wankers)
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Theraputic massage (really nice when you get a charlie horse or gank a muscle - again, Aikido has helped me here)
One more really good reason to take a martial art:
comfy gi pants.
that is all. 
And please remember, taking martial arts is a life change, not a hobby. Just like lifting weights, this will be a change in your life from now on. So view it as so. I’ve been training for over 15 years and have never regretted it for a minute, it has been one of the best experiences in my life.
When you look for a school, you’re question to yourself when you look at it is, is this a place where I feel I can succeed? Look at the black belts (or equivalent depending on the system) and the instructor. Ask yourself do I want to be like this instructor when I’m done? Ask yourself can I uphold a commitment to train X times a week until I have reached my goal.
From my experience when it comes to real combat, it is normally over in 1 - 2 hits. All reaction time, and who strikes hard, and strikes first. The UFC/MMA/K1 are all hardcore conditioned fighters in a ring. Street combat is very different. In my school we trained against knives, guns, sticks, poles, multiple attackers, in handcuffs, bound, tied up, and even similated being car-jacked, or hi-jacked in a plane, disarming say the 9-11 hijackers. Common sense is another very important part.
Good luck on your endeavor. I wish you the best. Maybe I will see you in a competition somewhere, someday.
[quote]carter12 wrote:
Get your ass to a BJJ and/or boxing gym.
You can’t learn to fight by reading about it.
I know that’s not what you want to hear but who would you bet on, some guy who actually gets out and fights or some guy who read how to on the internet?[/quote]
Exactly.
I plan on going for BJJ very soon.