The Most Practical Martial Arts

Training Powerlifting
41

[quote]Irish Daza wrote:

When you find and instructor with passion and knowledge, who practices real sparring - not just prearranged forms - go for it! Even if it’s a style that’s supposed to be crap! How good you are depends on who taught you, otherwise we’d all learn from books and DVD’s![/quote]

The above advice is probably the best, since you are just starting out. You will be basically learning to walk again. No one has become a great fighter over night. Style isn’t going to matter as much as getting a good base, and learning to use your body. Once you have learned “how to learn”, you can start to branch out.

Another part of in getting better is CONSISTANCY! It’s also great if the instructor is close by. Having to drive for 1/2 hour or more to a class is a pain in the butt. Especially if you are trying to train 3-4 times a week. If you can find a good club that is a 10 minute walk away you are rocking.

As for sparring(note: this is from my personal experience)…
When you are just starting out (first year or two) 80-90% of sparring time should be working on technique, rather than a free-for-all brawl. This is the time to hone the moves,locks, strikes, etc. with a living, moving target. Work on trying to slip to the side, getting behind your opponent, block counter, practice control moves, etc.

This means you will be losing most of your sparring matches because you are trying to learn something new. Sparring in the club is a relatively safe place to lose, unlike in the street!

Ultimately, winning a fight is all about the odds…

Training more increases the odds of winning.
Having more strength/power increases the odds of winning.
Training in a more practical style increases the odds of winning.
Having diversied MA background increases the odds of winning.
Etc, Etc.

But no matter how good you get, there will still be some 90lb girl somewhere who could kick the living crap out of you because she is just naturally that f&^ing tough.

Cheers,
BigUrukhai

42

[quote]john-lennon wrote:
go ahead and learn your ground fighting if you want to, just dont expect to get much chance to use it in the real world [/quote]

I’m already learning. You’re right, bringing somebody to the ground in a fight is impossible but knocking three guys using muay thai is.

43

lol, go ahead and try to defend yourself with your take downs against multipul opponents in a real life fight, you wont make it out alive. if you think any differently look up some more information about your chosen art and see exactly how many of them have ever faced more than one opponent EVER

44

I agree with the guy who said boxing. There is good instruction available almost anywhere. It is pretty simple, and you get to use the skills under hard conditions(sparring). I think boxing builds toughness.

Judo is good also. Learn some ground control, some submissions, and learn to smash somebody into the ground, and can be picked up quickly. Judo used to be and elective in many schools in Japan.

I like Muay Thai, but their hands are not very good. Even the pros, sparring with those guys it is easy to go to the body, and come straight down the middle. And even if you become proficient, there is a degree of conditioning(shins) needed to throw really hard kicks, which I do not think for the normal person is realistic.
The K-1 guys, most of them box, so it isn’t pure Muay Thai.

If you can get a mma school that teaches everything in combination that would be the best I guess.

45

You are getting a whole world of suggestions on styles. Given this inevitability, I’ll throw out some generic advice that will hopefully help.

Don’t (necessarily) pick a style first. Pick an instructor/school by observing/trying a few classes. Given your self defense interests look for classes that use focus mits, pads, kicking shields, heavy bags and sparring/rolling as a significant part of the training. Katas/forms are fine if they are linked to application and action. You can find good instructors in ‘weak’ styles that will benefit you more than a lousy instructor in a ‘great’ style. Find a place that seems to meet your objective and you like.

Another consideration: convenience of times and location of the gym. The easier it is for you to get there consistently, the more likely you will go train every week. That repetition is why you will develop skills.

Unless you are going to hit a MMA gym or one that offers several styles, it will be difficult to find a top notch striking AND ground game in the same place/style. MMA places tend to have a competition mind set as opposed to defensive.

Have your BS detector switched ON. Too much mysticism or ‘lethal’ techniques should be a major warning sign.

Styles that tend to show up consistently to answer questions like yours have been:

Striking: Boxing, Muay Thai, JKD (can have a bit of everything)

Grappling: BJJ, Judo/Sambo, CSW (Erik Paulson?s blend)

Combatives: Krav Maga, Systema, RMA

Filipino/Indonesian MA: Silat, Kali/Escrima/Arnis

Remember a ‘sport’ style (i.e. boxing or BJJ) will need to be adapted to a defensive mindset.

46

[quote]Skrom wrote:
Sentoguy wrote:
Hi Skroom,

Well, that depends on who you learn kickboxing from. I learned it from 2 of Joe Lewis’s black belts (and Joe himself). Lewis has trained with Angelo Dundee, Mohammed Ali, and Sugar Ray Robinson to name a few. He teaches as good of a punching/boxing structure as anyone out there. He also teaches exellent kicking technique. So, the striking instruction in Sento is world class.

That’s great, but also completely irrelevant. I suggested boxing because quality instruction is easier to find, and most kickboxing/Muay Thai schools can’t be counted on to teach good hand skills. If he had the option of training with some of the best kickboxing/Muay Thai guys in the world, my advice would obviously be different.

I don’t really care if the striking instruction in Sento is world class, and I doubt he does either unless he has the option of training there.[/quote]

Skrom,

Why the negativity? My point was simply that he should not immediately assume that a Kickboxing school isn’t going to teach good hand skills. I never said that a boxing gym wouldn’t teach good hand skills either. But, there are few boxing coaches out there who know more about boxing technique than Lewis, or his black belts for that matter.

If the poster has the opportunity to train at a school that is run by one of Lewis’s black belts, Lewis himself, or another champion kickboxer for that matter (I’ve also trained with Tom Campbell who is also an exellent striking technician) then he should go for it. If there are no such schools that he can attend, then I agree that a boxing school would be a good choice.

Also, why the negative remark concerning the quality of striking instruction in Sento? And why do you automatically assume that he wouldn’t be able to train in Sento? I was simply stating that the system has world class striking instruction as part of the curriculum. The original post was asking about practical martial arts, so I think that my comment had relevance.

Good training,

Sentoguy

47

[quote]john-lennon wrote:
lol, go ahead and try to defend yourself with your take downs against multipul opponents in a real life fight, you wont make it out alive. if you think any differently look up some more information about your chosen art and see exactly how many of them have ever faced more than one opponent EVER[/quote]

Okay, so then we agree, going to the ground in a ground fight is not a good strategy. But, who do you think has a better chance of staying on their feet? The guy who is constantly defending against guys who are performing technically superior takedowns? Or the guy who spends all of his time on his feet striking and evading blows? My money would be on the first guy.

Now, where do you think you are likely to find the first guy? In a school that teaches grappling? Or in a school that teaches a striking art, like boxing? The obvious answer is once again the grappling school.

Once again I agree that training in a system that only teaches ground fighting is not the ideal choice. Training in a system where you train in every combative range is the best choice. But honestly, I’d have to say that the pure ground fighter is more likely to be able to stay on their feet than the pure striker.

Good training,

Sentoguy

48

if you’re fighting more then one guy it doesn’t matter what martial art you take. you have to take your opponents out quick regardless.

which means knocking them the fuck out, soccer kicking them in the nuts really hard, throwing them to the ground and stopping their face in, and then RUNNING.

49

[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
Skrom wrote:
Sentoguy wrote:
Hi Skroom,

Well, that depends on who you learn kickboxing from. I learned it from 2 of Joe Lewis’s black belts (and Joe himself). Lewis has trained with Angelo Dundee, Mohammed Ali, and Sugar Ray Robinson to name a few. He teaches as good of a punching/boxing structure as anyone out there. He also teaches exellent kicking technique. So, the striking instruction in Sento is world class.

That’s great, but also completely irrelevant. I suggested boxing because quality instruction is easier to find, and most kickboxing/Muay Thai schools can’t be counted on to teach good hand skills. If he had the option of training with some of the best kickboxing/Muay Thai guys in the world, my advice would obviously be different.

I don’t really care if the striking instruction in Sento is world class, and I doubt he does either unless he has the option of training there.

Skrom,

Why the negativity? My point was simply that he should not immediately assume that a Kickboxing school isn’t going to teach good hand skills. I never said that a boxing gym wouldn’t teach good hand skills either. But, there are few boxing coaches out there who know more about boxing technique than Lewis, or his black belts for that matter.

If the poster has the opportunity to train at a school that is run by one of Lewis’s black belts, Lewis himself, or another champion kickboxer for that matter (I’ve also trained with Tom Campbell who is also an exellent striking technician) then he should go for it. If there are no such schools that he can attend, then I agree that a boxing school would be a good choice.

Also, why the negative remark concerning the quality of striking instruction in Sento? And why do you automatically assume that he wouldn’t be able to train in Sento? I was simply stating that the system has world class striking instruction as part of the curriculum. The original post was asking about practical martial arts, so I think that my comment had relevance.

Good training,

Sentoguy[/quote]

I never said anything negative about your training, I just said that it was irrelevant because chances are, he’s not going to be able to train there. There’s no point in recommending specific schools to him; you don’t know where he lives, and the chances of you recommending a place that’s actually near him are slim.

I never said that there are no kickboxing schools which teach good hand skills, I just said that your average boxing gym would be a better bet for that, and that is true. The top kickboxing gyms in the world probably do teach good hand skills, but again, that’s completely irrelevant. Recommending a specific place to train is not going to help as much as talking about the quality of certain types of schools in general.

I came off sounding negative because it looked to me like you were more interested in promoting your school than helping this guy find a good gym. I probably should have been more polite about it.

50

Hi Skrom,

Well, no hard feelings of course.

Yes, to a certain extent I am trying to pursuade him to train in Sento. Not because I have anything to gain by his training under Shihan Lysak, but because it is an exellent system and I would like to see the original poster learn a system that works. I am not by the way suggesting that other systems don’t work.

I can see your point about the problems with suggesting specific schools. But in my defense, you also don’t know that he couldn’t train at the school I suggested. In truth neither or us know where he lives. So, on the rare chance that he actually could train under Shihan Lysak I suggested that he check out the school. If he can’t, then ok. That’s why I tried to outline what a good system teaches in my first post.

And I agree with you that boxing gyms would be a good bet for a system that is readily available and generally of a decent caliber of instruction. But once again neither you nor I know how serious the original poster was about pursuing martial arts. I know people who were willing to travel all over the other country (and a few that were willing to even travel abroad) to seek out the best instruction in the world. For all we know this guy could be one of those individuals.

So, if this guy were really serious about learning to strike then he would be much better off to go and train with Joe Lewis (or one of his black belts)than to train with some Joe Shmoe local boxing coach. Just like if he were really serious about learning how to grapple, he would be much better off to go and train with Shihan Lysak, Rickson Gracie, or some other elite level grappling instructor than to train at his local wrestling club.

Good training,

Sentoguy

51

I still don’t see why you would feel the need to recommend a specific place when the chances of him actually being able to go there regularly are next to none, but whatever. This argument is pointless.

To sum it all up: if you happen to live near a world-class gym of any kind…train there.

52

Brutally true!

53

[quote]Kozz wrote:
if you’re fighting more then one guy it doesn’t matter what martial art you take. you have to take your opponents out quick regardless.

which means knocking them the fuck out, soccer kicking them in the nuts really hard, throwing them to the ground and stopping their face in, and then RUNNING.
[/quote]

Brutally true. (sorry I messed up the 1st time)

54

I am repeating some off what others have said, but I would suggest a MA system for street fight that teaches:
Boxing
Elbow and Knee Strikes
Stand-up grappling and some groundwork. “Live” training is essential for becoming an effective grappler in street situations.
Suggestions:
Boxing
Free Style or Roman Greco Wrestling
Muay Thai
Judo
Krav Maga

55

I posted that somewhere already, but do it again.

Do a search on Russian Sambo! it eats Krav Maga’ers for breakfast
:slight_smile:

56

why are you interested in the martial arts is it the philosophy, self defence or fighting? I mean theres really no right or wrong here. but dont be one of those fat ass military wannabes with camo pants on, who wants to learn knife fighting because their own physical athleticism is shit. I’ve seen those guys sad. “My opinion” try out judo, brazilian jiu jutsu, boxing, muay thai, or submission wrestling. those that i’ve just covered are considered combat sports which closely resemble street fighting. but if you want something for health benefits try tai chi or some internal styles.

57

but really all martial arts are beneficial for your health

58

[quote]FairDo wrote:
I posted that somewhere already, but do it again.

Do a search on Russian Sambo! it eats Krav Maga’ers for breakfast
:-)[/quote]

I read your post on KM. What is your beef with KM. KM is not a sport it is self defense. Bas Rutten has trained in KM along with other MA. KM is not about being a bad ass. I get annoyed when people bash MA and argue about which MA is superior to others.

There are some MA that are not effective for street fighting, such as point sparring kicking sports. Are you being sarcastic or serious? How effective an MA is is also dependant on the individual martial artist. Also, not all instructors are created equal. I know some point sparrers how can kick ass too.