Martial Arts, Combat Sports, Self-Defense Systems - What Do You Practice?

[Timmy C]

Any reason why specifically BJJ and not another form of grappling?

I do some wrestling also, but wrestling is much harder on your body as you age so I don't do it near as often, maybe once a week at most. Wrestling, Judo, and BJJ are all basically the same thing anyway, they just emphasis and focus on different parts of the grappling game.

BJJ focuses on the ground grappling more.
Judo focuses on the standing aspect more, So a judo guy will most likely throw the BJJ guy to the mat, they have a higher chance, but once it hits the ground the BJJ guy will rape them as Judo players don't do much of the ground game aspect.

If you do Wrestling multiple times a week for years and years, your body will break down hard.

And judo, I just find it much less effective than BJJ and Wresling so it doesn't appeal to me as much.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MTF]

BOXING.

In a real life self-defense scenario, obviously you'll want to evade or avoid situations that put you in there in the first place, like not hanging around bad places or bad people. But if it gets down to it, I really think that boxing is the the best. With martial arts like BJJ, most likely you will end up in the ground, and you don't want to end up in the ground do to the possibility of multiple-attackers, then they'll be stomping the crap out of you. You really want distance and boxing is great at that.

This assumes that you aren't attacked by someone from behind who tackles you before you know it. Distance is of course super important but the assumption that you don't want to end up on the ground is dangerous as many fights do end up on the ground anyway.

I practice Aikido, but not so much for the self defense side of things. More for the discipline, physical fitness (I also go to the gym for that) and the spiritual side of things. Although people think Aikido is useless in a fight, you can really control the opponent in a way so they wont be able to attack again. It's used by many police departments all around the world to incapacitate and arrest people that resist or attack them.

I really like it because it's highly technical, gives you awesome reflexes and controls your opponent without really hurting them, all the while being graceful and looking cool doing it.

There's this guy on YouTube who trained aikido for 15 years and was even an aikido sensei and ultimately realized that aikido is ineffective:

https://www.youtube.com/c/MartialArtsJourney/featured

If you do Wrestling multiple times a week for years and years, your body will break down hard.

Why's that? Because of the throws?

I attended fight gym lessons before but honestly it is too physically demanding. I feel like throwing up halfway.

Lol isn't that the point?

I mean, they shouldn't completely destroy a newbie but these workouts do need to be quite demanding because a real fight will be just as bad or worse.

 

[ryanbleau]

Kick boxing, and wrestling. Did the club circuit for a couple years in my twenty's. Some MMA. Was a bouncer for over a decade and did private security for a couple years. Hard to find people my size to practice with. I fought at 250lbs, that weight class was very slim back then.
Spent some time training with Gabriel Gonzaga up in Ludlow Ma. I was going to try to go pro but life had other plans.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[BaiAnrui]

great topic.

I have been practicing martial arts for many years. I started with (traditional) Jiu-Jitsu, especially the karate part was super. Had less with the throws and groundwork. Still, I did it for a lot of years and got my first dan (black belt) . While training for my second dan I got a serious injury. Then I said goodbye to Jiu-Jitsu

Later I did Hapkido (self-defense system from Tae-Kwondo) for a while, also a nice style.

But now I've lost my heart to Thai-Boxing. Train at least 3 times a week and have never been in such a good condition as now (I am 47 years ). I spar in a calm way, I notice that I am more sensitive to injury now, so I have to take it easy. But i really train to improve my technique, that's my goal.

OSU

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[BaiAnrui]

That's a lot of experience with martial arts.

So because of the injury you can only do striking now or can you still practice grappling?

I tore my Achilles tendon, and then I found out that I had lost interest in Jiu-Jitsu. My drive was no longer there.
But because martial arts for me is more than just training (also really clears my head and gives me purpose). So I did continue with martial arts, and boxing and kicking suits me best.

Here is a picture of me from 3 years ago, handing over my book to my trainer. Trainers/senseis have always been great mentors to me.

 

[MTF]

Yesterday I published an article with my notes from Rickson Gracie's autobiography. He's one of the best fighters in history and a BJJ icon. In case anyone's interested, here it is:

#14: Becoming an Iconic Champion. Lessons From Rickson Gracie’s Autobiography "Breathe"

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is one of the most popular martial arts of modern times. It was developed in the 1920s by Brazilian brothers Carlos, Oswaldo, Gastão Jr., George, and Hélio Gracie. In 1958, Hélio Gracie fathered Rickson. Rickson went on to become the greatest BJJ practitioner of all...

www.discomfortclub.com

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Kak]

Ruger LCP II .380

You need the max bro! You’ll love it.

Since summer is hot here and pocket carry is a pain, I have been carrying a sling pack from Viktos. It works great with the Kiddo around because he needs stuff lol. The best feature though is that it can carry a full frame 10mm Glock and two spare mags. It also carries a full sized Leatherman surge that has a really nice one handed blade as well.

I normally have that on me these days. I realize that sounds like a lot, but you get super used to being extremely well armed once you implement it.

The vast majority of my training and practice has been with firearms. I’m highly proficient with all of mine. I also train in general with the heavy bag. I find various heavy bag workouts on YouTube and just do them.

A knife is not really part of my defensive plan, but I generally will check a bag when I fly and bring that Leatherman. It’s better than nothing and I find that I use at least one of its other features daily.

I have a toddler and a wife to consider. I’m not going to be able to run very fast with my primary objective to make them safe. A gun helps me better take care of my family than running away. I can defend against a threat while escaping at whatever pace we end up escaping at.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MTF]

Self defense drills... here's a scenario. You hire a company, and some time in the next 2 years, they tear gas your house and shoot everyone who runs out with paintball guns. Or they ambush you in the work parking lot, also with non-lethal but very stressful force. Sounds unpleasant, but maybe it's the only way to know for sure how prepared you are . Personal red-team as a service?

Sounds interesting. From a practical point of view, extremely hard to pull off. People would get killed and/or injured by mistake.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MTF]

Very interested in the topic, I'll be following !

I originally started out doing BJJ. It was my first experience with martial arts and Jocko suggested in his book that it was great as a first pick. It indeed was. I love how cerebral it is too, so interesting. A few months ago, I added krav maga (my instructor is a very good boxer) and we do a bit of MMA as well. I think it's a great combination. Actually, any sort of grappling (could be wrestling...) + any sort of striking (could be muay thai, french boxing...) + krav maga sounds like a great combination to me.

With grappling you're able to take your opponent to the ground, where he is much less dangerous, especially once you pass his guard (= his legs) and neutralize him. Striking looks like a natural addition. Grappling + striking basically = MMA. And krav maga brings the vice that comes with what can happen in the street (nuts kicking, eye gouging, weapons...), so it's a great bridge from a sport with rules to real life where there is none.

Of course, whatever your skills, if possible run away first.

Sounds like you're doing something very similar to me.

I considered BJJ as well but my MMA coach told me he can teach me grappling as his background is more in ground fighting than stand-up fighting.

One more thing that could be useful in the future would be to add some weapons training. My krav maga coach trains some kind of a discipline with bamboo sticks. I want to learn how to shoot and later possibly do some additional (serious) seminars for self-defense against common weapons.

 

[MTF]

Aside from giving some of the best mixture of striking and grappling the conditioning you get from doing it consistently is phenomenal. And when you're fighting, it doesn't matter if you know every single technique ever taught. If you're gassed you can't do shit.

For sure. And most people vastly overestimate how much they would be able to last in a fight. Sometimes 20 seconds of a simple drill can render your arm useless lol.

I did Muay Thai for a few years. I thought about doing a few different ones such as Krav Maga and good ol' fashioned boxing. I settled on Muay Thai as Mike Miles is a Canadian champion and has trained several students who went on to dominate in the sport, and he had a gym in my city. I absolutely loved it! One of the guys who used to instruct, and who moved on to MMA is in the UFC now. Hakeem Dawodu. I used to go to most of his local fights when he was doing Muay Thai, they were epic. Spinning elbow knockouts are unreal to watch.

Yeah I heard good things about muay thai as well. My friend started doing it some time ago (he started with BJJ and wanted to learn some stand-up fighting).

Filipino Martial Arts, Arnis, Escrima, Kali whatever you may call it. It is the one with the sticks.

I wanted to try some martial arts for a long time, but initially I was too scared. Then I learned about stick fighting and FMA. My thinking was, at least you've got some distance between yourself and your opponent and a stick. So I booked a training and stuck with it.

That's probably what my krav maga coach is training. I didn't remember the name but I saw the stick and it was very similar to what I saw when I googled the name.

 

[MetalGear]

Muay Thai, BJJ, Wrestling, Judo, so basically MMA.

Would get some Arnis/Kali in there too for weapons training but don't have the time and finding a good teacher/logistics tricky.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[hobbsie]

What martial arts, combat sports or self-defense systems do you practice and why?

As a teenager I practiced karate kyokushin for several years. In hindsight, it was bullshit from the perspective of self-defense but well...

A couple of years ago I practiced krav maga one-on-one with a coach. I was attracted to this self-defense system because of its focus on fast, brutal, effective self-defense. I later stopped when my coach stopped being available. I recently restarted it though I practice it rarely as my coach is too busy with his day job and other stuff.

I like krav maga as it mostly focuses on strengthening your instincts instead of using sophisticated techniques. It always assumes at least two attackers and teaches you how to protect yourself against various weapons like bats, bottles, knives and guns (though this is clearly ONLY if you can't run away at all). We worked through different scenarios including fighting in toilets, against a wall, in a crowd, etc.

What I don't like in krav maga is that it doesn't focus that much on proper stand-up fighting, let alone ground fighting. The assumption is that you defend yourself in 10 seconds (the standard MO is a nut kick and attacking the eyes or other sensitive spots) and run away. But things aren't always that simple.

For that reason, an since my krav maga coach isn't that available anymore, I decided to take up MMA (mixed martial arts).

My MMA coach is an ex-pro and makes a living teaching people how to fight, including competitive fighters. I started a couple of weeks ago and I've already improved my technique a lot.

Since it combines all different combat sports, I think it's one of the best options from the self-defense point of view (the best self-defense option is training sprints LOL). For the time being I'm still working on stand-up fighting but soon we'll also start learning how to grapple.

From the health/fitness point of view it's a great mix of conditioning, strength, power, coordination, mobility, etc. Your entire body gets a solid workout.

From the mental perspective it's also excellent as (safe) sparring is essential in this sport. It teaches you to trust your guard and stay in control as you get hit.

So, to repeat the question:

What martial arts, combat sports or self-defense systems do you practice and why?

Never took lessons but grew up in a family of brothers and went to a catholic boys school... so scuffling and brawling was a daily experience. Looking back it seems it might have been part of the curiculum.

It just seemed normal at the time but it definitely stands to you as you get older.

 

[fridge]

I wrestled for a few years in high school and do kickboxing and jiu-jitsu right now. For self defense I own a handgun which I practice with regularly. Looking into a rifle right now for home defense but I live in a relatively safe area so it's not a pressing concern. Overall I know enough to keep me and my S/O safe, so that's all that matters.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MTF]

This guy knows what he's talking about. I see his school is in Mexico City...might have to go check it out!

That's cool. Let us know if you decide to check him out.

I moved onto MMA after that at a popular local gym. My boss at work at the time was one of the coaches. We trained 6 days a week twice a day. Now that I look back on it no wonder I got injured lol.

Damn that's serious intensity. What was the injury and how long did it take to recover from it?

I practice Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for several reasons:

1. As far as cardiovascular fitness goes, other forms of cardio are extremely boring and I can't be consistent with it. BJJ is very cardio intensive, you have to use your brain, and it is one of the funnest things to ever do, without getting punched in the head and causing brain damage. If you train smart you can do it right past your 60s.

2. It's one of the most effective forms of Martial Arts for self defense.

Any reason why specifically BJJ and not another form of grappling?

 

[MTF]

I also like that he suggested going to a boxing gym. Ha… I tried going to one years ago but they said I was too old for their gym.

That's so stupid. I guess you wouldn't want to go to such a gym anyway.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Kevin88660]

What martial arts, combat sports or self-defense systems do you practice and why?

As a teenager I practiced karate kyokushin for several years. In hindsight, it was bullshit from the perspective of self-defense but well...

A couple of years ago I practiced krav maga one-on-one with a coach. I was attracted to this self-defense system because of its focus on fast, brutal, effective self-defense. I later stopped when my coach stopped being available. I recently restarted it though I practice it rarely as my coach is too busy with his day job and other stuff.

I like krav maga as it mostly focuses on strengthening your instincts instead of using sophisticated techniques. It always assumes at least two attackers and teaches you how to protect yourself against various weapons like bats, bottles, knives and guns (though this is clearly ONLY if you can't run away at all). We worked through different scenarios including fighting in toilets, against a wall, in a crowd, etc.

What I don't like in krav maga is that it doesn't focus that much on proper stand-up fighting, let alone ground fighting. The assumption is that you defend yourself in 10 seconds (the standard MO is a nut kick and attacking the eyes or other sensitive spots) and run away. But things aren't always that simple.

For that reason, an since my krav maga coach isn't that available anymore, I decided to take up MMA (mixed martial arts).

My MMA coach is an ex-pro and makes a living teaching people how to fight, including competitive fighters. I started a couple of weeks ago and I've already improved my technique a lot.

Since it combines all different combat sports, I think it's one of the best options from the self-defense point of view (the best self-defense option is training sprints LOL). For the time being I'm still working on stand-up fighting but soon we'll also start learning how to grapple.

From the health/fitness point of view it's a great mix of conditioning, strength, power, coordination, mobility, etc. Your entire body gets a solid workout.

From the mental perspective it's also excellent as (safe) sparring is essential in this sport. It teaches you to trust your guard and stay in control as you get hit.

So, to repeat the question:

What martial arts, combat sports or self-defense systems do you practice and why?

Muay Thai because 10 years ago Buakaw was very famous and draw a lot attention from non-fighters into the fighting sports.

I attended fight gym lessons before but honestly it is too physically demanding. I feel like throwing up halfway.

So I went back to "mainstream" weight lifting and cardio as exercise.

 

[Mammoth]

That's cool. Let us know if you decide to check him out.

I'll see if I can do a drop-in next time I'm in Mexico City. I'd love to get in the ring and spar to practice knife attack scenarios.

Damn that's serious intensity. What was the injury and how long did it take to recover from it?

Inside patellar tendon. One day we sparred then did deadlifts. The next morning during warm up, I went down into a lunge and didn't come back up hahaha. It still bugs me to this day, but I've found a good physiotherapist where I'm at now. Living somewhere warm helps immensely with old injuries as well.

 

[Timmy C]

Boxing.

I believe most fights happen in seconds and usually it’s standing up. Its effective and fast.
I like to think worst case scenario:
- 1 vs 1
- 1 vs 1 guy with Knife, bat, weapon
- 1 vs group

IMO boxing is the most effective. I wouldnt want to kick, wrestle, bjj, a guy with a weapon or if a group is attacking me. Kicking takes time and leaves you open. If you take a guy down his friends will kick the shit out of you. When it’s 1 v 1 you can do whatever you like but most of my encounters its a tight space with many ppl around. A punch would be more fitting vs kicking ect…If you get tackled just lock their head in a guillotine most ppl dont know how to fight.

That being said, every man should learn how to fight. One day you will have to defend your love ones. You rather be the warrior in a garden than a gardener in war. (forgot the actual saying lol)

You wouldn't want to fight anyone with a knife or a gun, but most of the arts I listed will help you in a situation where they have any other weapon.

Albeit, BJJ can become problematic when dealing with multiple attackers. I got jumped years ago by 8 guys with a mate, and my grappling skills kept them from taking me down, and getting seriously hurt. I had no damage inflicted on me, as I knew what I was doing.

4 guys tried to take me down to kick me and lay into me like they did my friend, but they couldn't.
Once the others were done with my friend, they came over to join their friends trying to get me down, they all lifted me up, then threw me through a plastered wall.
Proud to say, after being thrown, I still landed on my feet LMAO.

Most people really can't fight. If even one of them had any idea how to fight, I would have been seriously messed up.

 

[Mathuin]

When I first starting doing MMA, I wanted to compete.
The more I’ve thought about it and suffered a concussion, I think I will just train striking (we only do light sparring) so I know I can throw hands if necessary and then train & compete in BJJ instead.

Business success is a lot more important to me than fighting success.

Seems to be a lot more brain injuries from MMA as opposed to BJJ.

Like Eddie Bravo said, “With BJJ you get the thrill of the kill without the brain damage”

Maybe if I’m 35 and Unscripted , I’ll step into the cage to test my mettle.

 

[MTF]

When I first starting doing MMA, I wanted to compete.
The more I’ve thought about it and suffered a concussion, I think I will just train striking (we only do light sparring) so I know I can throw hands if necessary and then train & compete in BJJ instead.

Business success is a lot more important to me than fighting success.

Seems to be a lot more brain injuries from MMA as opposed to BJJ.

Like Eddie Bravo said, “With BJJ you get the thrill of the kill without the brain damage”

Maybe if I’m 35 and Unscripted , I’ll step into the cage to test my mettle.

Yeah I'm not interested in sparring at all if it means any, even the tiniest, brain damage. I think your plan is a good one. I might eventually transition to BJJ too depending how I like grappling (for now, still learning the fundamentals of stand-up fighting).

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Mathuin]

I might eventually transition to BJJ too depending how I like grappling (for now, still learning the fundamentals of stand-up fighting).

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XULhEomzU8


I think this is a good video from Jocko & Joe Rogan.

Jocko basically says in any street fight scenario, he's going to run away. If the person grabs him and he cant run away, then his BJJ training becomes extremely useful.

 

[Bigguns50]

A couple of years ago I practiced krav maga

Oh I love Krav! I love the direct, simple, brutality of it. I haven't practiced any martial art since Covid and have been contemplating getting some people together to practice in the park. (I'm in AZ).

I've studied several arts but my best experience was learning an eclectic style under a former Navy Seal in Detroit, MI. I had the privilege of training under him for 3 years and it was amazing! Weapon disarms(gun, knife, baseball bat, knife), firearms tactics, baton, knife. This is what I want to bring to the table here in organizing some training.

 

[AppMan]

What martial arts, combat sports or self-defense systems do you practice and why?

As a teenager I practiced karate kyokushin for several years. In hindsight, it was bullshit from the perspective of self-defense but well...

A couple of years ago I practiced krav maga one-on-one with a coach. I was attracted to this self-defense system because of its focus on fast, brutal, effective self-defense. I later stopped when my coach stopped being available. I recently restarted it though I practice it rarely as my coach is too busy with his day job and other stuff.

I like krav maga as it mostly focuses on strengthening your instincts instead of using sophisticated techniques. It always assumes at least two attackers and teaches you how to protect yourself against various weapons like bats, bottles, knives and guns (though this is clearly ONLY if you can't run away at all). We worked through different scenarios including fighting in toilets, against a wall, in a crowd, etc.

What I don't like in krav maga is that it doesn't focus that much on proper stand-up fighting, let alone ground fighting. The assumption is that you defend yourself in 10 seconds (the standard MO is a nut kick and attacking the eyes or other sensitive spots) and run away. But things aren't always that simple.

For that reason, an since my krav maga coach isn't that available anymore, I decided to take up MMA (mixed martial arts).

My MMA coach is an ex-pro and makes a living teaching people how to fight, including competitive fighters. I started a couple of weeks ago and I've already improved my technique a lot.

Since it combines all different combat sports, I think it's one of the best options from the self-defense point of view (the best self-defense option is training sprints LOL). For the time being I'm still working on stand-up fighting but soon we'll also start learning how to grapple.

From the health/fitness point of view it's a great mix of conditioning, strength, power, coordination, mobility, etc. Your entire body gets a solid workout.

From the mental perspective it's also excellent as (safe) sparring is essential in this sport. It teaches you to trust your guard and stay in control as you get hit.

So, to repeat the question:

What martial arts, combat sports or self-defense systems do you practice and why?

I have practiced Boxing for three reasons :
1- boxing seem very effective in fights
2- it require less time to master it than other more complex martial arts.
3- I can learn it myself at home, since I dont have time to register in some training program.

My plan to learn Krav Maga which is for more dangerous situations, but in my area it is really expensive and payment is annual upfront. beside it require commitment many times a week, which I cannot offerd at this time with my busy schedule . However learned a lot of from youtube and why my punching bag I could say I got better, however not real fight to test that though

 

[Mathuin]

The primary reasons for me are fitness and mental health benefits. I like striking but I haven't tried grappling yet so I can't tell if that's something I'll enjoy doing as much.

After taking 2.5 months off due to back-to-back minor concussions, I have my first class in my BJJ beginners program on Tuesday.

I've been speaking outside of the gym with guys who I was on the MMA beginner's program with, and we've all basically moved to only doing BJJ due to risk of CTE & brain injuries.

 

[MTF]

After taking 2.5 months off due to back-to-back minor concussions, I have my first class in my BJJ beginners program on Tuesday.

I've been speaking outside of the gym with guys who I was on the MMA beginner's program with, and we've all basically moved to only doing BJJ due to risk of CTE & brain injuries.

Yeah I'm not interested in sparring and am only training with bags and pads with my coach (so hopefully a very low risk of any concussions happening compared to training with an inexperienced partner).

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[wyattnorton]

Hey man!

In response to your question on if I do MMA.

Currently, I do boxing mostly because my two buddies are competing and I love to train and spar with them. I have also done Karate and Tae Kwon Do through dojos.

And when I get bored of boxing or kickboxing, I switch to Jeet Kune Do and teach myself that.

 

[Rabby]

Self defense drills... here's a scenario. You hire a company, and some time in the next 2 years, they tear gas your house and shoot everyone who runs out with paintball guns. Or they ambush you in the work parking lot, also with non-lethal but very stressful force. Sounds unpleasant, but maybe it's the only way to know for sure how prepared you are . Personal red-team as a service?

 

[heavy_industry]

Self defense drills... here's a scenario. You hire a company, and some time in the next 2 years, they tear gas your house and shoot everyone who runs out with paintball guns. Or they ambush you in the work parking lot, also with non-lethal but very stressful force. Sounds unpleasant, but maybe it's the only way to know for sure how prepared you are . Personal red-team as a service?

2 years?
I would not recommend trying this if you have bad memory and have easy access to firearms.

 

[hobbsie]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPysz3dYoxA


That's a pretty solid simulation for three different self-defense situations.

I once did something like this outdoors for wilderness first aid and let me tell you: in the heat of the moment this is WAY harder than it looks when you're watching it. After the fact it's all quite clear but while it's happening, even though you know it's a simulation, you're still going to do some dumb shit.

You have to take care of yourself first. As the man says, when you're in an airplane and the cabin becomes de-pressurized, you have to put you're own mask on first.

 

[Rabby]

2 years?
I would not recommend trying this if you have bad memory and have easy access to firearms.

My scenario is tongue-in-cheek, but there's also some truth to it. Enemies strike when you least expect them, so the timeline would have to be long enough that their preparations are diffuse.

Naturally, a personal service like this isn't worth the risk for most people, but similar services exist for military bases, critical computer networks, secure facilities, etc. The only way to know how well all those systems and preparations work is... to handle the unexpected at an unknown time.

That means someone actually infiltrates the base, actually attacks the network aggressively, actually gets into the high security vault, or medical facility, or government office, etc., but stops short of dealing a ruinous or lethal blow once they've succeeded.

Unfortunately it is possible for the red teamer to be killed on high security assignments... one security guard or soldier going above and beyond could be all it takes, so better be quick to show authorization documents when confronted with force.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.