I personally think that if someone was to practice Krav Maga and Brazilian Jiu Justsu it would be one hell of a combination.

Can any one else think of a good combination of MA's for self defense?

Hello normaengage and welcome to martial edge!

I agree, I think the combination you suggested would make for good self defense.

I guess to have the whole self defense package, you'd need a combination of a striking and grappling art.

Couldn't agree more. i also think that a good ground fighting discipline is key for self defense.

I think the fact that Krav Maga people are trained to defend and kill as one of their tests in israel is to be mob attacked by about 15 people with knifes i think it would probably be a good angle !!

Grappling work would defo be practical but I wonder if for instance in a self defence situation instead of grappling you would grab hold of something and twist n rip or perhaps bite, after all why tangle with someone who is trying to kill you, just do whatever it takes, and that is something krav maga practise.

Ultimate defense against what?

Judo (for the ability to control your attacker while staying upright) and boxing (for the ability to take a punch) are very appropriate for, say, secondary school students who really shouldn't be permanently maiming or killing their classmates in schoolyard scuffles.

Krav Maga, on the other hand, better prepares adults for more dangerous encounters. It's not just the techniques, but the training method. A good Krav Maga school will mentally prepare you by placing you in high-pressure, fairly-realistic scenarios. A good Brazilian jiu-jitsu school, on the other hand, more often than not will mentally prepare you for tournament competition.

There are always exceptions, but my point is that the training method and the intended applications are just as important as the style. Does anyone agree? Disagree?

The art of running away very quickly!!!

I totally agree with you. i didn't think about boxing. learning tho take a punch is a very very useful skill.

haha, agreed. it's always better to try get away from an attacker first instead of confronting them.

Our style is primarily traditional Tae Kwon Do. But we have instructors who are ranked in, and teach, Daito-Ryu Aiki-jutsu, Krav Maga, karate (Shotokan) and Judo. To avoid confusion at the lower levels, we keep the students focused on Tae Kwon Do, and offer them opportunities in the other arts as they progress in Tae Kwon Do. The goal is well-rounded black belts, versed and ranked in several arts, with TKD as the core.

Many of our black belts are also concealed-carry weapons licensed (legal in my state) and carry guns, knives or both. Some are police officers, so we often practice weapon-retention/take-aways, handcuffing techniques, non-lethal submissions, and other fun things like that.

Quicksabre, sounds like alot to take in. How long does it take to achieve a black belt in your club??

Does a black belt make you an expert in all those arts and understand them?

tonyli wrote:
Ultimate defense against what?

Judo (for the ability to control your attacker while staying upright) and boxing (for the ability to take a punch) are very appropriate for, say, secondary school students who really shouldn't be permanently maiming or killing their classmates in schoolyard scuffles.

Krav Maga, on the other hand, better prepares adults for more dangerous encounters. It's not just the techniques, but the training method. A good Krav Maga school will mentally prepare you by placing you in high-pressure, fairly-realistic scenarios. A good Brazilian jiu-jitsu school, on the other hand, more often than not will mentally prepare you for tournament competition.

There are always exceptions, but my point is that the training method and the intended applications are just as important as the style. Does anyone agree? Disagree?

Totally agree, the way that you train is as important as the style.

Although not a guarantee, doing pressure and will drills against common street attacks is going to be better than learning moves to counter what people within your style do.

As for "ultimate self defence MA", it is going to be different things for different people. So if you are a LEO or work on the door then you may be more predispossed to learn restraints, however, if you don't do these jobs then hitting and running may be a better option.

Depending on your build and gender you may need a different set of tools to someone else in the class.

If you live in the US then you may have more considerations about defending yourself from gun and knife crime than in the UK. Having said that the media would suggest that is no longer the case.

Also some people make things work inspite of their art, rather than because of it. Just about everyone in martial arts will know of a guy (or woman) from their style who is a hard fighter, however, the real benchmark is how the average student in that style.

An important part of self defence is awareness, both of your surroundings, yourself and whoever you're with. So can you avoid trouble before it starts? Are you aware of what tehniques you can physically do at one moment in time? Does what you're wearing limit your options? Do you know how far you are prepared to go within the law of the land? Is it just yourself that you have to defend or is it loved ones? Or are you being backed up by people you trust?

Just my thoughts

There is also the issue of mental perperation. Whatever martial art you did would be rendered useless if you couldnt proactively anticipate a situation. It is rare for an attack to come from no where, you will usually get some warning, even if its just the flinch reflex. So its not just the martial art, its the way its trained.