What is the best martial art for self defence?

Question

when i say self defence i mean defending against people with weapons or just fists.

Answer 1

kick boxing...<^><...

Answer 2

athletics, running, boxing.

Answer 3

I would recommend Hapkido. This art trains stand up fighting, ground fighting as well as weapons and weapons defense.

When confronted by an armed assailant, it is best to just give up the wallet rather than risk your life. If however, you are confronted by someone clearly unstable and not looking for anything outside of harming you Hapkido gives you very good techniques that are to the point for disarming and incapacitating them.

That's my opinion.

Answer 4

mma=mixed martial arts its the best one!

Answer 5

One that trains against them. This is more a matter of the individual school than the style, though it's part of the curriculum of many styles. Visit schools in your area and talk to the instructors there.

Most martial arts and fighting methods have some form of training against another living, breathing human being, so at least you're almost guaranteed to have training "against... just fists".

Answer 6

Kendo.  Of course you have to carry a sword with you all the time...  

Answer 7

I would say judo, since it was created mainly as a defensive martial art. It is also taugt to police all over the world for self defence.

mma doesnt count thats any / all martial arts btw...

Answer 8

Krav maga, Systema, Sambo, Defendu, American Kenpo, Ninjutsu, Hapkido

Answer 9

do MMA as it says it is Mixed Martial Arts  and is the best of all of the disciplines

Answer 10

krav maga.thats my humble opinion.take it or leave it.bye.

Answer 11

ema extreme martial arts

Answer 12

The best undeniably is KRAV-MAGA,this style was devised for military survival,and it is deadly when taken seriously.

Answer 13

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/9315/te... <---do the math and you tell me which one is the best?

Answer 14

i would say either, jui jitsu, krav maga, muay thai. because with mma it trains for sport its brilliant for the event of a fight but for pure self defence, i think its not as good as the ones i mentioned. with the muay thai there is a style called muay boran which i practise allot now, it has the usual thai boxing but has locks throws holds and even ground work and is purely built for the battlefield. back in the day when you had multiple opponents running after you with weapons. might be worth you look it up.

good luck

Answer 15

Muay Thai hands down. I've done Muay Thai, Aikido Kickboxing, Ju-Jitsu, Karate and Savate and i think that an unarmed opponent or an opponent with a bat or knife could easily be taken down with one kick. One good muay thai low kick and an enemy that hasnt spent hours conditioning they're body will go down in pain

Answer 16

There isn't one that will stop a .357 mag.

Answer 17

Whatever you chose please don't do so on the basis of the table posted by William P, it is very inaccurate

Answer 18

Krav Maga for sure. It was developed specifically for self defense and many of the moves are for when you are surprise attacked or in a difficult situation such as when somebody has you pinned on the ground or in a headlock.

Answer 19

they are all pretty good it just depends on how bad u r willing to hurt ur attacker or oponent. Krav- Maga u could accidently kill them. jujitsu break their bones or dislocate joints. kickboxing(Muy Thai included) knock out or maybe even permantly injure. all are pretty effectyive its all in wat u r interested in.

Answer 20

wushu sanda www.otzukaclub.com

hwa rang do www.hwarangdo.com  

Answer 21

kenpo!!!!

Answer 22

Its Krav Maga

In Krav Maga there are no rules, it's not a sport, and there are no specific uniforms, attire or competitions all the techniques focus on real-life conditions it trains you to not get killed.

Its not MMA because MMA is not a self-defence its a sport

Krav Maga is like a super MMA because it tacks on the most dangerous and effective moves in all martial arts.

Answer 23

my preference is Wing-Chun,Systema, Krav-Maga,Silat all relatively modern and applicable to urban situations.

Answer 24

MMA is not the best for self defense.  The very nature of it is for show, so is Muy Thai and just about everything else.  The best martial arts to know when the stuff hits the fan are practical martial arts.

By practical martial arts, I mean things like military martial arts.  Yes, it carries many similarities to Mixed Martial arts, but it is made to kill/break/maim the attacker.  Not just to knock them out.  Also, if you learn MixedMA, you train to submit, which will  not help your reflexes when it comes to true self defense.

I say learn as many martial arts as you can though.  Each has it's own strengths that you can learn from and improve yourself.  There is also the aspect of the mental/spiritual training that many arts are also known for.  Most Asian martial arts focus heavily on the mental/spiritual aspect as well, and it is just as important aspect of martial arts as well.

Answer 25

the ultimate self defence would be a style in which you are comfortable with and one that would be of a second nature to you, as in self defence the main thing is to effectively disable your opponent or escape from them.

the best advice from me would be to select a style and train in it intensively to achieve a high proficiency in it.

some styles to think about

ju-jitsu

krav maga

MMA

kung fu

all the best

namsate

Answer 26

Japanese Jiu-jitsu I'd suggest..

Best wishes :)***