What is the quickest and most effective method of learning self-defense?

Question

In a few short months, my son is going to be in a situation in which it is imperative that he protect himself. I'm not talking about the little courses at the YMCA - I mean SERIOUS skill. He is a pretty big kid and very strong; but, just never had any interest in this kind of thing - now he has to be and fast. Not worried about cost - I"m more worried about effectivness. PLEASE HELP - 10 for best answer. Thanks.

Answer 1

Well my suggestion is put him in a sport like boxing.. Because that will not only scare people that want to attack him but that will build him a career.. (Since hes already big and strong).. So just tell him to do push ups and sit ups at night and morning and he will be stronger then he needs to be =]

Answer 2

I have to add to what Arron J said. I cannot possibly see a situation, where obviously you know about in asdvance, where other methods will not be better to resolve the situation then fighting. I mean I can see nothing from what you say here that will make him have to fight. Are they going to hold a gun to your head and force him to fight? Call the police.

What you are talking about, no matter how you want to phrase it, is a street fight. Obviously you know something is coming up, and you have agreed to it, or your son has, so that so clearly makes this not self defense in the least. Self defense is a totally unexpected event that happens where there is no other alternative except to fight.

Obviously since your asking this question the above does not apply. So we are talking about a street fight, and as a parent you should be very ashamed for even considering allowing this to happen. There are always other alternatives toa street fight. If it is truly serious that is what we pay the police to take care of.

Be aware that a few months, regardless of what style you put him in is not going to make him a serious fighter, and quite honestly any teacher if he finds out that this is for a preplanned fight will show you all to the door. I hope you come to your senses and decide to resolve whatever it is some other way. Perhaps if you describe the situation in greater detail we can offer some better tips for not letting it happen.

I answered this question seriously because yours doesn't look like the typical troll profile, however if you let this happen, the consequences, up to possibly having to make funeral arrangments is totally on you.

Answer 3

QUICKEST?? Let me tell you that you are on the wrong path. To be able to learn self-defense require time and practice. All martial arts or self-defense requires patience and hardwork. But if you are realy in hurry then go for Ju-jitsu, MMA, Muay Thai, Krav Maga. I don't want to offend anybody but martial arts like twaekondo, kung-fu or karate are not really effective in real life, today they just show you eye-candy demo techniques and lot of syllabus. even if there are good techniques it has low chance to be effective in street fight or unprevisible situations, I practiced some of them and am telling you my point of view. No offense for people who practices those.

Answer 4

The police academy.  In some areas you can pay your own way into the academy and they do a lot of self-defense work.

Answer 5

Does he know that he is going to be in this dangerous situation? or are you going to surprise him?

Answer 6

Please provide more information. Depending on the situation different Martial arts will be recommended. Also want to know Height and Weight of your son to determine what style suits him most.

Edit: For his height and weight I would recommend Judo sense he is stocky and have a good grounded base. But for the reason of him needing to learn something quick and practical in a shot period of time I would recommend Boxing or Muay Thai. If you can find a good Krav Maga school that would be even better, because judging by the situation, this martial art would be the most practical to learn in a short period of time. Wing Chun is a great and effective Martial Arts as well, but it takes years and years of training for it to work on the street, same with most Kung Fu styles, so I don't recommend them for this case.

Answer 7

Hello Lisa,

I don't think that someone can learn self-defense over-night. It demands sacrifices. Your son must practise himself everyday to be the best - faster and stronger - I would advise you to "send" him in a Wing Chun school because this is the most effective martial art for me - if your neighborhood has - because there, your son will learn to punch and defend simultaneously. He must study this martial art and practise daily if he want to be quick and fast.

I found a web page for you about the Wing Chun which contains lots of info and videos.. http://www.wing-chun.ws

Answer 8

You are going to get a lot of varied answers on this and I agree with many in that why expose him to such a situation in the first place.  Secondly it takes time, practice, and experience to develop your skills so I tend to discourage people from just a short course in self-defense.  The chances of them freezing up or not executing something correctly or effectively are way higher than success and this is why people spend years developing these skills.  For some people what they learned in a short course might work but that is really a get lucky thing in a lot of ways when you think about it.  If you have to put him in this situation I would put him in boxing, kick-boxing, or Muai Thai as that will give him the most in fighting skills and experiece in sparring quicker than him trying to master some other skills and techniques.  This is one of the reasons why the state police and FBI in their training programs include boxing.  Given the limited time to learn, train, and develop their skills before hitting the streets they get used to fighting, hitting and being hit and learning to rely on that along with their weapon to protect themselves and handle situations.  

Answer 9

What kind of self-defense- actual fighting self defense, or not getting his a** whooped self defense,

Serious skill doesn't come over-night it takes practice, years to be exact,

are you sending him to an inner city school or something??

Either way find a good martial arts school, MMA would probably be your best bet

best way to get out of a bind is nut shots, eye gouges and throat strikes, no joke, but only if the situation is suiting (jumped, mugged, etc.)

Fighting is fighting, no dirty about it

Answer 10

Taekwando I think is widely considered the most effective marial art.  You can't just learn that stuff quickly.  If he needs it for defense like right away, find a friend who knows how to box/fight to show him a few moves.

Answer 11

I am confused!  Why is he, or more importantly why are you putting him in a situation where you think he needs to defend himself?  Best answer if you live in Australia.  Get lessons at 'National Tae Kwon Do'. which promotes self defence,self dicipline and self respect rather than fighting.

Answer 12

The most important element in self defense is the will to use it when the chips are down.

IF what you are asking is for someone to be able to give him a skill in a short time. Many instructors can do this. The WILL to use it and the constant practice to develop speed and strength in muscle areas that your son is probably not used to demanding force from takes time. The USA military does an outstanding job in about 6 weeks of long days of physical and mental training. Outside of a place like that I believe you have an un realistic goal.

In short there is no magic bullet that can give someone these skills in that short a time. A really good martial arts center can help. Pick up the book Martial Arts for Dummies. It has advice that can help you find a good School. It is unbiased as to art or style. It does have descriptions of some of the popular styles here in the west.

I have been teaching martial arts for some time and am at a school where the total of years of experience of our instructors totals nearly 100 years amongst us. We train police,  special security people, bouncers, body guards, and special military. None of us could promise you that we can train someone with no skill to be formidable in a "few short months" The best we could do is to give them some skill and hope for the best. My advice is have your son avoid having to fight or join the military.

Answer 13

why? why are you going to allow him to be in that situation?