Which Martial Art Is Best For Self-Defense Of These 3?

Question

I want to pick one up at my local university and they have 3 available: taekwondo, judo and hapkido. I want to learn first and foremost for self-defense. Secondly, I want to learn one of these for bettering my physical and mental health.

Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Ok so we know where Tom P sits, lol. Another MMA who looks down at anything that doesn't fit his idea of what works in the octogon. If that's not what you are saying prove me wrong Tom. cause I've liked a lot of your answers to this point.

With that being said, any of these would be good for self defense if taught and trained correctly. I am not talking about street fighting, but sslef defense, and their is a differance, which fewer and fewer of the people on here undertsand. I think it is because we have so many UFC nutgrabbers that come here who do not actually train.

A street fight is a clash of egos between two willing people, that can be avoided 99% of the time if one person has enough bal** to walk away, and yes it is harder to do that then fight. Self defense is purely about survival. It is the 1% where you cannot walk away.

The truth of the matter is that any martial art if trained correctly can give you very good self defense, many times without having to even do anything. Knowing you can take care of yourself will give you self confidence, This will mean that even if you do not realize it, you will carry yourself better and you will put out a vibe to human predators that there is easier prey around.

There was a study done where they showed video tapes of people walking down the street to prisoners., and they were asked to identify who they would choose to rob. Without fail they all chose the sme people, and in many cases passed up smaller females to go after larger males, just based on the way they carried themselves.



After all of this my recomendation would be Judo, but not because it's better then the others, it is simply because because you are taking it at a University, you are not going to have years to learn it, Judo will teach you more actual stuff you can use immedietly then the other two, which take longer to get to an acceptible level of self defense, because they are designed to be taught that way, not because there is anything wrong with that.

If you need any details please feel free to e-mail me.

Answer 2

The one you enjoy the most.

It is the feeling of satisfaction that motivates you to learn effectively. Effective relentless training is what makes you a great martial artist!

Visit some schools in your area, and pick a school with good people that you think are going to push you. That is the best school for you, I don't care what style they teach.

Answer 3

Honestly the one that appeals to you the most.

You can get your goals from any class, provided they train CORRECTLY. Unfortunately in MANY university classes, TKD and Hapkido are done in ways that means retaining the most students.. (i.e. little to no sparring).

Sparring is an incredibly important part of Martial Arts training, without it you have no timing, no true defense, lack of ability to see openings,  or practical skill in applying a technique against a resisting opponent.

Any art and great exercise program will help you physically and mentally.

I would check out all the classes and see which one you think you would enjoy the most, and use this as an opptortunity for an introduction into the art. For example of Hapkido appeals to the most to you of all 3, but they don't train hard, and rarely spar, that at least lets you know you like Hapkido and can always seek out a school that does at a later time with money and time permit.

Ultimately a Martial Art is a personal choice. Not everyone wants to get banged up every day, or put through grueling workouts, some people just want to learn a little something and have fun. Really each place is it's own beast. You find clubs that heavily emphasize competeting to a level that a hobbyist might feel unwelcomed, and a hobbyist club might feel weak to a competetive artist. It is all about finding the match for you.

My choice... well,  I love Judo. I think it is one of the most realistic arts out there, and it is pretty d**n hard to find any Judo place that doesn't spar. You learn practical things quickly.

KjN: I would pretty much do any Judo technique aside from a sacrifice throw on concrete. Including any ground technique..being that I would be in a dominant position (i.e. on top) while doing it. But I do find that Hakeda Jime (or Rear Naked Choke) works just as good standing up, then on the ground with my hooks in...

Answer 4

All three will dramatically improve your self-defense, physical conditioning, and mental health.

Unless you want to be a professional sports fighter or professional martial artist, people should go with the system that appeals to them the most. If you stick with nearly any system, you will get in great shape and be able to defend yourself very well. And you are more likely to stick with a system that appeals to you.

You should sit in a session of each and see which instructor/class you would enjoy. Try to watch any sparring sessions to see if there are any crazies in the class.

TKD: focuses on striking...with lots of kicks. This system is particularly designed for point-based sparring, defending against multiple foes. You can start noticing improvement pretty fast.

Hapkido: Tries to be a complete system balancing strikes, grappling, and weapons. It takes awhile to get proficient...thus it starts off as a jack of all trades...but it is good if you like to learn new stuff a lot.

Judo: Wrestling on your feet and then on the ground. Lots of close contact throws, chokes, and locks. Judo lends itself well to pro sports fighting.

Answer 5

All of the above will improve your mental and physical health.  You get out what you put on.  

From what I understand, Hapkido tends to balance training with strikes and grappling which is great for street protection.  So if they are your options I would go with that.

Good luck and have fun!

Answer 6

I have no experience of Hapkido so I cant say, but out of Judo or Taekwondo I would go with Judo. Its more geared towards close quarter fighting which is where most street fight start and end.

http://markstraining.com Fighting and Training Methods for Unarmed Martial Artists

Answer 7

Hi. I'd go with Judo as I've recently started this and find that it compliments my other martial arts training (10+ years Wing Chun).

It's important to remember though that Judo and Taekwondo are, for the most part, taught as sports with rules and limitations so neither are ideal unless some thought is put into applying them for self defence situations (e.g. you ideally wouldn't want to go straight to the ground in a street scenario or necessarily do certain techniques on concrete). They will however get you fit, used to physical contact and controlling both your body and your opponent.

The British author Geoff Thompson has a whole range of books on applying martial arts (primarily Karate and Judo) to real life situations and deals with elements obviously not covered in sports-based martial arts (surprise attacks, multiple attackers, weapons, etc). Well worth a read once you've settled into your chosen art.

Answer 8

Taekwondo, it`s good for street fighting & fittness.

Answer 9

SELF-DEFENSE=TAE-KWON-DO

Answer 10

hmm taekwondo is good if u practice it and become very kickass with it.

judo is good that id recommend

also hapkido is good.

judo and hapkido consist of grappling like wrestling. which prove to be useful nowadays so these two id recommend for street fights

Answer 11

Having studied all three for a number of years i would say hapkido.  Hapkido utilizes TKD kicks and also works in some very nice throws.  If i were you I would take a year and study hapkido first for an all around base with striking and kicks, then study judo for your close quarters fighting.  

Im so glad that you didnt throw mma in your choice of options.  To me no one should take mma if they have never taken any kicking or grappling arts before.  You only become an undisiplined brawler waitn to get hit from behind while tryn to pass someone's  guard.

Answer 12

there is nothing judo or taekwondo can teach you that you will not learn in hapkido. except you may learn more ne waza(groundfighting) in judo.

hapkido has the strikes of tkd/karate, with the standing joint locks of jujutsu, and the throws of judo/jujutsu/aikijujutsu. and some styles of hapkido also have groundfighting.

id go with hapkido personally.

though id go practice randori with the judo guys too!

judo is nothing but throwing and grappling. taekwondo is nothing but punching and kicking...and forms that have a meaning but that meaning seems to elude them lol (they dont have a clue)....hapkido has it all.

Answer 13

i say kung fu its not one of ur choices but surprisingly kung fu is the best of any Martial arts like karate or tae kwondo or other stuff so try to find a kung fu center near u!

Answer 14

One thing I would wonder is about the teachers

There were a number of martial arts classes in my college, some were taught by college students who happened to have a black belt in something, some were taught by highly experienced senseis with 5th or 6th degree black belts

Personally, I would go with the best teacher; you'll always get another chance to study judo, hapkido or tae kwon do, but really great teachers can be hard to come by

Answer 15

They all have strengths and weakness.  TKD would depend on whether it is ITF or WTF.  WTF is way too sport oriented and puts too much emphasis on high kicks, still any training is better than none at all.  ITF is more street oriented like Okinawan Karate or Kenpo.  

Judo is very good and as mentioned does do a lot of sparring, which in my opinion is key to learning how to fight.  The only thing I don't like about Judo is the lack of strikes, which I would generally prefer to use in the street.  

I don't know alot about hapkido, but understand that it is similar to Japanese Jujitsu, so probably pretty good as well.

Answer 16

Hands down without question Judo.

Tae kwon do doesn't have the nick name "take one's dough" for no reason. It's completely useless unless you plan to fight only people who train Tae kwon do. RUN the other way.

Hapkido is only slightly better. You may learn some joint locks and throws but you will most likely not be able to defend yourself against a trained opponent.

Judo is a long time proven defense system for both defense and offense.

Answer 17

Katana's answer is pretty much perfect except for the fact that he spelt 'common' wrong! Lol, but I also want to add that whatever style you choose, make sure the school is a good one.  Here are a few tips:

1) If you are not allowed to watch any classes, you may not want to invest your time and money. Without seeing a class you will not be able to get a good feel for the school.

2) Ask questions - don't worry about looking stupid or asking the "wrong" question. They are going to be teaching and training you- you want to get any concerns or considerations you have out before you commit to anything.

3) Do the advanced students move the way you would like to? This will give you some sense of what you can achieve.

4) Do the students get personalized attention?  This will be a good judge of how valuable your time will be. If there is a good amount of instructor to student attention there will be more value for you.

5) Does the instructor differentiate between forms and function? Another good indication is to find out if the instructor(s) differentiates between form and function. In other words do they do it "because it looks good" or "because it works."

6) Classes - Another thing you want to be clear on is when you can go to the school and when classes are. Some schools are open almost all the time and have lots of classes. In some schools you can only come when an official class is being held.