Learning to fight?

[Zane1844]

For a one on one it seems to be that grappling is the best discipline. If you can take him down and control him, you are no longer in any danger.

If you can box well, and wrestle, you will be in a good spot.

If there are multiple people, do whatever you need to.

[Endur]

I would train in multiple styles to cover all your bases. Ground, striking, melee weapons, and finally firearms. BJJ, boxing, Krav Maga, Muay Thai, Sambo, etc.. BJJ would probably be your best place to start.

[tkoglman]

Here's my two cents:

I wrestled in high school and studied Karate, Tae Kwon Do, and Judo. I've kick-boxed. I was a Marine. I was a police officer for twelve years. I have been in 100's of fights both in the ring and on the street. When my life or safety depended on it, I always resorted to the techniques that I had practiced at full-speed/full-force. Those were the techniques that I trusted would work against a true adversary and because I had practiced them under the stress of competition. I also never tried to kill anyone empty-handed on the street. My goal, based on the situations, was always to control or temporarily disable my adversary. Practically, this means that I always used wrestling and judo techniques (including chokes) and every once in a while needed to use an elbow or knee strike. I never needed to kick anyone in the head, gouge their eyes out, or break their neck.

For you, I recommend Judo. It is a fully developed, Olympic sport so you can find school all over and, if you move, you can walk into any Judo school in the world and it will be the same. You can practice it full force/full speed and compete in it. It is a great "base" of skills to start with. It is also a lot of fun.

[jc000]

If you can box well, and wrestle, you will be in a good spot.

Good post. For all the handwringing around "which martial art", it really does come down to this.

[fixit69]

I will echo a couple of statements. BJJ and "playing" judo is a great start(it's an Olympic sport, a game). In the early 90's these and boxing were the only thing I found to use in the real world. Street fighting and basically being an ass was where I got my start. These disciplines gave me an ability not to be an ass and learn control. Wish I would have started sooner.

Even after my back injury, I still have the confidence that one person is going to have a problem when trying to mess with me. I no longer have the physical ability to handle multiple attackers, so I make sure I CCW.

After all is said and done, an actual fight(or multiple fights with more than one attacker) is the only way to gauge your abilities to defend yourself. Define your strengths and weaknesses and work on them.

Lastly, one particular "style" is not a magic bullet. Learn as much as you can from as many knowledgable people as you can. This will provide you with a base to start and continue to grow as a martial artist. Continue as long as your body will let you, as with anything else, you can always widen your knowledge base and grow.

The weight loss is a great achievement. Don't stop pushing to better yourself.

[jasonhgross]

To learn how to run, you must run. To learn how to shoot, you must shoot. To learn now to fight, you must fight.

[Ron3]

Good post. For all the handwringing around "which martial art", it really does come down to this.

True. If you can box and wrestle well you'll be pretty far ahead of most people.

I took a few years of Krav Maga and it's great and I highly recommend it. You can start knowing nothing and ramp up quick. It will also keep you in shape. A good instructor will focus on real scenario's and aggression.

Krav Maga and Jujitsu would cover almost everything you need.

Krav Maga is harder to show off to friends though than Jujitsu and boxing...

Like has been said, any martial "art" is what you make it.

Now go take a Krav Maga class near you..a class is normally free.

[jwdeeming]

+1 - Krav Maga

[MAWhite]

One of my daughters is a student of Kuk Sool Won and I'm pretty impressed by it.
They seem to be a bit more intense than other Korean martial arts and for a female or someone with less than average strength I think the use of joint locks and pressure points is good.