I don’t care how old you are, how out of shape or in shape you are…
You could easily pick up a few martial art moves that will help you defend yourself against anyone, anywhere.
If my 78 year old grandma can pick up some martial art moves, then so can anyone.
It cracks me up to think of her like some kind of ninja. But she’s been a dairy cow farmer for decades, and although she’s retired now, she still gets up before the crack of dawn and gets going with her day.
And she doesn’t carry a mace, a knife or a gun, in her purse just in case.
Instead, she knows a handful of moves that will, no doubt, surprise an attacker if she ever has to use them.
No one expects her to do anything other than rolling over and cowering in fear.
Surviving an attack, robbery or street fight of any kind often means the only tools you can always count on are your hands, and your brain.
Martial Arts training hones and refines these assets to perfection, and also teaches the mind to deal with the stresses and fears associated with combat.
Without you needing to be a gym rat, being in the best shape of your life or somehow gifted with special genes.
In fact, 95% of success in martial arts revolves around learning to accept the idea of someone trying to kill you, so that you can move past the terror of the scenario and deal with it calmly and logically.
Adrenaline, tunnel vision, and unchecked emotion are the true enemies in any fight.
We defeat ourselves long before our assailants ever touch us.
Another concept within martial arts that I find fascinating is the philosophy of Bushido, which is often mistaken as a brand of Eastern religion.
Instead, it is a kind of warrior’s code — a way of dealing with adversity in one’s life.
Struggling with obstacles whether self created, or created by others, requires balance and the ability to take control of the problem and apply one’s own terms instead of the terms other people try to set for you.
It is about leading the battle, instead of being led, while staying true to your conscience.
My grandma is willing to listen to anyone, but she sees through the bullcrap easily.
And she keeps her mind calm, not thrown off by irrational fear and panic.
I have studied multiple forms of martial arts for a few years, and have found many methods that would work well for the worst self-defense situations, and plenty that would be utterly useless.
The following is a list of styles that you should be familiar with – and that my grandma has tried out and learned from.
Shotokan Karate: Shotokan is a Japanese martial art using movements derived from defense methods common in Okinawa and streamlined for easier application.
Deep stances and sharp strikes train the body to hold ground even against a larger opponent.
Shotokan practitioners can take physical damage unlike any other style I have seen beyond perhaps Thai Kickboxing – with you needing superhuman strength.
As the student advances, the stiffness disappears, and their strikes become coldly logical and precise, almost like a killer robot… no… seriously.
Shotokan is a perfect foundation art for beginners in self defense. If they can handle this style, they can handle anything…
Thai Kickboxing: Thai is world famous for its fast devastating steamroller type strikes and the ability of its practitioners to take a hit and keep on going.
For a crisis situation, you must be capable of absorbing and moving past the pain of a fight. In the street, it may be a matter of life and death, or it may be a drunken brawl.
In a street fight scenario, it will ALWAYS be a matter of life and death. There is no such thing as a hand to hand fighter who can avoid every attack and come out unscathed. Plan on getting hit.
With the heavy arm to leg blocks of Thai Kickboxing that act as a kind of self made brick wall, along with devastating leg sweeps and knee breaks, this artform is perfect for the dangerous possibilities of street fights, muggings and robberies.
Western Boxing: It’s not an Eastern martial art, but Western boxing teaches incredible punching power. Eastern martial arts focus on speed in order to inflict damage, but the bottom line is that Western boxers hit harder because they assert more body weight behind their punches.
Of course, it is more important to learn speed and timing before learning to hit hard. The most powerful punches in the world are useless if all they do is sweep the air.
Western boxing is an incomplete fighting system, but a foundational skill you must have.
Jiu Jitsu: Jiu Jitsu is indeed the flavor of the decade for self defense, and though I feel it has been way overhyped, it is an incredibly effective style for ground situations.
You should learn grappling techniques so you know how to defend against takedowns and return to your feet.
In a real combat situation, you NEVER try to go to the ground on purpose.
Multiple attackers will decimate you within seconds while you are trying to put a choke hold on the guy in front of you.
Add a knife into the picture, and purposely jumping into close quarters with the intent to “grapple” will be a death sentence.
Successful fighters will always combine Jiu Jitsu with other artforms in order to round out their abilities.
Hapkido: Hapkido focuses on joint locks, joint breaks, using centrifugal force, pressure points, eye gouges, throat attacks, etc.
Generally, it is very difficult for someone to grapple with you if you break their fingers, wrists, hyperextend their knee caps, or crush their windpipe.
One twisted wrist could put a dedicated grappler or wrestler completely out of commission, which is why you never see these methods used in the UFC. The fights would be over quickly, and the sport’s flavor would be lost.
Knowing how to counter grappling using grappling is fine, but knowing how to utterly disable a grappler is better.
Eskrima / Kali: Filipino in origin, Eskrima and Kali revolve around stick and knife training, and some of the deadliest blade wielding martial artists on Earth are known to originate from these styles.
The point of practicing the Filipino arts is not only to learn to attack with edged weapons, but also to defend against them.
Knowing how armed assailants, trained and untrained, will move to harm you gives you a distinct edge.
Understanding the motion of a knife strike allows the defender to create or close distance effectively, while timing arm and wrist locks to reduce cuts and control the knife hand before serious damage to your body is done.
Taekwondo: Like Jiu Jitsu, it is a style limited to a very particular range of attacks and scenarios. Taekwondo focuses on kicks to the extreme. The truth is, Taekwondo has the fastest and in many cases the most devastating kicks in the world.
The use of kicks depends on the mastery of the fighter. If he is fast, and precise, then his strikes will make his opponents feel like they’ve just been hit by an oversized utility van.
If he is slow, and unfocused, he will be tackled to the ground like a rag doll and pummeled in an embarrassing manner.
That said, one well placed kick can crush ribs, crack skulls, and knock an opponent into dreamland before he ever knew what hit him.
Jeet Kune Do: Created by Bruce Lee, Jeet Kune Do’s philosophy is to adopt what works, and set the rest aside. It is essentially a combination of the short range tactics of Wing Chun combined with the long range tactics of Japanese and Korean styles.
Jeet Kune Do’s goal is to be a truly complete martial art, and so far, it has proven itself in this regard. If you can only practice one style of self defense, this should be it.
Some people attribute the adaptation methodology in self defense to MMA, but really, it was Bruce Lee that pioneered the idea of studying multiple styles and modernizing martial arts.
Because of his efforts, the offensive and defensive capabilities of Jeet Kune Do are astounding.
Ninjutsu: The portrayal of ninjutsu has become so cartoonish that people today scarcely believe it is an actual martial art. In fact, it is, and a very deadly one.
The brilliance of ninjutsu really dwells in its “think outside the box” mentality. There is a sort of cleverness and unpredictability to it that makes it so dangerous.
Ninja’s in feudal Japan were assassins, but they were also the guerilla fighters of their age.
The combat methods of ninjutsu revolve around surprise, and misdirection, which are factors that always work in your favor.
These, and other, Martial Arts will help you survive and thrive in the very worst possible conditions.
It’s not just about fighting — it is also about developing a fighting spirit.
That kind of toughness is a rare commodity in America today. But it will save your life.