Self Defense vs Martial Arts?

"Self Defense" is becoming an antiquated term, replaced by RBMA or reality based martial arts. Generally a person should take a two-pronged approach to being capable of defending themselves in my opinion. First pump some iron for maybe a year and also take some RBST or hybrid arts such as JKD, Krav Maga, or something from a straight MMA gym. Secondly learn to fight real dirty man. Hopefully you do this with the intention of pure defense, and no offense. Check out Paul Vunak Street Safe as a starting point. This ****** is brutal and to the point.Understood!

Unless you've perfected the ability to download the fighting technices directly into the brain like in the Matrix movies. Unfortunately; that is a MOVIE, this is REALITY, so that's NOT gonna happen anytime soon.

That's why Martial Arts are CALLED self defense in the first place dude, because you learn tomdefend yourself WITHOUT the benefit of a weapon against someone who may have a weapon or you find yourself in a situation where you can use it even if they are unarmed.

No, there isn't ANY REAL way to learn any type of self defense or Martial Arts discipline any faster or more efficiently than how much your mind can absorb the training and what kind of training ethic you have.

If you have a poor training ethic (like only training during class, and not at home on your own.) then you'll be a poor Martial Artist, but if you train on a regular basis in class, and train outside of class in your free time as well, then you could become a proficient Martial Artist.

So NO there isn't a faswter or more efficient way to learn Martial Arts, it all comes down to how well YOU absorb what the instructors are teaching you.

Technically any fighting technique is a martial art. The term martial arts however is usually assumed (by those in the english speaking world) to mean the Asian style martial arts, boxing, wrestling. Even shooting a gun is a martial art. It is an art of fighting, martial=warfare, root word=mars=the god of war.

You can learn some basic ideas on how to protect yourself within a few hours. However, that wont teach you all you should know. For example I can teach a woman how to defend against the 10 most common rape circumstances but is she really then safe? No, what if the person just wants to kill or wants money or attacks in a totally different way then she's been trained to fight against? More importantly what's to say she'll remember her training when the time comes to use it. Martial arts are a way of life, this is one of the reasons they take so long to train. They train the body in muscle memory, fitness and reflexes. They train the mind in knowledge of what to do when. And they train the spirit, whether you believe in Ki (Chi) or not, whether you follow eastern philosophy or not there is something very soothing and spiritual about the eastern martial arts. Maybe it's because they tap into ideas and forms from over a millennium ago, but they touch our souls in ways other things cannot.

Martial arts are supposed to teach you a well rounded arsenal of ways to defend yourself. Anyone can be taught a handful of self defense moves and will be safer then someone without any training, but to fully train takes a dedication to a martial art.

It's be said that the martial arts are some thing you do "with" someone, and self-defense is something you do "to" somone.

I train both. The martial arts is a way of life and you will learn self-defense techniques over a longer peroid of time. In my opinion, it's the way to go since you still need to practice weekly anyway.

Self-defense systems like "STREET MARTIAL SCIENCE", in which I am the founder is for the people who need to learn some basic skills quickly and don't want to have to wear a uniform and learn about other cultures. They need the "good stuff" now. Think of it as the "best of the martial arts". Most of the techniques that are taught are basic because the students are not martial artists. You'll devolop skill in a shorter amount of time, but will eventually top out while the the martial artist will have much more knowledge and shill in a 3 yr peroid.

Why not train both. Combatives, or self-defense classes will give you some tools you can use right now. Take a martial art to develop skills for the long haul.

Master R.L. Stevenson

www.stevensoncombatives.com

Kokoro and JimR are correct. Muay thai is not a martial art. it is a sport. Krav Maga is not a martial art it is a self defense training taken from martial arts. Boxing today is taught as a sport only. It does not have self defense in mind when it is being taught. Neither does it anyone that I'm aware of prepare you to take on multiple attackers or weapons. Traditional or classical martial arts were developed over centuries to teach one how to preserve their live in the event of an attack or war. This would include multiple attacker and weapons defense. In order to learn those things you must have a teacher that teaches it. It is not the style it is built upon instruction and practice. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with the thing you have placed on your list. They all can be great if they are being taught correctly. But they all have a purpose. Are you looking to learn how to win a contest or are you looking to learn how to defend yourself if you are ever attacked.

To the uninitiated, martial arts can seem 'antiquated' due to the process by which the techniques are absorbed.

This is because, as anyone can tell you, the body needs to be muscularly conditioned to respond. In order to defend yourself properly, in any situation, your actions/reflexes must be automatic. If you stop to 'think', then those are precious seconds the other person has to implement their own attack.

Consequently, you can only achieve 'reflexive' results from repetition; performing a motion repeatedly until the movement itself becomes your natural response.

Thus, was the kata created. Because simply doing 100 circular knife hand blocks is entirely too boring for most practitioners, the move is thus incorporated into a series that not only offers a similar pattern of repetition to be developed, but also incorporates both offensive and defensive skills into one's developement at once. Not only that but it also includes the preparation of such skills as proper body position (balance, co-ordination), timing, and awareness of distance and environment.

Sure, you could learn a few simple 'tricks,' such as a reverse elbow to the larynx or a hand twist, but learning those alone wouldn't necessarily teach you that performing the technique while leaning could significantly alter any affect you might be attempting to achieve. If all you are worrying about is twisting someone's wrist counter-clockwise, how does that help you understand if/when you are leaning forward, and thus disturbing your own sense of gravity, allowing your attacker to more easily dislodge your attack by a simple pull or yank?

That is why most martial arts techniques are learned so slowly; one cannot put a showroom car onto a track and expect it to perform like a racecar, simply because some 'racing tires' are added. The process by which your body is modified to take full advantage of the techniques is equally important to the effectiveness of the technique.

Also, how do you know what techniques are 'enough'? It is true that, in the martial arts, it is better to be vastly proficient in a small number of techniques than to be haphazzardly proficient in a wider number, but even a small repetoire of techniques need to be founded on good body position, balance, clarity of one's mind, etc etc etc, which the technique is only a small part of.

Does this mean that you will absolutely use every part of the kata when it comes to being in a fight; absolutely not. What it does mean that, when it comes to performing that reverse punch, your training will automatically work to center your body's weight in it's execution, reducing the chance that being off-center will lessen the punch's impact or allow the attacker to more easily disrupt it.

The better one prepares before a contest is begun, the more likely will it be that the outcome is a favorable one. Shortcuts always come at a price.

Here's my two cents .

Martial arts means war arts , or combat arts . Self defense is part of that , however it does not encompass the whole of martial arts . I teach martial arts , but I also teach a womens self defense class . In the womens self defense class I am not sensei or sibak or sifu , I am Mr. Hook or instructor Hook . The class is just a defense class , there are no ranks or ceremony . I only teach them the basics of what to do in a confrontational situation . In my martial arts classes they learn theory , forms , history , and concepts of fighting both defensively and aggressively . There is a belt system , testing , and all the ceremony of classic martial arts .

I believe those are the basic differences .

self defence vs martial arts,reality based martial arts?isn't it all the same thing?giving it a different name makes the ppl who market it look like they know what thier talking about and gives them a platform to launch into a this is better sales pitch.i dont think there would be any ma that teaches the same way they did 10,15,20 or even 50 years ago.most still teach the traditional stuff but they also teach stuff thats more relevant to todays situations.it's up to the individual as to what they do with what thier taught.and of cause today it's a business in a lot of cases whether you call it a martial art or another fancy name,business is about money.making money means turnover which in a roundabout way creates a situation where there isn't enough experienced instructers.and that is a big problem,it's okay for ppl with all these ranks and titles to say they can teach this and teach that but all they can teach is the techniques as it's been taught to them.due to lack of experience they cant really teach you how to apply it in a real situation.it depends on what your idea of proficiency is?of cause you can learn basic self defense quickly but thats all it will be basic,and if the person teaching you has no experience in a real situation what have you really learnt?anything good takes time and practice and it still comes back to the individual and what they want to achieve.theres good and bad in all ma or whatever name you want to give it if you dont think your achieving what you want you go somewhere else.and you cant teach someone how to think,how to fight dirty,common sense,or experience all you can do is give them the directions it's up to them as to where they go with it.it's either in you or it's not.and like they say practise makes perfect.

Yes, buy a gun, that would be the most efficient way to learn self defense. Just aim and squeeze. Just joking.....

Unfortunately, there's no way one can learn practical self-defense in a short time, it takes practice. That's why there's a belt ranking system in martial arts. Or it can be that the teachers just drag you down to get your money.

A real combat situation is rarely 1 on 1. You are likely to get attacked when you are least prepared by 1 or more attackers who may be armed. This is also true on the battlefield. Self defense is mostly about situational awareness and this is the practical self defense.