What style of martial arts is best for street fighting and self defense?

I was never taught how to fight by anyone, and now that I'm growing older, I see how important it is to know how to protect yourself. I'm in high school and I am worried all the time about something happening to me and me not being about to do anything. I was considering taking martial arts classes, but I need to know which one will really teach me what I need to know in order to beat someone in a REAL fight. I'M NOT AT ALL INTERESTED IN TOURNAMENTS OR THE SPORT. So which style is best for street fighting?

What style of martial arts is best for street fighting and self defense?
1st of all i want to start by saying practically ALL martial arts have some self defense applications especially if the instructor is good. Whether it is a 1 2 in boxing, elbows in thai boxing, swift kick in taekwondo(yes i said taekwondo even tho i dont prefer it if trained properly it can be used for selfdefense), throws in judo, or submissions in brazilian jujitsu. If it is a good gym or dojo and instuctor tell him your goals wanting to be able to defend yourself and they should be able to help you.





that being said you need a decent standing and grappling game and most arts are not complete in that sense. ex boxing almost all striking lacking grappling, and bjj mostly ground work lacking standing strikes.





in this sense to be an overall well rounded fighter able to defend yourself you need to crosstrain mixing up some grappling with striking so like the mma gym i go to it has boxing/thai boxing/bjj


most popular among mma fighters seem to be a ground grappling art:sambo, bjj...striking art: thai boxing seems popular and a trapping art to get a person to the ground like wrestling or judo.





now to me that would seem kinda time consuming for some1 who is looking to defend themselves and no looking to compete....also im looking at that most people you would encounter on the streets wouldnt be that great of fighters anyways





i suggest an art that incorporates all these elements in one jeet kune do, krav maga, and san soo they are focused solely on self defense and non of these styles have tournaments since it focuses totally on disabling the attacker





these styles are focused on real fights having no rules and utlizing blows such as eye gouges, biting, lowblows; along with traditional punchin kicking etc.. anything that is necessary to survive. being in krav maga i know that at my place we focused on alot of gun and knife defense along with surprise choke holds etc...like on the streets. and how to try to avoid the fight or trying to calm the attacker down(which if it doesnt prevent the fight it gives you time to think and give the attacker a false sense of confidence) also good about krav is that it works on the body's natural reflexes making it fairly easy to learn. and all focus on striking vulnerable point of the body





the only proplem i have with these hybrid arts are if the instructors are good. for jeet kune do due to bruce lees premature death their few people truly trained in real jeet kune do, krav maga i've seen 1 of the gyms in my area was ran by someone who wasnt skilled and makes me question how the Krav Maga Association of America regulates who can teach, and i don't really know too much about san soo.





but overall you need to go to a gym or dojo tell the instuctor what you are trying to achieve and see if what they are teaching is realistic to use in a real fight, and sparring with RESISTING opponents is good too. and if a belt system is offered try to avoid any that seem belt oriented they are probably just trying to get your money
Reply:"groin kick" and "stomach slam" are two commonly used styles of martial arts. Try using them. They are quickly learned.
Reply:try a mix of striking and grappling. no 1 style can be 100% effective.
Reply:Beretta.
Reply:I think kickboxing and judo are the best for this situation.
Reply:Try a glock, a shiv and perhaps a baton.


If you have the stamina and reflexs try boxing.
Reply:I have to say it's a mixture of several sports.





From my experience, it would be 3 (collectively)...





JuJitsu, Boxing and Wrestling.





If you master all 3, you will be the bomb.
Reply:The art of fighting without fighting.





Never put yourself in a posiiton of conflict that results too fighting.


On the other hand, you must be able to defend yourself, I would suggest the Gracie Ju JitSu.
Reply:If you just want to learn how to defend yourself and don't care about the katas, competitions, etc., I would seriously go with Krav Maga. It's all about kicking butt and staying alive. It's a popular women's self-defense method.





It is the method Jennifer Lopez used in the movie "Enough", when her husband was beating her to death.
Reply:If it's street fights then you want Judo or Aikido, they involve more throwing and put downs rather than explosive punches and kicks.





Try looking at Bushido. Mix this with Aikido and you are good to go with any nearby weapons too.





there is one Kung Fu move which I find irresistable on any to$$er that comes funny with me. That is to stamp on his shin at a 45 degree agle (or there abouts), trust me when I say he will not be walking never mind fighting......another is to do the the following.....try it on a willing friend or something to see it's power.





On your chin in the centre you can feel a slight raised bit of bone. If you hit this part you can knock someone out clean, I suggest you try a very soft version on your friend (and I mean not too hard but not too soft), I had it done to me in training and I had a bruise for about a week! Had the excercise been to knock someone out not demonstrate how to do it, then it could have been worse!





I'll say one thing though, you don't need martial arts to win fights, they really are a last resort as can be deadly!!


My suggestion to you is that you work on speed and agility in a boxing gym. I'm a weight lifter and am pretty big, this means nothing in fighting; yes I'm strong but what you need is experience points! These points can only be gained by your aggresion and confidence.


I don't appreciate people out for a fight but where I live it happens all the time so why not be prepared!? Use these pathetic people as your practice dummies BUT ONLY IF THEY START FIRST OR YOU WILL BE AS BAD AS THEM!!!!
Reply:Gracie family judo. Born of street fighting in Brazil. That family wins competitions all over the place.


I have had the misfortune of getting in some of their wrist and thumb locks. (ouch).


My guess is you could find them online, or ask around in whatever city you're in. They are quite famous.
Reply:There is no best... but jiu-jitsu certainly helps.
Reply:self-defense. ... Aiki-Jujitsu, Grappling, Chuan Fa


street fighting, Shuri-ryu Karate, and Kubudo.





Together;


muay thai, brazilian jiu-jitsu, Kino Mutai and Sayoc Kali
Reply:Tai-Kuan-do. Definitely. I know a girl who is a black belt in TKD. It teaches self defense as do most martial arts but in TKD you will learn pressure points and "one punch defenses". I was aggravating her one day and she got tired of it. I didn't believe she knew what she said she did. She had enough of that. I grabbed her arm and was about to step away so she could throw her "pathetic" punch. Boy was I wrong!!! She whipped around so fast I didn't have time to move. I didn't even see the punch. I took a blow in the chest that literally took my breath away. She is NOT a big girl at all. If she just punched my arm it most likely wouldn't hurt, but if she hit that pressure point it most definitely would. She and I became friends after that. She showed me a pressure move behind the ears. She only used a little pressure but I could tell if she used full force I would be begging her to stop. My suggestion is most definitely TKD. But really that's the only type of martial arts I am familiar with so others may have a better answer for you. read them all.
Reply:I'll keep it real simple, boxing. Usually you can find a cheap (or free) gym to train as much as you want, 1 good combo will end most street fights.





Boxing plus 3 other things. Learn the guillotine choke, learn a sprawl, and learn knee strikes. All 3 of those are bad news for straight wrestlers on the street.





With boxing and those 3 things you shouldn't have a problem on the street unless you bump into someone nastier than you.





Edit: I would suggest jiu jitsu too except its primarily 1 on 1 and in a street fight it can be bananas (multiple targets, strike and back up). Also, apply moves like arm bars, kimuras, keylocks, etc all end with you breaking something of your opponents. Not all people can get past that (guilt) and on the street there is no tap outs.
Reply:karate (not tkd)crosstrain in ground and grappling styles,or find a good freestyle karate instructor that'll teach you all of it
Reply:American Kenpo .. Ed Parker style .. it is not who is right, it is who is left
Reply:muay tai, wrestling, boxing, kickboxing ,bjj, i highly recommend these because you fight the way you train.as you said"I'M NOT AT ALL INTERESTED IN TOURNAMENTS OR THE SPORT" other martial art like karate ,kung fu,takwando is effective on the street but it will take you a long long time for you to master it . I say do any martial you want as long as you have faith in it what it comes down to could you confidently walk the street with out worrying about being mug or bullied
Reply:None. They will not teach you how to street fight. That is not the purpose. For if you use it to kick ***"it is classified as a weapon" and you will go to jail. No ifs or buts. In every state. Besides, if one has a BB in all martial arts and the other a gun, I am betting on the gun.
Reply:Traditional Shaolin. The trick is finding a school that actually teaches Shaolin and not long fist wushu (the fancy, acrobatic stuff you see in movies that's become popular with a lot of today's gongfu practitioners). Unfortunately, there's a lot of schools that claim to teach Shaolin but don't. Traditionally, Shaolin is a combat art; there's very little (if any) fancy stuff in it.
Reply:Have you ever seen the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) on the Spike channel? This is the closest you are ever going to get to real fighting. So, whatever works in the UFC works on the street. No matter what anyone who believes in Bruce Lee movies says, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu combined with Thai boxing is virtually unstoppable. The UFC has proved that over 17 years of matching all styles of fighting against each other. Now, if you do not know Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, they won't even let you in to fight and get killed.
Reply:MMA
Reply:Muay Thai. Fast, brutal, and meant to knock someone out quickly.
Reply:Bear in mind that you pick up a martial art to protect yourself in the public and not deliberately use what you learn to fight with others. There's a chinese proverb which says a gentleman does not use violence but by talking things out to get the matter over and done with. I would recommend aikido for self defense.
Reply:KENPO
Reply:Kajukenbo , Americas first mixed martial art .
Reply:I have a small percentage of students who are interested in tournaments , the rest are in my club for self defense , and fitness. I do not make competition mandatory. What I teach helps my students to do well , no matter what their goals are.





There are no "bad" martial arts , except for one that I saw where the guy sat in a bar drinking until he got into fights.





Learning any technique from a good , qualified instructor will help you in your goals.





I teach tae kwon do , and make self defense a mandatory part of my program.
Reply:I prefer Filipino martial arts- there isn't a bunch of bowing, forms, stupid boot camp type line ups and such- it is down and dirty using sneaky stuff instead of bushido rules of war.


Just my 2 cents


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Reply:Boxing can make you dangerous in a very short period while bjj will help you if you end up on the ground and muay thai is great for kicking and knees..if only 1 pick boxing
Reply:Me i do Tang- soo - do and it works just fine and with it u can remember a certain move that u like or make up ur own by remembering just random steps from the class. me and my dad do tang- soo- do to each other in our home and i realized just remembering a couple moves from the class u can put them together and make one big one.