# Hello!



## bezzerk (Dec 1, 2016)

I want to learn self-defense which really works and where you do not find out after years of practice 
that what you learned does not work in a real fight.

I watched a few videos on y-tube by someone called "martialartsteacher". I don't know if he's legit.
I think he does MMA and also does real fights. Anyway, he rants about all kinds of martial arts.
For example he says that karate, taekwondo, ninjitus, wing chun all suck and don't work.

Is he right or just talking nonsense? Why should taekwondo not work for self-defense? TWD has really crazy
kicks. Why shouldn't this work in a fight?!

Stuff this guy "recommends" is: MMA, Jiu Jitsu, Boxing, Kendo, Muay Thai

The thing is I don't want to do a martial art or a self-defense where physical strength basically determines
who wins.
I also don't really want to do something like Muay Thai where you can expect to get a lot of hits to the body and head. I am worried about injuries. Especially injuries to the head are very dangerous, just look at the professional football players....

But on the other hand, how can you toughen up and prepare for a fight if you never take any hits??


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## Bill Mattocks (Dec 1, 2016)

Everyone is entitled to an opinion.


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## Kickboxer101 (Dec 2, 2016)

You do whatever you want to do


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## oftheherd1 (Dec 2, 2016)

There is no martial art better than another.  Reason; properly learned and applied, all have the same chance of defeating a non-martial-art trained person.

Many stress techniques and applications that are radically different than others.  You need to find the art you like and therefor are more likely to do well at.

Welcome to MT.  You might want to go to Meet and Greet and tell us a little about yourself.


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## Flying Crane (Dec 2, 2016)

Bill Mattocks said:


> Everyone is entitled to an opinion.


Opinions are like *** holes.  Everyone has one, and most are full of ****.


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Dec 2, 2016)

oftheherd1 said:


> There is no martial art better than another.  Reason; properly learned and applied, all have the same chance of defeating a non-martial-art trained person.
> 
> Many stress techniques and applications that are radically different than others.  You need to find the art you like and therefor are more likely to do well at.
> 
> Welcome to MT.  You might want to go to Meet and Greet and tell us a little about yourself.


I disagree. "Most" martial arts have the same chance of defeating a non-martial-art trained person. There are plenty of ones out there that teach nothing practical, but do teach over-confidence. Same can be said about schools within a style, even if the style itself is good. 
If you take any that teaches actual martial skills (and I agree that the focus of these skills doesn't matter as much), then I think your point is valid that those schools/styles have similar chances of defeating a non-martial-art trained person, but it can't just be made as a blanket statement.


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## Tames D (Dec 3, 2016)

bezzerk said:


> I want to learn self-defense which really works and where you do not find out after years of practice
> that what you learned does not work in a real fight.
> 
> I watched a few videos on y-tube by someone called "martialartsteacher". I don't know if he's legit.
> ...


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## oftheherd1 (Dec 3, 2016)

kempodisciple said:


> I disagree. "Most" martial arts have the same chance of defeating a non-martial-art trained person. There are plenty of ones out there that teach nothing practical, but do teach over-confidence. Same can be said about schools within a style, even if the style itself is good.
> If you take any that teaches actual martial skills (and I agree that the focus of these skills doesn't matter as much), then I think your point is valid that those schools/styles have similar chances of defeating a non-martial-art trained person, but it can't just be made as a blanket statement.



I think you are sort of splitting hairs.  But your point is well taken that there are bad schools/dojos out there.  Styles not so much I think.  And I did say properly learned and applied.  Doubtless I should have also warned to look out for non-established and proven styles.  I'm not sure how to tell the OP how to guard against that, but perhaps if the OP searches the forums for threads where people have asked about particular dojos or styles he might learn things that are red flags.


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Dec 3, 2016)

oftheherd1 said:


> I think you are sort of splitting hairs.  But your point is well taken that there are bad schools/dojos out there.  Styles not so much I think.  And I did say properly learned and applied.  Doubtless I should have also warned to look out for non-established and proven styles.  I'm not sure how to tell the OP how to guard against that, but perhaps if the OP searches the forums for threads where people have asked about particular dojos or styles he might learn things that are red flags.


I am probably splitting hairs, but there are two reasons for it. The first is what you said;  the OP may end up in one of those schools and needs to be prepared against it. The second is other posters will misconstrue what you said, to go off on a tangent, so by pointing it out early hopefully it stops that in its tracks.


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## Ironbear24 (Dec 4, 2016)

Don't listen to idiots on YouTube, I know who you are talking about and both of those guys are often referred to as the beavis and butthead of martial arts.

Try an art that interests you and go from there.


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## KangTsai (Dec 5, 2016)

Welcome to Martialtalk, have fun!

Just a little ragging on your perspective here:

The winner of a fight rarely wins with strength. Usually they win with better timing, speed and technique. 
Martialartstutor has very 'extreme' views on martial arts, and most people here do not take anything they say as credible.
Any 'working' martial art will have you dealing with a light to hard contact environment. There is no avoiding the littlest of scruffings. 
Martial arts will help build the confidence that you supposedly lack as of now. I wish you luck finding something to work with. The best option is to find what is closest to your place.


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## Midnight-shadow (Dec 6, 2016)

bezzerk said:


> I want to learn self-defense which really works and where you do not find out after years of practice
> that what you learned does not work in a real fight.
> 
> I watched a few videos on y-tube by someone called "martialartsteacher". I don't know if he's legit.
> ...



Do you mean this guy?
martialartstutor

If so I would take everything he says with a massive bucket of salt, as he talks a lot about systems that he has literally no knowledge about, not to mention being very disrespectful about them in the process. In my opinion he has a very narrow-minded view when it comes to Martial Arts and is too pig-headed to listen and learn. Anyway, enough about him, let's talk about Taekwondo. The reason why a lot of people avoid Taekwondo for self-defense training is because most schools train it for competitions, which follow a pretty strict rule-set, including not being able to strike someone in the back. That is why when you watch the Olympics they always stand side on, which is easier to defend against given the rule-set. If you do this in a street fight you will get a smack to the back and go down like a sack of bricks. The other problem with high kicks is they require a lot of flexibility and will put you off balance. If you miss your kick the guy you are fighting can easily close the gap and take you down before you recover.


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## wingchun100 (Dec 31, 2016)

Do what feels natural to you. If a martial art compliments your natural abilities, then you are on the right path. I don't have the best balance or flexibility, so I don't do something like tae kwon do that involves high kicks. Find your strengths, and find an art that you'd be able to perform competently with them.


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## Druid11 (Jan 8, 2017)

bezzerk said:


> I want to learn self-defense which really works and where you do not find out after years of practice
> that what you learned does not work in a real fight.
> 
> I watched a few videos on y-tube by someone called "martialartsteacher". I don't know if he's legit.
> ...



He recommends Kendo?  To be fair I'm not particularly familiar with it and I honestly don't know if it combines empty hand techniques, but it's sword fighting at it's core.  Does he recommend you walk around with a katana for self defense?  I don't think that's really practical unless your last name is MacLeod.

If he's recommends you walk around with a sword, then I'd say he falls closer to the nonsense end of the spectrum.  I'm far from an expert, but any martial art can be used for self defense.  But there seems to be this misconception that training in martial arts (especially if  you find that "right" one) will make you invulnerable.  No martial art will.  And quite frankly assuming equal skill, the bigger stronger person is going to win a fight 9 times out of 10.  This is true across the board and there is no special secret fighting style that will negate it.  That's why there are weight classes.  This is especially true of martial arts (in my opinion) like MMA, western Boxing and Muay Thai (which I've all done BTW).  You're likely to stand toe to toe with someone just because the nature of the techniques.  That being said, most people who might attack you probably aren't trained in any martial art and skill can trump size and strength. 

As I said  use to train MMA, western Boxing and Muay Thai.  All of which I enjoyed, but I stopped because I too was afraid of getting injured.  The gym I trained at catered to young guys who had aspirations of competing at the semi-pro or pro levels of those sports.  If you wanted to progress beyond just the basic classes and spar you needed to prepare yourself to spar those guys (and I did for awhile), but since I'm a woman with no interest in competing (at least not at that level) and I have a day job, it wasn't worth the risk of being hurt for me.  Other gyms in other areas may be run different ways and have students with different goals. 

I would say that it probably is a good thing to spar hard to the body at some point just so you know what it feels like to really be hit.  That being said, you cannot condition yourself to be able to take hits to the head no matter what you do.  So, yes hits to the head are dangerous.  You have to decide what injuries you are personally willing to risk.

I left MMA and Muay Thai because that school was more than I was willing to risk.  I did miss martial arts though so I recently found a traditional Karate (Isshinryu) dojo to train at.  I find they teach practical techniques that could be used in self defense (in many ways more practical for someone my size and strength).  Sparring is light body contact and no head contact, although the instructor will let higher ranks go pretty hard to the body if both people are okay with it.  I still get bruised up, I'm sitting here with ice on my shin from a guy blocking my kick with his elbow, but I'm not worried about concussions.

So that was a really long way to echo what others have said, train what you want.  If you like TWD, then train that.  If you like MMA, or Boxing or Muay Thai then train that.  Unless you're a LEO, in the military, or some other similar profession martial arts should be a hobby you enjoy.  Yes, it should teach things that can be used practically in a fight.  But honestly when people tell me they want study martial arts just for self defense and no other reason and they need to find the most effective one (assuming the aren't in one of the aforementioned groups), I just wonder about their life choices that they're putting themselves in situations where they get into fights on a regular basis.  Because I'm sure the vast majority of people that practice martial arts never use them to defend themselves, because they never have to.  And it seems like a lot of time and energy to put into something you don't enjoy that you may never use.


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