Ok I'm going to have to word this very carefully. I admit that while I am largely book smart when it comes to the theory and history of martial arts, I admit I have little experience in the actual practice of it as I've simply not had the time, something I wish to change.
However, my studies have made it clear what styles of fighting click with me. Styles like Outboxing, Counterstriking, Hapkido, Destreza, Bartitsu, Fighters like Muhammad Ali and Floyd Mayweather, basically anything that centers around fighting smart or using your opponent's aggression against them as attempts to be the aggressor or instigator have historically ended...uh...poorly.
The issue comes with finding a gym that would stick because I know that for many people the preferred strategy is to fight aggression with aggression in an attempt to end the fight as soon as possible. However, if you don't do it right all that happens is you leave yourself wide open for attack. Plus, most MMA gyms in my area seem to focus largely if not entirely on BJJ, which I don't have the fondest opinion of. Not that it's bad or worthless or anything like that, I just find that centering your entire fighting style around being on the ground is rather short sighted. Plus, it's been overhyped and too many people IMO treat it as a one size fits all solution to all self-defense situations, and its flaws are so numerous that I can't really ignore them.
But I digress, I ask again, is there a beginner friendly martial art, that favors calm thinking and countering aggression that would be practical outside the ring? If not, then what fighting style however hard it would be worth looking into?
