Best Fighting Style for self defence

Unless, of course, you are rushed and quickly surrounded by several hundred people or getting stabbed first or being murdered in your sleep. That's probably when you hope that police intervenes quick enough.

edited 13th Aug '12 10:54:01 PM by IraTheSquire

If you are attacked by several hundred people, I don't think that you really stand a chance to fight them out in any case; even in that case, trying to run away and hide seems the best strategy to me.

And the question referred explicitly to unarmed assailants.

But point taken, there are situations in which even running away is not successful. I would say that in most cases, it's probably the best strategy, though.

I think most people are discussing the typical small-group situations we're statistically likely to encounter. Other than packing a MAC-10 and driving a tank to work I doubt there's a way to prep for a riot other than simply not being there when one happens.

edited 13th Aug '12 11:00:42 PM by drunkscriblerian

I remember there being a Wikibook on just this subject and one editor suggested Systema, that nebulous combatives program used by the Russian Army and possibly Spetsnaz brigades. There doesn't seem to be that much information on it floating around, so what does it involve? I'm automatically skeptical when I hear that it's taught to special operations personnel since this is generally a marketing gimmick of the highest order.

& That's just one out of the three links there though. Also, I did say surrounded as in you cannot run away and hide.

edited 14th Aug '12 2:44:12 AM by IraTheSquire

I have never heard of it, but since it's supposedly developed for an army, I doubt it will be something I'd be willing to employ.

I'd go with Aikido or other styles that don't hurt the assailant. Self-defence is a pretty good goal to have in itself, but if you can go the extra mile for a moral victory, I'd say you should take it.

edited 14th Aug '12 2:28:45 AM by Kayeka

I don't really understand what bearing that has. Krav Maga is in heavy use by the Israeli Defence Force (although it was developed in the ghettos to protect Jews from potential aggressors) and some units in the South Korean Army expect their guys to work towards a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, but these styles are still practiced by civilians the world over. Do you mind elaborating?

Martial Arts that are employed by combat forces are not meant to painlessly incapacitate an adversary, like I'd want my preferred MA to. They are meant for brutal them-or-us situations. Those situations don't usually arise in civilian settings, and those few times they do a more peaceful style should suffice.

Oh, okay. I'm not sure that a martial art that can painlessly incapacitate someone exists. I can't imagine someone stopping attacking you if what you're doing to them doesn't hurt them, especially if that person is, say, intoxicated and has a reduced ability to feel pain in the first place. Maybe you don't want to injure them but I see that as being an inevitability in fights, so to me it makes sense to end the fight quickly by whatever means necessary so that you personally don't get hurt. If you don't want to hurt or get hurt, it might actually make more sense to practice freerunning, rather than a martial art, as mentioned earlier in the thread.

At the risk of derailing the thread, have you considered a flashlight? If it's high-powered, you can use it to blind someone temporarily and, in an emergency, it has enough weight to be used as a bludgeoning weapon.

edited 14th Aug '12 3:36:54 AM by HouraiRabbit

Best form of self-defence is to be a very good runner and good observation skills. (The second one is important because you still need to be far enough away from your assailant to complete the turning part of turn-tail and run!)

Are they any style that are good for holding off mobs and the like?

I don't think so, as mob implies a fairly large number of people. Plus, a mob is a bit like a tidal wave in that there's no real point in struggling against it. Best idea would probably be to run. To that end, knowing your area very well and being able to instantly plot out a route to a safe location in your mind would be the most important skills to have. I've read a little about the benefits of consistent mental rehearsals of this kind of information.

That or run into somewhere busy. Supermarkets, pubs, and busy stations are best.

edited 14th Aug '12 3:46:58 AM by GameChainsaw

On top of my head Choi Lei Fut is one but. That said, running away is your best bet. Save your skills for when you cannot run and had to fight.

edited 14th Aug '12 3:50:24 AM by IraTheSquire

If you're facing more than one opponent, your only hope is to take them down in isolation. That's as hard to do as it sounds. More than three, and you're pretty much screwed; by the time two of them are down the other two are behind you with something heavy. Unless you are very very quick and they come at you one at a time.

There are cases of lone warriors holding up dozens of people at a time. But I doubt anyone here will get to the point of mastery reached by viking berserkers or Japanese Shinto-Buddhist monks. The two examples I'm thinking of were a case of a viking at Stamford bridge who allegedly took down 50 Saxons before he was slain by a trick, and the warrior monk who held off all assailants while his master committed Seppuku and whose prowess and enormous size intimidated the enemy so much that it wasn't until they spotted he'd stopped moving (shot so full of arrows he died standing up) that they moved in. Even if they weren't merely legend, they were at the top of a very high game.

And, notably, they still died.

Standing in the face of a mob is suicidal.

edited 14th Aug '12 5:40:51 AM by GameChainsaw

I'm not a fan of Krav Maga, TBH

I would learn it, anyway

Plus, well, how are leet martial arts skillz going to help you with being murdered in your sleep?

You're asleep. That's the point.

Info on "systema" from wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systema Note, this isn't the style's actual name, just a handy label.

Note 2, the warrior monk was named Saitō no Musashibō Benkei (ta, wikipedia)

As his wikipedia page says, he is the hero of a two book series by Robert Shea called "Shike". It's actually pretty good stuff, even though all the names are changed and the story is heavily fictionalized. (and available for free since his son (Mike Shea) released it under the same sort of terms that back up wikipedia - here: http://bobshea.net/shike.html

edited 14th Aug '12 5:05:06 AM by TamH70

EDIT: Oh heck, this is OTC, I should probably try to keep my posts serious.

edited 14th Aug '12 5:47:07 AM by GameChainsaw

Even the Wikipedia page looks sketchy. Avoid at all costs.

I'll leave this here:

http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com/

The crux of the matter is that if you can spot a physical threat from far off out, you could be like me - pretty much a walking marshmellow - and still avoid the altercation. The best defense for personal self-defense, I feel, is to avoid the fight altogether. I stumbled upon that website some years ago and it brings up a large number of things that bear careful consideration.

Awareness and by extension mental preparation are the best defenses you can ever have.

Nevermind all the legal rammifications you'll run into if/when the situation gets physical.

Suppose a guy gets physical with you and you kick his face in with your superior fighting skills. Guess who the cops will arrest when they show up? Probably you. He's on the ground in a heap, you're standing tall. You're taking a trip to the police station. Even if you were totally justified in doing it.

Unless you gtfo.

Then you look even more suspicious.