Best Self-Defense discipline for a 59 year old?

[Atom Smasher]

One more question, guys. I'm considering taking self-defense training. I really want it mostly for practical self-defense techniques, and secondarily for overall fitness (as I'm very active with other activities).

Essentially, I'm looking for effective, brutal "shut the fight down quickly" strategies, and have no problem with the brutality of Krav Maga, which I'm considering. There's no way I'll be able to commit to a discipline fully like some of you younger guys admirably do.

I've read the various pros and cons of the various fighting disciplines, and Krav Maga seems to rise to the top in terms of effectiveness for someone in my age group.

Any opinions will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Bible_Belt]

Here's a few posts I have made about KM. Basically, there's nothing wrong with it as an art, but the problem is that there are a lot of scam artists posing as experts.

http://www.sosuave.net/forum/thread...and-got-prices-last-week.223817/#post-2225790

http://www.sosuave.net/forum/threads/krav-maga-effective-for-self-defence.217632/#post-2164629

http://www.sosuave.net/forum/threads/has-anyone-done-krav-maga-training.201815/#post-2000633

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu isn't supposed to be a street-fighting art, but it will save your life when you are losing a fight. That's not nearly as fun of a scenario to train, but it is just as important. BJJ will also help you with fitness, and especially flexibility. Mastering a move as simple as a breakfall will save you an expensive surgery or two in the future. Falling down is actually an art in itself; it's a large part of Judo, from which BJJ was later derived.

The consensus advice for mma fighters is to learn a grappling art and a striking art, and I think that advice is good for anyone. Everyone says they don't want to grapple, and that's fine until you get tackled and sat on. At that point, either you know how to get away, or you die. Plus, takedown defense is part of grappling, to learn how to stay on your feet when you choose.

Any one martial art is going to have weaknesses, which is what 20 years of the UFC have taught us. The very first UFC matches are great to watch if you ever get the chance. Everyone brought a 100% pure style. And most of them got their asses kicked, although to be fair, I can tell you from experience that things are very different inside an mma cage. It's like the padded room at the asylum that they lock crazy people in. It was very frustrating to me to be able to throw and slam a guy around, only to have him bounce back up unhurt. A move that would kill a guy on concrete doesn't even hurt, so that is something to think about when you watch the UFC. Yes, those guys are the world's best fighters in any venue, but the way they fight is highly tailored to being inside a very padded cage with a lot of rules.

The other thing that 20 years of UFC has taught us is the list of moves that work so well, they are against the rules: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixed_martial_arts_rules#Fouls Read that list in the opposite, and it is like a manual for street fighting.

If I were you, I would train BJJ, mostly for fun, fitness, flexibility, and low injury risk. Most importantly, it's not going to give you some delusion that you can become Chuck Norris and kung-fu chop five guys at once. That's what the scam artist sensais are selling, which is one of the worst parts of the martial arts business. Deluding someone into thinking they can fight is dangerous to their own safety.

 

[Atom Smasher]

Thanks, @Bible_Belt. I'll check out those links over the weekend.

 

[ubercat]

Totally agree with BB. It's easy to loose your footing in a street fight.

I hijacked this thread for a bit
http://www.sosuave.net/forum/threads/everything-you-need-to-know-about-martial-arts.19463/

I have a friend I'm training a little bit in basics for self defence. Once he's lost some of the weight and knows what self defence is about as opposed to a martial art I'll send him off to a club. We had a good discussion on that thread about what were the most important techniques to learn for pure self defence. Sorry I can't find it right now but there was also another self-defense thread where I posted about how to work a heavy bag to make it much more like a real fight. It's good too if you can get one of those water filled heavy bags simulates a human body and that is better for your joints and if it's long so you can practice your knee kicks.

I'd also look at a few YouTubes on Filipino martial arts and silat. At our age it's best not to get into a wrestling match. They have good techniques to use elbow strikes against arms. When somebody tries to grab you a finger Jab to the throat and an elbow to the bicep or the shoulder is a good counter. Silat also has this nice concept where they don't stay out at fighting range they just smash straight through the guy. That's what you will need in a fight against two or 3 guys. The other thing I've always had good luck with in every fighting style I ve trained is countering at a different level. So counter a punch with a knee kick. Counter a kick with a jam and a punching combo. Counter a grab with a foot Stomp and a knee to the leg followed up with elbows to whatever body part you can reach.

But you guys are in America why not just a gun or a taser? Or are you looking to take it on as a hobby?

 

[Atom Smasher]

Thanks for the info. Forget the taser. You'll get in more trouble for that than a legal gun.

I think that even if one is carrying, it's good to have some self-defense skills. You just never know, and I don't carry all the time.

 

[ubercat]

A couple of extra long metal pens make a good concealed and will give u a better chance against a knife.

 

[speed dawg]

I second Bible_Belt's advice, and over the years I've gathered that he knows his sh*t on this topic.

I know a guy who does Krav Maga, and he gets busted up pretty good from time to time. I'm not into that. I'm not the quickest or most athletic guy in the world, so I don't really care to maximize my striking, therefore Krav Maga is out for me. And again, a lot of posers.

I think BJJ is the route I'm going to go. I'm a big believer in maxing out strengths and minimizing weaknesses. I'd be better at grappling than I am at striking/kicking. Plus, I'm doing this for self-defense not to wreck stuff. I'd rather get proficient at that, and guns.