What is the Best Martial Art for Self-Defense?
When it comes to self-defense, choosing the right martial art can make a significant difference in your ability to protect yourself in a real life assault. But, at the same time, most arts and instructors actually do more harm than good by providing false confidence, and teaching techniques that in fact do not work in the real world.
When taught with self-defense as the primary focus, not sport or competition, the martial arts can offer a combination of physical techniques, mental discipline, and strategic thinking that can be invaluable when faced with a threat.
In this article, we’ll explore some of the most popular martial arts for self-defense, as well as examining the effectiveness of striking and grappling techniques. Whether you’re a beginner looking to learn self-defense or a practitioner seeking to enhance your skills, understanding the role of martial arts in self-defense is essential for personal safety and confidence.
I. Key Factors to Consider in Choosing a Martial Art for Self-Defense
Physical Fitness
Your choice of martial art for self-defense should align with your fitness level first off. There would be no point in studying an art such as Tae Kwon Do with its high-flying acrobatic kicks if you don't possess amazing flexibility accompanied with speed and power to execute those fancy kicks in the first place.
Sadly, I recall helping instruct a gentleman in his early 50’s (I’m late 50’s) in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu who was in remission for cancer several months ago. But after a few weeks he had to quit. His body simply couldn’t take the physical stress, nor did he possess the strength, stamina, or mobility to work with even the most compliant of partners. In his case, honestly the best thing he could do to protect himself would be to become proficient with a firearm and obtain a concealed carry permit.
Practicality and Real-World Application
Think about where you'll be using your newfound skills. Will you use them in your profession? The self-defense skills you need to be a police officer are different than those of working front door security to a rowdy nightclub, or teaching a high school English class.
Where do you feel you would need to defend yourself? In a confined, indoor space such as your work office? Perhaps an open area, such as walking through a rough neighborhood on your way home from school or work? Perhaps your job takes you to different, unfamiliar locations, regularly. Choose a martial art that suits those scenarios to ensure you're prepared to protect yourself when it counts.
Time and Commitment Required for Training
This is where marketing is very misleading and downright dangerous. When you see a social media video of a tiny female putting a larger male into a triangle choke, first off remember that the man is likely being compliant to make the female look proficient because they are trying to sell you something. But while it is possible for a smaller female to indeed put a larger, male attacker in a triangle choke, this would require years of dedicated training and practice.
Consider how much time you can realistically commit to practicing your chosen martial art. Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was Bruce Lee's six-pack.
II. Comparison of Benefits and Limitations of the Most Popular Martial Arts for Self-Defense
Striking Martial Arts (i.e., Karate, Muay Thai)
Striking martial arts focus on punching, kicking, and striking techniques to take down opponents. Punching and kicking are your most fundamental defensive techniques that can be highly effective in self-defense situations. Think about this: babies in the womb instinctively punch and kick as early as 15 weeks gestation, demonstrating the innate nature of striking! Striking is literally in our DNA!
When applied correctly, punches and kicks can deliver significant force to incapacitate an attacker, create distance and buy time for escape, and that could actually be your attacker trying to escape if you strike aggressively enough, which you should.
It’s important to understand that criminals, specifically predators, are more likely to target individuals that present minimal resistance. A criminal predator usually does not seek out confrontation or an actual physical fight; rather, they prey on vulnerability and weaknesses in their victims. By choosing easy targets who are less likely to put up a fight or defend themselves effectively, criminals can carry out their offenses with greater ease and reduced risk of getting caught.
Basic striking also does not require nearly as much time to get good at as other martial art techniques do.
Grappling Martial Arts (i.e, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo)
Grappling martial arts involve close-contact combat, utilizing throws, locks, and submission holds to dominate opponents. As I pointed out earlier, grappling arts and their instructors are very fond of promoting to women that size and strength don’t matter in their given art -- that technique surpasses size and strength.
But the reality is that in real-life self-defense situations, size and strength play a very significant role. Factor in an age discrepancy, such as a 50 year old woman and a 20 year old attacker, and their claim is even more egregious..
While students may be able to grasp basic techniques relatively quickly, mastering them and applying them effectively in real-life situations requires years of dedicated practice and sport practice is not self-defense practice. They are two very different things.
It’s also important to understand, that if you’re a lady in high heels and a mini skirt, you’re likely not going to want to do a toe pick or single leg takedown on your attacker while on the concrete sidewalk. Same goes for a guy in cargo shorts and sandals who needs to protect himself. When you’re on the ground, you also can’t easily see if your attacker is going to pull a weapon, and if his friends show up, you’re really in a bad situation now.
However, if you have the time to train regularly for at least a year or two, and you understand the realities of ground fighting — that unless you’re a police officer trying to arrest an unruly suspect, and you understand the ground is not where you voluntarily want to be, then there is definitely merit to training in grappling.
Hybrid Martial Arts Systems (i.e., Krav Maga, Mixed Martial Arts)
Hybrid martial arts combine elements of different styles to create a cocktail of self-defense techniques. Krav Maga likes to state that they teach street-fighting. But I must tell you, having seen how Krav Maga is taught here in America, and how I saw it taught first hand while I was training in Israel, it is very different. There are no fancy, jump spinning kicks and intricate knife disarm techniques taught over there, contrary to what you might find taught at your local strip mall Krav Maga studio here in America.
While MMA can be really good to train in (provided your body can take the continual punishment) it’s important to understand that MMA teaches fighting. In a real life situation, you don’t want to stand toe to toe, squaring off with your assailant to exchange punches, kicks, and attempt takedowns. You want to do everything necessary to shut down your attacker as quickly, and as efficiently as possible, and escape unharmed.
III. Other Training for Self-Defense Situations
Situational Awareness and Mental Preparedness
Being mentally prepared for self-defense situations is crucial. Training should include scenarios that test decision-making under pressure, awareness of surroundings, and the ability to assess threats quickly and effectively.
Lessons Learned from Real-Life Self-Defense Encounters
Studying real-life self-defense encounters (as unsettling as this can be) can provide valuable insights into the importance of quick thinking, adapting techniques to the situation, and the necessity of both physical and mental preparation in effectively defending oneself.
***If a studio spends too much time on tournament rules, and/or not addressing tactics such as attacks to the vulnerable parts of the human body such as the eyes, throat, groin, and knees, then they are not self-defense focused.
IV. Conclusion: Choosing the Best Martial Art and the Instructor for Your Self-Defense Needs
When selecting a martial art for self-defense, consider factors such as your physical abilities, time required to master techniques, and the prevalent threats in your environment. Remember, the best martial art is one that you enjoy practicing, that suits your lifestyle, and that equips you with the skills needed to protect yourself in various situations.
Lastly, and this always draws the ire of martial arts instructors…. What real world experience (if any) do they possess? Having won several medals on tournament circuits (controlled environments with rules) but having never been confronted with an assailant on the street intent on killing them, leaves a lot of questions in my opinion.
Not having an understanding of real violence is exceedingly dangerous. Let me give a first hand example. Once while rolling with an assistant instructor in BJJ who was a much higher rank than I was, he allowed me to gain the mount. His hand defense was obviously, far superior to my attack skills. The chief instructor was watching us with amusement as the assistant instructor and I were in the habit of good naturally talking trash to one another when we would roll. The chief instructor waved silently at me, and tossed me a rubber knife. I caught and, and now the assistant instructor started to immediately respond more aggressively. But what I did was repeatedly stab him in his upper thigh while “twisting” the rubber blade on the exit. After a few seconds, the assistant instructor said, “Jesus Christ, Geoff doesn’t even know how to fight with a knife!” He and the chief instructor both laughed.
Question: Was that a True of False statement?
The answer is a resounding false. I said to both of them, “Actually Sir, you’re bleeding out right now. This being a four inch blade, I’ve certainly pierced your femoral artery and you’re turning cold from the massive loss of blood. And even if I somehow didn’t succeed in hitting the artery, all the holes I’ve opened up by twisting the blade on exit, there’s no way to sew all those up in time. So you’ll still likely bleed out on the way to the hospital during your ambulance ride…” The smiles disappeared from both instructors’ faces.
So before you start to bad mouth these instructors, understand that they are very good at what they know — hand to hand ground fighting. They’ve just never been in real life knife attack like I have (3 to be exact, 2 of which I was cut). Few martial arts instructors are going to have much real life experience, but if they at least spend time watching and analyzing real life violence, then practice scenario based training based on what they’ve seen, then that is an excellent self-defense instructor.
V. My Personal Opinion
I first began studying martial arts at the age of 12 way back in 1976, and I have studied many different styles over the last few decades. Based on those studies along with having worked front doors as a bouncer to some very rough nightclubs, run rock concert mosh pit security for heavy metal bands such as Rage Against the Machine, and performed personal protection for individuals such as Marilyn Manson, I definitely have my opinions based on my experiences.
If you can only study one art, and you are an ordinary civilian who wants to be able to protect themselves? I would strongly recommend Kempo. While there are competitions, no schools train with that in mind. They train for one purpose and one purpose only, which is to overwhelm your attacker with repetitive striking until they are incapacitated. Four “styles” of Kempo that I am personally familiar with are: Shaolin Kempo (which I hold a 5th degree black belt in), American Kenpo, Kajukenpo, and Kosho-Ryu Kenpo.
Unfortunately, some styles of Kempo have earned a bad reputation particularly because of media venues such as YouTube. Do a search for a Kempo technique, and you’ll likely see the “attacker” step in and punch, then freeze with his arm out there as the instructor wallops him about eight to ten times. This problem is twofold.
One, many instructors have actually come to believe that because they’re quite fast, that they’ll actually pull this off. These instructors have never been in real violence.
Two, other instructors forget to mention that these combinations are practiced this way because Kempo employs different weapons to a multitude of targets on the attacker’s body, therefore, it’s best to practice with a live partner. They fail to make that blanket statement that these are in fact combinations and concepts, not complete self-defense techniques.
If you have the time and want to get a little bit of everything, I would look for real Hap Ki Do which to me is the most complete of all the martial arts. However, this can be hard to find. Many Korean Tae Kwon Do instructors claim they teach Hap Ki Do as part of their curriculum, but in reality they teach just a couple of random techniques. A real HKD instructor will teach single wrist grabs, two handed wrist grabs, double wrist grabs, clothing grabs, front and rear grabs, punch and kick defense, takedowns, and a little bit of ground work.
The problems with HKD though can be a lack of real life determination during practice. Students often grab each other gently to practice their art, and in real life, your attacker won’t be gently grabbing you. It’s also important to understand that you’ll learn how to “throw yourself” so that you’re not injured. But should you do an arm lock or wrist lock on a real assailant, they’re probably not going to react the way you and your fellow students do when the locks are applied to you.
Lastly, I would suggest learning some grappling art such as wrestling, judo, Japanese Danzan Ryu Jiu Jitsu or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as an accompaniment to a striking art. Contrary to BJJ’s claim that “all fights go to the ground,” this is simply NOT true. The majority of the time if someone goes to the ground it’s because they’ve been hit extremely hard, and fell to the ground. It is rare that you see two people rolling around trying to submit one another in a real life criminal attack.
That said, there are plenty of instances where a BJJ practitioner has held a bad guy down until the police arrived. So understanding how to control someone provided they don’t have friends coming to their aide, is in of itself quite beneficial to know.
The issue here is that the vast majority of BJJ is sport oriented and competition based, and that has absolutely nothing to do with real life self-defense. I personally have studied at six different BJJ chains over the years. The only one that teaches true self-defense are Renner and Ryron Gracie’s academies (where I do most of my BJJ training). They are the grandsons of BJJ pioneer, Helio Gracie. You first go through their “Combatives” program composed of 36 techniques before you even do any live rolling. These techniques are completely self-defense oriented, and not sport. Their mission is of course to take the fight to the ground which is the whole point of any style of BJJ, but I am 100% against willingly going to the ground when it comes to real world assaults. However, should you find yourself on the ground, you better know what to do!
If you work in a profession that requires detaining and making arrests of criminals such as a police officer, a prison guard or bail enforcement agent? Then absolutely that is where you need BJJ because it’s much easier to slap handcuffs on a suspect with them lying prone on the ground than when they’re standing upright on their feet and they can put up a fight.
Stay safe,
Geoff Meed
5th Degree Kempo
3rd Degree Hap Ki Do
1st Degree Tae Kwon Do
1st Degree Karate
