What martial arts will fit me best?

Hello all!

I am thinking about which martial art to take.
I really need your input.

My goals:
Combat Training. (Lets say if you were dropped in a hostile city and everyone wants to beat you up or steal your money).

It has to be rough and rely on strength. No katas/relaxation.

It has to be competitive (so I could participate in many low and later higher level competitions).

My body type. Meso with longer arms.

Height:5’8
Weight: 170-200 pound range
medium to short legs, long arms.
Deadlift: 420

So what martial art/arts will fit me the best?
Reply please!
thanks!

" (Lets say if you were dropped in a hostile city and everyone wants to beat you up or steal your money). "

First thing that came to mind was: Escape from New York. And if I remember correctly, Snake Plisskin didn't know a thing about MA, but could surely shoot a big gun.

As for your question: "Which MA will fit you best?" - You'll have to find that answer to that yourself. By visiting schools. Personally, a hybrid form may work for you. Also, most MA or MMA don't rely on strength - but technique. At least during the beginning stages. But back to your question - where are you located at?

“No katas/relaxation.”

That makes it a little hard to answer. I’m no MA expert (nor do I play one on TV), but it seems to me that the best way to get swift motion and fast reactions is through relaxation. Maybe I’m all wet with that, but I think you should look at the result, then accept the path to get that result. MA ain’t no lottery – you gotta work for it.

Try this. Check out the US Army’s Tradoc website. Go to the Library and look at the copy of the Combatives field manual. Important note: “The Army teaches you just enough Hand-to-Hand combat to get you killed”. Also: read the Mad Russian’s articles and check out his website. Then maybe you will have a better idea of what to ask for. No war stories this time, sorry. Best of Luck.

I am not located in NY. But really, you got to be prepared for the “black day”. After all, every american has a gun for a reason…

Unfortunately my city aint to big… So I guess I’ll try Mua Thai, boxing, Submission grappling. Probably thai and submission grappling… But before that I will need to get my endurance up to par. Working on that…

I have to tell you that when I first began MA training, I was getting extremely frustrated. I knew I was strong - but dammit, MA is DIFFERENT. It’s technique. I relaxed, and submersed myself into training.

Being able to deadlift ALOT of weight ain't gonna help you in the ring. You'll eventually learn that.

And the "Escape from New York" reference was due to the fact that in that movie, Snake Plisskin gets dropped into the middle of New York (hostile city) and baddies want to beat him up. Geez, I hate having to explain my "smart assness".

for your situation, KRAV MAGA is the only way to go

Unfortunately I cant find krav maga classes in my city. DARN!

I would have gone there if I could.

I guess mauy thai and some submission grpapling or mixed/martial arts is it.

BTW, what is mixed martial arts and what is Jeet Kune DO?

reply please thanks!

Brazilian Jui Jitsu is very effective fighting technique. Yet, in reality fights, I’ve noticed that unless you have at least 1 year of intense instruction and training, if your opponent knows that you are going to try to take him down, he can hit you with big strikes when you go to shoot. For that reason, and this is the trend in the UFC, hybrid, MMA and vale tudo are the way to go. You need to be versitile - in case you run up against a boxer - you shoot him and put him in submission or a wrestler - you strike him as he tries to take you down. If you are versitile you can counter your opponents stregnth.

If you have the money to travel, I would go take as many classes, and get as much info as I can on “American Combatives” it is a Combat fighting system that is used by some military, and some SWAT teams. Their based out of West Virginia. It is very effective and brutal. I too like Brazillian JJ, however it is most effective one on one, and would have limited use when fighting multiple enemies. Look up American Combatives on the internet. I dont work for them, but I have studied and taken several of their courses, and I’ll tell you its is very effective.

The Army recruiter told me jujitsu and Mauy Thai for Ranger trainning.

Damn I wish I had more money.

For fighting one on one, taking any classes that emphasize all aspects of the fight game are perfect. It does not address the issue of mortality in a combat situation though, so if you’re concerned about that, Krav Maga or similar military fighting styles are the way to go. I train with army rangers at the dojo, and most of them feel the Muay Thai and BJJ they do is for confidence and exercise. They won’t ever have hand to hand combat unless someone screws up bad. And if that happens, you don’t just kick someone and then attempt a triangle while there might be other people trying to attack you. I know for a fact that Paul Vunak’s Progressive Fighting Systems utilizes Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do and its concepts into a functional fighting style that addresses multiple attackers and weapons. That might be a start for your search. Hope it helps.

Escape from New York should win an oscar every year!

Don’t forget the ultra-useful art of running away. Fighting skills are extremely important, but all ego aside if you have a way to escape then use it.

“Reality fights” are anything but. They’re fun to watch, but they have very little to do with real fighting. After all, how often are you fighting on a mat or in a cage in real life? Try some concrete with some needles and broken glass on the ground, then try to “shoot in on me”. Okay, so you’ve taken me down. Now watch as my buddies stomp your head in. I’m not doubting BJJs effectiveness–for what it is, but you have to look at what it is not, too. (Please note that I’m going to be participating in a BJJ class starting in mid-January.) Realize that all martial arts are artificial constructs to a certain extent. Spar a lot. Learn to box. Learn some Judo/Wrestling/BJJ takedowns. Then buy a gun, lead a less violent lifestyle, and take up Ba Gua, Tai Chi, and Hsing I.

Is there a possibility that ‘newbie’ is a police officer in which case running away would not be an option?

Shiao Chiao is a Chinese MA similar to judo (with a twist >:-D )
The “twist” is you lock the persons arms up resulting in more damage when they hit the ground (i.e. - head hits concrete instead of the bad guy/girl having their arms free to catch their fall)

If you are a police/security/protection officer this could be a good option. Fair warning…qualified instructors are few and far.
Because you are short and strong, I would just search for “Southern Chinese Martial Arts”.
Any thing you find would be perfect for you. Northern Chinese = T-Peeps with long appendages and/or tall and above average atheletic/gymnastics skills
Southern Chinese = T-Peeps with short legs/long arms or little T-Peeps that must use a larger/stronger/faster persons size/strength/speed against them

Sorry about the long post…
Vince

i train tzu chin gen karate wich is a pretty modern karate style with wrestling, still have katas and discipline and goto show respect. newer version of ashihara karate style. my club also has shoot fighting wich is a very good style. developed for contests like UFC, pride, whatever. wrestling and standing fighting. strength is really a plus in any fighting style. ofcourse you will learn more then just contest, almost all trainers have tried many diffirent styles and will teach you tips and tricks, things that work on the streets. if its one on one street fighting you want then close fighting is very important (elbows knees). kick boxing, thai boxing. ofcourse, atleast here in Sweden unarmed street fights are generally people being drunk and pissed at each other and then simple fists to the head is most effective. there is lots of things you can learn about unarmed fighting, there is a pretty big diffirence between contest fighting and street fighting. if you want the later just go on whatever style you want but do it in a bad neighborhood.
anyways, my recomendation is any shoot fighting.

just some more stuff… especially about street fighting you should read articles just like you do on building.
confidence, aggression and intimidation are very important. your opponent will see your strength or lack of weakness if you have these things. seeing in your opponent what it is he is really after is also important. people wanting to be pick on the weak are esealy intimidated. many small guys with a big “leader” get scarred if you kick the big guy in the head so he falls. if someone wants your stuff, give it, who cares. if you meet a aggresive crazy bastard who just wants to fight, kick his ass or run.
ever popular success stories.
friend1 gets robbed by 6-7 people with a “leader”. friend2 goes up to them, tells friend1 to start running, punches the leader in the face dislocating his yaw and starts running too, flees into a bar with many very big door guards. this wouldnt work in the USA ofcourse, you would have 3 holes in your chest but still.

What the fuck is vale tudo? Also most street fights I’ve witnessed seem to be won with the first couple of punches. I think boxing is the way to get street tough quickly.

Dogchild makes a valid point. As a practioner of Brazalian Jiu Jitsu and Boxing/Muay Thai, BJJ does have its limits. The last place that I would want to take someone to the ground is in a glass-covered parking lot. I could go on about this all day, but that point is something to think about. On a second note, I would ALWAYS finish the fight on my feet if I have that option. As far as your original question, I would start with BJJ, add in some additional Judo, and then start boxing once you become proficient in BJJ (IMO, once you get your blue belt from a Gracie-certified instructor). To Tinman: Vale Tudo is Portuguese for “anything goes.” In jiu jitsu, there’s sport fighting (grappling only) and no rules fighting (i.e. vale tudo).